Used 1997 Dodge Ram Van Consumer Reviews
Used Ram Van for sale
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
We have a limited number of reviews for the 1997 Ram Van, so we've included reviews for other years of the Ram Van since its last redesign.
Some problems but
Msmary, 10/03/2010
1997 Dodge Ram Van 1500 3dr Van
15 of 19 people found this review helpful
We purchased the van new in 1997. It had been a good running vehicle other than every 3-4 years we had to replace the water pump. Pump cost 100 buck putting it in was 400. We never had a brake job until 2007. Took it in and the brakes fell off in the guys hand. But with the van at almost 150,000 miles, we are having more problems. I have already put in over $1000 into it and now the transmission is going out. They (mech) told me the brakes are going bad again also. I've also notice it getting a bad oil leak now. But for 13 years she served her purpose. Overall, it was a nice family vehicle. If I had to do it over again. Dodge...yes
The Shady Van
TriTNF, 06/05/2004
1992 Dodge Ram Van B150 3dr Van
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought a 1992 B-150 from an autoparts store in May 2003. With 186,000 original miles, I decided to drive the world renowned Dodge 318 across country (and back)! Despite blowing a fuel pump in Colorado, I had absolutely no mechanical difficulties. LONG LIVE THE DODGE 318, AND MY SHADY VAN!!!
1997 Dodge Ram Van for sale near you
1 of 1 listings
- 3500 Cargo VanMSRP: $9,9501,580 mi away
Like, but sort of hate it
iamnatman, 08/03/2014
updated 08/08/2016
1991 Dodge Ram Van B350 3dr Van
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Not sure what to say about it... I bought my B250 about 4 years ago for a stupidly cheap price. My biggest complaint is the gas mileage. I think on good days I can get about 11-14 mpg. I think I've had about 6 break downs in the 4 years I've owned it. Changed fuel pump twice (my fault on one), u-joints, evap core, radiator/hoses, and cat converter/muffler. Funny enough, the core engine/transmission itself is great... It's the little bits on the side that keep it going that seem to fail. It always fires up when those bits work, and the engine never burns oil, and the trans. never slips. I'd say back in it's day, it was a pretty reliable vehicle. EDIT: 8-7-2016 Edmunds emailed me and wanted an update on this vehicle. I currently no longer own it, but I can add a few things that went wrong. The voltage regulator went out, and on these vans, it's located in the ECU. If you're unfamiliar with that, it's basically the "brain" of the vehicle. Most do NOT have this part located in the ECU. Everything else functioned on the van that was controlled by the ECU, but this one component went out. It costs a substantial amount of money to replace the ECU, and on top of that, you have to get it programmed at a Dodge dealer to your specific van/vin number, and hope to god they still have the machine that can do that. I dug around on the internet and found this is somewhat of a common problem, and you can wire a separate regulator outside of the ECU and bypass it. I bought a regulator for a 1980's model and wired it to the alternator so it could properly charge the battery. The problem was fixed, but doing this causes the check engine light to always be on, because the ECU thinks the battery isn't getting charged, even though it is with the bypassed regulator. Shortly after, I decided to sell it with the cost of gas being too high at the time to daily the vehicle. Ironically, gas prices started to rapidly drop not long after I sold it, but... oh well. In the end, I'll stick with what I said about the core of the engine. It's pretty reliable there. It never smoked, burned oil, ticked, or knocked. It always fired up even on the coldest mornings. It's just all the electronic bits on the side that made this a pain for me. Towards the end, I think I got most of them fixed, so whoever bought my van probably got a nice deal on it. I may have gotten a dud, so if you find one in decent shape, you might be alright. I'd just ask who's selling what's been done on it.
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
We love it!!
Limey, 03/02/2010
1993 Dodge Ram Van B250 3dr Van
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
We bought a converted B250 van to drive down the states in a few years ago. It's kitted with captains chairs, a bench/bed across the back and windows all round. We only had one break down in it on the whole trip down the east coast and back up, and that was just a U joint in the drive shaft. We lived in the UK then, so it's hardly been used since. Glad we kept it now we're here. I love driving it, as it's so comfy and just cruises along. Something that I miss on modern vehicles is the small quarter-light windows that open on the front doors. They really get some fresh air on you when it's hot. It always starts, even after sitting untouched all winter.
Excellent reliable work van
kabinfeevr, 01/19/2007
1996 Dodge Ram Van 2500 3dr Van
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I bought this vehicle new and performed all scheduled maintenence as directed. Vehicle has been in for major cost service only once and that was to replace all belts, hoses and filters (voluntary) after 100000 miles. I use only Mobil-1 synthetic oil in all of my vehicles. I have hauled tons of equipment and supplies in this van and it never tires of the punishment. I still drive it 13 hours at a clip on I- 95 between VA and FL with no worries and no trouble. I also use it to tow my 21' cuddy-cabin sport fisherman. It is highway/road noisy, but remember folks, it IS a cargo van.