I am in need of a new vehicle and I found someone selling a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that they claim is in excellent condition. They’re selling it for just a hair under KBB so there isn’t anything unusual about the price… my main thing is I know nothing about this vehicle. Consumer Reports doesn’t have a rating for it, and I don’t really know where else to look.
Anyone know anything about the reliability of a Voyager? Aside from the possibility of getting lost in the Delta Quadrant, that is?
Here’s some info. Hope it helps.
Chrysler vehicles in general had transmission problems – the 4-speed automatics. On the other hand, if the transmission hasn’t gone out by now (or been repaired) it’s probably going to have a normal life.
However, I was talking to my friendly neighborhood mechanic just Friday about looking for a new car, and he pointed to a Caravan/Voyager in the lot and said “Stay away from them. We make a lot of money off them.”
The older 80’s models of the Voyager had really sucky transmissions. I don’t know if they’ve corrected the problem, but it’s the first thing I’d have a mechanic check out. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Stuffy
Have a trusted mechanic check it out. Chrysler built minivans tend to suddenly die with no warning after years of use, I’ve heard.
Fair warning: I am biased heavily against Chrysler minivans, having owned a '96 Dodge Caravan that was the single biggest piece of crap vehicle I have ever owned. For me, the only thing that didn’t break was the transmission. But I kept waiting for it.
Everytime I took the thing to my friendly local mechanic, he would say something like “Oh, yeah – the AC. I see a lot of those break on the Chrysler vans.” “The electrical acting up? Yeah I’ve been replacing a lot of those body control modules lately on the Chryslers.”
I’ll never buy another one of those things again.
FWIW, I bought a '98 Dodge Caravan last year. It had 95,000 miles then, and I’ve put about 9000 miles on it so far, almost all city driving. Pre-purchase inspection by an independent mechanic revealed a few minor problems, about $200 worth (leaking mumble gasket and bad clock spring). Since purchase I’ve only had a couple of small problems - a faulty oil pressure sensor that triggered a low oil warning light, and a bad thermostat that kept the engine temperature low. Both were cheap repairs (<$50 each, IIRC).
I used to have a caravan. The two biggest problems I am aware of on chrysler mini-vans is (1) the transmission was a piece of crap and (2) there was a design flaw in the engine (something with the valves I think) and all older engines ended up burning oil once they had over 70,000 miles or so on them. Both of these problems were fixed by the mid 90’s. A 97 should be ok.
We borrowed one for 4 months, and just gave it abck a few weeks ago. They are nice and roomy, but the seats can be uncomfortable and it sucks the ags like you wouldn’t believe.
Had an 86’ Voyager (bought when new). 4 cyl was vastly underpowered in city driving. Was ok on the highway, but taking off with the AC on meant making sure there was no close on-coming traffic duwe to the sluggish acceleration. Engine had some faults. Camshaft needed replacing early on. Never recall any transmission problems.
This one gets 20mpg city, 25 highway. This beats the hell out of the 12mpg that my current full-size conversion van gets.
Ignore the Kelly book and the NADA guide except for a general guide. The figures in those books only tell you what the banks will loan you on a given vehicle. Market value (what the thing will fetch on the street) is usually completely different. Make an offer on it, and if the seller tries to point you to the blue book price, tell him you’re not trying to get a loan from the bank, you’re trying to buy the van for what it’s worth in today’s market.
Mine gets about 19mpg city, by the way. Good enough for me.
I like the driver’s seat just fine. It’s a lot more roomy than many other vans and minivans I test-rode. (The Chevy Astro was particularly bad, IIRC.) Haven’t sat in the back seats - they’ve been in storage since the day I bought it.
Is the Caravan the same thing as the Voyager?
I think it’s the same car that we have in Europe as the Chrysler Voyager. This version seemed to be very far behind the pack in terms of safety. This link gives a comparative rating (although I appreciate that the best performing cars in this survey are not available in the USA for the most part). This comparatively poor safety performance does not appear so striking in Its US NCAP ratings, but the EuroNCAP rating is very critical of its unstable structure in frontal impacts. “The Voyager did so badly in the frontal impact that it earned no points, making it the worst of the group by some margin. The body structure became unstable and the steering column was driven back into the driver’s chest and head. The Voyager acquitted itself better in the side-impact test, but there was still a fair risk of the driver injuring his abdomen.”
If you worry about safety at all I’d think twice about this one. (I think it’s the same structure, but I can not be certain of this).
Yep. The Voyager=Caravan=Town & Country.
Other than trim levels and some minor cosmetic differences (grilles, headlights, etc), they are all the same.
We’re still driving our '94 Caravan that we bought used in '97. We had to replace the transmission and do some maintenance on it, but it’s still going.
When we were considering buying a new van a year ago, we shopped around and found that, where price were concerned, Dodge vans were the lowest, followed close behind with Fords and Chevys. All dealers were very willing to cut a deal, unlike the sales people at Honda (considered to make the best vans).
If we were to buy today, we would not buy anything from Dodge/Chrysler. Ford and Chevy are comparable in price and probably better in quality. If we could afford a Honda Odyssey, we’d buy it.
So I would suggest a) check the ads to see what comparable Voyager vans are going for; b) testdrive the model, paying particular attention to the transmission (e.g., listen for unappealing noises, see how long it takes after putting it in gear for the engine to respond, sniff the transmission fluid – it should smell sweet and not burned); c) consider offering a low-ball price and see if he’ll bite.
And if you do get it, start setting aside a couple thou to replace the transmission. They’re notorious for it.
Test that before you buy, is my advice. The one we borrowed got maybe 15.
We have a ‘98 Voyager and just love it. No trouble with the transmission; developed a short in the back window wiper last year so we just unplugged that fuse. The only real problem was a faulty ignition lock. LOCK not the ignition. The LOCK one day simply refused to turn or release the key. We had to have a locksmith remove the lock assembly so we could get home and then had a new lock assembly installed by the dealer. For $350. Frickin’ lock.
From Kelley Blue Book, retail value quote:
And from any Kelley Blue Book quote (private or retail):
Basically, Kelley is not getting behind any numbers they give out. It’s not a credible resource, not for BUYERS anyway.
NADA:
NADA is what the vehicles are actually moving for. Buying from a private party you might be able to get a still better deal, but you’ll also get no recourse that I’m aware of should the car fail on the way home.
As for the 97 Voyager? I’ve heard from a few disatisfied customers regarding the transmission, electrical & engine. But then again, I’ve heard nothing GOOD because well, it’s a minivan. Who brags about their minivan? They’ll bitch when something goes wrong, but if all is groovy they just throw the kids & soccer balls & groceries in there and transport them. The fact that they’re still able to sell them must mean that they are at least acceptably reliable, else nobody’d buy them.