The Allpar 200,000 Mile Club

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 234,000 Miles • Added: 2012-04-22 • Modified: 2012-05-18

Major Repairs: No rebuilds AFAIK, original engine and trans. , replaced seals (rear main, axle, torque, oil pan gasket etc.) and the usual maintenance stuff.

Comments: For a Quebec, Canada car, it's in an amazing condition. Body is pretty much rust free (and we've got horrible weather and winters). It's been rust-proofed every 2 or 3 years since 1998. I'm the 2nd owner. The guy was a spokesperson for an insurance company and he travelled all over Quebec all year long from 1998 'till summer 2011 with this car. It's been in a small fender bender and it's pretty much it. It also has an aftermarket manual sunroof and the A/C has been thoroughly deleted. Otherwise, the transmission oil is now Redline C+ (works great!), it has a short ram intake for easier removal in maintenance and the whole exhaust system is replaced with Dynomax components. Growls just a bit more and looks better.

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 373,030 Miles • Added: 2012-05-17 • Modified: 2012-05-18

Major Repairs: alternator $109 $25 core exhaust cat $143 Driver door ???? Rear Hatch rust Front Hood rust

Comments: I just bought this vehicle today $500 plus new alternator $109 now the battery may cost another hundy. 5/17/2012 today my odometer read 373042

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 302,863 Miles • Added: 2012-05-03 • Modified: 2012-05-14

Major Repairs: None

Comments:

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 250,002 Miles • Added: 2012-05-07 • Modified: 2012-05-14

Major Repairs: Transfer rebuilt at 165000ish. New intake gaskets at 245000

Comments: Everyday driver

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 213,130 Miles • Added: 2012-05-10 • Modified: 2012-05-14

Major Repairs: Transmission rebuild, head gasket

Comments: Still runs and looks good

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 204,765 Miles • Added: 2012-05-14 • Modified: 2012-05-14

Major Repairs: Three radiators in 5 years

Comments: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/04/25/behind-the-scenes-a-workhorse-put-out-to-pasture/ A bittersweet event this evening: It will be the last photo shoot that my 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan will ever take me to. Anyone who’s had their car photographed by me in the last six years or so has, more than likely, seen me trundle up in this. To my eternal shame. It was the car I never wanted, a car I have so many rude names for I’ve lost track, a car that I’ve publicly proclaimed makes my breasts weep with milk, so thoroughly does it sap my testosterone and boost my estrogen levels. My mother-in-law bought this 2001 Grand Caravan new in the post-September 11 “Keep America Rolling” fire sales; dual-zone climate, cloth seats, removable seats (no Stow & Go), four-wheel disc brakes. When she decided that she couldn’t live without Stow & Go seating, in late 2006, she went to trade in, and the (lack of) trade-in value was shocking: $6,000 with just 75K on the odometer. It stickered for north of $30K. I thought, for six grand, I’d take it, despite the interior smelling of wet golden retriever. For a combination of baby duty (the bambino was not yet walking when we took possession) and photo duty, with pushbutton sliding side doors and a 20 MPG highway thirst, it was perfect for my needs – if a little lardy and oversized. It is a tool – blunt, uncomplicated, effective, necessary. The two best decisions I ever made with it: 1) going full synthetic on my oil, and 2) getting a set of 80,000 Michelin X radials for it. I am absolutely convinced that the synthetic saved my bacon at least twice during cooling-system failures, and the Michelins have lasted 100,000 miles – they rode like pillows, wore like iron, and were probably the best investment I could have made. I have also taken all of the middle and rear seats out, filled the back with plastic tubs of Hot Wheels cars until I couldn’t see out the windows, set that rear axle down perilously close to the bumpstops so I’m going down I-10 and I-40 with a cowboy rake, and gone to sell my wares at die-cast shows across the region. (I’m not sure what was freakier: the notion that I have so much extra die-cast stuff to get rid of, or the notion that this contraption could swallow it all and look for more.) I’ve shot out of every corner of it save the driver’s seat, and even propped myself up on the roof on multiple occasions. And that was while it was moving. And yet, liking it was never an option. Grudging admiration for its capabilities, yes. But liking it? Mmmm….no. It was always what I needed, but very rarely what I wanted. It’s got 205,000 miles on the clock (I managed to drive it 4,000 miles from mid-February to mid-March), and while the 3.3-liter Mitsubishi V-6 is as robust as ever, it’s the rest of the mechanical stuff around it that worries me. A new set of tires are coming up. The tie rod ends are allowing too much play. The mechanics who installed my radiator a year ago are refusing to stand behind their work and warranty it – they claim it’s the water pump going bad, even though it isn’t. Leaky valve covers, including one buried under the cowl for my transverse-engined machine. And the transaxle, which has lasted this long, has never been gone through. It’s working now, and I don’t even want to mess with it. The stuff I foresee happening will cost north of $2,000 to get sorted; for $2,000, I’d just as soon have something that’s not going to need repair for a little while. And I\\\'ve never gotten the transaxle serviced; probably should have, never had the money. Spidey senses tingling, telling me that it\\\'s good to get out of it now. And that’s the stuff worth fixing. The seats do not conform to my body type, and hit me in all the wrong places. (Operating the power-seat buttons managed to rip them off the seat. Nice.) The doors lock automatically above 20 MPH and do not automatically unlock when in park; the rear door won’t open at all unless it’s in Park; it’s a royal hassle. The transmission likes to go from fourth to second while downshifting, instantly launching the engine to 5,000 RPM and creating a din that many a Hemmings co-worker has laughed about while I’m on the phone with them; finding third while tipping into passing gear is something that I’ve not been able to get a hold on in the five and a half years I’ve owned it. The doors are supposed to unlock and/or open at the touch of a button, and do so – if only occasionally. At different times, the glue sticking each taillamp onto the bezel has come undone, one time garnering me a fix-it ticket from an Arizona Highway Patrol officer on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s exploded at least two radiators and two radiator hoses. (When one of them went, I was driving at night to a morning shoot, and starting at 85 MPH I managed to coast the eight miles or so from I-10, down 111 into Palm Springs, red lights and stop signs be damned, and roll into the parking lot of my hotel.) A million little things, nibbling at the edges of my tolerance. It’s time for my shoot. An easy time of it – not a lot of mileage or derring-do required. Local, mercifully, and with a friend who knows the drill. Just get me to the location and back again. Then we’ll get it cleaned and tart it up nice and pretty for the next owner. (postscript: sold on Craigslist in FIVE HOURS here in Phoenix.)

