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Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans - READ ONLY
7485 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 8:43 AM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum.- Your Host is kcram
What is this discussion about? Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Town and Country, Chrysler Voyager, Plymouth Voyager, Van
#1003 of 7485 CORRECTIONS MADE TO FIRST POST... by 4aodge
Feb 15, 2002 (12:45 am)
dmathews, I never doubted the credability of the publications that have ranked the Odyssey as the best minivan on the market. However, I did make it quite clear that the Odyssey did not win all of the awards and even the ones that it did win, we're won by a very narrow margin. After reading some of the reviews out there you would think a minivan doesnt even deserve to be called a minivan if it lacks the amazing "Magic Seat."Anyway, you say that all of these publications can't be wrong with saying the Odyssey is the best van. I dont know, maybe your right. But I do know that 22k people last month thought the Dodge Caravan was a better mininvan for them than did the mere 10k or so that chose to buy an Odyssey. It only goes to show you that what the reviewers such as Car and Driver and so forth think as the best vehicle in any given class might not be looked upon in the same light by the consumers who actually go out and spend money on what they like the best.
And as far as minivans go, the Odyssey is clearly not the most popular choice, despite the rave reviews its recieved in its relatively short history. BTW, my neighbor just bought a 2002 Town & Country eL in Inferno Red paint. Hmmmmm, I wonder why on earth anyone would choose a CHRYSLER minivan over a Honda? I could go down the list but I dont have time right now...
I don't think you've cought me just yet, dmathews3...
-Adam
#1004 of 7485 CORRECTIONS MADE TO FIRST POST... by 4aodge
Feb 15, 2002 (12:46 am)
dmathews, I was never one of the people who doubted the credability of the publications that have ranked the Odyssey as the best minivan on the market. However, I did make it quite clear that the Odyssey did not win all of the awards and even the ones that it did win, we're won by a very narrow margin. After reading some of the reviews out there you would think a minivan doesnt even deserve to be called a minivan if it lacks the amazing "Magic Seat."Anyway, you say that all of these publications can't be wrong with saying the Odyssey is the best van. I dont know, maybe your right. But I do know that 22k people last month thought the Dodge Caravan was a better mininvan for them than did the mere 10k or so that chose to buy an Odyssey. It only goes to show you that what the reviewers such as Car and Driver and so forth think as the best vehicle in any given class might not be looked upon in the same light by the consumers who actually go out and spend money on what they like the best.
And as far as minivans go, the Odyssey is clearly not the most popular choice, despite the rave reviews its recieved in its relatively short history. BTW, my neighbor just bought a 2002 Town & Country eL in Inferno Red paint. Hmmmmm, I wonder why on earth anyone would choose a CHRYSLER minivan over a Honda? I could go down the list but I dont have time right now...
I don't think you've cought me just yet, dmathews3...
-Adam
#1005 of 7485 CORRECTIONS MADE TO FIRST POST... by 4aodge by dmathews3
Feb 15, 2002 (6:08 am)
I don't know, but I must have caught ya as you had to post your answer at least 4 times, or you were so mad that your hand was shaking so bad you hit the post button 4 times:-)))#1006 of 7485 No... by 4aodge
Feb 15, 2002 (11:14 am)
I was so mad? Yea right.The Odyssey owners are the touchy ones here. They just can't seem to understand why anyone would by an inferior product over world's best boxy, boaring, bland minivan...AKA the Honda Odyssey...#1007 of 7485 No... by 4aodge by dmathews3
Feb 15, 2002 (11:52 am)
They just can't seem to understand why anyone would by an inferior product over world's best boxy, boaring, bland minivan...AKA the Honda Odyssey...Only reason I can think of is that DC mechanics are very nice guys and DC owners don't get to meet very many people so buying a DC van they know that they will meet all kinds of people when they keep going back to their dealers.
#1008 of 7485 Hmmmmm by 4aodge
Feb 15, 2002 (12:53 pm)
I wonder how many nice, friendly mechanics this Honda Odyssey owner met when returning to his dealership, time, after time, after time...???#1622 of 1643 99 Ody Lx -Slipping transmission by chunkasmom Feb 09, 2002 (06:39 pm)
I got my van used from a dealer in Nov of '01. Come December the transmission started slipping on cold mornings. It really has to warm up a good 7 minutes before it stops. Has anyone had this problem? I also jave the sticking doors problem and the noisy brakes. I gotta say, I thought this was supposed to be the best van out there. So far, I'm not that happy.
Can you gues, dmathews3?
