Van has 65,600 miles on. Engine started to leak coolant so I brought to dealer. I was told the intake manifold gasket was bad @ a cost of $800. I took it to another shop for 2nd opinion and told coolant had mixed with the oil and engine needs to be replaced @ cost of $4500. The dealer told me the part has a national backorder on it and it could be 1-2 week wait. I thought this was a little strange and looked into it on the internet and found this is a major problem with GM products. Many others have had this problem. I have just read and signed the online petition: "GM should recall faulty Intake Manifold Gasket installed in their vehicles" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/GMcnsmrs/ I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Dependable Mechanics (Engine and Tranny) Room Engine performance Fuel Economy for such a large vehicle Smooth ride

Styling (but no minivan is the best looking anyhow)

This is by far the best American made Minivan on the market. Chrysler's transmission break after 1-2 years and Ford Windstar's engine burn out. We had a 96 Caravan and it's transmission broke down after only 20000 miles...what a piece of junk! The Venture on the other hand has great mechanics that LAST and are DEPENDABLE. We have had no problems yet with over 60000 miles driven. I was never too high on a GM product, but the Venture has changed all that! If you are looking for a great minivan to put the family in at a reasonable price, then I highly recommend this vehicle!

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96 Caravan

Engine, stereo, style is great for a mommy minivan!

Cheap chevy material, horrid reliability.

This is a very quite van, and provides brisk, and steady exceleration. One thing i really like is the versitility of the interior. Though the back can be cramped, it is relativley easy to beome relaxed.

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Dodge Caravan, Plymoth Voyager

It has a radio to drown out the noises.

From the bottom of the tires to the top of the roof rack.

Nightmare

Nice drive. until...

see above.

Inintally loved the ride and the look. View for driver is full and unobstructed. Individual seats and child seat convenient. Driver power seat comfortable for all 3 drivers.BUT... Recalls are rarely made known by dealer even after problem surfaces. Power sliding door opens randomly and then failed all together. Repaired by dealer under warranty but on occasion "Acts up". Sliding door winddows rattle loose whenever thay are opened for venting. I''ve had them re-pinned and tightened twice. No one is permitted now to open windows to avoid having them fall out. More frightening has been the engine shutting off all electrical connections when putting car into "park". Brought to attention of dealer but they can''t seem to find the proble, since it is sporadic. It still occurs and I am uncomfortable about what''s going on with transmission.

This vehicle drives well on the highway. It is a nice smooth ride, has great gas mileage on the freeway, good power, and great visibility all the way around the van.

customer service, repair service.

I haven''t had a nightmare with this Van but I am on my way. Ditto to all the other complaints: Sliding door, Power steering, motor on driver side window, and door rattling and gap between door and window. My head gasket recently went out and took it to the dealer and they replaced it ( not without trying to make me spend more than I needed to). A week later it failed again. I am lucky I got the extended warranty or else it would have cost me around $1200. My front seats are starting to tear. The frame of the seat is starting to tear through and it looks real tacky.

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I will definately never buy another Venture.

Does have a smooth ride to it,looks nice. That''s it!

PW.SL.door is dangerous! Transmission, A/C compressor are both failing now. Have replaced headgaskets(low coolent light kept coming on at 23,000m & they kept telling me it was OK, and then when out of warranty the gasket went with a $1,300 price tag), other replacements-gas pump, ti-rod, powersteering, Have had work on other front end problems, interior parts breaking, seatbelts are terribly positioned for anyone under 5''5".

Dittos to all the complaints about the Venture! I have had nothing but a nightmare with this van, the dealer I bought it from, and also GM as well! The POWERSLIDING door is an absolute disater of car engineering! I have had it do all-when closing it will pop back open, get stuck, come open while driving! And the GM would do nothing! My advice to you who read this is --STAY AWAY FROM THIS VAN!!!

