I have had four Dodge Caravans / Grand Caravans in the last eight years.
Here is how I rate them 1 to 10:

2000 Grand Caravan SE 3.3L: 10

Bought new and drove for 140,000 miles with no expense other than oil, filters, tires and wiper blades. Never had to replace the front disc brakes. My mechanic said I would not have had to replace the rear shoes if I would release the parking brake before driving off! No auto doors or DVD but I loved it!

2004 Caravan SXT 3.3L: 1

I loved the short wheel base but it was a pig. I had it for 12 months. The water pump, engine computer and transmission BROKE! I passed this rolling T**D on to someone else.

2005 Grand Caravan SXT 3.8L: 6

This one had all the bells and whistles. Auto doors and hatch; DVD power everything! I loved it but the front end wobbled and clunked, the fuel gauge went out (left me stranded) and at about 100k miles the engine shook when started so I traded for:

2008 Grand Caravan SXT 3.8L: 5 (so far)

Bought with 19k miles. So far the tire pressure light will not go off (except at the dealership); oil change light would not go off (they fixed that one, yeh!!!, and both side auto doors now do the "DON'T CLOSE" thing about 50% of the time. Oh yeah, one of my fobs quit. The '08 has the worse HVAC design of any vehicle I have ever owned except for my 1978 Jeep CJ-7. Gas mileage is 15% worse than my '05 (it was great!). but the power is better.

I have never owned a foreign vehicle but my next one will be Toyota or Honda. Bailout Smellout!!! Give US a break!

My wife's vehicle is a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and we love it! Said that to say I will buy Chrysler but not another Dodge minivan.

 

How I rate my current and past minivans.

First to bat, my first Chrysler Minivan:
1991 Dodge Grand Caravan LE - 10+
Light Blue, Power Windows and Locks, AM/FM/Cassette, 3.3L V6 4 speed auto. I loved that minivan so much that I passed it on to my God Son who still drives it occasionally to haul people in. Stunning gas mileage. Mileage when bought 22k. Mileage when sold, 134k.

1994 Plymouth Grand Caravan LE - 10+
White w/ Woodgrain, Power windows and locks, AM/FM Stereo, 3.3L V6 4 speed auto. Great minivan bought to replace the 91 when I sold it to my God Son as his first vehicle. I had nothing go wrong with this van even after I hit a deer at 77mph on the interstate, OOPS! Finally parted with it when the transmission gave up the ghost and body was toast! Couldn't complain about the gas mileage either! Mileage when bought, 6,800. Mileage when died, 279,400 - ALL ORIGINAL NOTHING REBUILT!

1988 Dodge Caravan L - 4.5
Red. 2.4L I4, 3 speed auto. This li'l van had no power but then again it had a 2.4L 4banger Bought to use around town but never got that far thanx to a fire due to a hornet's nest in the engine compartment. Only thing I had go wrong was rear brakes wore out prematurely even after rebuilding them. This was a gas hog for such a li'l engine.
Mileage when bought, 144k. Mileage when scrapped, 165k

CURRENT:
1996 Dodge Grand Caravan SE Sport - 10+ (so far)
Medium Blue Pearl, 3.3L HO V6, 4 speed auto, Quad Seating, Leather, Infinity Sound System, Alloys, power everything, etc. I absolutely love this van! I have had nothing but HIGH praise for this van. This van was bought to replace the 1994 G.V. Gas mileage is great jus' like the 1991 and 1994 (around 27 to 29mpg highway) and the 3.3L has plenty of pep! This one having the HO V6 engine jus' blows me away! Nothing to report as far as problem wise. If and when I buy another Caravan/Grand it will have to have the 3.3L V6. It's a legend in it's design and reliability.

 

I guess no one else thinks highly enough of thier "carryvan" to rate it

 

me! me!

I only had 2... technically the wifee's babies..

first, a 96 sport SE... alllllll white...called it the giant egg

bought brand new in 96 and had it up untill last Xmas 2008...125k miles... very reliable, but did have problems... repaired power steering components about 2 or 3 times, replaced the ECU (computer) under warranty... most stuff started happening after about 6 or 8 years, finally the good old giant egg just started dying on the freeway... couldn't figure it out because it would come back to life after sitting for a while...but the intervals started getting shorter and shorter...my research said fuel pump... dealer wanted about 800 bucks for all the repairs it needed, so went to the used car side and the guy gave me 800 for it, non-running and I got a.....

2006 Grand Caravan SXT.
Magnesium color... has more bells and whistles than I need, but got a good price... 35k miles... has the 6 disc DVD changer and the power doors... but we ain't got no kids!... there's no one to watch the movies and we hardly use the power doors. Did have a rear wheel bearing replaced after 1 week of owning, but they did it under the power train warranty. Those power doors scare me, they make so much noise when closing and locking, can just see breakage or problems in the future. Maybe if I don't use them too much. (That sticky about power door problems always scares me when I log in to this forum)

 

I've had two, a '97 and currently a '02 sport model. They drive really
nice, almost like a car but ride higher up. But, they can be problematic
and difficult to work on (ever replaced the spark plugs on the rear
side of engine? how about the fuel filter? water pump? - forget it).

I miss my Ford Aerostar. It felt like a truck - - which it really was.