OT: Opinions on Chrysler Town & Country

[Javier]

I'm considering the acquisition of a Van Chrysler Town & Country, out of the factory (brand new). The price (down here at Venezuela) is about 35K USD.

Can any one who owns one or have had any experience tell me about quality of the vehicle, know issues, or recommendations?

Any help will be appreciated, as it is kind of a significant investment and wouldn''t like to mess it.

Javier

PS: I'm not selling my 535i

[Alexlind123]

I grew up riding a in a chrysler town and country minivan. Back then, it had a surprising amount of power, great reliability, very comfortable and good styling with amenities such as power leather seats and so on. I rode from southwest washington to south dakota in it, on one occasion exceeding 110mph fully loaded down with luggage, very stable. So if they are anything like they used to be...it might be a good idea.

[MBXB]

I bought TC LXi in 1996 and still have it. It's running great at 123,000 miles. Other than tires, regular oil changes and preiodic inspections, the only thing that I've had to replace was a bad tie rod.

[kyleN20]

javier, i am only 19, but i do know a lot about vehicles, espshilly chryslers, (my dad works on minivan platform engineering at DCX. here is my personal opinion, the current vans they make are nice, alot of great features, but they are slightly behind in quality and a proper engine. I suppose if i needed a proper van right now i would get a T&C, the stow and go feature is excelent and easy to use, and it now has avaible navigation. the only problem is the engine, it probally has a 3.3, or a punched out version called the 3.8, both are lackluster. for an option, choose the pacifica, has 6 seats, 2 are only good for little kid though, but it has the 3.5 v6, which is a great engine, and some cool featurs, like the nav in the speedo, and for heated seats. but if youv got some time, wait a year, for chryslers newest to come out, shoud have a new engine, and as far as chrysler goes, it ought to be the best van you can buy.

hope i helped a bit

kyle

[Kalevera]

My moms has a '03 limited. It's alright, fit and finish are typical DC. Material quality just doesn't compare to BMW. Lots of design shortcuts (transaxle and associated wiring hang out under DS front fender, TCM lives in front of the front DS wheel well -- in a space with a HUGE HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF IT from the factory, so it gets trashed by the elements). This particular one still uses leaf springs on the rear -- I don't know if they've changed that in the past two years.

It now has about 30k on it, acquired 4/03. It's had the following warrantied:

- A/C system (typical R134 mold smell -- took them a few weeks to fix it correctly and a lot of haranguing on my behalf)
- Threw 1684 a few weeks ago. Turned out to be a lead/plug...maybe the pack -- I forget.

I've done brakes and fluid once on it. Pretty straightforward and easy to work on.

They're not bad cars if you can keep the elements away from them. The 3.3/3.8 V6 are a dinosaur design with hydraulic lifters, and are good for some miles with a few caveats. The early 4 speeds were susceptible to dealer/mechanic stupidity and a lot of them got fried because people didn't use 7176 or ATF 3+, electing to use Dexron/Mercon and supercessions instead. It seems like they've solved that one by now.

Dealers like to sell useless service. Watch out for the $120 "throttle body cleaning" and the "decarbonization service"

best, whit

[Derek A.]

I am currently working at the plant in Windsor that cranks out both Pacifica's and Minivans. These are not BMW's - they do hold up for a long time with regular little maintentance. I would almost of for a less equipped version - regualr caravan to try and cut down on initial price and possibility of stuff going wrong.

[Javier]

it's an LX, but I'm not in USA, and it is the only one available (though expensive enough).

Javier

[Javier]

Will comply with factory service to keep the guatrantee, but after finished, will probably forget about factory service.

Kyle advise to wait for next year sems clever. Yes it is the 3.3 engine 180 hP.

Javier

[Bill R.]

money in the minivan department, I would get the new odyssey from honda with the redesign. The new 6/3 motor works great for economy and has plenty of power and its got the usual honda quality.. One of my customers has one and he buys new hondas fairly often, he says its the best one he's had ever... I own a toyota previa/lucida/estima and like vans. My sister has a town and country that i work on regularly and frequently. And i work on a number of other caravans/voyagers/tc's.. definitely not my first choice as a mechanic.

Will comply with factory service to keep the guatrantee, but after finished, will probably forget about factory service.

Kyle advise to wait for next year sems clever. Yes it is the 3.3 engine 180 hP.

Javier

[Javier]

but will do my homework and take a look to the Odissey. May be it's priced reasonably (for you to have an idea, Accord here is about 28K USD).

Javier