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#1
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Minivan - owner maintenance
I'm beginning to look into buying a minivan and would like to solicit
your opinions on "owner maintenance" friendly models. I am planning to buy a used vehicle and attend a local repair course at one of the technical schools so that I can do general maintenance on the vehicle and have a better understanding of the mechanics. I'd like to balance reliability, convenience, affordability and insurance with the basic skills to perform routine maintenance myself, as I search for a reliable mechanic (relocated and am looking). Are there any vehicle models within the past 5-7 years that I should look for (or to avoid)? Are there any particular vehicles that are more owner-friendly than others (i.e., the spark plugs are all easily accessible, the fluids are within reach without special tools, etc.)? Thank you for your advice, Dave |
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#2
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> wrote in message oups.com... > Are there any vehicle models within the past 5-7 years that I should > look for (or to avoid)? > > Are there any particular vehicles that are more owner-friendly than > others (i.e., the spark plugs are all easily accessible, the fluids are > within reach without special tools, etc.)? I would avoid Chrysler and Ford minivans in general. Some Fords had both transmission and engine problems. Chrysler, at least, had some with doggy transmissions. You should research it a bit to find out which models are involved. |
#3
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I have had good luck with Chrysler minivans. My transmission lasted
90K miles, and then the dealer charged me only $300 to overhaul it with all the latest retrofits. Chrysler engines will run forever, if given reasonable maintenance. |
#4
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The April edition of Consumer Reports includes an annual survey of vehicle maintnenace. Also there is an annual Canadian publication called "Lemon Aid" which covers problems with used cars, vans, and light trucks, and lists recommended makes and models. The CAA (AAA in the US) used to put out an annual reliability survey. The public library where I live has a complete set of back issues of various car surveys in the reference section. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
#5
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> wrote in message oups.com... > I have had good luck with Chrysler minivans. My transmission lasted > 90K miles, and then the dealer charged me only $300 to overhaul it with > all the latest retrofits. Chrysler engines will run forever, if given > reasonable maintenance. I agree, Chrysler has made some durable engines over the years. Your luck with the minivan was better than some people attained. There were many complaints of early transmission failure. My daughter decided to buy one of these and I warned her that this might happen. In fact, it did, but I guess it was under warranty because Chrysler apparently took care of it. $300 is pretty cheap for an overhaul. Suspiciously cheap. Do you suppose Chrysler subsidized the work, or was there some other dynamic in play? |
#6
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> wrote:
> > > wrote in message > oups.com... > > I have had good luck with Chrysler minivans. My transmission lasted > > 90K miles, and then the dealer charged me only $300 to overhaul it > > with all the latest retrofits. Chrysler engines will run forever, > > if given reasonable maintenance. > > I agree, Chrysler has made some durable engines over the years. Your > luck with the minivan was better than some people attained. There > were many complaints of early transmission failure. My daughter > decided to buy one of these > and I warned her that this might happen. In fact, it did, Wasn't it the A604 transaxle that was dodgy? (pun not intended) |
#7
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You may want to check the reliability records of the automatic
transmissions used in the Chrysler and Honda minivans because Consumer Reports says that they weren't very good a few years ago, and the same design is used now. The Chrysler 4-speed automatic has been troublesome from the beginning. |
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#9
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"Hugo Schmeisser" > wrote in message ... > > wrote: > > Wasn't it the A604 transaxle that was dodgy? (pun not intended) Both the A604 and the A606 have been problematic. Dealer charges for out of warranty overhauls may run in the nature of $1500-2000, and the $300 figure quoted earlier looked very strange. |
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