Chrysler Voyager 2.8 SE CRD – 2005 – 539,853 km – Clock Around

“Actually, I should have received money from the government by now, because the disposal fee is higher than the value of the car,” jokes Klaas van der Lugt. As an independent entrepreneur, he still drives the thick diesel for business and in the last few years the addition has been about the economic value, since it is now officially a youngtimer. The switch from his beloved Audi A4 to a ‘van’ was a necessity at the time. Family expansion. “Yes, that Audi, that was a wonderful car, I would have loved to continue driving it. We had two children and my wife was pregnant with the third. Or so we thought, because there were two!”

Search through all major MPVs, ended up with Voyager

Just look at that getting into the back seat of a normal car. Impossible. In short, it was time for the big MPV test in the Netherlands. Klaas visited almost all dealers and drove all brands. The Renault Espace, the Ford Galaxy, the Volkswagen Sharan and even a Transporter. “It got a little too big for me. And then there were my wife’s demands. She insisted on sliding doors on both sides. In a way, that made the search much easier and led us to the Chrysler Voyager at a dealer nearby. That was in 2005. It is now 2023 and my kids have never seen another car in all these years, they grew up in it.”

Super nice holiday cart

The Voyager proved particularly useful during the many holidays. The family on board and on the towbar a cart with the tent and all the gear for a few weeks of camping. “That brings back a lot of memories. I can still see us sitting there, six of us on board. My wife next to me with a thermos of boiling water and one with cold water. She could walk right through the car to the back to give the little ones a bottle.”
Klaas himself had to get used to driving an MPV. In the beginning he always had the tendency to grab a strippenkaart when boarding. “During a holiday in Italy, the engine got way too hot, the light came on. To be on the safe side, I added oil twice and later I went to a small garage. What turned out? There was way too much oil in it! In France we got in and after that he didn’t want to go anywhere. I couldn’t get it into gear.”
In such a case, Klaas calls his garage and he came up with the idea of ​​checking the fuses, especially those of the reversing lights. “I replaced that and then we could continue.” He is surprised that the engine has run smoothly for so long. “The gearbox is shit. Soon the first broke down and the dealer and the importer each paid a third of the bill, I the rest. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop at that one time.”

Voyager has nickname: Crissie

You can see that the Chrysler has had an intensive life, on the outside and the inside. “When did you stop cleaning?” remarks judge Tim de Leeuw after boarding. There’s even a stapler to fasten the headliner. During his test round, Tim soon finds out that the new thing is gone, but that the Voyager still drives very well on the highway. Klaas: “That’s right, once it’s up to speed it’s still a great travel car. Last year we went on winter sports in Austria with it.” He is secretly quite attached to this car and, according to Klaas, it is ideal for transporting his surfboards. “Get the bench out and you slide everything in like this, no SUV can imitate it. And when my daughters got their driver’s license and borrowed the car, they thought it was a graveyard at first, but later even affectionately nicknamed it Crissie. He has done countless moves and there is always someone who has a refrigerator or something to transport. Not to mention the huge amounts of yard waste. Recently I had to pick up my son somewhere. He texted where we were and sent another message a minute later saying: ‘never mind, I can already hear it’. In short, it’s still quite hard for me to say goodbye, but I don’t think it’s responsible anymore to drive such an old diesel. I’m going back to Audi, but electric.”

Klaas does not take maintenance very seriously

Klaas doesn’t take maintenance very seriously. When a light comes on, he looks for the garage. Or does he add oil. The care has been in the hands of a local, universal garage for many years and it is clearly instructed to keep its hand on the purse strings. The automatic gearbox has already been replaced three times. Even the radiator and timing belt.

What’s wrong with it?

Engine rumbles loudly while idling in D
Headlining is broken and is fixed with staples
Steering wheel is worn
Front interior lighting does not work
Automatic gearbox slips and bangs quite a bit
Headlights are very dull/weathered
Rattles from the front suspension when driving on poor road surfaces
Oil level is too high
Front left headlight is not properly secured
Engine leaks some oil in several places
Support of the turbo tube has broken off
Various hoses and cables are not attached in the original way
A hose clamp has been replaced at the front right of the engine, but there still seems to be some cooling water leaking here
Engine mounts are collapsed and slack
Parking heater is disconnected
Drive shafts show minimal play
Control arm on the front left, the rubber is worn, the front right has already been replaced once
Lots of rust in various places. Holes in the front right sill, in the rear bumper bar and at the bonnet lock
Spare wheel is heavily rusted
Rear left brake line is corroded
Various rubbers of the rear axle suspension are becoming less
Car has had damage on the right, moderately restored

The opinion of Carrec Technocenter

“It looks like it has been neglected for years, but it drives better than expected. On the back roads, it is good to notice that the chassis is less and the automatic gearbox is about to jump. Few new parts can be found under the car, but a lot of rust. A number of holes have already been repaired, but the rust is starting to take on serious forms, especially at the back.”