It's a minivan, which is what we were looking for when we bought it. Plus, it's never left us stranded......yet. (Crossing my fingers.)

Durability, electronics.

First, I want to encourage anyone who reads this to pay close attention to the reviews on this site when you're looking for a car. That's what I almost did when I bought my Caravan, but I got overpowered at the dealership. I had gone in only to look, thinking maybe I could afford a new Grand Caravan. I thought if I bought a new one, it might not have all the problems of the aged ones that everyone wrote reviews about. When it became clear that I was not in the running for a new one, the salesman suggested I look at the only used one they had on the lot. The first mistake I made was listening to him when he suggested I don't test drive it, since it was the same thing as one of the new ones that I had already driven. I expressed my opinion about Dodge products to the salesman, telling him that I had promised myself I would never buy one. He played down the problems with Dodges, telling me he recently bought a Dodge Ram, which, by the way, he had to replace some window switch for $150 even though the thing was brand new, but it was no big deal to him, because that's "normal".

DON'T LISTEN TO A SALESMAN WHO TELLS YOU IT'S NORMAL TO HAVE TO REPLACE THINGS ON A NEW VEHICLE, AND DON'T EVER BUY THE BRAND OF VEHICLE HE'S PROMOTING.

Anyway, I fell for most of the sales tricks, buying the darn thing, managing to get almost low book for my Nissan Sentra trade-in. Driving it home, the Check Engine Soon light came on and freaked me out. I stopped at a gas station and called the salesman. He tried to calm me down and not worry about it. After all, that happens all the time on his brand new Dodge Ram. So now, after 7 months, it's been on and off, with no apparent rhyme or reason.

The next problem we had was a drip from the engine, and the wipers would go on spontaneously. Talked to the salesman about it, and he said he would take care of it.

DON'T EVER TAKE A SALESMAN'S WORD THAT THEY WILL FIX SOMETHING THAT WOULD NORMALLY COST MONEY. THEY'RE NOT ON THE SERVICE TEAM, AND THEY USUALLY DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO SPEAK FOR THEM.

So they've never fixed these problems. They did replace the stereo, but only because they just happened to have some spares from other vans that they had installed CD players in. And they did get me a jack.

So now it's been 7 months, and my wife will be taking it on a 3000-mile trip, so we took it to a mechanic that's a friend of mine, and he recommended replacing the head gaskets, since they were leaking oil, and the serpentine belt. That's about $1000 of work on a 4 year old van.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR--BUY A RELIABLE BRAND (HONDA, TOYOTA, NISSAN, VW...)

By the way, the interior lights don't work, either. And when we bought it, the cupholder was broken, so they glued it back together with cheap glue that lasted a few days. So I paid $22 for a new one. Plus the arm rest covers were warped and coming off the armrests, but not even the service department would do anything about it--they told me to glue them down myself. The headlight covers were badly scratched, but who cares? The light still comes through, right? Supposedly they "buffed" them, but if anything they made it worse. Plus the interior stunk like cigarette smoke, so they promised to "fumigate" the smell out, which they never did after 3 or 4 times of calling and hounding them to do it. The smell has slowly diminished, but it would have been nice to have it out of the way from the beginning. The wiper switch which was busted from the outset will cost $124 to fix, but what's the point? From reading all these reviews, I think the switch Dodge makes is defective, so after replacing it it would only last another year maybe.

DON'T BUY A DODGE!!!!!!!! (ASSUME THE SAME FOR ANYTHING MADE BY DAIMLER-CHRYSLER) AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT VISIT CHAPMAN DODGE IN SCOTTSDALE, AZ!

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Chevy Astro--Bigger, but not better.

Good ride, plenty room, great for trips.

Transmission; no signs of failure until to late . Bad paint job; peeling, cracking, stripping.

Good ride, plenty room, great for trips. Bad paint job, air bags failed to work, transmission bad.

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none.

