It is a 4 door model: two front doors, one sliding passenger side door, and the rear hatch. It has 2 captains chairs up front, with a 2-person bench in the middle row and a 3-person bench seat in the rear. There is still ample room for groceries, luggage, toys, etc... in the back cargo area behind the rear seat.
It has an automatic transmission and a V6 engine.
The online ads often don't give you much room you talk about the vehicle so I've provided more details here.
We bought the van in the summer of 2006 in-order to haul around our 1 year old, and 5 year old children. It worked perfectly for this because the large sliding door allowed easy access to insert and remove our child from the car seat. On road trips or shopping trips the bench seats provided a good surface to change diapers or clothes (all those funny parental things :).
Transmission
The van drove and worked very well for us for a couple of years, then in the summer of 2008 we did have some transmission issues. It was a hot July day and we were in the middle of returning from a camping trip. The van was loaded with camping supplies, 3 adults and 2 kids.
So the van was working hard (about 3.5 hours into the drive) in the hot sun, then it started sprinkling rain. Shortly after this the transmission began to slip a little. We were climbing a hill just outside of a town and we pulled over once we reached a safe area at the top of the hill. When I got out of the van and looked underneath I saw the transmission fluid spraying onto the ground.
Since that time I have needed to occasionally top up the transmission fluid, but no functional damage seems to have occurred. The transmission shifts smoothly and it seems fine on flat ground, but now when pulling hills the transmission warning light (on the knob of the gear shifter) begins to flash.
I have not had a mechanic examine the transmission, and I would try to just drive the van in the valley and not pull any large hills.
(I wonder if the cold rain onto the hot transmission exacerbated a small leak in the transmission pan, but as mentioned, I haven't had a mechanic look at it.)
Mileage
The van has 198,800 kms on it.
I have only had it insured periodically since 2008 because I purchased a new car soon after the transmission issues. The van has been in storage, uninsured and not driven since August 2010.
Window Issue
When I started it up just other day the driver's side electric window would not roll down. This is a new problem that has just occurred since being in storage. I do not know the cause of this malfunction.
Tires
The van currently has four winter tires on it which I bought new back in 2007. As I mentioned above in the "Mileage" section these tires have little mileage on them. They are still in good shape.
Proposed Usage
I believe the van would be a great addition to a family that does their driving primarily in the valley. Because of the transmission issues we had in the past I would not suggest it be used for driving up large hills, unless it is checked out by a certified transmission specialist. My primary vehicle is now my car so I have never had it fully examined.
Price
$ 500 obo
I really do like the van and the convenience of having the room and storage to haul around bikes in the back, canoe on top, and family inside it, but I'm paying off a new car and I don't want to continue just storing something that could go to better use with someone who will use it.
Contact
You can contact me by leaving a comment below or by emailing dyerclan@gmail.com
Thanks again for taking the time to read this.
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