What would you guys say is the best mini van for hauling stuff? The need is for something cheap that can haul a lot of stuff both in terms of cubic feet and weight carrying. Also it needs to be cheap, reliable, better MPG than a full size van. Its not for me but i would probably have to fix it. Thinking about a honda odyssey purchased with a bad trans, put new trans in, and use.
Best mini van for hauling work, $5k or less?
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The Odysseys are large and seem designed to carry a bit of weight, but over any kind of long term the newer Caravan can be maintained better for less. Odysseys have a timing belt, need ATF changes frequently, and it is an import so there's a bit of a premium for parts.
The old GM express and Ford E vans are cheap enough and can carry quite a bit. With a 6 cylinder they are not terrible on fuel.
Edit: If you want a FWD the Chevy Venture could be something cheap, all the seats come out and they have a fairly large capacity, some even have air shocks standard.
Edit: If you want a FWD the Chevy Venture could be something cheap, all the seats come out and they have a fairly large capacity, some even have air shocks standard.
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if you can find one that hasn't rusted away, it's kinda hard to beat a Ford Aerostar...
Dad was a Retail District Manager, over the years he had maybe 6 of them as company cars, used to haul merch between his stores...(drove around 60k mi/year for a while) even with the Vulcan 3.0, they never balked at being filled to the brim with all sorts of Stuff. Pretty consistently got around 20mpg even loaded down.
at one point, when his van was in the shop(electrical defect, the whole gauge cluster stopped working), he used his Personal Chevy 1500 to do a couple of transfers... It Didn't Fit as much stuff as his Aerostar.
IIRC, same driveline as a ranger, and if you are handy with a welder, and can fab our own motor mounts, I know for a Fact you can fit a 302 in the bay....
Dad was a Retail District Manager, over the years he had maybe 6 of them as company cars, used to haul merch between his stores...(drove around 60k mi/year for a while) even with the Vulcan 3.0, they never balked at being filled to the brim with all sorts of Stuff. Pretty consistently got around 20mpg even loaded down.
at one point, when his van was in the shop(electrical defect, the whole gauge cluster stopped working), he used his Personal Chevy 1500 to do a couple of transfers... It Didn't Fit as much stuff as his Aerostar.
IIRC, same driveline as a ranger, and if you are handy with a welder, and can fab our own motor mounts, I know for a Fact you can fit a 302 in the bay....
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Originally Posted By: earlyre
if you can find one that hasn't rusted away, it's kinda hard to beat a Ford Aerostar...
Even a Ford Windstar can be had CHEAP and will haul 2,000-2,500 lbs pretty easily
They share a LOT with the Taurus, of which millions exist with tons of parts available anywhere.
Get the 3.8 liter version
if you can find one that hasn't rusted away, it's kinda hard to beat a Ford Aerostar...
Even a Ford Windstar can be had CHEAP and will haul 2,000-2,500 lbs pretty easily
They share a LOT with the Taurus, of which millions exist with tons of parts available anywhere.
Get the 3.8 liter version
How about an older Dodge Caravan or Plymouth equivalent with all but the front seats removed? Common, available dirt cheap, junkyard parts easily available, pretty easy to work on, mileage is only about 15 MPG. I put a cooler on my 2003 with 3.3 V6 and have towed a trailer up some pretty impressive mountains in NC and WVA. If you trash the interior who cares? It is basically a disposable work truck.
Mine cost $4000 in 2013 with 100,000 miles and good maintenance records.
Mine cost $4000 in 2013 with 100,000 miles and good maintenance records.
Originally Posted By: CKN
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
whats to stop the trans from going again?
Originally Posted By: dareo
Originally Posted By: oil_burner
whats to stop the trans from going again?
It could go out in any van but starting with a re man gives some hope. It will see mostly freeway miles and less than 1k per month.
I would be a little wary about that, at that mileage you might not get a good amount of miles on it before the warranty expires due to time.
I am shocked no one has mentioned the astro or safari. Might be a little too old to get in decent shape for cheap but they are tough as nails and share a lot of components with the C/K series GM truck of that vintage IIRC. 4.3 L may drink the gas but if you can get a 2.8 that would be pretty fuel efficent I imagine.
Originally Posted By: oil_burner
whats to stop the trans from going again?
