Opinions invited
 

Hi all
Just a few words from a newcomer. I`ve owned a 1999 2.5Td for 10 years. Bought second hand , with 59 000 showing on the clock ( I`m sure it was wound back several thousand miles) but now with 136 000 showing ( I reckon 200000 in reality) the inevitabe has happened, the head gasket has blown.Having got numerous hilarious quotes for repair , anything upto £1500, I did some ground work. The cheapest option was to try a quick fix ,so I tried some stuff called "Steel Seal" which claims to be able to fix blown head gaskets , cracked blocks & heads. Initialy this seemed to work but after a couple of hundred miles ,I was back to square one. So with the thought of a £1500 repair bill I did some more digging and found a company locally that is the main distibuter for VM Motorl . And guess what , A long block engine for my trusty voyager £1900 !!!!! ( Chrysler main stealer had quoted me £6000 for a replacement engine inc` fitting) So all things considered , spending £1500 on a new gasket for a 200000 miler or £1900 on a new lump, it was a no brainer. So whilst i`m at it a new water pump too , from the same company £150 :o) . Now I know the VM engine is a boat engine and yes it`s very low tech`only 8 valves! But , and here`s the thing my last one has done at least 200 000 trouble free miles . Gear driven cams ( no pesky belts to snap and lunch the head !) and 40 plus to the gallon even at 199 999 miles. Oh and no catalytic converter to fail an MOT on. I had considered a newer model but all i`ve read about the later ones filled me with dread, everything from nasty autoboxes through to annoying electrical faults. Call me old fashioned if you like , but low tech` rocks & I wholly expect to have this car for another 10 years ! You see if I don`t :o) Also by that time the current model , (yes you know the one , it looks like an icecream van) , will be long gone from the secondhand market. How can they have got it right for so long and then turned out a delivery truck ?????????? I only hope that Chysler are still around and are making nice looking , reliable , spacious MPVs in 2021.

The Chrysler 41TE automatic transmission fitted to Voyagers between 2001 - 2007 is one of the finest auto boxes ever made. Its reliable, drives very nicely and has been developed for many years, so it has no real weakness. It is known that the the manual transmission in the 2001 - 2007 generation is a dog, so much so that Chrysler didn't bother with a manual in their latest Voyager. You'll find lots of posts on the forum from people having trouble with their manual transmission.....usually poor gear changing.

Although I do agree that the gear driven cams on the early diesels were brilliant, as I myself hate cam belts.

As for the new shape voyager....I think it looks like a transit van. The previous generation looks alot better. I also think it's a mistake to put the gear selector on the floor. I Like the column shift on the previous generation as is frees up space on the centre console.

Not my favorite but not offensive
 

To me it looks like a big PT Cruiser.

That being said it doesn't offend me. My favorite exterior on a mini-van is the 2011 Honda Odyssey. If they had keyless ignition, stow-n-go seats and a heated steering wheel I'd be buying them. But they don't so I'm looking at the Town and Country. Getting lots of resistance from my husband who doesn't want to own an unreliable car. I don't either but I love the Town and Country feature set. What to do...

:D:D:D

Unreliable is the luck of the draw....It can happen to anything, in any price range, of any make and model, On any day of the week.....

Everyone laughed at The EDSEL...I personally know 3 folks who still have one, and All 3 run like brand new cars....

The ford Taurus...Motor trends NEW CAR OF THE YEAR for 1986......By 45,000 miles , It was falling apart...

There is no rhyme or reason, and there is no formula to figure out an investment like a Motor Vehicle...Cars Dont go to lunch with each other, and discuss their health, So ..Just because JOE down the street had a bad experience,with his car , Does not mean you will.....By the same token, If Joe is extremely happy with his choice, There is no guarantee that you will not Hate it 6 months down the road.....There are always "QUIRKS" that are common to a Particular model of a particular year, But that is not etched in stone, and its not bulletproof. As a Tech, if I made all my diagnosis based on "WHAT I DID TO THE LAST ONE THAT THIS HAPPENED TO" Id be out of work long Ago....

