Driving old minivan from BC to Ontario

[hagbard]

Got a couple questions but lets start with some background.

Took my 97 Voyager in to the dealer a while back and they said it need new struts. A short time ago I took it to a Petro-Can machanic and he said it needed new ball joints but that the struts were "fine". So, who knows. Both might need being done, neither or something else.

Anyway, this car has had nothing done to its transmission, has 176,000 on it though it does have a more recent timing belt (@110k). It seems to run fine but my wife thinks its a bit slow going uphill.

Now the questions:

1. Would it be nuts to drive this van to SW Ontario loaded with about 400lbs of stuff plus one 125lb kid? Canadian route all the way, btw.

2. Once I arrive in Ontario, can I sell the car without registering it? That is, take off the plates in sell it without doing a safety or emissions test? Tried to find the answer at the Ministry site but its not clear.

If figure if I can make it out with my cargo, I will have fulfilled my requirement for a hauling type car and can focus on a sedan and my wife can keep her Smart car.

[William W]

Got a couple questions but lets start with some background.

Took my 97 Voyager in to the dealer a while back and they said it need new struts. A short time ago I took it to a Petro-Can machanic and he said it needed new ball joints but that the struts were "fine". So, who knows. Both might need being done, neither or something else.

Anyway, this car has had nothing done to its transmission, has 176,000 on it though it does have a more recent timing belt (@110k). It seems to run fine but my wife thinks its a bit slow going uphill.

Now the questions:

1. Would it be nuts to drive this van to SW Ontario loaded with about 400lbs of stuff plus one 125lb kid? Canadian route all the way, btw.

2. Once I arrive in Ontario, can I sell the car without registering it? That is, take off the plates in sell it without doing a safety or emissions test? Tried to find the answer at the Ministry site but its not clear.

If figure if I can make it out with my cargo, I will have fulfilled my requirement for a hauling type car and can focus on a sedan and my wife can keep her Smart car.


I suppose it all depends whether you can trust the Van getting you thru the Rookies and whether you mind getting stranded in the middle of no where. Personally, I will get a quote from SeaRail (http://www.searail.ca/) and find out the cost of moving the Van. And with these guys, you can pretty much pack your Van to the max and they still charge you the same fee. At gas prices these day, this may be the more economical route.

[cq358]

If you want to register your van in Ontario, you just need to changed your plate, since your car is more than 3 years old and I believe the ministry will not charge you for 8%PST in here.

+1 for the idea of shipping it back to Ontario. (no hassle, no headache)

[l69norm]

... he said it needed new ball joints but that the struts were "fine". .

If it needs ball joints, then you should get it done before a trip. If a ball joint separates at highway speeds, you'll probably lose control. Do they make a funny "clunk" noise when you do a tight turn?

I would just sell the van in BC and ship the 400 lbs cargo to Ontario. You could probably get $1500 for the van and use that towards airfare.

[cq358]

I think the cheapest way to go to Ontario is by Greyhound. It cost 150ish/person and 3 boxes of luggages per person.

[MacGyver]

Part of me wants to say: get new ball joints and do the cross country trek, if for no other reason than the adventure. But another part of me says to sell the van in BC, fly yourself, and ship your stuff instead. The economy in Ontario is tanking so you might have a hard time selling a 10 year old car here, particularly a minivan which tend to be more or less disposable, even if it did come from BC and has little or no rust.

Either way you'll probably break even.

[kbjy11]

i say drive it.

as long as your feel it's a safe ride, should be fine.

Mechanics tend to push sales...

consider a CAA membership, if you don't have one already.

[leon200608]

Got a couple questions but lets start with some background.

Took my 97 Voyager in to the dealer a while back and they said it need new struts. A short time ago I took it to a Petro-Can machanic and he said it needed new ball joints but that the struts were "fine". So, who knows. Both might need being done, neither or something else.

Anyway, this car has had nothing done to its transmission, has 176,000 on it though it does have a more recent timing belt (@110k). It seems to run fine but my wife thinks its a bit slow going uphill.

Now the questions:

1. Would it be nuts to drive this van to SW Ontario loaded with about 400lbs of stuff plus one 125lb kid? Canadian route all the way, btw.

