Hello everyone,

My father is having to purchase a minivan in order to have it converted into a wheelchair accessible vehicle. He has one right now, a 2005 Caravan. His choice is between a 2007 Caravan with about 17,000 miles on it, or for about $6K more out the door, a brand new 2008 Caravan. I know, I know, neither one is a great vehicle, but this is out of necessity, not desire.

Now the 2008 is a complete redesign, featuring some nice content like 4 wheel disc brakes standard, brake assist, stability control, traction control, and an airbag cocoon that the 2007 does not have. I like the idea of all these extra safety features but I am wary of buying a Dodge in its first year of production.

Has anyone heard anything negative about the redesign?

Thanks,

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

Sadly, I'm an owner of a grand caravan (2004) - but I have no real advice on the redesigned models.

I personally would stay away from a first year run, like you mentioned.

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1981 240d - 135k - Arlene

my suggestion would be, no matter what Caravan you buy, that you follow the recommendations for tranny service. Especially if you have the extra weight of a wheelchair lift. I used to drive a Tow truck and I remember going to tranny shops and you would always see a few Caravans there. I think the problem is they are the cheaper mini-vans out there and the owners probably get cheap with service as well, and they get used as work vans and get overloaded, further stressing the tranny. And the tranny is *****.

Peter

I don't have one but I've been in one a few times. A relative had a 3 year old one and 'upgraded' to the new model last month. I'm basing my opinions below on a comparison of his two vans.

Bad:
The interior of the new one is really bland and has a lot more hard, brittle plastic. Everything is hard plastic with mismatched textures and poorly-fitting seams. The new design is consistent with other new chrysler/dodge vehicles I've been in; it's not really my thing. I think it looks cheap, but that's just my opinion.

The climate control system is not as user-friendly. The older version had a simple knob with continuously variable adjustment between floor, vent, or defrost (e.g. you could have it set for 35% floor and 65% vent). With the new one it's pushbuttons only.

The outdoor temperature display that used to be on the ceiling above the rear view mirror is now in the instrument cluster where only the driver can see it.

According to the owner, a similarly priced option package now contains less (e.g. 16" wheels instead of 17", homelink garage door opener deleted, etc). I don't know if this is true or not.

There was a lot of other minor cheap corner-cutting (e.g. the sun visors used to extend and now they don't, there's no lighted passenger vanity mirror, the storage drawer under the passenger seat has been deleted, cupholders aren't adjustable, coin tray only fits coins 25c and less (and not $1 and $2 coins), etc.).

Good:
The rear seats fold into the floor so it's easy to make room for cargo if you need to - no more hauling out seats and finding somewhere to store them.

I find the new seats more comfortable - they're firmer.

Rear side windows roll down now (that only took 20 years...)

EDIT: I second the comments about the bad transmissions. Family members have owned 5 of these vans over the past decade. Without exception, they've all needed new transmissions at 60-80k miles.

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1989 250TD Wagon 5-speed, 160,000mi ::: Dark gray metallic / black cloth
1984 190D-2.2 5-speed, 287,000mi ::: Silver-blue metallic / black MB-tex ::: SOLD

I have no desire to own a Caravan, but I was impressed with the one we rented a few years ago. It carried several people and their stuff all over New England for a long weekend. I thought it was a great vehicle, for what it is.

I don't know anything about reliability, transmission issues, or any of that, but they seem like nice minivans.

Unfortunately I can't help you either with the new ones, I still have a '99 that I beat the hell out of delivering papers and inserts with (120K original trans. routinely maintained) on top of being the family bus at the time.

Stylewise I prefer the previous generation but the new one has some nice family-friendly features that the previous one did not. Since you're converting it many of those features probably aren't that important.

My experience as de facto fleet buyer for our company has confirmed the theory that you never want to buy the first year of a new design ('04 Colorado's are a no no!). Go with the '07.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Wouldn't the trans issue be moot since they now offer a life time drive train warranty?

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

Eh, not unless you also get a free loaner car. Who wants to have their car stuck in the shop?

I'm changing the fluid in my transmission every 15K miles. So far so good.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

According to insure.com, the 2008 Dodge Caravan is in the middle of the 20 most popular cars in the US to insure. Oddly enough, the lowest cost to insure was the Chrysler Town & Country, while the Dodge Ram pickup was the highest of the 20 cars.

The reason for the difference is that the loss history and severity of claims for the T&C is lower than Caravan and has nothing to do with the vehicle itself. The T&C is generally sold as an upscale SUV, driven fewer miles and involved in fewer claims compared to the Caravans.

Get the older one, because the lift installers will be used to working with that chassis.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

I had a 1990 and a 1993 mini-van. I had to put in 2 new trannys in each. My tranny shop said that he puts in more Chrysler and Tarus trannys than any others.

On the other hand the Mitsubishi 3.3 liter engine is absolutely bullet proof. Have 200k on each and never laid a wrench on either.

The Honda Odyssey gets the best ratings although it is a bit more pricey. Perhaps better to get a 2 year old Honda than a new Chrysler.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Its going to be the new one. The drive train in both the 2007 and 2008 are identical (same 3.3 V6, same 4 speed auto) so both transmissions offer the same risk. We discovered that the 2007is an ex daily rental vehicle, so I vetoed that. I'm happier with this choice, even if the interior trim materials are a little cheaper. I like him having the traction control, stability control, rear disc brakes standard (especially with the weight of the lift system in the back of the van) and the side airbags as well.

We'd love an Odyssey, but the increase in cost, both with the basic van and the conversion, is significant. He's on a fixed disability income, so the money makes a difference. We dont want to wind up financing anything. Even with the Dodge, the conversion is the same price as the van.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

I just saw this thread, and thought that I'd post a reply regarding wheelchair modified vans since I currently have one. Why are you buying the chassis first and then paying to have it modified? There are several manufacturers who do the conversion straight from the assembly line prior to selling new vans. Since a lot of these have been sold, there are a lot of used modified vehicles on the market currently. You'll pay more to have the modification done separately.

Do you have a special need that requires a lift on the van? I have a lowered floor ramp van that accommodates having a person in the wheelchair roll into it and remain seated in the chair while moving.

They just recently started modifying Odysseys and Siennas. You probably won't find a good deal on a used one of these. However, there's ample supply of Caravans and also Ford and GM minivans.

If you want to know more, I can try to answer your questions.

Joe

2008 BMW 535i
2006 Toyota Sienna Limited Rampvan

The commerical versions of them seem pretty good, and these are what are used by airport van and shuttle companies, ambulance services in Commerical livery.

http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/detail/Ford/Ford-E-150.htm

Priced reasonably, and totally restyled.

If it's not too late, I would at least check one out. It might work out well.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)