Death of the minivan

[Larommi]

Maybe, Bubba, but what's a new truck payment plus insurance? Spent about $300 in parts for the Suburban last year, and did all the labor. Last night my wife left the lights on in her Escape, and when I jump started the vehicle, it took me a couple of minutes just to figure out which anonymous black box under hood housed the battery.

I don't really need a truck right now, but I know what you are saying. I paid 20 and change for the truck 10 years ago. I will be getting roughly half that back, I cannot pass up the opportunity. the longer I keep it the less it is worth and I could use the money right now.

[slgrieb]

I don't really need a truck right now, but I know what you are saying. I paid 20 and change for the truck 10 years ago. I will be getting roughly half that back, I cannot pass up the opportunity. the longer I keep it the less it is worth and I could use the money right now.

I think NADA's guide says my old dog is worth about $1100, so not really much incentive to unload it as long as it stays cheap to keep. But, yeah, if I could get ten grand out of it, I'd have it up for sale today!

[3fingersalute]

I think NADA's guide says my old dog is worth about $1100, so not really much incentive to unload it as long as it stays cheap to keep. But, yeah, if I could get ten grand out of it, I'd have it up for sale today!

LOL, I tried to look up the "value" of my 87 Toyota pickup and it falls under "classic car" pricing

[JaxSon]

I still have my 2006 Chrysler Town & Country minivan with 199,000 miles on it. It still runs great. I've had to replace the alternator a couple of times and the EGR valve (right next to the alternator). Since the engine is a side-mounted V6, it was a PITA but it was doable. I have used it to haul 910 pounds of metal scrap to the recycling center in one trip and the owner/operator was surprised that I could put that much weight in there while some guys can't even put 500 pounds in their truck. I'm going to hold on to it as long as I can as I really hate having monthly car payments.

[3fingersalute]

I still have my 2006 Chrysler Town & Country minivan with 199,000 miles on it. It still runs great. I've had to replace the alternator a couple of times and the EGR valve (right next to the alternator). Since the engine is a side-mounted V6, it was a PITA but it was doable. I have used it to haul 910 pounds of metal scrap to the recycling center in one trip and the owner/operator was surprised that I could put that much weight in there while some guys can't even put 500 pounds in their truck. I'm going to hold on to it as long as I can as I really hate having monthly car payments.

I just got rid of our 2003 Caravan earlier this year. We had held onto it for trips to the beach, etc. but it just wasn't worth keeping anymore. Anyhow, I put an alternator on it before as well and yeah, it's a bit of a pain. Once I got smart and hit up the interwebs and found that removing the passenger tire was the way to go though it went a lot smoother.

I hauled couches, stacks of lumber, etc. in mine as well. It's really no different than a truck with a cap other than the rounded shape can be a hindrance.

[slgrieb]

LOL, I tried to look up the "value" of my 87 Toyota pickup and it falls under "classic car" pricing

Life's weird. It had been maybe a year or so since I looked up current value of the Suburban. Just for grins, I looked it up this afternoon, and Clifford is now a "Classic Car" and the value has risen a lot: http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Ca...Utility/Values Frankly, this makes me want to laugh until I wet myself.

[Muppet]

Saturday my youngest boy (9) and I replaced the waterpump on the wife's 99 Grand Caravan. It was pretty cool showing him auto mechanic stuff. He was genuinely interested in it. I put the van on ramps and asked him to slide under, on a creeper to find the leak. He was totally stoked when he was able to spot it right away. Then we watched a 4 minute youtube 'how-to' and went to work. Basically, I cracked the bolts loose and let him finish it off. Dude was lovin' playing grease monkey w/ Dad. He even go to go to the counter at AutoZone and check out the new part to make sure it was the same as the old one we took off.

[slgrieb]

Saturday my youngest boy (9) and I replaced the waterpump on the wife's 99 Grand Caravan. It was pretty cool showing him auto mechanic stuff. He was genuinely interested in it. I put the van on ramps and asked him to slide under, on a creeper to find the leak. He was totally stoked when he was able to spot it right away. Then we watched a 4 minute youtube 'how-to' and went to work. Basically, I cracked the bolts loose and let him finish it off. Dude was lovin' playing grease monkey w/ Dad. He even go to go to the counter at AutoZone and check out the new part to make sure it was the same as the old one we took off.

I think that's very cool. My daughters are definitely not into auto repair. On the other hand, they are both into knives and guns. We shoot a bit with our neighbors who have a membership in our local gun club. Kiddos have experience with both rifles and handguns, and a good role model in my neighbor's wife who competes in bench rest shooting, and can consistently shoot a 5 round half-inch group at 200 yards. Personally, I'm a horrible shot, and I probably couldn't blow off my own foot with a hand grenade. Used to be a good archer, though.

But, Elder Child is champing at the bit for a concealed carry permit that's still 2 years away for her. In the meantime, I guess I'll soon be buying her a gun that she can shoot at the range, even if she can't legally carry it. Since she's my child, I don't expect that to stop her. While I like Brownings and Glocks, I expect I'll buy her a Sig Sauer, because I don't think anyone produces a firearm with a more reliable action.