IMR: Things: 1995 Dodge Caravan

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1995 Dodge Caravan
Purchased May 8, 2001 — 87,000 Miles
Currently — 87,500 Miles


This blue 1995 Dodge Caravan, as of yet unnamed, is my fifth and current car. She was the second car I ever bought on my own, but the first one I researched, found, and stalked well in advance. I picked it up in May 2001, while Jen and Katie were visiting Jen's parents in Florida.

The van replaced the sensible four-door 1984 Nissan I purchased in April 1998, which not-so-coincidentally started spraying gas about a month before I started hunting for something new.

It was a major step for me to even consider a van, my personal tastes running toward old, inefficient, rumbling American cars. But, after three years in a four-door Nissan (and three years as a happily domesticated husband and dad), I decided I could deal with it. It's the basic model, but it's very clean and the air conditioning works, so for the price ($5,000) I can't complain.

I picked up the van at Honda Windward after first being brainwashed by their many commercials and half-hour public-access infomercials, and then spending too much time on their website. The negotiation was painless (compared to the nightmare that was Tony Honda over the Nissan), and my sales dude, Curt Nakagawa, was a pleasure to work with.

It's too early to tell, but a week into van ownership I'm still very happy with the vehicle... and reasonably comfortable with the simple fact that I own a van at all.


© Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · E-Mail: ozawa@hawaii.edu · Created: 11 May 2001 · Last Modified: 11 May 2001