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 210,000 Miles • Added: 2012-05-14 • Modified: 2012-05-14

Major Repairs: At 158,500 miles, water pump seized and shredded the timing belt. At 176,000 miles, fuel injectors went bad. Replaced. Also replaced spark plugs, wires, valve cover gasket, and purged the vapor canister. No other work done. It needs motor mounts, rear brakes, and the car is currently 12,000 miles past its last scheduled oil change.

Comments: Car has refused to die. Odometer reads 210,000, but the speedometer and odometer only only work about 40% of the time so the actual number of miles is probably much, much higher. As of May of 2012, the radiator clogged and overheated the engine, blowing the head gasket. Despite this, it continues to commute 80 miles a day to and from work with no problems at all. I have no idea how

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 205,674 Miles • Added: 2012-01-16 • Modified: 2012-04-29

Major Repairs: Radiator Jan 2011 Front Driveshaft Nov 2010

Comments: This Jeep is rock solid, it is very reliable and has NEVER let me down. Even after 331,000 KM and climbing it is an incredible driving vehicle. It had a little rust on the drivers rocker panel which I recently repaired and still hass a great shine on it. I will keep driving this until it falls apart ....

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 227,500 Miles • Added: 2012-04-27 • Modified: 2012-04-29

Major Repairs: I have replaced the alternator, the radator, and its had some body work, I do the oil change every 2500 miles.

Comments: Its my every day driver, got it from my brother. I have put over 100,000 miles on it my self. Runs great, I take it 300 miles up north a a bunch of times every summer. It is one of the best cars Chrysler ever made.

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 200,013 Miles • Added: 2009-05-06 • Modified: 2012-04-27

Major Repairs: Cylinder Head was rebuilt at 193,193. Other than the Cylinder Head, it has had nothing but regular maintenence!

Comments: on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 7:30AM CST, the Bottom end of the EasyBreeze's 2.0L 4 Cylinder Engine Locked up on the Highway effectively ending its 3 year Tenure as my Daily Driver. Final Mileage was 226,262 when the engine Locked up. I have yet to find out what caused it to lock up.

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 246,500 Miles • Added: 2012-04-11 • Modified: 2012-04-22

Major Repairs: Two biggest repairs Ive done were tie-rods and an AC compressor. Recently had the transmission fluid changed and the tech told me that the fluid was pristine.

Comments: great truck. I get roughly 19-20 highway. Runs like a champ

Owner: Known, not shown • Mileage: 236,000 Miles • Added: 2012-04-11 • Modified: 2012-04-22

Major Repairs: Nothing other than routine maintenance

Comments: Good solid little car. I put a cold air intake, free flow exhaust, and shift reprogramming kit from transdapt. Shifts much better and added some toughness to the tranny. It can shif either auto in D or you can manually shift through the gears. I have changed the oil every 3k since I obtained the car with 17k on it. So the miles are all mine. Hardly any rust and the chasis is clean.