N/A Good used van or Minivan?

[Henning]

Brook: This comment is not useful, and the Chrysler minivans, on the whole, have a sound reputation.

Not with me they don't. The early V-6s would drop valve guides, transmission problems exist to this day as far as I know as do electrical problems. General quality is low in my opinion and when they see any real use and don't live in a garage the interiors deteriorate in 5 years. I've had arm rests fall off nearly new ones.

 

[Henning]

I don't think the used car lots in town care about repeat business. They care about getting the one shot at the 19 year old.

Hmmm, don't know what town your in, but like I said, I grew up in the business and that wasn't the market we went after. Look in a better neighborhood. The best market is the Young Family market, because if you do right by them, you'll sell them 8 cars before their kids graduate highschool and their neighbors come see you too. If you go after the one shot market you'll be out of business in 5 years. It's repeat customers and word of mouth that keeps the doors open and food on the table.

 

[mikea]

Best deal in used minivans seem to me to be the late 90s GMs, like (for example) Olds Silhouette, which seems to have suffered in resale price the most because of the untimely death of the Olds division. The GM front-drive drivetrains are, with reasonable maintenance, very solid.

WE HAVE A WINNER! Thanks, Spike!

Yesterday I bought a 1991 Silhouette in what looks to such an incredible deal I'm wondering how I keep getting so lucky or if there's a chance I'm getting smart in my old age.

The seller was yet another retired guy in Wisconsin who fixes up cars. It turned out that this guy was a fleet maintenance manager for the county and he does car repair in the garage behind his house. His operation is big enough that he has 3 guys working for him and does the work for his neighbors and the mayor and city council.

When we drove up saw the van I couldn't believe how clean it looked. It's definitely a worth rating of 'excellent." The only problem we spotted was missing rear speakers(?) and an oil leak from the valve cover. He offered to replace the valve cover gasket, but once he got it in he found the screws were loose so he tightened them. I'll accept that. He was going to give me more off due to the speakers, but I just couldn't live with myself if I had let him.

He had put in a new tranny, new brakes, and new battery and had obviously detailed it from top to bottom.

The van is fully loaded, 136K miles, and it appears everything works. There's even a built-in air compressor and hose behind the hatch. Since the seats come out it looks like it'll meet the cargo hauler mission nicely. It has enough room for my enormous body. I drove it home with no trouble, well GMs have the worst control designs in the business and this one is no exception. The heater/AC/vent controls have all kinds of little buttons on them with little letters on them but I could figure it out.

My biggest concern is that L-O-N-G invisible nose. I'm seriously going to seek out the the curb feeler/headlight stick things at places like Warsharsky's. My buddy stood in front to let me know the where bumper was but I don't trust myself. I guess It'll look like I'm a geezer or a geek, but that may be correct.

We'll see how it goes as I drive it, but it's looking good enough that I could use it as a daily driver if needed, especially since we think the air conditioning works. The A/C on the Sable doesn't work, which I why I was able to buy that one cheap.

I saw a listing for a 1991 with 188K miles for sale in Chicago at a used car dealer for $2,888 and that one was a "MECHINICS(sic) SPECIAL." I paid less than half of that.

I'm liking this cheap old car stuff. I began to wonder if I could make money just doing arbitrage - buying cars in Wisconsin and selling them in Chicago. I know. I shouldn't keep pushing my luck. I should look for the engine to fall out.

THANKS, SPIKE!

 

[gkainz]

now that brings back memories! My sister had one of those. Her girls dubbed it the "Dustbuster" ... shaped exactly like the dust buster handheld vacuums!

 

[mikea]

now that brings back memories! My sister had one of those. Her girls dubbed it the "Dustbuster" ... shaped exactly like the dust buster handheld vacuums!

Yeah. It says that in the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Silhouette

I may never learn how to spell Silhouette. Geez. What a name.
I will officially dub it "Da dustbuster."

I guess I don't need to be so worried about that invisible nose - just don't try to cut it too close in front. I had thought of rigging up a clear plastic rod or curb feeler so show me where a front corner is, but I might get by. I'll learn eventually.

I'm reminded about this:

Chili Palmer: What is that?
Rental Car Attendant: It's an Oldsmobile Silhouette.
Chili Palmer: I ordered a Cadillac.
Rental Car Attendant: Oh, well, you got the Cadillac of minivans.

I see that the 1998-2005 is on the some Consumer Reports list of used cars to avoid. Nice.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

The seller was yet another retired guy in Wisconsin who fixes up cars.

Didja see my old Honda out there? It went to some place like that.

There's even a built-in air compressor and hose behind the hatch. Since the seats come out it looks like it'll meet the cargo hauler mission nicely.

Wow... That sounds like the perfect vehicle to drive to your hangar. You can fill the bird's tires and everything. Throw a small pressure washer in the back, and you can give it a bath too!

 

[mikea]

Didja see my old Honda out there? It went to some place like that.

Wow... That sounds like the perfect vehicle to drive to your hangar. You can fill the bird's tires and everything. Throw a small pressure washer in the back, and you can give it a bath too!

I bought one of these for the purpose - 12 volt power and battery jump start, 110 volt power, air compressor, and light.

I just used it at a gas station to fill up the tires on the Sable. It's slow and it's not designed to run more than 10 minutes at a pop but it's not likely to overheat when it's 24 degrees F.

Oh, and the light burned out in minutes, but the battery has held up pretty well.