Piston Slap: Come and Dance With…who???
Chris writes:
Dear Sajeev,
Love the website and love your reading your column. My question is I am looking to get a minivan within the next 6 months to a year. I am only looking to spend around 8 grand on one. I am leaning heavily towards Chrysler’s vans, and found some really great deals on older ones with low miles. But then I read your article about how it’s not always good to go with older, low mile automobiles. So would I be better to get say, a 2002 model Town and Country, with a little over 100 hundred thousand miles? Or should I not even bother with Chrysler at all? I was leaning towards a Windstar as well, but then there’s that whole rear axle breaking thing, and I quite enjoy living. In your personal opinion what is the best minivan for my budget.
Sajeev Answers:
I’m gonna try something different: give reasonably decent advice in the beginning, then let out my crazy. Because there’s more variety to your minivan choices than what you see: multiple opportunities to dance before dating in the Homecoming Dance of Minivan Life, as it were. So let’s do this thing.
That said, buying a used minivan is a tough nut to crack. Usually a higher mile vehicle with ample service records is the way to go, but perhaps their Achilles’ heel (transaxles not worthy of such a large machine) will fail much sooner on a high mile rig versus a low mile creampuff. After all, new tires/belts/hoses/brakes on a 30,000 mile rig is much more palatable than a new gearbox after 110,000 miles. Speaking purely in generalities, ‘natch.
Chrysler’s hit or miss quality control with transmissions is almost legendary. Rebuilt units are just as troublesome, depending on the Pentastar-savviness of the shop involved. Windstars were recalled for rusty axles, and perhaps the replacements should also be coated in 90-weight gear oil to keep the problem from resurfacing, so to speak.
That said, 90-weight oil does smell like a gigantic ass, so perhaps not. But this isn’t the point.
Look at what’s in your budget, I suspect the recall free (fuel system aside) Ford Freestar is up your alley…they definitely trade under your budget in the auctions, so why not find a desperate seller ready to take a low ball bid? And with the “big block” 4.2L motor, they are rather quick too. I kinda like them, in a bizarre CUV-hating kinda way. Then again, you might find plenty of clean Chrysler vans with ample service paperwork and a clean transmission dipstick. How am I to know what you will find first?
Even though the last gen GM minivans are uglier than sin, they are also a worthy choice. Especially the Buick of Minivans, the Terraza. And maybe you’ll get a sweetheart deal on a Toyota/Honda minivan from a friend who could care less about their price premium on the market. So what’s my advice?
Let the service history, transmission fluid condition, and status of normal wear items (interior, brakes, paint, power-operated gizmos, tires, etc) be your guide. Or be nuts like me, and hold out until you find a fully loaded Mercury Monterey and tune the hell outta that big block 4.2L for maximum minivan hotrod goodness.
Mercury lives: come and dance with me!
Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com . Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.
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I bought my wife a '99 Plymouth Grand Voyager because it was a screaming deal, had the torquey and fun 3.8, and was basically exactly what we wanted for the amount of cash we had to spend 4 years ago. And I can't wait to get rid of the hunk of crap. In that time it's gone from 90k to 160k miles, and we've replaced the following: Water pump Transmission Alternator Serpentine belt Brakes x2 Starter x2 exhaust manifold gasket ..and I'm sure other things. Now, in December, in Nebraska, the heater doesn't appear to be working. Which is, you know, COMPLETELY awesome when you have kids. My guess is another water pump, a repair that would push me over the edge because I'm not going through the hell of doing that again. It hasn't been the most unreliable vehicle I've ever owned, but man is it up there. It's probably #2. Maybe even #1.5. Thanks for the tip on the Freestar. We've been considering Suburbans and Expeditions, but I don't like the fuel mileage (granted, not much worse than the 3.8..) and don't like the added potential expense of the 4x4 drivetrain. I didn't want a Honda or Toyota because I don't think it's justified. The Freestar seems to fit all bills. And a local dealer has a 2006 Limited for $9k with 65k miles on it. Damnit.
One more vote. I would give the Chrysler a try. Caveat: look for an elderly owner who has been good on maintenance and can prove it. Also, the fewer power options the better. I had a 99 Town & Country LX. 3.3 V6 and NO power doors. The transmission died at about 207K. Everything I have read about these trannies (going back to the late 90s) is that if you change the fluid regularly, they will last a long time. Unlike with the Hondas of the early 00s. The Sedona might be worth a look. I just bought a 2012. This version goes back to 2006, and I understand that the first year or two were more troublesome. I have been advised by my mechanic that there is a tendency for these to be bought by people who keep them through the end of the 100K warranty and do as little with them as possible, so that there is a lot of catch-up work to do. Avoid one of these. It is my understanding that Windstars, Freestars and Montereys are cheap for a reason. And even though the Odysseys are expensive, there are a lot of unhappy Gen2 (99-04) and Gen3 owners out there. I owned and loved a Gen1 Ody, but they are getting quite old and it is hard to find a good one. If you can find a really pampered version owned by the retired people with a neatly manicured lawn, it may be worth it. Slow as molassas, but a really, really good car.