RIDES LIKE A LUXURY CAR AND HAS GREAT VISUAL APPEAL(DONT LET THAT SUCKER YOU IN!!!) VERY ROOMY AND COMFORTABLE. LOOKS GREAT AS YOU ARE STUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WAITING TO BE TOWED.

TRANSMISSION, TRANSMISSION, TRANSMISSION, SOME TRIM CAME LOOSE TOO SOON, OH DID I MENTION THE TRANSMISSION DIED AT 2500 MILES AND I WAS STUCK IN A subcompact NEON FOR A WEEK WITH MY FAMILY.

THE VAN HAS ALL THE VISUAL APPEAL AND NONE OF THE MECHANICAL ABILITY TO COINCIDE WITH ITS BEAUTY. IT WAS A MISTAKE AND I WILL NEVER BUY A CHRYSLER MADE MINI-VAN AGAIN. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU WOULD THINK THE ENGINEERS COULD MAKE THE TRANSMISSION LAST AS LONG AS THE NEW CAR SMELL. THE STANDARD (IF YOU CAN FIND ONE) TRANNY IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO ON CHRYSLER MINI-VANS. I NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE ON ANY OTHER VAN EXCEPT THE ONE I BOUGHT NEW.

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1993 CHEVY ASTRO, 1996 DODGE CARAVAN, 1986 DODGE CARAVAN,1986 FORD AEROSTAR

Look nice

Brake pad falls off

I purchased the vehicle brand new. One of my van's front brake pad felt off after the vehicle reached 25000 miles
while I was driving on the highway (and the warranty for it is only for about 13000 miles in Canada), this is ridiculous when you compare with warranty on other vehicles of the same class.
As a result of this problem, the repair cost me over $300.00 Cdn. I will never purchase any vehicle from Chrysler again. However, I will recommend anyone wants to get rid of his/her spouse without going through a messy divorce procedure to buy a Dodge Caravan because it's likely
that he/she will end up dead on the highway when the vehicle reaches 20000 miles and it's give out.

Roominess, Nice drive/handling, Looks

Waiting for it to breakdown (it is a Dodge after all!)

This is the first Dodge product I have purchased. I was very reluctant to do so. My wife had two previous Caravans (1997 & 1999) as company cars and they performed fairly well (Brake and AC problems on both, however). The one feature I really enjoyed was the driving experience. The position of the driver seat along with the arm rests made this minivan very comfortable to drive. It drives like a car.

As mentioned above I did not want to purchase a dodge product, but after test driving the Toyota Sienna (too small) and Honda Odyssey (too unrefined) I gave in to the Caravan. So far I really like it. The only difference I notice is a little bit more stiffer ride. This could be due to the sports touring package I upgraded to. One of the better looking minivans on the market in my opinion.

3,500 miles so far and no mechanical flaws (yet). If it remains reliable I would definitely recommend this vehicle.

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None

Handles just like a car---WHEN IT RUNS!

Just the fact it is a DODGE.

When it was time to bite the bullet and get an automobile that the whole family would fit, He let me pick. I do not believe he would ever let me pick again. My Honda that I drove for 14 years NEVER EVER left me stranded. Since I have had my Caravan I had had it in the shop countless of times. The transmission went at 28,000 miles and along with that the rear lights wiring went. The battery in less than two years. Water came in the rear side windows when shut of course. The underside drawer broke.
Had the brakes replaced both front and back. Then the brake master cylinder had to be replaced. Parking cable needed work. The starter had to be replaced. There have been many other times. I had it towed this morning to the Chrysler Dealership and I just got a call that they wrecked it. TOO darn bad they did not total it. I could have an opportunity to get rid of it for good. I only have 41,665 miles on it. This is a very big financial mistake. Will not ever buy another.

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None

Can haul more than 3 people. Comfortable ride.

