We bought this van new with 6 miles on it. In the nine years we have owned it the Caravan has been reliable with few maintenance issues. The 3.0L V6 is quick and has been trouble free.
It has the 3-speed transmission which is generally more rugged than the 4-speed available in this year. At about 200 miles I installed a $40 trans oil cooler and to date the tranny has run very well.
The 2nd to 3rd gear shift is abrupt at low speed, common in this vehicle.
An exhaust gasket between the manifold and Cat converter was replaced twice under warranty.
About 4 times in 9 years, the engine will just quit in low speed traffic. When restarted 3-4 times it returns to normal and I'm off on my way.
Tire wear is above average, this is the third set of tires at 90k miles. I have tried several brands.
Front brakes have been replaced twice, each time with new rotors at a total cost of less than $100 (my labor).
A/C system was checked and recharged in year 6 at a cost of $110.
Fuel tank sending unit was replaced in year 5 under extended warranty.
The rear wiper motor broke in year 9; cost to replace (part only) was $90 and 1 hour of my labor.
Overall a great vehicle for the money.
Depreciation in the first 4-5 years is about $2k per year for this body style.
Average fuel mileage is 20 mpg, highway is 23 mpg.
Amazingly I still have the original exhaust system (stainless steel) after 9 winters.
Paint still shines after 9 years; it is garaged about 6-7 months of the year.
If you can do basic repairs yourself the Caravan is easy to work on and parts cost is generally low. Total cost for all routine maintenance and repairs is about $1500. Sure beats a Land Rover!
Based on comments by others, I expect this engine to easily exceed 160k miles.
Good to see another satisfied Chrysler owner around these parts. I have a '92 Voyager - also with the 3.0L/3 speed combo. The three speed is a good tranny and my 3.0L has 180K miles on it without a rebuild and minimal maintenance. Yours will probably make it to 160K without breaking a sweat. I generally also do my own maintenance and I find the Voyager much easier to work on than the '96 Grand Am we own.
My goal is to drive it to a quarter million... they way it looks now, it just might last that long!
I had a 95 with a 3.3L and the power that damn thing had was amazing. I could take F150's and Broncos with 5.0L's.
Later,
Dustin.
Since your van has the Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 engine watch out for bad valve seals, which is a common problem among these engines (with a lot of miles). But other than that, you should likely expect more miles out of that engine.
I own a 1995 Dodge Caravan CV (service van) with the 3.3L/4sp transaxle with 189,000 miles.
This van was abused daily in my day to day work, but performed exceptionally well through-out its service years (1995-2005), other than routine maintenance and a few minor repairs over the years I have absolutely NO complaints except that they no longer make them as service vehicles any longer.
I was going to sell it last July, but my brand new van (Chevy Astro) had to go into the shop for major repairs and I needed transportation for my tools and me to the job sites, hence I will keep it and use it as a "loaner" for friends moving needs and emergency back-up.
I bought a 95' base Caravan about 2 years ago. Before buying this vehicle I did my homework... I talked to 8 owners, 3 mechanics and checked this website along with other websites. Based on my research, I came to the conclusion that most Caravan problems can be traced to the 3.3 motor with the 4 speed auto tranny. I have the 3.0 engine with the 3 speed auto. My caravan had 98,000km when I bought it. So far I have replaced the timing belt, water pump, valve gasket, thermostat and brakes. I consider all this as part of regular maintainance. I have about 130,000km on this van and it performs great. Shifting at low speeds is a little rough and gas mileage could be a little better, but all in all I'm quite happy. The van has lots of room, good visibility, and with the rear seat removed I can carry a stack of 4x4 sheets of plywood with space to spare.
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