9th Mar 2003, 18:36

First of all, Caravans and anything associated with Chrysler are JUNK!! Stay away from them!! They have too many engine and transmission problems. I would rather hang out with my worst enemy than to be in one of these products!!

Whoever wrote this review either did not maintain his/her van properly or he/she is a Chrysler nut and hates GM products and may have written a false review. I don't believe that GM would make a bad product on purpose.

18th Aug 2003, 01:56

Hondas are not all what these fanatics make them out to be I see lots of them on the side of the road... broken down.

I have a 1990 Olds Cutlass Supreme International when I bought it it had 70,000 and it now has 170,000 miles on the original motor and I have never done any major repairs to the car, and I have NEVER been stranded in the car. GM cars are not junk They are quality cars and some people can get bad ones,but that doesn't make GM as a whole builders of junk. I have seen many Hondas that were lemons also. As far as the guy who said the part was made in mexico... look at any car... they all have parts made in foreign countries because they can get the parts made for nothing there. This is the cause of the Untied Auto Worker Unions shops...jacking up the wages so that the companies have no choice, but to farm out part work to 3rd world countries. I personally would never buy a Honda. Just my humble opinion.

8th Jan 2004, 05:40

I agree that with this person's report about this vehicle. I too have had many many problems with my 1994 AWD Safari. A very common problem is the under-design of the front suspension. I had the drivers side torsion bar snap while driving with my family in the vehicle. The van had less than 100K miles on it at the time. I posted a complaint on the web site of the NHTSB and received a flood of emails from other owners with exactly the same problem. Most other problems I have experienced seem to be common among other owners. I would be very hesitant to buy another one.

20th Oct 2004, 08:14

The guy who has the lemon Safari must have gotten one of the very few bad ones. I currently drive a 1994 GMC Safari and I would not trade it for a 2005 Dodge Caravan in a million years. My Safari has almost 200,000 km on it and the original motor is still 99 percent according to my licensed mechanic. My dad has a 1997 Plymouth Voyager (same as the Dodge Caravan) with 90,000 km on it and he's on his THIRD engine.

16th Nov 2004, 09:39

I had a Caravan and traded it for a 2000 GMC Safari Van. I've had more luck with the transmission in the Safari and the engine is stronger. Even when I'm fully loaded the Safari gets up like it's empty. However, the power locks were fixed at about 30,000 miles and broke again by 50,000 miles. And, the power windows are rather unreliable (I'm waiting for the driver's side to totally stop working before I replace the motors on both sides). In, addition, I see I'm not the only one with cracking vinyl door arm rests, but this is still the toughest minivan out there and the only option for me.

29th Jan 2005, 18:31

Love my 1993 Safari.

I'm a contractor, and I was contemplating a truck, but bought the little van seeing it as a hauling tool box, keeping my tools safe from theft.

It has turned out to be the greatest little van anyone could hope for. It pulls 2 tons of building materials around on my dual axle trailers easily...

It hauls my other materials, supplies and tools around with ease...

It is very maneuverable in tight places, even with the trailer.

It has lost the safety switch for the start in park, and I have yet to replace it.

It has lost power window function in the passenger side after 148,000 miles.

The bolt in the driver's side upright needed replacement at 140,000 miles (I'm a big guy, to be fair)

And various other small inconveniences.

The motor and tranny is where this vehicle shines.

160,000 care free miles so far and not a hint of a problem to come.

I also have a 1997 Chevy 1500 4x4 and it has 300,000 miles on the original motor without ever having been disassembled. It's still going and the only part ever replaced on it was one of the two throttle body jets...

I can already see this van going in the same positive direction in my experience.

4th Mar 2005, 19:58

I agree completely. I had one of these vans for 12 years and it was the perfect sized vehicle for almost all jobs. Unfortunately I had to trade it in for a pickup, but I will only have good memories of that van. Even the original AC lasted the whole 180,000 miles. The truck (a 95 K1500 W/T) has been great so far, but is far less maneuverable than the little van was. It's a shame they will stop making them at the end of '05, since no one else markets a van like the Astro/Safari. It really filled a niche that no other vehicle did. Good thing they seem to last forever... it isn't hard to find a good used one around.

29th Apr 2005, 09:53

I own a Safari AWD 4.3l. It has 356000 km. Works like new (or better then new, no kidding).Excelent and trouble free drive train. Body stayed fair except all the doors sag. GM have got to make longer lasting interiors. They look nice...

All around good van and not a gas pig. Awd is very nice, but adds to the already front heavy 2WD.

I am going to trade up to a 98 AWD fully loaded with leather as soon as I find a suitable one.