We said goodbye to our van today
@Masihi (4413)
Canada
August 15, 2011 6:28pm CST
Today we said goodbye to our van. She's done us good service for 3 years and now she's giving up the ghost. The junkyard gave Hubby a hundred bucks and said that the van will be salvaged for parts and then crushed, as they're trying to get rid of all the dodge caravans from year 2000 to earlier. He said they were garbage, and that so many people were giving up their vans, that's how worthless they are.
Darn lil' stinker left a nice pool of oil in the parking lot, too! 
2 people like this
6 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
16 Aug 11
Wow, was it really in that bad of shape? Because next to what our van looks like, your van looks great...Sorry to hear you are without a vehicle, but you knew this was coming, didn't you? I hope you find some nice new wheels soon..:)
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169450)
• United States
17 Aug 11
My kids are in Minnesota, and their vans are 96 and 2000. They look pretty decent. Driving when there has been salt applied for ice is what rusts cars out. On any nice day in the winter you see people lined up at the car wash cleaning off the salt. Daughter says they are taking a vehicle in for repair this week, but it may still be under warranty from the last repair if she can find the receipt. I told her what you said about vans of that era. I understand catalytic converters bring a good price at resale.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
16 Aug 11
Yeah, I am not mechanically inclined at all, but I understand about some parts, if in good condition, wold bring the money in..I was just saying it looked good in the picture, so you must have avoided getting a picture of the rusty parts..lol
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
It is quite bad, actually the bottom panels are so full of rust, it was leaking oil like crazy, and it was falling apart under the hood. The transmission and engine's still good, and that's probably the only reason why we got a hundred bucks out of it, cuz older/used transmissions are really hard to find for older vans now. Hubby also said something about shocks and ball joints, but I"m no mechanic :-p hehehe
1 person likes this
@lumenmom (1986)
• United States
16 Aug 11
We have a ford windstar that we are trying desperately to resuscitate but I think it is headed for the same fate. The transmission is gone. My husband does not want to believe it, that's why we have held on this long. In the meantime we did today get rid of a 21 seat passenger bus we were planning on using to make money with, but my husband in his infinite wisdom let his son who does not even drive a car yet, drive that bus around the corner to get a $5.00 pizza. In the process he wrecked it, and even though it is still drivable, it needs a lot of work. So now we are scrambling to find another vehicle, hopefully soon because we don't live directly on a busline and my legs have a hard time making the walk to where we need to go to catch the bus.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
Yeowch! That must've been quite rough, to say the least, dang, I'm sorry to hear about your bus :-( Best wishes in finding a new vehicle, they're sooo hard to come by these days, especially since all the decent ones seem to be out of our price ranges.
@GardenGerty (169450)
• United States
16 Aug 11
Sometimes that is all there is to do. This is scary to me, though, as I believe that my daughter has two Dodge Caravans of that era. I know they have had some trouble, but they do keep up with them as much as possible. Gotta have something to haul those kiddoes in the winter time and to go to work in.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
I'm glad we're not the only ones who suffer brutal treatment at the hands of our masters the Dodge Caravans It would've cost us $1500 to fix it up and we were going to do it bit by bit over a period of 2 or 3 months but then it just completely started to fall apart on us. Bugger.
It would've cost us $1500 to fix it up and we were going to do it bit by bit over a period of 2 or 3 months but then it just completely started to fall apart on us. Bugger.1 person likes this
@kris182_2000 (5475)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
I have a 1999 Dodge Caravan myself and it will be going to the scrapyard soon.
It's currently leaking oil at an alarming rate and will be going to the repair shop tomorrow to fix it. Going to cost me more than I was told I'd get for it, but oh well.
I hate having to take transit to go to work, and after tomorrow, I wont have to anymore.
When I can replace it, I will. I'd like to before the winter, as this one wont make it through it.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
Hubby's hoping to get a Ford or Toyota from a used car dealership.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
16 Aug 11
You are lucky that your old van still able to give you some bucks when you sell it off to the junkyard. As for my father's 20 years old car, he unable to sell it off since it is no value anymore. So, my father maintained it along with our other cars. Have you buy another car to replace that old van? Hope you are doing fine over there...
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
Ya, we're going to try to save up until October or November to see if we can get a reasonable price at a used car dealership. The junkyard guy said that we wouldn't get much more than a hundred bucks, either. We feel that it's better to buy from a dealership because there's a growing trend that private sellers are using fake safety inspection stickers and we could get a heavy fine if we're caught with one, even unbeknownst.
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
16 Aug 11
Did you replace the car in place of the van? Sometimes we have to let them go after their great service, lol.. Glad to hear that at least you got a little money for her. I see hubby departing in the picture, it was nice to meet the van today. lol
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
16 Aug 11
We had the van for 3 years, actually, so right now the only other vehicle we have is our bicycles. Hubby does have an old motorcycle now but he can't afford to fix it at the moment.
