DoubaD

My uncle seems to have a habbit of driving the **** out of his vehicles and then
buying a new one after only 3-4 years. He bought a 2001 Dodge caravan brand
new and he drove it up until a couple months ago. He drives it hard and it has
it now has a bunch of problems wrong with it, i'm wondering how bad some of these
problems are because they are willing to sell me the van for only 1000$. I know
I can easily do some body work for the bit of rust that is on the van and I know
that I can clean out the interior because I dont think he's ever cleaned it since he's
owned it (its daaaam filthy). Those two things aren't a big problem for me because
they're both very fixable with a bit of time. My concern is that it had an engine light,
my aunt told me about it so I brought my ODB2 code reader over to check it out.
The reader found alot of codes but most of them are easily fixable. I have no
intentions of driving this van, the whole point of buying it and fixing it is purely for
profit and nothing else. Also, I'm on summer break so I have the time to do alot
of work to it. Below are the codes that were given to me by the reader, I dont want
to put too much cash into this to get these things cleared up, but some of them
can be easily fixed and others I'd need an opinion of a mechanic or someone who knows
what they're doing.



P0731 - Gear 1 Incorrect Ratio (this concerns me but im not sure if its just a sensor or if i have to change the tranny)

P0700 - Transmission Control System Malfunction (another major concern)

P0500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction (I seen the speedometer go nuts, i'd probably leave it as is)

P0720 - Output Speed Sensor Circuit Malfunction (seems to be the same as the above)

C - Catalyst Monitor (probably a little pricey)

O - Oxygen Sensor Monitor (probably pricey)

OH - Oxygen Sensor Heater Monitor (not sure about this one)

E - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Monitor (i think this is a cheap one to fix)


Let me know what you guys think, maybe some of these are easier or harder to correct then I
think, any info would be great, in the end I'm looking for a profit.

imported_Fug

wow...ur uncle beat the sh*t outa that thing...lol....sorry thats all the advice i am good for

DoubaD

anyone?

Turbo4U

I would be pissed if i bought my car off your uncle

DoubaD

... you'd be paying 1000 bucks for a van that looks like its been beatin to **** and has been....
dont like it.. dont buy it
its a grand for a reason

stock94block

wow that van is messed up.

you're doing this for profit? do you know how much a used dodge caravan is worth...jack ****

DoubaD

i havn't bought it yet, most of them that year seem to be goin for 6-8 grand

DoubaD

b

newman

I would say buy it and flip it - make some money on the side

As for the codes,

P0731 - Gear 1 Incorrect Ratio (this concerns me but im not sure if its just a sensor or if i have to change the tranny)
P0700 - Transmission Control System Malfunction (another major concern)
P0500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction (I seen the speedometer go nuts, i'd probably leave it as is)
P0720 - Output Speed Sensor Circuit Malfunction (seems to be the same as the above)

If I were to guess your uncle probably cooked the tranny. Have you checked the fluid level? Since you have four codes related to the tranny I don't believe its a sensor. It amy be the trannys wiring harness that is internal. My guess is its something you couldn't fix in the driveway.

C - Catalyst Monitor (probably a little pricey)
O - Oxygen Sensor Monitor (probably pricey)
OH - Oxygen Sensor Heater Monitor (not sure about this one)
E - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Monitor (i think this is a cheap one to fix)

Does the monitor mean module? If so that will be a problem because the price of the sensors will just add to your bill. Most of the sensors are well over $100 and most of them are dealer items.

If you want to save money unplug the EGR and bypass it

DoubaD

how can i make the most money out of this thing, even tho alot is wrong with it, its still a 2001 for 1grand, im sure its worth more than that considering you could probably put in 1 mroe grand and it would be fine

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

buy it and use it as a winter car. that's what I'd do.

DoubaD

that has crossed my mind too, but looking at autotrader all of the 2001 caravans range from 7000-16000. If i can fix it up and sell it for 6000 then i gots at least a 4000$ profit. then i can buy a winter car and have alot more cash left over to put into the ek

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

YOU wanna make money, YOU figure it out. sounds fair to me.

DoubaD

i wasn't twising anybodies arm... thanks for the help?..

imported_winner007

Dodge caravan are famous for the transmission breaking down. So yeah. U buy what u paid for. This car must be running like **** then otherwise he won't sell it for $1000. He knows why he is selling it for so cheap. If he buys a new car he could go to the dealership and trade in the car and get like $2000 out of it instead selling it to u for $1000 rite? U think about it. It is rusty already? It must have been in an accident then if it is rusted already. Well good luck on it. If u know what u are doing then i would sugeest u buying it. If u know nothing about cars then i wouldn't touch it. That's my advice.

A new cat will run u around $150-$250
A new O2 sensor will be like $250-$350
A EGR is like $125

If u want to buy it change the O2 sensor first and go from there. The 02 sensor affects a lot of stuff like giving the car a leaner or richer mixture. That's why it might affect the tranny a little. So yeah.

DoubaD

they're giving it to me for 1000$ because they are stupid with money, they spend it on everything then give their stuff away weeks later for free. They just gave my sister a 2000$ couch for free because of a quarter-inch long slit in the couch cushion. The van wasn't in any accidents, it has a couple minor spots of surface rust around the back hatch.

sohcnotec

These aren't codes, don't worry.
These are just the OBD2 monitors that haven't been reset yet by the ECU. Do worry about those tranny codes however.

As for the tranny codes, you may be able to get away with throwing in a VSS and the output speed sensor (~$50 new from dealer). It may help your tranny problems. Both are easy to change.

DoubaD

alright, i spoke with a mechanic today, he told me the same thing, he said its probably just the speed sensor that is making the other problems happen, he said it would cost about 40$ (pretty much what you said) and i shouldn't have any trouble changing it.