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none similar- I am thankful to be an American, but I am going back to a forgein made vehicle! My 1984Toy.corolla gave me 172,000m in 11 years with absolutely no problems! Clutch finally gave out at

Does have a smooth ride to it,looks nice. That''s it!

PW.SL.door is dangerous! Transmission, A/C compressor are both failing now. Have replaced headgaskets(low coolent light kept coming on at 23,000m & they kept telling me it was OK, and then when out of warranty the gasket went with a $1,300 price tag), other replacements-gas pump, ti-rod, powersteering, Have had work on other front end problems, interior parts breaking, seatbelts are terribly positioned for anyone under 5''5".

Dittos to all the complaints about the Venture! I have had nothing but a nightmare with this van, the dealer I bought it from, and also GM as well! The POWERSLIDING door is an absolute disater of car engineering! I have had it do all-when closing it will pop back open, get stuck, come open while driving! And the GM would do nothing! My advice to you who read this is --STAY AWAY FROM THIS VAN!!!

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none similar- I am thankful to be an American, but I am going back to a forgein made vehicle! My 1984Toy.corolla gave me 172,000m in 11 years with absolutely no problems! Clutch finally gave out at

So far outweighed by the weeknesses that I can''t think of any.

1) 1800 miles - Sliding door failed to operate. Dealer “adjusted power door cable” (what a laugh). 2) 1800 miles – Driver’s door rattling when shut. Dealer aligns the door. 3) 3000 miles Power sliding door failed to operate. Used the reset procedure in the owner’s manual (pull fuse from the fuse box, temporarily) to correct. 4) 5,000 miles – Power sliding door will not close. When closing, the instant it touches the electrical connectors on the door jamb, it re-opens. We sat at a restaurant one time for 5 minutes trying to get it to close so that we could drive home. The dealer cleans the contacts to correct. 5) 7,000 miles – Power sliding door recall number 1 6) 7,000 miles - Driver’s door still rattling when shut. Dealer replaces “broken clips on regulator assembly.” Door still rattles and now there is a gap between the inside door panel and the window. Rattle still exists. 7) 24,000 miles - Battery blew up while sitting in a parking lot, splattering battery acid under the hood. Received a jump from a tow truck and drove the van to the Dealer. Dealer replaces the battery and cleans the acid. 8) 32,000 miles – Vehicle running rough. Dealer finds al

The best day of my life was the day I got rid of my 99 Venture and parted ways with GM, forever. There is one thing worse than getting a poor quality vehicle - getting a dealer service dept. that is the same.

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Plymouth Voyager

So far outweighed by the weeknesses that I can''t think of any.

1) 1800 miles - Sliding door failed to operate. Dealer “adjusted power door cable” (what a laugh). 2) 1800 miles – Driver’s door rattling when shut. Dealer aligns the door. 3) 3000 miles Power sliding door failed to operate. Used the reset procedure in the owner’s manual (pull fuse from the fuse box, temporarily) to correct. 4) 5,000 miles – Power sliding door will not close. When closing, the instant it touches the electrical connectors on the door jamb, it re-opens. We sat at a restaurant one time for 5 minutes trying to get it to close so that we could drive home. The dealer cleans the contacts to correct. 5) 7,000 miles – Power sliding door recall number 1 6) 7,000 miles - Driver’s door still rattling when shut. Dealer replaces “broken clips on regulator assembly.” Door still rattles and now there is a gap between the inside door panel and the window. Rattle still exists. 7) 24,000 miles - Battery blew up while sitting in a parking lot, splattering battery acid under the hood. Received a jump from a tow truck and drove the van to the Dealer. Dealer replaces the battery and cleans the acid. 8) 32,000 miles – Vehicle running rough. Dealer finds al

The best day of my life was the day I got rid of my 99 Venture and parted ways with GM, forever. There is one thing worse than getting a poor quality vehicle - getting a dealer service dept. that is the same.

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Plymouth Voyager