[shorod]

The dust boots of the half shafts keep dust out of the constant velocity (CV) joints and keep the large quantities of grease in. If the boot splits, the rotation will sling the grease all over as well as allowing dust, salt, sand, water, etc. to get in to the CV joint and accelerate its wear. Besides making a huge mess, there is a small risk that the grease could get on the brakes and reduce their effectiveness as well. Also if you let it go too long the CV joint could fail which will prevent your Caravan from being able to move under its own power. As you might imagine, that could lead to an accident.

How would you explain to your driver's ed class that you were late to class because you caused an accident?

If $165 covers the cost of the halfshaft and labor to install it, and you trust the shop, that sounds like a very fair cost. You need to get this fixed.

-Rod