It could go out in any van but starting with a re man gives some hope. It will see mostly freeway miles and less than 1k per month.
I would be a little wary about that, at that mileage you might not get a good amount of miles on it before the warranty expires due to time.
I am shocked no one has mentioned the astro or safari. Might be a little too old to get in decent shape for cheap but they are tough as nails and share a lot of components with the C/K series GM truck of that vintage IIRC. 4.3 L may drink the gas but if you can get a 2.8 that would be pretty fuel efficent I imagine.
Originally Posted By: dareo
Originally Posted By: CKN
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
How is it "drivable" with a bad transmission......
Originally Posted By: CKN
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
How is it "drivable" with a bad transmission......
In my area I see a lot of Mercury Villager/Nissan Quest minivans for $2k-$5k with sub-150k miles and often in good condition. Late 1990s through early 2000s is the model to look at. Very reliable and powerful enough to haul whatever you got.
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: dareo
Originally Posted By: CKN
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
How is it "drivable" with a bad transmission......
Well it would be replaced by my labor. I've seen broken odyssey for sale for less than 1k, $1500 for a rebuilt trans, another 500-1000 for whatever else it needs while its ripped apart. The trans go out so often there are people specializing in building just Odyssey transmissions. Idea being to end up with a refurbished van on a rebuilt trans for 3-4k. If it ended up going out again i suppose we could light it on fire and watch it burn.
Originally Posted By: dareo
Originally Posted By: CKN
Your not going to get much of a mini van for $5,000.00. However-as stated above Dodge Caravan is probably your best bet.
I disagree, dirt cheap drive able mini vans are all over the place. People ditch a Honda Odyssey with a bad trans for nothing all the time. Spend $2k on parts and a few days and its a great van for about 3k. Or plenty of perfectly functional vans for about that range. We bought a really nice 2000 Oldsmobile van for $1400 once.
How is it "drivable" with a bad transmission......
Well it would be replaced by my labor. I've seen broken odyssey for sale for less than 1k, $1500 for a rebuilt trans, another 500-1000 for whatever else it needs while its ripped apart. The trans go out so often there are people specializing in building just Odyssey transmissions. Idea being to end up with a refurbished van on a rebuilt trans for 3-4k. If it ended up going out again i suppose we could light it on fire and watch it burn.
Once a vehicle gets old enough to drop to that price point, make is not nearly as important as owner care.
Agree with this.
We had a '97 Aerostar shorty with the 3.0 Vulcan.
Easy to get 20 mpg and the thing needed almost nothing in the thirteen years and 175K we used it from new.
You can easily remove the rear two rows of seats and then put them back in as needed.
Even without rear air/heat, the van had great HVAC for the entire internal volume.
OTOH, an Ody would be far more pleasant to drive and you can buy one with its transaxle going out for pocket change. Put a good rebuild in it for a grand or so and some sweat equity and you then have another 100K of use, maybe more if you do regular drain and fills, something most owners never bothered with or even knew about.
We had a '97 Aerostar shorty with the 3.0 Vulcan.
Easy to get 20 mpg and the thing needed almost nothing in the thirteen years and 175K we used it from new.
You can easily remove the rear two rows of seats and then put them back in as needed.
Even without rear air/heat, the van had great HVAC for the entire internal volume.
OTOH, an Ody would be far more pleasant to drive and you can buy one with its transaxle going out for pocket change. Put a good rebuild in it for a grand or so and some sweat equity and you then have another 100K of use, maybe more if you do regular drain and fills, something most owners never bothered with or even knew about.
I think the Caravans still have a solid rear axle? Anyways, I'd go for one of those it you are going to haul 1000+lb in there. Get some taller bumpstops and some decent shocks and the rear tires will always point down the road. I see lots of older Honda vans loaded for vacation and wonder how the rear tires will last 100 miles, let alone 10000, with the crazy camber and toe in.
According to this site, the best bang for the buck will likely be a Buick Terraza or a Chevy Uplander.
http://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Minivan.html
I would get an Uplander that has been fleet maintained by a government agency. You won't spend anywhere near $5k.
http://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Minivan.html
I would get an Uplander that has been fleet maintained by a government agency. You won't spend anywhere near $5k.
Chevy Venture.
Ive seen a couple with over 300K miles and they seem to be cheap.
Ive seen a couple with over 300K miles and they seem to be cheap.
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