Snow,


I have a 99 with the 3.3 liter motor. All in all for what it is, this
Caravan is a good value for the money. Sure there are some issues with these
vehicles. I will only list what I've experienced with mine (excluding normal
stuff like brakes wearing out, rotors, wipers, etc):

Brake issue at 32,000 miles; rear wheel cylinders leaking brake fluid
ruining the "like new" rear shoes

Battery failed at 50,000 miles (very good life for OEM battery)

Transmission input sensor failed at 62,000 miles

Serpentine belt fell off at 83,000 miles (no warning, or squeaks before
failure). Eventually had to replace belt, tensioner, and water pump. I used
aftermarket tensioner from Riley's. The AutoZone and OEM are junk. The one I
used has a spring with large round wire instead of a flat ribbon spring.
This is a MUST PAY ATTENTION TO IT ISSUE. If you ignore this, the belt may
pop off pretty much anytime it gets wet. Having good pulley alignment is
essential, and all new parts don't guarantee it. For such a big issue,
mother mopar forgot to include this in the PM guide. When the belt pops off,
you lose power steering immediately, and then over heat in about 5 minutes
if you don't shut down. It happened to me when taking my wife to the ER
during a medical emergency. Not good.

You will get help from this group with issues if you are a do it your self
repairman, or maybe if you want to be more informed so that you can ask
intelligent questions from whoever your mechanic might be.

One caution though, there are those here who take it very personal when you
vent about some aspect about a Dodge. The response you get just might make a
sailor blush.

Good Luck with that Dodge,
Jim





"snow" > wrote in message
news:Wb7Ce.620$Im3.95@trndny07...
>A local private seller has a 1999 Dodge Caravan SE for sale. Anyone have
>good luck with this model year? This model has the V6 engine. I know there
>have been tranny issues on some of these vans. It never happened with my
>1992 which has 151,000 on original tranny. But maybe the 1999's have
>issues. Any opinions appreciated. The 1999 has 90k on it, but I am not
>worried if it has been maintanined well. I bought my 1992 at 88k seven
>years ago. It had been taken care of by previous owner.
>