I'm thinking of buying a Caravan what inheirant problems do these vans usually have? Im looking at 96-99 models. Im looking at a 99 Short WB with 72K on it. It's a 4 cyl. That looks and runs well for $5500 Is this a good deal? Would I be able to tow a trailer that holds an ATV and 300lbs of cargo? I was told that the 95 an older ones often had bad transmisions so I want one as news as I can aford.

I'm thinking of buying a Caravan what inheirant problems do these vans usually have? Im looking at 96-99 models. Im looking at a 99 Short WB with 72K on it. It's a 4 cyl. That looks and runs well for $5500 Is this a good deal? Would I be able to tow a trailer that holds an ATV and 300lbs of cargo? I was told that the 95 an older ones often had bad transmisions so I want one as news as I can aford.
If you want to tow something buy a truck. The four cylnder is barely enough to power the vehicle itself. Look for transmission leaks. I have a 99 with the 3.3 love it but have to keep the trans topped off.

Thanks for the reply! I purchased a 98 Caravan with a 3.0 V6 with 48K on it for $4500 I plan to install better rear shocks. I hope this van will tow my ATV across country becuase this is what I plan to do with it.

It will be good towing a ATV. I thought about putting a hitch on mine to tow a 16 ft boat. you will be glad you didn`t get the 4 cylinder. It was a alright deal if you wern`t going to pull any thing or go on the highway too much. would be alright for putting around town. These van are great vehicles I nicest Ive drove. Hope someday Chrysler will get them bullit proof. They do have issues with transmissions and maintence. But so many other vehicles have their problems too. So far my Van has been just as good as any other vehicle I owned. Not perfect, but drive and comfort has been perfect. Use only Chrysler transmission fluid Atf +3 . Do not use Dextron! everything should be alright.

I know these vans wont tow as much as the rear drive vans (Such as the Astro's and Safari's ) I know the rear shocks are built more for a soft ride then to carry much cargo weight so I plan to upgrade them. I have heard alot of stories of bad transmissions especailly in the 84-95 models Things got better in 96 but they still had a few problems.I was told they re programed the computer shift module in the 98 so the transmission wasn't hunting for gears on uphill grades so muchAnd things got allot better I see in Consumer reviews the 96-2000's got an avearage ratting the pre 96's got bellow average ratting and the 2001 and newer ones scored very well. I love my 98. I put 175,000 miles on a 96 model with the company I worked for(Mostly Highway) and had very little trouble with the van. I looked at a 98 Honda Odesey van but the price was twice as much as the Caravan. Used Honda and Toyota vans are priced to high for me!

When Honda came out with their redesigned Odessey people ran out to get one, one year later they are finding out that Honda legendary reliabilty doesn`t stand true in their vans. Don`t get me wrong they are good but not any better than any other. The newToyota is rated better. What gets me mad everybody brags up these new vans even the ugly Nissan. The good ole Dodge has them all beat. The worst Ive heard was the Ford Windster for reliabilty. Gms vans are good drive train wise but built really cheap. A lot of Chryslers reputation is out dated years ago they were junk. I think now they are better than a lot of other makes.