OK, my wife and I have decided that we want to swap our small four door sedan for a minivan to haul the kid, dog, stuff and more people around. We're thinking of a '99,'00, or '01. We are not sure what brand though. That's where I need some opinions from the minivan owners here. What are pros and cons of the minivans that you own? Any specific ones to avoid?

Thanks,
-Ron

P.S. No, we can't afford a fullsize four door pickup, and we are tired of bending down to get in and out of our car. At least in the minivan we'll be able to get in and out like it's a truck and we'll sit higher on the road too.

 

I'm not a huge fan of mini vans, but if I were considering it I'd have to admit to having a phobia about Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth vans after seeing the dash on one burn up in a parking lot one day.

Granted it may have been a freak accident, but the owner had just walked in the door of the building when someone came in and said a van was full of smoke out in the lot -

When all was said and done, everything around the steering column was pretty much slagged. It appeared to have been an electrical fire.

I'm also reminded that the "Hate of My Life" was a DCP product, that should have definately had a recall on it.

Realistically, this is more rant than advice. But for whatever it's worth...

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 30-Sep-02 AT 12:49 PM (EST)]I wasn't a hugh fan of mini's unitl we got our Windstar. Rather have a truck, but out of reach financially. Ours is a 95', supposedly the worst year for the Windstar, but we have had no troubles. Have kept up with maintenance of course and we found a "news-ed" model. Rather happy overall. Lots of space, pretty good power, ours has the 3.8, which I believe is the better of two engines offered. I know people with just about every make and model, alot of people like the Yotas and the Hondas. I said to my wife, get whatever you want, as long as its a FORD! Also, the Windstar has good crash ratings. Hope this persuades you for a Ford purchase, Blair

 

I have a mini-van made by DC (DiamlerChrysler). I love the thing. It is a Grand Caravan ES with 159K. Although I have had problems virtually no problems with it there are those that are plagued with gremlins.

The Windstar is a real nice van but I do suggest that you go drive a few to see which one fits your budget and lifestyle best.

I find it hard to go wrong with the company who "invented" (sorta, actually VW) the mini-van. The Honda is very nice and solid but lacks any kind of personality. A red ES Grand Caravan with those chromed 17" wheels sure looks nice to me. Plus they offer AWD.

 

I own a 95 Mercury Villager. I have never owned another mini so can't compare from experience.

The Villager may have been discontinued. It is a twin to the Nissan Quest mini.

The drive train is Nissan. Basically a Maxima engine. I am not sure if the tranny is Ford, I think it is since I saw some Ford logos when I dropped the pan. It is front wheel drive. Can't speak for all model years etc, but Ours has been relatively reliable, although since new it has had a rear drum brake screech. Cleaning etc fixes it for a little while. With something like 45,000 miles on it here is a list of problems/unexpected repairs...

The auto door locks seem to have a mind of the ri own, they will lock when you slam the door. I suspect a sticky mechanism is causing the lock to be just on the edge of locking, and a good slam does the trick. The Rear heater/AC needed to have the rear fan control resoldered, I did it myself, but it was a pain to trace back to the control unit. It is getting harder to start, used to fire right up but now takes two or three tries. It had a plug change at 30,000. Brakes front and rear have a lot of life yet. Replaced the overflow tank cap, yeow, $20(?) plastic screw cap like on a bottle. The check engine like has started to go on, so looks like it is time to go to Autozone to get the codes. Tires last about 40K. Burns 0 oil.

Overall I would say it has been a fairly good vehicle. Only gripes are that it is gutless, has terrible brakes(long stopping) and is a bit too small for my tastes. If I had my preferences I would have bought a Chevy Astro or maybe the Ford Aerostar, both rear wheel with 4wd options, due to their heavier frames and towing capacity and larger size. But then I wouldn't really have towed with either, that's what the 250 is for.

My 2 cents worth.

