Well after my little run in with a buck that i would have rather seen while in control of my exocet instead of our van i have to buy a new (to us) van. We are thinking of three diferent vans . The Dodge Caravan , G.M.'s Montana or Venture and the Ford Windstar . We looking between 1998 and 2002 . I would appreciate any input good or bad on any of these vans .
I cut up the deer on Sat. and couldn't believe how little of the meat was damaged . Didn't waste much more than 5 pounds of meat . Hard to believe it wrote our van off.
O/T Van replacement
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
Don't know about the others but the Windstar has a history of transmision troubles, one of the reasons their making the Freestar now.
Digger
2008 Y25 Relayer #593 Boo string, lumizone
2-1984 Relayer,
2-1992 Wolverine
Excal Phoenix, acudraw, VARizone
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Martin Rage
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PSE Infinity
2008 Y25 Relayer #593 Boo string, lumizone
2-1984 Relayer,
2-1992 Wolverine
Excal Phoenix, acudraw, VARizone
T.P. Titan TL4, acudraw 50, Varizone
Vixen, Steddy Eddy, Varizone
Martin Rage
Martin Jaguar
PSE Infinity
Hi duber, I drove windstar for a year & ya they have trany problems. they are to small so they tend to overheat. they are also very floaty, my wife always got motion sickness, it is built on the lincon chassie I think.
The dodge has problems with rearend collisions I think the rear seat came loose sometimes. My friends bought a new one and had to many promlems to remember. My folks drive the Chev they have not had any problems, not that I am recomending it , I seen one on the road the other day and this person had this professionaly printed on all three sides " build by idiotes, sold by liars, servived by morrions" I thought it was a joke at first- that was one unhappy customer.Good luck
The dodge has problems with rearend collisions I think the rear seat came loose sometimes. My friends bought a new one and had to many promlems to remember. My folks drive the Chev they have not had any problems, not that I am recomending it , I seen one on the road the other day and this person had this professionaly printed on all three sides " build by idiotes, sold by liars, servived by morrions" I thought it was a joke at first- that was one unhappy customer.Good luck
I just looked into this myself. The worst choice is the Ford no question. The Dodge has a good motor but the tranny my cause you problems. The GM is the one I would go with out of the three but be very careful the 3.4L motor has major gasket problems. They redesigned the gaskets starting in 2003. If 2002 is your limit then stay away from GM and go with the Dodge. The best bang for your buck is the Mazda MPV.
If you can't afford to buy either a Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssesy, the only other van that you should consider is a Dodge Caravan.
I currently own a 1994, which I bought new. It is still in great shape and serving me well. Prior to that I bought a new 1988 Plymouth Voyager which I drove up until 2001, I sold it to a mechanic who spend a few hundred dollars and sold it for a handsome profit.
BTW, the 1988 had a 3.0 Mitisibishi engine, which was great, but developed head gasket problems at about 110,000 km. The 1994 has a 3.8 engine, which has 190,00 km. It's running strong, I've only had to change the tranny fliud once. Just recently the tranny has developed a small leak, so once a month I just top it up.
I currently own a 1994, which I bought new. It is still in great shape and serving me well. Prior to that I bought a new 1988 Plymouth Voyager which I drove up until 2001, I sold it to a mechanic who spend a few hundred dollars and sold it for a handsome profit.
BTW, the 1988 had a 3.0 Mitisibishi engine, which was great, but developed head gasket problems at about 110,000 km. The 1994 has a 3.8 engine, which has 190,00 km. It's running strong, I've only had to change the tranny fliud once. Just recently the tranny has developed a small leak, so once a month I just top it up.
ComfyBear
Micro Axe 340, Matrix 380, Matrix 355, Matrix 350, Exocet 200
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G5 Montecs 125gr., SlickTrick 125 gr. Magnums
To thine own self be true.
Remove thine mask Polonius.
Live thy truth, doth not be false to any man.
Micro Axe 340, Matrix 380, Matrix 355, Matrix 350, Exocet 200
ComfyBear Strings
G5 Montecs 125gr., SlickTrick 125 gr. Magnums
To thine own self be true.
Remove thine mask Polonius.
Live thy truth, doth not be false to any man.
I have a Dodge Caravan, 1991 that still runs great. Replaced the timing belt at 90,000 miles and other than that, no major expenses. General maintainance has kept her going for 160,000 and counting. I'd go Dodge again in a heartbeat.
QUANDO OMNI FLUNKUS MORITATI (When all else fails, Play dead)
Genesis 27:3
Genesis 27:3
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Brampton Mike
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- Location: Brampton Ontario Canada
Brampton Mike 
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Fur & Feathers
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- Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 3:35 pm
- Location: Central NY
Everyone in my family has owned a Motana or Venture. We recently replaced our 2002 Montana with a new Uplander. Drove the Montana for 4 years with no problems. Towed a boat all the time fits two deer in the back very comfortably no mechanical problems at all. Guys that went Moose hunting with me where very impressed with the power and fuel economy. Drove from Port Perry to Geralton on 2 tanks of Gas while towing a small landscaping trailer. 1150 km. one way. I would really have to recommend the Montana or Venture.