Too many to post

Great for hauling kids and dogs. I have liked the integrated child seats and their ease of use. Car seat installation is about the only thing I haven't had to worry about. First problem ocurred in less than one year. I went to start the engine, and zippo, nada, nothing. Had the tow truck try to jump it, nothing. Towed it off to the dealership. It started right up for the dealer! Six months later, in a parking lot, same thing, but I waited about ten minutes, and like magic, it started. No need to tow that time! Brake rotors pitted and rusted at about 35k miles. Complained to chrysler, told them we were aware of this being a widespread problem, got them to pay for new rotors, we paid labor. Six months later, husband was driving van, it just died, no steering no brakes, just died. Thought we'd have to tow again, but after ten minutes or so, started right up again. The mystery continues. Told dealer about this ongoing problem and that it was documented while under warranty. Had door sliders replaced before 36k miles, and front passenger stereo speaker, wanted all this done while still under warranty.

Yesterday, driving the kids to camp bus pickup, van died, no brakes, no steering, just poof, dead! Tried to start it several times, had to put into neutral and push into a parking space. Tried many more times to start, nothing. Came back several hours later, still no start. Cleaned battery connectors, no start. Called tow truck. 45 minutes later, towed off to the dealership. Good thing I have towing insurance. Get a call from the dealer when van gets there, started right up for them! Gosh Darnit if this isn't pissing me off now! Dealer says "out of warranty" I will have to pay if I want any diagnostics to see what the issue is, but it starts for them, so probably won't come up with anything. At least I wasn't doing 70mph down the freeway when it died, or we'd be dead. My lease is up in about a year, and I am afraid to get another one. My mom has one, sisters also have them, but these newer ones are not reliable. Not sure what I will drive next. We also own a Dodge Neon, but that's an entire story of its own.

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Had a mitsubishi expo 7 pass before. Just as scary for reliability

Looks, Relaiability(So Far), Ride, Room.

It's a Chrysler product. I have not had major problems yet but it's a Chrysler and I know that I can't count on them backing there products.

Have owned van for 4 years now and have had no major problems up until this time. Get a call from my wife that the brakes are making a strange noise so I get home from work, take of the tire and low and behold the inboard drivers side brake pade is gone. Just metal left. I knew the pads were low but I figured I would get some type of warning. On top of the pad being gone the rotor was so pitted & rusted that it can't be recovered. Didn't even bother looking at the passneger side brake system just figured it would be just as bad. Called the dealer to talk to them about the brake system and how it is kinds strange that a rotor would go up at 40k. Well, I get the runaround with the song and dance and tell the guy that I have a 91 Honda that has never had the rotors replaced. His response at the 5 star dealer was "well your not driving a Honda" My response "well maybe I should be." Anyway, that is where the van is tonight waiting for repairs tomorrow. I will be asking the same question as other owners as to how do I voice my compliant to Dodge about this problem. I could understand if we abused the vehicle but we drive it as mellow as we can becaouse we know its a Chrysler product and that it can't take any type of abuse.

Other problem with the vehicle have been minor
1. Had to have the battery replaced at 12 months. (Dealer Paid)
2. Had to have the CD Player/Radio replaced at 14 months (Dealer Paid)
3. Last oil change for free from 5 star dealer. Left vehicle overnight
for oil change that I had made an appointment for at 9:00 a.m.
came back at noon wasn't done, left pissed off came back at 1:00
can't find cashier, waited 15 minutes to pay for oil change still no
cashier service manager just gives me the key and says go.
3. Have stange squeaking noise from engine when starts 48 months will
have addressed with brakes.

Similar Products Used:

Never had a Mini-Van before but I did have other Chrylser products.
Chrysler Cordoba-burned to the ground via spontaneous combustion outside a friends house
Dodge Colt-would'nt stop bucking, major oil leaks had to replace every seal in the engine
91 Honda Crx-awsome car. Traded it in for Mini-van, never had a problem that Honda did not fix for N/C outside of routine maintance.
91 Honda Accord-will rust out before it dies, Bought at another dealer. again never had a problem out side of routine maintance that the deak did not fix at N/C. Had Rotor and Distributor assembly replaced 8.5 years @ no cost by dealer.

Looks, Relaiability(So Far), Ride, Room.

It's a Chrysler product. I have not had major problems yet but it's a Chrysler and I know that I can't count on them backing there products.

