I probably could have figured out the OP problem in less than five minutes with my laptop, bootleg Toyota software, and OBDII connection.
They hate that we peasants can do this, but analyzing trouble withing the bowels of the electronics is possible.
I am a 76 year old widow with a replacement car decision problem. We bought a 96 4-cylinder Caravan with 33,000 miles in 2000. It now has 108,000 miles, and for the past 5 years I have been driving about 3,000 miles a year. It is long since paid for and has not had any serious very expensive repair needs. I got my first license just before my husband died, and this is the only car I have ever driven. The year after he died I made a 3,000 mile adventure trip with the back seats down and a mattress in back and slept in cheap camps or overnight in Interstate parking lots. The van was getting 24 to 28 miles per gallon, and needed a quart of oil every 1,000 miles (slow oil drip, $600 repair estimate, why bother?) A few other minor problems I can live with. Four tires that still have about 20,000 miles life on them.
I have Googled for information about the expected useful life of a ‘96 Dodge Caravan. The impression I get is that some people get a lemon and are constantly having expensive trouble while others have minor issues and easily get to 200,000. I think my car fits in the latter category. I use it a lot for work I do renovating houses. Trips for lumber, etc. to Home Depot. Trips to dump with debris and old stuff. Will need to do that for another 2 or 3 years.
My problem is that my new guy (probably long term) wants me to buy a new car. I don’t want to go back into debt, having just gotten ahead a bit, and even if I did get a newer car, would probably want one with 20,000 to 30,000 on it to avoid the depreciation of a new one. Also, I want a car with good mileage that I can go camping in like my 3000 mile adventure, and can use for renovating and dumping. On the other hand I don’t want to make my guy mad or loose respect for my decisions. So I have two major questions. 1) Is my Caravan likely to hold up OK for another 10 or 20,000 miles. 2) What might be a good used car that meets my current and future needs. I am in good health and my parents lived to 90, and grandfather and his siblings to 93, 96, 98, and 103. Thank you for any advice and information you can give me.