If car has rebuilt engine do you use the mileage on new engine or the original mileage.

I beg to differ on the Chrysler comment and this article backs that up, taken from wikipedia: The Dodge Caravan is a passenger minivan manufactured by Chrysler and marketed under the Dodge brand. Introduced for model year 1984 and now in its fifth generation, the Caravan has been offered in short- wheelbase (1984-2007) and long-wheelbase (1987-present) variants, the latter as the Grand Caravan. Noted as a pioneering example of the minivan configuration, the Caravan has been manufactured and marketed worldwide alongside rebadged variants: the Plymouth Voyager (1984–2001), Chrysler Voyager (1988–2014), Chrysler Town & Country (1989–present), Chrysler Grand Voyager, Lancia Voyager (2011-2015) and Volkswagen Routan (2008–2012) — selling more than 11 million combined, worldwide.[1] Having played an instrumental role in Chrysler's 1980's survival and having survived Chrysler's 1990's merger with Daimler — Chrysler's current parent company, FCA, announced in early 2014 that the Dodge Caravan would end production after model year 2015.[2]

Yes, I stand corrected, however, irrespective of that fact, Consumer's Reports says that the overall score of the Dodge brand is 52 and they only recommend 33 percent of their vehicles with a lower than average predicted reliability. Plus, the Dodge Caravan from 2005 to 2012 is on their "used models to avoid" list. These are the cars that have a below average overall standard. If you want a good car, you're much better off with an Asian car. Even Mercedes Benz has slipped in the ratings and that's a pretty expensive car, proving that just price alone does not give you assurance that you're making a wise choice. Of the three domestic automakers, only Ford survived without bailout money and have thrived worldwide making some really nice domestic models, if you call them that. These days with globalization, it's hard to tell what precisely is an American car. Also, it's good to remember that popularity and quality has nothing whatsoever in common. Both Chrysler and Dodge unfortunately have proven themselves time and time again to keep changing the nameplates of many of their cars to confuse and keep the public in the dark. The PT Cruiser which was out a few years ago is gone, then remarkably, they bring back the Dodge Dart after it's been gone for decades and the resurrection of the old Charger, etc, It's a shell game. As you pointed out, all of these re-named variants is just a marketing tool. Very sad. Other companies do it to, Dodge and Chrysler are just so egregious about it. For Ford, there was the Aerostar, Windstar and Freestar. All were not great cars, they had to change the name to lose the bad reputation. The Honda Accord has been in full uninterrupted production since it's introduction in 1976, that's 39 years!

Mark I am just wondering, if you actually work on cars or are you more of a car buff? I have spent my life working on cars, so my comments are all based on my own experiences, but I am interested in the posts you have made that I have read. I really do wish I had more time and capacity to know much more about cars in general aside from my capabilities for repairing them. I do completely agree with your comments as to the Ford line, especially the Windstar. I had the misfortune to own a brand new 1998 Windstar purchased in 97. It was a lemon right out of the door, and after an argument with the selling/servicing dealer at 12,000 miles over the constant problems needing repairs (I never touch a car while it is under warranty) and it's failure to hold an alignment resulting in it needing 4 new tires plus them wanting to charge me for the third alignment in 11 months, I told them I am not paying another penny for this lemon and they needed to take it back. They said "not gonna happen, I said "that's not gonna happen either, you have five minutes to take the car back and find your own buyer for this lemon, if you don't I am going outside, taking my plates off it and driving it right straight through your show room window and as far as it can make it through the inside of your dealership after that". I must have looked and sounded very convincing, because they said OK OK well take it back and sell it" I will add that I have long since heard numerous horror stories about this same dealership and their unwillingness to stand by their products. As to the Chrysler's, I will say that I must be a glutton for punishment, because I have owned many of their minivans, all used from model years 84 up to a 2000. I would also add that the best ever year for them was 1994, which still had some quirks and problems, but with a bit of work and a few tweaks I did to that year's model when I owned it, was a killer van in every way. Then the idiot powers that be at Chrysler decided to start messing with everything all over again, and in my mechanical opinion it was all down hill very fast for every model year after that, in particular all model years from 2001 up to and including the 2011 based on my personal experiences, and the last 4 model years are even worse, mainly with electrical gremlins that they either will not acknowledge or just plain can't seem to fix them. Just google the minivan forums. My belief is, there are NO truly American cars being built or sold in the world today due to the overwhelming use of imported parts in today's cars. Simply assembling a car in the USA with an American badge does not qualify it as American, but hey, maybe that's just me and a few million other Americans that feel that way. As to the Honda's, again, from the point of view as a mechanic, their engineers and designers are also a bunch of idiots. A lot of impractical things go into these cars from a maintenance and repair standpoint, and all cars today contain way too many non re-usable or sacrificial plastic parts, requiring ridiculous amounts of money for replacement, such as all the fastening clips on the front and rear bumper covers(roughly 15 at $3.99 each at the local Honda Dealer). which is one of the most frequently damaged parts needing repair. Just sayin'.......

