Have a family member in dyer need of a good used minivan she has $3000 to spend,have been looking on CL for caravans & T&Cs,theres quite a few in her range with between 75k 01 & 140K 05s,I feel that a well maintained one can go for up too 200k with out any real issues,any thing I should look out for or stay away from.

2.4s are good engines and the 3.3/3.8s are also good engines. We see 200,000+ mile Mopar vans on the road all the time. We have an 04 3.8 with 210,000 miles it that we use for a shop vehicle. A tranny and a radiator have been the only repairs.

Now it's about to rust to the ground and the headliner flutters around our ears, but still..............

Around here, you have to watch out for rocker panels rusting out a lot....

typical rust issues: rocker panels, door bottoms, rear fender dog legs and arch openings, front edge of hood, and gate bottom and outside handle area. one other important area to look at is around the battery/PDC for wiring issues such as corroded connections or brittle wire insulation. another issue you need to check right away is the operation of the spare tire winch mechanism. they like to rust fast and/or stick. not something you need to find out about when you have a flat. i'm not trying to scare you away from these vehicles as i dearly love them, and won't be without one. just sharing my experiences and repairs i have had over many years. oil undercoating every winter really helps to keep rust in hand due to the salt spray chemicals in use these days.

I have 2. Amen on the rust.

My 2001 has the 3.8 and is getting retired with 290k miles. Only reason its getting retired is a 21 yo girl on Xanax did not stop on the highway when the traffic did. Mechanically it is in great shape and there was no end in sight to when it would not be worth driving.

The 2005 with a 3.3 is not quite as good but 170k miles and going with no major mechanical issues.

Also air conditioning evap is good for 7 to 10 years. About a $1000 repair job if you pay someone to do it.

I totally agree with all of these comments. I have had all of them on my 2005.

my wifes 06 t&c went 352k before pcm died,wasn"t fixing it.Had no major repairs,many tune ups&brake jobs rockers rusted,rear hatch rusted,hood lip rusted.Had an 03 grand caravan before the 06 sold it at 230k no major repairs,I would buy an 03 and newer with a3,3 or 3.8 both reliable.She now has an 12 t&c limited will see how that goes.

Might want to take a look at the strut towers. I know some years had issues with that.

My family has 7 '01-'06 vans, all with 3.3 engines. 5 of the 7 had transmissions replaced, including my '06 with 290k miles. Other than the weak transmissions, the vehicles are very good. I'm surprised at the weight they haul.

Speaking of hauling, my neighbor pulls his 16 ft camper with his 06 3.3 minivan, no problems.
Shock tower rust is mostly the 95-2000 models.

Tnx for the replays guys good info,looked at 3 yesterday the first one had sold the night before but was still there to look at,that was the one 75k clean rockers l/f door was dented but id rather live with dents then rust,second one was a POS,third not so bad 114k $2500 had rust in r/s rocker not visible yet when looking from above but needs exhaust & trans pan gasket/service,still considering it.Its a game trying to beat out the used car lot flippers the good original owner ones go fast.

What's the usual eng.oil leaks,the seconed one I looked at the bottom of the oil pan was wet,they had washed off the eng.so I couldn't tell if it was coming from up above V/C gaskets,oil sending unit was good,do they have head gasket leaks or could it be from the pan gasket, possibly the oil drain plug seal but it was too wet all around.

We were apprehensive about buying a first year model 2001 Caravan.
But it turned out to be a stellar dependable vehicle for 175K miles.
Lasted us 15 years when we traded it in on a SUV. I changed the trans fluid/filter every 30K miles and it was trouble free all those miles.
Good vehicle.

OMG what a bunch of crap out there all wannabe used car dealers/flippers,car good no problem you buy yes,so hard to find an actual owner selling there vehi.

Well after looking at about half a dozen Caravans & TCs & driving all over the place ended up buying an 07 Ford Freestar SEL with 99.5k for $3000 very solid one small rust spot clean second owner old man vehi,bone dry underneath 1/2 mile from where I work,I must say it rides & feels much nicer then the Mopars.