#1009 of 7485 About to buy a DGC ES by 93grcaravnownr
Feb 15, 2002 (2:05 pm)
I am about to order a 2002 DGC ES 2WD. I have studied the market of minivans closely. My top 2 choices were the Ody and the DGC.This will be our second van. Our first was a 93 DGC LE that we bought new and has 160k miles. We love our 93. It is now leaking transmission fluid from the seals that have presumably dried out after 9 years. We had indended to repair the leaks. Replacing the seals would run about $350. However the concensus of the repair shops is that I should not waste my money replacing the seals because my tranny is the original and could very well fail soon after the seals are replaced. They recomend a complete overhaul to the tune of $1200. (Dealer estimates are $2000.) The 3 shops I asked for estimates were shocked that I still had the original tranny. Our van has trucked our 3 children and many others in a mix of mostly around town miles and some highway. My wife is the primary driver and she tends to speed up quickly. I know many people who own DGCs and several have had their trannys replaced or rebuilt. Every one of them did not have their trannys serviced (i.e. fluid changed). We have changed the fluid every 30k miles. I believe this was the key to making it last so long. But I digress. Sorry.
We were planning on buying a new van in the near future and the mechanics advised us not bother repairing our 93 DGC. Sooo, we looked at the Ody and DGC. Our first observation was that the DGC has drastically improved their product from an ergonomics point of view as well as the ride. It is quite smooth and amazingly quiet. Both the Ody and the DGC are comfortable and handle well. The Ody folding rear seat into the floor does not impress me. You have to remove the headrests(3) in order to fold the seat. There is no place to store the headrests. Minor yes, but they could have designed a pocket into the wall for them. The DGC rear seat is a split. Although it does not fold into the floor you can remove just one half instead of both. Also each half has independant reclining seat backs. The Ody power doors are way to heavy to operate manually.
The most striking observation is the lack of styling in the Ody. It is very bland. In particular the exterior and the dashboard. Also the seats are more comfortable in the DGC.
I must admit that we seem to like th DGC more. You could say that we are partial due to our 9 years in our 93 DGC. The 2002 DGC is almost entirely different than our 93. But there are feature that make the DGC give us a more "familiar" feel than the Ody. The Ody was on our consideration list because of Honda's reputution for quality. Although we might have a few more problems with the DGC than the Ody, both vehicles are very well built.
The final, and not insignificant, factor was price. We have studied the Ody and DGC for a couple of months. Until recently comperably equiped DGC was more than and Ody by $2000-3000. Not anymore. DGC now has a $3000. rebate and 7/100k powertrain warrany.
For us the DGC is the winner.
#1010 of 7485 answer to 867- Hmmmmm by 4aodge by dmathews3
Feb 15, 2002 (2:17 pm)
This is from hoss02 and message 4286 on the Honda Odyssey board.I can understand where The Money Magazine (Is that "Money" magazine or a different periodical?) is coming from. That's why in late '98 I leased a '99 Grand Caravan. The new Odysseys were first hitting dealers and were hard to get and had pretty big premiums over list.
Three years, 40,000 miles and eight major problems later, I was very happy to turn it in. Market prices on my '99 are around $12,000. '99 Odyssey LX around $18,000. So what's really the better value? D-C has sold millions of minivans, so millions of people can't be wrong, right? People buy a lot of cigarettes, too.
Maybe these two can just trade vans.
#1011 of 7485 dmathews3 by 4aodge
Feb 15, 2002 (2:33 pm)
I certainly would not want to trade in our flawless 2000 Town & Country for this Honda Odyssey (or any other Odyssey for that matter)...#1628 of 1643 Transmission and brake problems by dj5 Feb 11, 2002 (12:50 pm)
My wife bought a 2001 SS EX Odyssey in January 2001. She now has 19,000 miles. Last week she had to replace the front brake pads. Understand that the Odyssey goes through brake pads so was not too concerned. Now yesterday it started to hesitate, the wife took it into the dealership and they said that they need to replace the transmission (under warranty). They said it would take two days but they would give her a loaner. If problems continue, I will trade for a 2004 when they change body styles.
Looks like "the jury is still out" on Honda Odyssey build quality. Even die-hard Honda fans would not be honest with themselves if they said the Odyssey quality and reliability has lived up to the Honda name. After all, this isn't a first model year 1999 vehicle but a much newer 2001 with ONLY 19k miles.
#1012 of 7485 No title by tomtomtom
Feb 15, 2002 (2:58 pm)
...and my Ferrari is better than your LamborghiniAdvertisement
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