Do you ever.....

....have that day where you feel like "The Outlaw Torn"? Got my 06 Grand Caravan back from the shop after a new rack & pinion (NOT cheap). Now I'm getting the old Grand (99) back from the shop after having brake work done. As if that was not enough my check engine light came on (yes I checked the fuel cap) less than a week after the 06 was out of the shop. Thinking I need a better vehicle or better mechanic or maybe both....

all the time. A better car or mechanic won't help I am convinced that light is connected to the bank account, if you have $400 the light comes on a $800 repair. Stimulates the economy you know.

thats why i run even older ones, my operation requires that i run 7 vehicles myself, 5 of these are trucks 3 with specialized commercial bodies,of the 2 with the factory bodies the newest is a '94 diesel, [ dodge] the 12 valve Cummings is as simple as it gets, this is truck as made 300 grand, working every day and there is still nothing wrong with it, repairs have been just the usual, starter, waterpump, radiator and steering box, not bad the other trucks are even older back in the '80's repairs have been virtually non existent, jut maintenance items, and that done here on the place, by comparision, the wife's monte carlo ss always needs some kind of sensor, replaced, its on its 5th thermostat and sensor at 100,000, paint is pealing off, [ my 80 chevy 1 ton still has its factory paint faded but still all there] my feeling from this and observing my friends newer stuff is that after around 1990 all cars got way more complex and as these vehicles age repairs will be ever increasing, and ever more expensive to keep these new vehicles on the road, a person really has 2 choices, either buy a new vehicle every 5 or 6 years and pay more for it than we did for our first house, or get a much older simpler vehicle which doesnt have all the complicated electronics on it, and it simply sits there and runs. Having grown up when cars were simple, ie inline 6 cylinder engine and basically what it needed to go down the road, and seeing cars get to the point they are now, its just incredible, ill take a old one every time, take a new pickup, out the door with all the bells and whistles in a 1 ton version around 70 thousand dollars, but its aerodynamic,and gets decent fuel economy. Now say a 1947 chevy pickup, out the door what 1200? worth today anywhere from scrap to mid 30 grand if its been restored, it also is aerodynamic, and gets good gas mileage, it doesnt look like some version of the egg, most often if it stops running, you get your hip roof toolbox out of the back and change either the points and condenser or the gas filter and its running again. today, if your truck stops running, you have it towed to the dealer for several hundred bucks, then a 25 year old kid changes out parts on it for a week trying to figure out which little electronic doo hicky is bad, while you make a 900 dollar payment on a truck your not able to drive, thats progress, then you pay another several thousand to get the truck out of the shop if the warranty doesnt cover the repair, and for a truck that does the same job that the old 1947 model was doing back in the day, it just didnt have cup holders leather seats or gps, but they now sell all that at walmatr

We had a 99 voyager it held up good got rid of it at around 100,000 and got a used 06 grand caravan with the stow and go seating. Really liked the hauling capacity. It would hold as much as a full size pickup. I got rid of it at around 70,000 ?? miles as it seemed to always need something or another. It had a leaky steering rack,and a pesky check engine light that would come and go.Intake looked a tad wet too ? Glad to be rid of it !

Unhook the battery cable over night. That'll fix it.

my niece's 99 caravan has the ck eg lite on also, took to local parts store that hooked up checker to find out it was/is the egr valve, about $80 part, haven't replaced it yet, van still runs fine with light on,,, can disco battery post for a few minutes and re conect, it may stay off, thaen again may come back on after a while..

The wife's 99 caravan has 180,000 on the clock and going strong with nothing but maintainance costs. It's a 6 cylinder,what are the ones not holding up.

We have an 05 Grand Caravan and the EGR went out at about 50k miles. Same thing as yours, the check engine light came on but everything seemed OK. That is about the only problem we have had with it , other than something chewing through the wires to the wheel speed sensor, so the anti lock brakes light came on. At about 150k miles now.

I'm honestly surprised that my check engine light is still burning. Must be an LED.