1998 Dodge Grand Caravan

Pros: Dual sliding doors, bucket seats, automatic locks, long lasting
Cons: No entertainment system ie. dvd or cd player

1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. The van is now almost 9 years old and runs in great condition. We did buy it used with a new transmission at 133,000 miles. It now has 156,000 miles and is still going. With 3 kids this is a great vehicle for getting in and out of. When we purchase our next van we will be sure to buy a Dodge Caravan again.

Pros: Capacity, handling. It really is a good looking and good driving car.
Cons: THREE TRANSMISSIONS IN 3.5 YEARS......SO FAR!

My husband and I bought our 1998 Caravan used (Sept. 2003)with 61,000 miles on it because we have 3 children and needed the space. When the odometer hit around 83,000 the transmission literally blew up. The mechanic said it looked like someone had set a bomb off inside it. It was not really something we could afford to pay, but pay we did. In June of 2005, the transmission went again. The mechanic told us that these types of problems are rampant with the Caravan engines and followup research via the internet by myself confirmed it. Literally hundreds of complaints about the 1998 in particular, but also later year models as well. As far as I know they are still using the same type transmission. Dodge/Chrysler has refused thus far to submit a recall.

When it is time to buy another vehicle, it WILL NOT be a Caravan!

Pros: Lots of room with good power and nice interior features.
Cons: Engine died at 89,000 miles. Transmission work should be expected.

This was a great driver that is much more comfortable than our new Honda minivan. The dual, unpowered, doors were easy to use and provide easy access. The removal of the vent windows on the doors was a bad design decision. The car ate a couple batteries also.

We owned the car for 89,000 miles, right up until the engine needed to be replaced. The car had already had major transmission work done on it and none of the local garages wanted to work on it. They all said we'd be better off buying something else than we would be fixing this van.

This is a great car with lots of room. This car is cheaper than all its competitors and has better features for the money. You trade that off against lower resale values in the out years

Pros: It's big and fits the whole family.
Cons: We have made our mechanic a rich man.

In terms of utility and choices in 1998, I still suppose that this was a good buy. But we had just finished with a Honda that never broke and got a Dodge that constantly breaks. The transmission went at 100 k. The electronics have gremlins. The 1000 cup holders broke almost immediately. The spare tire thing that attaches it to the car is jammed. The engine leaks. The transmission does not go comfortably into gear - you can place it into gear according to the dash board but you are not in fact in gear. On and on. We are now looking for a new car and are of course looking at the Honda Minivan.

Pros: Great features and long wheelbase gives excellent ride.
Cons: Transmissions give trouble and some engine parts hard to work on for lack of space.

I bought a Grand Caravan that was a lease buyback in 2001. At the time it had 104000km. Apart from break problems and an emergency brake foot pedal assembly I had no serious trouble up to 200000Km. Then the transmission went out! That is a problem with these vans but then again it had 200k on it! What can you expect?After spending the $2,500 CDN dollars (about $1875 USD) for the repair I feel the vehicle still has lots of life left in it...thanks to Chrysler's excellent engineering.The van is very quiet and smooth both on the highway and in town. Lots of room and great features. No doubt I will buy another of these next year.

Pros: Looks good! Very comfortable. Was *very* reliable until 125K. Original paint still looked good.
Cons: Somewhat noisy. More frequent repairs as it ages. Trans rebuild at 170K.

We bought this van (Grand Caravan 3.3) new in 1998; it's now 9 yrs old and has 180K miles. In the last 30,000 miles it needed a variety of more expensive repairs including a rebuilt transmission at 169K, but that's to be expected. We were *not* diligent with routine maintenance and it still keeps going. It now needs a new radiator and water pump, but we've had no engine trouble. One power window doesn't work nor the heater core, but due to its age and where we live, we're ignoring those repairs. It drives well, it's comfortable, it's roomy, it gets 21-22 mpg around town, 24 mpg highway and I hope to still be driving it at 200K miles.

** Less than a year after the initial review, we had to replace the radiator. In Feb. 2009, oil and coolant mixed. We ordered "Thermagasket"; took us several hours but it fixed the problem. We drove another 500 miles but decided to trade it in for a newer van in late February. At that time it was 3 months shy of 11 years old, had 210,800 miles and was still driving great.

Pros: great for travel, and lots of space, great steering and Maneuverability
Cons: there are no cons about my van I love it

I've owned a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan since 2001 and I have had no problems with it it's been there for me ever since. no engine, transmission, or rear end trouble at all it's been awesome I love it, a few minor electrical problems but nothing big just some defective switch's, other than that, it's awesome. A boss of mine had a 2000 Grand Caravan, tried to sell it to me it was nice he had some brake and transmission problems but then again he drives and hauls a lot of gear so that's his problem, told me I'll end up replacing my transmission, I have over 130,000 miles and still running strong.