I use the KBB as a ball-park figure to make sure the price the guy (private seller) is asking is within the realm of the reasonable. I don’t think that KBB is without value in that regard… for example if someone is trying to sell something for $6,000 and the KBB lists it as $1,500, then clearly the person is asking too much. If the numbers are reversed, then probably something is horribly wrong with the vehicle. To me, that is valuable information. Nobody is saying that the KBB number should be held to as the absolute value of the car no matter what.
This person is selling the van for a price very much in line with what KBB says it’s worth, which just says to me that they’re not trying to obviously rip me off.
It has 136,000 miles on it, btw… so if it’s lasted that many miles, does that mean that it probably doesn’t have whatever the flaw is that makes them konk out at 70,000?
Assuming the interior & exterior are presentable I wouldn’t bat an eye at $3,000 - $4,000, or another $1,000 if it’s the SE edition. Kelley is about $1,200 higher than NADA on this car.
With that kind of mileage you want a new timing belt or it could be curtains for your engine sometime between now and 25k miles without warning. Belt is $50, labor is probably like $400 - $700. Also probably 1 or 2 Oxygen sensors ($80 part) & spark plugs/wires. I can’t comment objectively on an automatic transmision, but I’d feel better if I saw some tranny maintenance receipts at regular intervals. From experience, don’t messa round with the timing belt/chain–it needs to be done.
We’ve got a 97 Caravan (basically same as Voyager); the non-Grand version (didn’t see any point in spending an extra thousand for 14 extra inches of cargo space). The AC is crap - we replaced the evaporator within 4 years, and the condensor went bad within a year or two after that. A lot of Chrysler cars of that vintage had that problem; Chrysler did a “hidden warranty” on everything but the Caravan. Long story short, we’ve spent nearly 3K getting the A/C working.
IIRC, the shorter version did not have the typical transmission problems that you saw in slightly older ones, or in the “grand” versions of the same vintage. We haven’t had any transmission problems anyway, and we have over 100K miles on it.
We prolly spend about 1800 a year on assorted maintenance. Not cheap but certainly cheaper than a new car. I won’t buy another Chrysler because of the A/C mess, but aside from that it really hasn’t been a bad car.
If you do pursue the one you mention, obviously have it looked over by an independent mechanic before purchasing.
We have a '98 Grand Voyager, and we’ve been having electrical problems with it. It just died again this evening. It’s a good vehicle when working, but definitely has had some reliability problems.
Consurmer Reports(2004) hates the 1997 Voyager. They say avoid it.
I got a '98 Dodge Grand Caravan ES ready for sale. Quad seating. Roof rack, blah blah blah. Decent mpg on highway (about 25-27 mpg or so, when I drive).
Like new. We always liked it any time we took a trip. Rode nice and roomy enough to handle our stuff.
Oh, why am I selling? All BS aside… even though we have had the starter replaced, it sometimes just won’t start for 8-10 hours. Lights etc show battery good. It just refuses to start. Wait several hours and it starts right up. There’s that and we don’t need a van for just 2 people.
BTW, this isn’t really a sales ad. Or else I’d say for sure where I lived and how to contact me and such.
I can’t speak from my own experience, but my parents – who own a taxicab company – and their colleagues flatly refuse to pour good money after bad into Chrysler/Plymouth minivans. Naturally, the average cabbie puts a lot more miles and wear on a vehicle than a private user might, so YMMV (literally.) As others have mentioned, the consensus holds that neither the transmissions nor the electrical systems hold up well.
Magic 8 Ball says NO! Personal experience says NO!