Jim Henderson

 

>I wasn't a hugh fan of mini's unitl we got our Windstar.
>Rather have a truck, but out of reach financially. Ours is
>a 95', supposedly the worst year for the Windstar, but we
>have had no troubles. Have kept up with maintenance of
>course and we found a "news-ed" model. Rather happy
>overall. Lots of space, pretty good power, ours has the
>3.8, which I believe is the better of two engines offered.
>I know people with just about every make and model, alot of
>people like the Yotas and the Hondas. I said to my wife,
>get whatever you want, as long as its a FORD! Also, the
>Windstar has good crash ratings. Hope this persuades you
>for a Ford purchase, Blair


Just a tip on the Windstar....watch the head gaskets on the 3.8, especially on the early to late 90's (this includes all ford cars/mini's). They are prone to go bad and could give ya some problems.....

 

I was wonderin about that..I've seen a few of those lately with the hood up steamin'..and they looked pretty new..

 

Hey, saw what you posted about the headgaskets, hope that doesn't happen anytime soon, we just turned 120,000, no problems yet. Thinking about selling next year and getting a nice, big, expedition. If it were to start as a slow leak type of thing, what could I look for? Thanks for the heads up, Blair

 

I bought a 2000 Astrovan, and have had no problems with it. I bought it because Chevrolet only builds one motor and trans for it, and it's a proven performer. Although not a true minivan, it's worth looking at. I also have a reliable old Caravan, but Chrysler can't seem to be able to build a transmission.

 

We have a Windstar and just love it. 96 with about 77,000 on it. I've heard that the head gasket problem was 95 and earlier. I've also heard from a Ford mechanic that you should watch the coolant overflow bottle for disappearing fluid. Also watch for a hard start condition the first time it is started in the morning. Mine has shown no problems yet.

After the 96 model (I think 98 or 99) Ford redesigned the Windstar and offered the drivers side door. I would look for one with the auxiliary heater/air conditioner unit.

As far as other brands, I have not met anyone yet who has owned a chrysler/dodge minivan longterm who hasn't had to replace the transaxle in it.

 

Was not a huge mini fan either but when the wife and I decided that our car was too small for the family we went the way of the mini as well. We got a 02 Dodge Grand Caravan, liked the seating flexibility and the standards I'm a Ford man at heart and I still have my 69 F100, but the package was better on the dodge, Love it went on a 3400 mile trip just 2 days after buying it, what a ride, LOVE IT!!!!

Bill

 

Thanks for the feedback, ya'll. Yep, I've heard numerous negative reports from friends on the Dodge and Chrysler products. We are probably going to be looking at the Ford, Chevy, and Mazda. I'd like to look at the imports, but I just don't think the Kia would make it in the longevity category, and the import vehicles always seem to be more expensive. We did see a nice minivan at the state fair yesterday, called a Mazda MPV. It's not an SUV wannabe, but a nice comfortable and spacious minivan. We'll just have to go test drive some of these.

 

I've known a couple folks with the Mazda MPV, and both were fairly pleased with it. IMHO, it lacks torque (I'm probably biased, though) but it's pretty reliable, and you can get it in 4x4. Best of all, the engine's facing the right way.

The Law
1989 F-250 HD 4x4
460, C6, BW 13-56, Sterling 10.25" (4.10:1), Dana 44 HD (4.09:1), twin K&N's, no muffler, stock lo-flo cat, Bosch Platinum Plugs (0.060") MSD 6A and TFI Blaster Coil

 

My wife and I are fans of the mini van. We have a 94 Dodge caravan. This is our second one after we traded in the 89. 3.0 liter, ok on power, 25 mpg highway, 112,000 miles, some of it hard driving and uses no oil. However, the transmission went out at about 98,000 miles. We were told that this was a problem with the Dodge mini van from three different machanics. Dodge has supposedly fix this problem. One of the struts froze up. Replaced under warranty. I haven't tried out the new Dodge vans. When our daughter and son in law came for a visit they rented a Ford Windstar. We drove that one around. The next mini van we get is probably going to be the Ford. More room, more power, and comfortable. Before you buy perhaps you could rent a van/vans your interested in and drive it around for a day just to be sure.