2. Once I arrive in Ontario, can I sell the car without registering it? That is, take off the plates in sell it without doing a safety or emissions test? Tried to find the answer at the Ministry site but its not clear.

If figure if I can make it out with my cargo, I will have fulfilled my requirement for a hauling type car and can focus on a sedan and my wife can keep her Smart car.

97 Voyager/Caravan??! Man, you are so brave, don't you worry about your transmission?

I had a 96 Caravan, transmission total failure in the middle of nowhere......

[new_vr]

i say drive it.

as long as your feel it's a safe ride, should be fine.

Mechanics tend to push sales...

consider a CAA membership, if you don't have one already.
I would highly recommend the CAA membership (or equivalent) if you are driving so much in an older car. Might pay itself off in money saved in hotels too

[Cough]

Drive it blindfolded. As fast as you can to get there quickly. Then you wont have to worry about the balljoints.

[ak-47]

97 Voyager/Caravan??! Man, you are so brave, don't you worry about your transmission?

I had a 96 Caravan, transmission total failure in the middle of nowhere......

+1000
happened twice to our van, finally ditched it for a honda

[hagbard]

If it needs ball joints, then you should get it done before a trip. If a ball joint separates at highway speeds, you'll probably lose control. Do they make a funny "clunk" noise when you do a tight turn?

Hah...yep. That loosing control at highway speed sounds pretty scary.

I would just sell the van in BC and ship the 400 lbs cargo to Ontario. You could probably get $1500 for the van and use that towards airfare.

That was our original plan, guess we should stick with it. We have everything boxes already to send Canada Post ground.

[stevethewheel]

I think the answer to selling would be the same as when you were trying to to a deal with your mother (in-laws?) car awhile ago.

As far as driving goes...

The transmission stories you are hearing likely relate to using the incorrect fluid. Those Chryslers are really fussy, even a drop (top-up) of the wrong fluid destroys the tranny. Read the label carefully before you put any in.

The CAA idea is a great one. Cheap insurance for a trip like that.

If you need ball joints don't mess around, but be sure you need them. Go to a private garage on the recommendation of a friend, or to the dealer and tell them you're going to Ontario with it.

400 lbs. plus the 3 of you is not a problem load wise for that van.

Expect to get $1500-2500 for the van in Ontario, assuming you do the safety and e-test for the buyer. If you don't do safety then expect $1000-1500.

[at1212b]

176K isn't really that much/old, but definitely the ball/joint thing is a good idea.

Maybe even get all your fluids changed, especially coolant/antifreeze to determine the acidity to make sure your cooling system is good and won't crap out on you during the drive.

Going highway and constant speed shouldn't put too much stress on the Tranny so as long as you're cleared that its in good shape, I don't think would cause you too much problems. Tires too, make sure they're in good shape, properly inflated. You don't want that thing exploding on you, esp with the road being extra hot in the summer. But also maybe consider a portable tire inflater and sealant too just so you're not stuck in the middle of nowhere.

[l69norm]

Hah...yep. That loosing control at highway speed sounds pretty scary...

The weird clunk is the ball joint moving around. It attaches the wheel to the control arm. If it pulls apart, the only things holding that wheel to the car is the strut. As the wheel slides out, it will try to steer the van in whatever direction it wants to go (i.e. You try to steer right, the other wheel tries to steer left) so it could spin you into the ditch or oncoming traffic.

I think it's a $500-$600 repair ($200-$300 parts, $200 labor, $100 wheel alignment)

[hagbard]

At this point, I think it best to get rid of it. Thanks for the advice, accept for the one that suggested I put on a blind fold and drive my family off a cliff.

[hagbard]

I suppose it all depends whether you can trust the Van getting you thru the Rookies and whether you mind getting stranded in the middle of no where. Personally, I will get a quote from SeaRail (http://www.searail.ca/) and find out the cost of moving the Van. And with these guys, you can pretty much pack your Van to the max and they still charge you the same fee. At gas prices these day, this may be the more economical route.

Just checked the SeaRail thing, they state you may not have any personal possessions in the vehicle, so that won't work for this. I am considering it for moving my wife's smart car rather than selling it.