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.
Check the Enterprise rent-a-car website, see where their nearest used car lot is; they were recommended to me by my credit union, and I’ve been very happy with the car I purchased there. They sell the cars before the manu warranty runs out, and the buyer gets the balance (and there are extended warranty options). Their used vehicles are (or were then) recommended by, I dunno, Consumer Reports. Some of their locations have more diverse selections, others are Chevy-heavy etc.
drive the caravan until it don’t drive no more. If you are thrifty and can keep 10,000 bucks in the bank ready for an emergency I would not bother with a new vehicle until mine is completely dead. For 10k you can get a nice little care to get you another 100,000 miles OR spend a few nights in a town and have your caravan repaired. I am not a “car guy.” To me a car is a tool to get from point A to point B. A 96 caravan isn’t worth much but it’s worth a lot to you if it still works and does what you need. If there’s no problems now there aren’t likely to be any in the future. And those problems will either be typical maintenance or mechanical issues that happen on a car of that ‘vintage.’ I drive my cars until they physically can not be driven any more. Just be prepared with some common sense items in the caravan (water, food, money, phone, blankets) and you’ll be fine. If the caravan ever does break down consider your delay an unplanned vacation while you shop for a new car or have your caravan repaired.
In other words. I think you’re just fine and you’re new guy will just have to deal with it.
I have a close friend who worked at a dealership, repairing those caravans when they first came out...and it was exactly as you say - some were lemons some lasted forever. I would hang onto it - it doesn’t owe you a thing.
fyi Im driving a 99 Tahoe with 160k....
Keep the car that runs until it doesn’t.
Providing you aren’t having any problems with the caravan...I would not buy another car right now. We have a 2001 Ford F150 pickup with almost 280,000 on it! We are keeping it...will probably replace engine sometime.
I'd rather die owing someone else than someone else owing me........
The last words out of my grandfather's mouth were "damn, I wish I had bought that new car..."
Those Caravans are either lemons or 300,000+ mi. cars, vast majority being the latter. I know people who use them essentially as their low riding, covered work truck.
Even though they don’t make them anymore the Grand Caravan with a towing package is the vehicle I intend to replace my Trailblazer with.
“my new guy (probably long term) wants me to buy a new car.”
Guys are all about efficiency and utility in vehicles so this is a red flag. IMO he is either bi-sexual or is working an angle. He may be using you to do something for himself. Red flag.
My advice: Keep the Caravan. Look into him being bi. Ask for a Hep-C test.