The third generation of the Dodge Caravan represented perhaps one of the more transformative eras overall at Chrysler. The designs were fresh, and the lineup was deep, with seemingly endless ways to configure everything from a Neon to a New Yorker. The Caravan was no exception, and after the immense success of the first two generations, it’s safe to say the company kept its hitting streak alive when it unveiled this era of its famed people mover. The seller of this short wheelbase Caravan has listed it here on Barn Finds Classifieds with just 40,500 miles and seemingly in excellent condition.
I can still recall the first time I saw the newly redesigned Caravans, with their wildly innovative interiors, on full display. It wasn’t a car show, no – but rather, the film Twister wherein the antagonist in the movie had a whole fleet of purple, short wheelbase Caravans that served as transportation for his field team. This Caravan actually looks like a dead ringer for one of those silver screen stars, but given those movie rigs were all probably scrapped eons ago, this one is still likely among the best examples left. The digital odometer tells the tale about how little his Caravan has been driven.
It’s rather surprising, too, given why you might buy one of these in the first place – which is to log huge miles on annual family trips, or just the equivalent of a few big trips done around town. Soccer practice, commuting, errand running, and doing it a few times every day, every week. Whatever the reason, this Caravan escaped such a lifestyle and is barely broken in as a result. The really cool thing (to me, anyway) about this Caravan is how bare-bones it is: crank windows, manual locks, AM/FM radio only – this is a stripper among strippers! But that’s OK, because there’s so little to break and the barely-used car mileage means it’s got loads of life left in it.
The engine bay is just as clean as the rest of the Caravan, and here you’ll find the base level powerplant: a 2.4L inline-four, which made decent power as it churned out a respectable 150 horsepower and 167 lb-ft of torque. Given this example isn’t loaded up with leather, power seats, DVD players, and like, it should be more than enough to move this van around on open roads and in suburban traffic. The seller notes that even with the low mileage, it isn’t perfect and it does get used every week, but that’s OK with me: I’d rather know it was getting used than just sitting and letting issues creep in from lack of use. It’s no muscle car, but it may be of the lowest mileage examples out there of one of the better Caravans ever built.
Wonder if it’s Radwood eligible…
Not sure if it’s the nicest one, but certainly warrants comment. In a non-rusting area, they are still quite popular, my neighbor has one. My parents had one, just the best of the best. Not too crazy about the 4 cylinder, the 3.3(?)V6 was a much better motor than the original 3.0’s, not sure how a 4 cylinder would work. I don’t think there ever was or ever will be a vehicle like the Chrysler mini van again. Like them or not, it was a huge game changer for Americans driving, the likes we’ll never see again. Great vehicles, they truly do it all and I doubt you’ll find a nicer one, they all have 200K for a reason.
Bought a short wheel base fully optioned ’99 Sport new. Drove it 10 years, put 82K miles on it, mostly high speed running with the peppy 3.6 engine, and total maintenance was 2 batteries and 3 sets of tires. Had the best controls of any car we’ve ever owned and easily pulled the single axle trailer with our race car on it. The ’09 we just traded for a new one was a great hauler with the 3.8 but the driver controls were as bad as it gets. Note.. our first Caravan had the 4 cylinder like this one and we had no problems doing the same hauling we did, and are still doing, with the V6s.
Plus:
Immaculately maintained
Extremely LOW original Mileage
It runs perfectly and everything works
All required maintenance has been completed
There is no rust or rot
$6,500
Minus:
It’s a van.
When these first came out people made fun of them and those who drove them. That laughter died off when you put in a 600 mile day and didn’t feel all beat up. We bought an 88 Caravan and it was the ideal family hauler. Like everything else, rust, not miles, was the enemy but that 88 still looked and drove well until my wife demanded a four wheel drive. We traded it in 1999 for a used 1993 S15 Jimmy. The Jimmy developed serious rust issues and four years later was gone in favor of a 2000 Durango. Today we both drive Patriots, nice little cars with nowhere near the room as a minivan. But…a neighbor a few streets over has a rust-free Voyager with expired plates in the driveway, so it might be time to take a walk and see if they want to make a deal.
I was just having a conversation the other day about whether a loaded 1984 Caravan will ever be worth money as a classic since it was the first model year of a vehicle that set the trend for the next couple of decades.
A little disagreement with an earlier post, I don’t recall anyone making fun of people driving these when they first came out. They were the hottest thing since the original Mustangs, so hot that some people were paying $5k-$10k over the sticker price.
A 1996 Caravan with the 2.4 made me a van man. I put 16″ wheels on it and beat the heck out of it. Handled excellent. Stomp on the accelerator and you’d think “Who needs a V6?”. Put a trailer on it and you’d say “I do!”
Its been replaced by a 2009 Toyota Sienna but if I have the chance to get another one I’ll jump on it, but not for $6500 and NOT in that color!
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Weren’t all those minivans in Twister black?
That’s what I remember and I just saw Twister for the first time just a few years ago. They were striking to me because you rarely saw a black minivan in real life.
I searched for a low mileage minivan with stow-n-go seats and NO RUST to do dog runs here in central Illinois. I found a one owner, garage kept 2006 with 60k miles in Alabama for 5300. One of the best buys I’ve ever made. I’m 68 years old so I guess that makes me a soccer Great Grand Dad.
Way too much. I buy a lot of these low-mile older vans. This is a stripped base model and this era is notorious for dash electrical problems. I bought my current 2006 with 17K miles on it in 2019 for $4500. My previous was a 2008 loaded Town & Country with 33k for $5000. I’ve had 5 under 40K miles and the ’08 was the most expensive. I’d give him $3K IF it has a perfectly working dash. Nobody want manual windows on these.
Finally a great practical vehicle on this site. I used to hate mini vans and drove station wagons while raising our 3 daughters in the 80s. I held out as long as I could to rear drive giant GM wagons. Then my mobile detailing business took off and I found a 97 Caravan that just had a used engine out in. I took a chance at $1,300 in 2009 and bought it. Super comfortable. Yeah the crappy trans gave out at 150,000. Got it rebuilt and drove it to 230,000 miles. Ironically, in 2014, I found another one with the better 3.3 emgine with only 50,000 actual no winter miles forcsale by original owner. He had a stack of service records and took $1,900 down from his $2,100 asking price. Today, it has 115,900 miles. No rust because I rust proofed it and wash the under carriage all the time. The dash eventually took a dump, but fixed it myself. Insurance is cheap. Gets great mileage and my back never hurts in those comfy seats. I will drive this thing as long as possible. You can have your stupid $60,000 SUVs that eat gss, cost a ton to insure and can’t carry an 8 foot piece of plywood. Mini vans forever.
Spell check forever, too! ;-)
In a few years these will be as collectible as old full size wagons are now. I still can’t figure out why they call them soccer mom vehicles when all the soccer moms drive SUVs