Vans....Yuck!

[DirtyWipers]

Anybody have any knowledge on vans. I will soon be buying a used one for the family. Any particular brands or years to look for or stay away from? Thanks in advance.

 

[kad]

A real van or a mini-van?

-K

 

[emjohn4]

We have a 2018 Pacifica. Nice vehicle. It's a van, hard to get excited over, but it rides nice, gets good gas mileage, and we picked it up 18 months old with 20k miles, for about $15k less than buying it new.

 

[DirtyWipers]

A real van or a mini-van?

-K

A mini van I guess but I don't know much about them

 

[DirtyWipers]

We have a 2018 Pacifica. Nice vehicle. It's a van, hard to get excited over, but it rides nice, gets good gas mileage, and we picked it up 18 months old with 20k miles, for about $15k less than buying it new.

View attachment 220257

Looks good. Is it the first van you have owned?

 

[crash68]

The Ford econoline vans are notorious for crappy front ends that usually need to be rebuilt, ball joints etc. If you do decide to go that route you'll want the 5.4l the rest can't get out of their own way.
Nothing stands out about the Chevy full size vans, their front ends aren't as bad as the Fords.
Truthfully the Ford Transit vans(not the Connect) vans have been taking a flogging quite nicely without many issues. They initially cam with really crappy tires (as in get stuck on wet grass) that also aided in puking the rear brakes fast due to excessive traction control usage. Even with the standard V6 they'll get you in and out of traffic, it will out run the Econoline w/4.8 easily.
Haven't heard anything good about the Ram vans, especially the smaller versions. They're all front wheel drive

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Chrysler Town and Country...

 

[DRkNESS]

I second that about the Chrysler especially now.


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[sandawilliams]

I am on my third town and country van and they have all been great. Power is fantastic in the mountains of Colorado and fuel mileage is between 25-28. I run them to about 150K and then go buy another one. One big thing for me is how easy entering and exiting they are. Seats are about butt high with no climbing in or out.

 

[HDGoose]

We found a Dodge Grand Caravan last year with 4500 miles on it. Suits us. She can load up 5-6 women for a trip and has plenty of space for stuff. Just no concrete statues! (I.E.- not many heavy objects)

Her Mustang with the seats and sport suspension was not comfortable for trips. And limited space.

 

[PolarisCobra]

I had several mini vans over the years. 87 Caravan, 94 Astro, 98 Caravan. They really are flexible. You can take out the seats, and fit a remarkable amount of stuff in them. Easy to get in and out. They won't drive like a Porche, but that is not what you buy them for. I think you will find them to be reliable, comfortable, and convenient. It's funny that so many people moved from vans as family haulers to SUVs. The vans really are better suited as family haulers. The sliding doors are great with kids. Easy to get them in and out, and better for the car next to you in the parking lot...

 

[PoMansRam]

You won't think they're yuck once you own one. They're powerful, comfortable, ride nice, drive nice and you can do so much with them.

With four kids, we owned various FWD minivans over a 17yr period. First was our 2001 Ford Windstar, then a 2007 Honda Odyssey, 2013 Dodge grand caravan and the last was a 2016 Nissan Quest. They were all awesome in their own ways. My favorite of the bunch was the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. You can't beat the Pentastar V6 and 62TE, 6spd transmission combo.

They're big and heavy, so they tend to chew up the front tires fast. Brakes don't last long in them either. You'll also need a set of snow tires if you live in winter climates. They're not great in the snow with typical all-seasons.

I traded off our 2016 Nissan Quest for our 2019 Nissan Pathfinder last year. The PF is nice, big, has 3-rows of seating and 4x4, but if you've got 6-7 people in it, you've got no storage capacity like you will still have in a minivan.

 

[emjohn4]

Looks good. Is it the first van you have owned?

Grew up in mini-vans, never thought I'd own one until December 2019 when the wife said....she'd really like to get rid of her Q5 and get a mini-van. Well, nearly 30 years after my parents bought their first mini-van, here we are.

www.pacificaforums.com if you're interested - as one would imagine, there is not much of a community around mini-vans.

Parents had a 1991 Voyager, and then a 2003 Town & Country. Both good vehicles, the 1991 had the 3.3, and the 2003 had the 3.8. No experience with other than Mopar / Chrysler mini-vans.