Almost 24 years ago I bought the first and only brand-new car I've ever owned. Chrysler was trying to improve its reputation for reliability, and was offering Dodge Caravans with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty. I took them up on it, and for over two decades and 150,000 miles I enjoyed the security of a vehicle that never failed me.

This was the first car I ever had with a "check engine" light, and it lit up at about 70,000 miles. That exceeded my backyard-mechanic expertise, so I went to my trusty guys at Frechette's. It turned out that a mouse had chewed through a short neoprene evaporation hose. The hose might have cost a dollar, but it took about an hour to find the problem and repair it — which, in those days, ran to $75.

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