IMO - 3.3's and 3.8's have decent power, get reasonable gas mileage, and are pretty much bulletproof 250,000+ mile pushrod engines. The 2.4's have marginal power and are pretty much the 2.4 DOHC Neon/PT Cruiser engines that need the typical head gasket/head bolt/water pump drama every 100k. The 2.4 one we owned (parts delivery buggies) didn't get any better mileage than any of the V-6's we had did. Personally the only reason I would buy another 2.4 one is that it was a super clean (rust FREE) short bus and at a really great price.

We have had many 2.4s, probably dozens, and have not had one head gasket or timing belt failure. The V6 is a better choice when possible, but the 4 banger is a very good engine. If you don't have to have the extra power of the V6, then I certainly wouldn't dismiss a van just because it has the 2.4.

As to the head gaskets - probably bought for resale a half dozen DOHC Caravans or PT's with blown head gaskets, some with as low as 60K on the odometer, some with 150K+. As with many aluminum headed/iron block combos - the different expansion rates simply wear the gasket out. Probably a "heat cycle" count, not so much a miles issue. The torque to yield bolts help, but eventually the gasket would fail. And a few of the dealers I deal with automatically service the head gasket/bolts/water pump/timing belt on trade-ins with more than 100K on them.

And as to the 2.4's power - at only 165 lb/ft of torque I think it's probably more of a lack of torque than power. They do make 150hp - at higher RPM's. The 210 or 245 lb-ft V-6's simply drive better. Admittedly, the 2.4's aren't that bad on level ground, but in hilly areas the trans is constantly shifting, trying to keep RPM's up - it's nowhere near as noticeable with the V-6's. On a similar note - I've had several Intrepids with the H.O. 3.5's and loved them - great power on flat ground. But put them in a hilly situation and they were very annoying - constantly looking for the proper gear. Probably just the nature of the higher RPM power curves of DOHC engines in general.

Don't get me wrong - the DOHC 2.4 isn't a horrible engine - just not my first choice. In a short w/b Caravan they would probably serve most people fine - on level terrain.

We had an 89 that went over 200K, a 2000 that went near 300k.
We now have an 01 and an 07 and hope for the best out of both.
We paid 300 for the 89 and got more than 70,000 out of it.
Don't remember what the final mileage was.
The other three were all very near 3,ooo $, and we were/are happy with them. The 01 and 07 are both 3.8s, the 00 had the 3.3 '89 was a turbo 4 banger.
I don't want to change plugs in them.
The 00 had the plugs changed at about 250,000 and the shop owner said the plugs looked original and the electrodes were burnt completely down to the insulators.
Things to look for is the camber, as it can't be adjusted like ferd or chebbies. If it's out it can be very dangerous on wet roads. There is an easy fix though. The shop will oval out the adjuster. The dash clusters can't be easily or cheaply flashed like the other makes if you need it either.
They have the typical uni-body rust issues. Try to get 'em on a lift or look very good underneath.
For the most part, know what you want and what you want to pay and that is that.

Our 01 is very nice. Got it from a used car lot for 2900 bucks tax and title.
The guys selling point was, "It was owned by an old couple and they kept it clean. You wont find any french fries on the floor like most mini vans."
Our first stop was Mickey Dees.

I just looked at a mint 87 Plymouth for 38 and change.
Too high I says, he doesn't budge, he kept it.
I told the Ole gal about it.
She don't like red.
I say a transparent blue would make it purple.
She likes purple but still too high.
We'll check back in a few months.
There isn't any market for an 87 Plymouth.
Hmmmmm, maybe not now...
It is very solid.

Drove some (when I ran a Dodge dealership body shop) that creaked like crazy, warranty fixes. Noticed a lot of them had very few spot welds around the rockers/quarters. They didn't stand up too well to front-end hits.
Drove a rented one once for 1500 miles and had to constantly chase the steering. But they seemed to run well, rental saw 80-90 for hours.