1998 Dodge Caravan Resale Value Great if You Take Care of It

Update - well, we sold our Caravan in June 2009 for $3,800 with 138,000 miles on it.  It never needed a single major repair, and we cared for it inside and out - this resale value seems pretty good, especially when we noticed prices down to $1,200 for the less well kept ones, and given the miles we had on it.  We never had any engine, transmission or other major component give us any trouble for the entire 10+ years of ownership.

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Our 1998 now has 55,000 miles of nearly flawless performance, a great smooth ride, plenty of room and comfort - a van that everyone who gets in comments on the comfort and great looks. If you are considering a used Plymouth or Dodge mini-van, pay a little more and get a 1998 or later model year. Chrysler put their redesigned mini vans on the market in 1996; 1996-1997 were examples of the rule, never buy the first year or two of a new model car. By 1998, the problems that we experienced with our 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager were all fixed.

We looked over the recent new models Chrysler has put out (I believe beginning in 2001) and they are pretty much the same vans mechanically with some styling and interior convenience improvements (easier to remove seats, improved command center, etc.). So, a good used 1998-2000 should serve you well).

We had to bring our 1996 in 25 times to repair about 12 different defects over two years of ownership; see my review of 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager for details. In contrast, the 1998 we bought to replace it (changed to Dodge and to a regular length model) has had only a few quickly fixed problems - all but one was low cost.

This is a quiet, smooth riding van. The only "noise" problem I feel exists is the moderate quality of the stereo system. We purchased the best CD/Cassette radio offered, with "premium sound." However, it's flat sound, and not all that powerful. Especially the speakers in the front which since the day we have owned the van have "buzzed" on certain notes. I've asked for this to be fixed, but the dealer's service guys just don't hear it; nor does my wife for that matter!

Another note about noise - we have the 3.3 L engine, a very quiet running power plant which is even quieter if you use synthetic motor oil. Since the second oil change, we've used Mobil 1 5W30 fully synthetic - a great investment to keep an engine running smooth and very, very quiet. The only maintenance we've had to do over these miles besides 3000 mile oil and filter changes has been: 1 set of front disc brakes at 51,000, automatic transmission fluid and filter change at 51,000, 1 fuel filter, and 1 air cleaner. Still on the original tires but nearing replacement.

You should know that I don't believe in those high-cost "scheduled" maintenance visits to clean fuel injectors, etc.; and I have proven this by using new vehicles regularly to 150,000-200,000 miles never buying any of these service visits and never cleaning the fuel systems and never having a problem. Oil and fluid changes and filter changes (including fuel) are critical to perform regularly, otherwise, if it isn't broken, don't fix it, especially at $200-$400 per visit for "maintenance." Remember, the service manager you speak to at the dealer is making a large commission on your purchase; they earn as much as $80,000 a year selling this stuff.

Here is a list of anything that has happened, from most to least expensive (all under warranty, but I'll give the miles because we have a 75,000 bumper to bumper Chrysler warranty):

1. Computer. I can't say which computer, but the air bag light came on at about 45,000 miles, and stayed on. Diagnosis was a bad "computer" which was replaced; I'm sure this would have been a costly repair.

2. Computer "reset" after battery replacement. At about 36,000 miles we replaced the battery because it was damaged when someone incorrectly jumped another car using our battery, connecting the + and the - incorrectly; it appears this electrical mess up caused a computer glitch which caused the dashboard information lights to blink. The computer had to be "reset" which only involved disconnecting the new battery for a few minutes to allow it to reset on its own. Again, under warranty; probably would have cost $75 or so, one hour of diagnosis time.

3. Recalls for a fuel filler line grounding and a relay switch to the cooing fan. No cost.

4. Speaker noise (see above). Not fixed.

Our 1998 had many improvements over 1996-97 that you don't read about in the manuals. For example, for door wind noise, what was a three piece rubber seal was now one piece, keeping wind out of the joints. The plastic dash was redesigned. The plastic interior parts were joined to metal much more firmly. I can not attest to why these things were all better, but from the ones I could see, I could tell they re-engineered and re-designed the small problems to make a much better vehicle.

With the 3.3 engine we get about 24 highway, 15 mixed miles per gallon. From a performance angle, assuming all repairs are done, this van has been great.

Our van has nearly every option, including a towing package (we don't use the van for towing but the option gives you better cooling system, brakes, alternator, etc.).

You may wish to consider investing $75 in the Dodge plastic hood deflector from the dealer, it's easy to install and keeps debris from chipping the front hood.

Removing the rear bench seat is very easy with 2 people, difficult/heavy for one. This was improved in the 2000 models by splitting the seats into two parts. The captains chairs that we have in the second row are easy to remove, but a little cumbersome to rehook into place. Minor issues.

A final note on visibility. This van has great visibility out of all sides and the front. Directly in the rear is a little difficult. You will see many of these vans with scratches/dents on the back left and right corners. This must be a blind spot because my wife hit our 1996 on the left, and this 1998 on the right side, backing into things. Not a great track record, but I see the same damage on so many of these vans, I have to believe there is a little bit of flawed mirror and bumper design that allows them to so easily cause driver errors or to cause damage where a bumper can prevent the scratch/swipe.