Have owned van for 4 years now and have had no major problems up until this time. Get a call from my wife that the brakes are making a strange noise so I get home from work, take of the tire and low and behold the inboard drivers side brake pade is gone. Just metal left. I knew the pads were low but I figured I would get some type of warning. On top of the pad being gone the rotor was so pitted & rusted that it can't be recovered. Didn't even bother looking at the passneger side brake system just figured it would be just as bad. Called the dealer to talk to them about the brake system and how it is kinds strange that a rotor would go up at 40k. Well, I get the runaround with the song and dance and tell the guy that I have a 91 Honda that has never had the rotors replaced. His response at the 5 star dealer was "well your not driving a Honda" My response "well maybe I should be." Anyway, that is where the van is tonight waiting for repairs tomorrow. I will be asking the same question as other owners as to how do I voice my compliant to Dodge about this problem. I could understand if we abused the vehicle but we drive it as mellow as we can becaouse we know its a Chrysler product and that it can't take any type of abuse.

Other problem with the vehicle have been minor
1. Had to have the battery replaced at 12 months. (Dealer Paid)
2. Had to have the CD Player/Radio replaced at 14 months (Dealer Paid)
3. Last oil change for free from 5 star dealer. Left vehicle overnight
for oil change that I had made an appointment for at 9:00 a.m.
came back at noon wasn't done, left pissed off came back at 1:00
can't find cashier, waited 15 minutes to pay for oil change still no
cashier service manager just gives me the key and says go.
3. Have stange squeaking noise from engine when starts 48 months will
have addressed with brakes.

Similar Products Used:

Never had a Mini-Van before but I did have other Chrylser products.
Chrysler Cordoba-burned to the ground via spontaneous combustion outside a friends house
Dodge Colt-would'nt stop bucking, major oil leaks had to replace every seal in the engine
91 Honda Crx-awsome car. Traded it in for Mini-van, never had a problem that Honda did not fix for N/C outside of routine maintance.
91 Honda Accord-will rust out before it dies, Bought at another dealer. again never had a problem out side of routine maintance that the deak did not fix at N/C. Had Rotor and Distributor assembly replaced 8.5 years @ no cost by dealer.

I suppose if you cut a hole in the floor you could use it like a Flinstone car and push it everywhere. But on the bright side...the wipers work well!

Are you SERIOUS....like I said before ....."The wipers still work".

Where do we begin....... possibly next to the AMC Gremlin, this is the biggest pile of junk to ever hit the american highway!! Not only have I been unfortunate enough to own 1 Dodge Caravan, I stupidly bought another thinking the first one was just a FLUKE.

Both Dodge Caravans have had the top end of the engine rebuilt TWICE, 1 needed completely new heads (3500.00), the other needed a NEW engine (this one the head gaskets and bearing went), got it replaced with another "used" engine at a cost of 3500.00, and within 500 miles the valve guides dropped (another 2000.00 bill).

The interior lights have NEVER worked, the A/C always chooses the hottest day of the the year to discharge itself, and blow hot air. The engine stalls when you hit the brakes (now try to have Chrysler figure this one out...they have no clue).

The only thing that hasn't (but will soon I'm sure) is the transmission, but yes like you all we are starting to have problems with it. After spending 8000.00 almost to keep this piece of crap running, when the tranny finely does go out...I am going to park it in front of a Dodge Dealer and start a bon-fire with it in protest.

Oh yeah, did I fail to mention the master cylander, the rack & pinon, the fuel injectors, the power steering, the brake line, the fuel pump (times 2), the emissions (O2 Sensor, PCV Valve, Filters getting clogged), the exaust, and oh yeah...the best one yet is the fact that even after replacing the head gaskets, and valve cover gaskets....the engines outside is more lubed then the inside of the engine.

GOD BLESS DODGE FOR SUCH A "WONDERFUL" VEHICLE!!!! NEVER AGAIN I SAY....NEVER AGAIN!!

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1988 Dodge GRAND Caravan LE.....Just as CRAPPY as this one!!!