New Voyager
 

At first I thought the New shape voyager was a Ford van on steriods, however it has grown on me and I would buy one when to replace my current car when it dies

Ha ha , you are absolutley right there are always , what we call, "friday night jobs" with every make and model. But by the same token, if somebody has a bad experience with a particular make , then the likelyhood of going back for "potentially" more of the same after being burned is reduced somewhat. If the manufacturer accepts that there is a common fault with a particular model then its in their own interests to remedy the problem or suffer the consiquences of fewer future sales. In England we used to have a company called Rover , as patriotic as I am , it has to be said that they were terrible. The only good thing about them was the engines ( American V8`s ) otherwise they were a bag of bolts........ They don`t exist any more ( not as rover anyway) which is in no small part due to too many people having too much trouble and choosing another make. Japanese & German.

I have to say that I love the look of all the voyager/ Town & country models (except the new one) They are truly brilliantly thought out & too useful to be without. My thoughts are that the more complicated cars get , the more there is to go wrong. I long for the days when you could service your car and replace a head gasket with nothing more than a screwdriver , a hammer and an adjustable spanner on a saturday afternoon without having to re-mortgauge!!!

Tis our problem...
 

This is exactly our problem. I've owned 3 cars in my adult life. The first was a 1987 Nissan Maxima bought used in 1989. Never a problem with the car. Only got rid of it because I was concerned that with the high mileage it may develop problems.

The second was a 1996 Nissan Maxima bought new. No problems with it. Only got rid of it as I bought a home and wanted more hauling room.

The third was a 1999 Lexus RX300 bought new. It is still my car today.

All three were built in Japan and have been very high quality and I have never had a break down. I read about all the problems with the vehicles through the 2000s and have hesitated to give up my old reliable, still like new on the inside, Lexus. The build quality on this car was just wonderfully high. All the electronics still work and always have. No repairs or issues with anything electronic.

So that brings us to today. I want to get a mini-van because I like the lower floor load height for my dogs to get in and out. The Toyota's and Honda's of the world are no longer what they used to be quality wise and haven't been for years. You only have to read the forums to see all the issues.

The Nissan Quest is built in Japan and I test drove one. It isn't really a mini-van, it is a station wagon with sliding doors. It won't give me the low floor height I want. In addition the ride was harsh and noisy.

I felt the ride on the Kia was not as nice as the T&C. Overall the Kia wasn't a luxury vehicle but is probably a nice budget option. I didn't like the feature set on the Honda, no keyless ignition, heated steering wheel and it shifts roughly. In addition there was a noticeable quality issue with most of the windshield on the Hondas I looked at. I couldn't help wondering if something as glaring as a windshield that couldn't be looked through with out it appearing to be funhouse glass got by the Honda quality assurance department, what was lurking under the surface. I didn't like the rollie ride on the Sienna, the interior, the tracts left in the floor when you remove the seats, the dash layout, the dash materials or the interior look.

On the 2011 Town and Country I loved everything but the lack of AWD. I loved the ride, the handling on curvy roads, the acceleration and the smooth shifting of the transmission. The seats were comfortable, the ergonomics on the dash were excellent, the feature set available is appealing and the stow-n-go seats are exactly what I need for my dogs. The fit and finish inside were excellent and I saw nothing in the three models I've test driven to indicate there are any quality problems (unlike both my Honda and Toyota test drives).

The question then becomes, do I go with my gut and get the Chrysler mini-van? Or do I wait a year or two to see if they built a reasonably reliable car? My Lexus is really in excellent shape and drives like new even though it is 12 years old.

If I do get the mini-van (I'm leaning toward getting it), do I keep my AWD Lexus for snowy days? Lots of posts from folks on all mini-van forums indicating problems with FWD in the snow and ice. Do I trade it in and hope for the best with FWD (and probably not drive it on snowy days since FWD vehicles can't get up our driveway)? Do I keep it as a back-up vehicle just in case the Town and Country spends most of its life in the shop?

So much to consider.... My husband refuses to give up his Corvette for my AWD Lexus so we may be stuck becoming a 4 vehicle family (we also have a Class A RV). Honestly this seems to be too many vehicles for a two person, two dog family. I guess one option is to get rid of the RV and get a trailer that can be pulled by the mini-van.