what's the scuttlebutt on eurovans?

[chachi]

...

[SlowLane]

the wife and i are trying to find a reliable, somewhat likeable vehicle that seats 7. she drifted from a volvo xc90

If she drifts back to the XC90, avoid the T6. They eat transmissions for breakfast.

i thought we ought to at least consider the eurovans. i have a friend who has one and he loves it but says he averages $1k in yearly maintenance (from a shop)! what's the word on the street?

I hear that you'll probably want the VR6 for adequate power.

$1k per year? from a shop? that sounds pretty low to me. What does 1k buy you from a shop these days?

Frankly, you'll probably be happier in the long run with the Acura, or a Toyota.

[Amskeptic]

the wife and i are trying to find a reliable, somewhat likeable vehicle that seats 7. she drifted from a volvo xc90

If she drifts back to the XC90, avoid the T6. They eat transmissions for breakfast.

i thought we ought to at least consider the eurovans. i have a friend who has one and he loves it but says he averages $1k in yearly maintenance (from a shop)! what's the word on the street?

I hear that you'll probably want the VR6 for adequate power.

$1k per year? from a shop? that sounds pretty low to me. What does 1k buy you from a shop these days?

Frankly, you'll probably be happier in the long run with the Acura, or a Toyota.

The automatics in the Eurovan are known for premature failures due to stupid causes that exact major failures.
The VR6 is an excellent engine until you overheat (your fault) or neglect oil changes that bugger the overly complicated dual chain drive on the 24 valve engines. Apparently there is a combination sprocket made of "too-soft" metal that VW has known about for ages, but will not fess up to.

The Eurovan is a soulless expanse of uninspired plasticky plastic plastically plastered inside, and it is an aerobox boxy blob on the outside. Yuck.

A likeable seven-seater includes a lovely GoWesty Vanagon for a mere $55,000.00. It will be worth more money in ten years than any piece of cynical trash you could buy new or used tomorrow. That Volvo is one of them. Not one Caravan/Routan/TownNCountry Dodgebox meets the "likeability" criterium.
Colin

[Lanval]

You can look at the issues surrounding the Eurovan on the Samba. A search in the Vanagon/Eurovan forum will suggest to you the problems (transmission/timing chain/AC compressor) that are standard. I understand the timing chain is fairly involved to get at, causing an expensive repair, even if you didn't ruin the engine by waiting for the chain to break.

I will politely disagree with Colin on the XC90. We have a 2005 5 cyl/turbo and it is a pleasure to drive. I often take it on longer (30 min+) trips, or when I don't want to sit in traffic; it's my wife's car, but it's quite nice. It is however, expensive (as are all Volvos) to repair.

I agree with slowlane, unless your wife is willing to tolerate the vagaries of the vanagon's performance and/or you are willing to work on it yourself consistently, or go the Go Westy route and get one that's been re-done. There is some discussion on the Samba, however, about owners who have bought GW vans, and then sold them within a surprisingly short amount of time (say 1-2) years. Generally GW has a very good reputation, but their prices are high for what is essentially a used van. IMHO.

ML

[Bleyseng]

Avoid the 5 cylinder Eurovans is all I know as a friend had one and it had many problems.