JP1956, thank you very much for your flattering remarks, actually, I don't work on cars; they require very technical skills and equipment. What I do instead is read a lot of articles on cars and talk with people about them. I'm in my 60s and have owned a lot of cars, so, like you, I've had a lot of experiences with various situations. I've had American cars from the 50s and 60s, German cars from the 70s, early 80s and Asian cars. I had a 1995 Honda Accord Ex for 19 years and it served me well, but, I had my share of repairs and maintenance to 150,000 miles, What I've found is "its better to be lucky than good" in most cases. In 1994, Honda was chosen by Car and Driver as their car of the year and the '95 was certainly a great car, but, a few years later in 2001, the same Accords had transmission problems. I have a theory about cars that model and nameplates that have been around for a consistent period of time are generally better bets than cars and manufacturers that keep changing the name or model simply to erase a bad car's name from customer's memory. For example, I purchased a second hand 1985 Ford Thunderbird and kept that for 12 years, it was a great car and I didn't have a lot of repairs and maintenance with that car. It was a gas hog though. In the case of the Thunderbird, the 1985 model was the 40th year of the car's history that started in 1955. Another thing I look at is the specs of the engine and torque. Years ago I learned from someone who actually races cars at Indy that it's really important to look for a car that has equal horsepower and torque. When these two numbers are identical or very close to being identical, you get a really smooth power band across the board from zero to full speed and have a more responsive engine in all situations. My current car is a Subaru Outback 2.5 Four and it has 170 hp and 170 foot pounds of torque with a compression ratio of 10. It's a big station wagon, but, that thing will go to 60 in less than 10 seconds. Years ago, that was considered pretty fast and most cars that did that in the 60s were gas guzzling 455 V8s. Now the fact that you can get that performance in a Four is pretty amazing. I really don't need a super fast car, but, those people that do can get a WRX STI with 305 hp and that will rocket you to 60 in less than 7 seconds, but, speed costs money not only in tickets but repair as well, I really don't need or want that at this stage in my life. The other thing I liked about the Subaru is the way it handles for such a big car. You know, it's a "flat four" and the engine sits very low in the engine compartment. The lateral acceleration and turns in this car makes it a pleasure to drive and the boxer engine seems eager and willing to rev up when I need power to go. I see what you mean about the expensive parts on the Honda, the problem is, these cars and most of their parts come from Japan and when something breaks, which in my case, was not too often, it's expensive. I did like the performance of the car and it performed well; I maintained that car like an airplane. When I sold it, everything worked perfectly and I got $3,000 for it. It's all about how you maintain your car. If you're a mechanic, I'm sure you can appreciate that. As far as "American cars" go these days, I'm pretty impressed with the Ford Fusion, although, their electronics suck big time, way too complicated "My Touch". The car handles like a nice sports sedan. So, why did I buy my Subaru Outback? I have a small teardrop trailer that weighs just under 1,000 pounds. I needed a car that had sufficient towing capacity ( it can tow 2,700 pounds), but, wanted respectable fuel economy, the 2.5 fits the bill. Subaru does offer a 3.6 Six cylinder, but, you know what, it only has the advantage of towing 3,000 pounds, a mere 300 extra pounds, and burns a lot more fuel. Yes, it will accelerate to 60 faster, but, again, its only one and half second faster than the Four. Another clincher for me was that I was looking for a late model and chose a 2010 Outback, the first year with the newer body style and it featured a CVT transmission. A lot of people are not on board with the CVT, they think it's slow, but, let me tell you from direct experience, this is not the case at all. The advantage of the CVT is that the car is always in precisely the right gear for the engine, there is no lugging at all. You can really feel this going up hills. The car has plenty of get up and go and you can really feel the pull and torque when you step on the gas. You can really feel the sensation of being pushed back a little in your seat on acceleration. I've pulled my trailer all the way up to the top of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with no problem and going from LA to Las Vegas all the way up hill, I averaged 23 miles per gallon. So, it meets my needs perfectly. Without the trailer, I've gotten 30 mpg on the highway using cruise control and being careful about not flooring it if I didn't have to. You're right, there's no true "American" car today, in fact, Ford is really an international car company selling their cars worldwide. And, don't even get me started on the ridiculous outsourcing of jobs to Mexico and other countries where cars are being assembled today just for tax reasons. Actually, Subaru's parts are mostly from Japan and they assemble them in Indiana. Unfortunately, Chrysler has put all of their efforts into styling and less into the substance and sustainability of their cars integrity. They're one of the worst examples of American cars today. I've just known too many people who love their 300's but, in a few years tell me their cars just fell apart, tragic. I'm sure you'll agree that cars have gotten very expensive and it's just too risky not to do some homework when you purchase them. It used to be don't buy a car on a Friday or Monday, but, now cars are made mostly by robots supervised by people. Overall, I think cars have gotten better, but, certain cars just age better. Best of luck with you next car purchase. Everyone will have different experiences with cars because of the way they're maintained and driven, I'm pretty easy on my cars and treat them gently to ensure they'll last me a pretty long time. In most cases, it's less expensive to repair the car than replace it since a late model car or brand new one can cost $400 per month for five years.