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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans 
7485 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 7:43 AM
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Replying to: bobber1 (Aug 24, 2007 6:30 pm) For me, the allure of a good deal (sadly) tends to override the extra safety features of the Ody/Sienna... The '08 Chrysler vans look very nice though; and discounts should start appearing soon after. The Korean vans (Entourage/Sedona) may be worth a look, as they are slightly cheaper than the Japanese and carry all of those safety features...
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Replying to: jchan2 (Aug 24, 2007 6:33 pm) When purchasing a honda this time, albeit not a minvan as we outgrew the need for that, we were delighted at all the new safety feautures, not to mention the bells and whistles that come with it. Of course, reliability was key this time as in our limited experience (us and a few friends) we did not find the caravn a pleasant experience. Maybe some past reliability issues have forced chrysler to make sure an awesome powertrain warranty. They rate tops in consumer buy for their price but reliability has been spotty. I say, if you cannot get anything else due to financial constraints, a caravn is better than nothing at all if you MUST have a bigger passenger vehicle. hope that wasn't so convoluted.... 
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Replying to: marig0107 (Aug 25, 2007 8:47 am) Maybe some past reliability issues have forced chrysler to make sure an awesome powertrain warranty. They rate tops in consumer buy for their price but reliability has been spotty. I say, if you cannot get anything else due to financial constraints, a caravn is better than nothing at all if you MUST have a bigger passenger vehicle. A caravan is better than nothing? i have a 2005 DGC and have no problems with it at all. I bought it in Dec. of 2004. Only recall on it was a possible pinched hose. I haven't owned any vehicle this long with all the electrical extras that this vehicle has without having it back to the dealer for something. With Chrysler's life time warranty, six speed auto transmission, all the safety features Honda's have, plus the gobs of new stuff they put on the 2008 minivan, I think they will run away from Honda with this minivan. There doesn't seem anything that Chrysler forgot to put on it. How can you beat a lifetime warranty if you keep it?
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Replying to: marine2 (Aug 26, 2007 8:30 am) glad it has worked out for you. For some of us with mid to late 90's models, we could have used that extended warranty. I will admit some people love their caravan. My statement was meant for those that must pay a lower price for the van and might have desired a different make. Gotta admit that some people have certain makes that are their favorites and their is nothing wrong with that. My girlfriend just got a Town and COuntry, might be some kind of touring (is that their top of the line now?). It is gorgeous. Tons of bells and whistles, particularly for the price. And the warranty! They really have come a long way with trying to come back and be #1 minivan again. I thought I read some articles that they were losing sales to other vans. Anyway, my friend has already had a repair for a gas leak (about a 3 month old new van) and I think she'll take it back to repair that same problem.
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Replying to: marine2 (Aug 26, 2007 8:30 am)
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Replying to: marig0107 (Aug 26, 2007 9:01 am) My girlfriend just got a Town and COuntry, might be some kind of touring (is that their top of the line now?). It is gorgeous. Tons of bells and whistles, particularly for the price. And the warranty! They really have come a long way with trying to come back and be #1 minivan again. I thought I read some articles that they were losing sales to other vans. Anyway, my friend has already had a repair for a gas leak (about a 3 month old new van) and I think she'll take it back to repair that same problem. Sorry to hear about her gas leak. But it won't cost her anything to fix it. If she keeps that van for 15-20 years, the drive train will always be covered. Not sure if the Town & Country is their top model or not. I have a Dodge. I kept my 1993 Eagle for 11 years. I plan to keep this one for at least seven, as that is when this warranty runs out. That's four more years to go. I'd like to get a 2008, but it doesn't make economic sense right now.
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Replying to: marine2 (Aug 26, 2007 9:08 am) Most of what you see in the brochure (I have it too) is for a loaded vehicle or much more equipped vehicle than the base model. In the base model I saw at the dealer, almost none of the great new features are included. The marketing hype is very misleading because you have to buy a lot of "options" to get the cool new stuff or at least get anything besides the base model. The regular console is nothing close to the premium and looks even worse than previous yrs. 2 glove boxes are about it on the base. And I do not recall seeing anywhere that one is cooled. That's a feature on other Chrysler/Dodge's. Not even on their fully loaded minivan that runs between $40-$42K. Quite a bit more than the base, wouldn't you say? I'm waiting to see a fully loaded T&C Limited with a sunroof. With a sunroof, you can't get that 1 piece overhead with the monitors & storage bins according to the brochures fine print. Must get 2 separate roof storage systems. So not sure if that will have the cool "mood lighting". The base has a bench for the second row that doesn't fold in to the storage bins in the floor but has a couple of cupholders you pull out from under the middle of the bench. No big deal. The 3rd row is comfortable and the vehicle is roomy. The manager in the store was debating if he should even put this base model in the store because of how blah it looked inside. I saw it the night they were having the sweepstakes to win cars. This time around they had no food or drinks or anything at all. Overall, a disappointing visit. I sure hope the options and other models are a big step up to dress things up inside. The base interior is mediocre looking and looks like it's best for car rental places. The outside front and rear views are nice. Side profile is just OK. I know the all the chrome like stuff on the Limited mirrors, door handles, body side molding and possible roof rack will enhance it a lot. But that STARTS at $36.4K. Or a Touring w/ M package for $33605 with a good amount of new stuff. Check out the website - http://www.chrysler.com/en/2008/town_country/index.html
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Replying to: carcom2 (Aug 26, 2007 4:45 pm) I was surprised that the glove boxes didn't have a light and neither were cooled as in some of Chrysler's other cars. It was to light to tell if all the door switches had lights, the guy said he thought they did. The cup trays in the dash are much stronger than the old ones. The center console is much, much better than the old ones too. The leather looks to be a better grade than on the old model and I loved the way the sun screens roll into the window in the back sliding doors. I didn't see an over head console in it. The salesman said it was incorporated into the dash. I couldn't believe the extra room in the engine compartment. It had the 3.8 in it, same as mine. But there was much more room to work on. There would be no trouble getting to the back plugs on this van with this engine. They have a bigger engine this year, I think he said a 4.1, but they didn't have it on the lot yet. Mileage on the sticker wasn't any higher than on the old one,(I know they changed they way they rate them now) But I thought it would be higher with a six speed tranny. |
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Replying to: marine2 (Aug 28, 2007 2:05 pm) We bought a 2002 Dodge Caravan - mainly because we wanted something we could (at the time) pay CASH for and be done with. Fast forward a few years and I have since found out that there are 14 million Chrysler vehicles affected by faulty seat belts - and Chrysler REFUSES to do a recall. People have been ejected and either died or received spinal cord injuries. Chrysler has known about this since the 90's and even has settled lawsuits with families for MILLIONS of dollars - but still no recall. The NHTSA doesn't seem to think there's an issue either. Here's info about this mess: Here are the vehicles affected by this: http://www.unsafebelts.com/known.cfm Here are some basic facts: http://www.unsafebelts.com/faq.shtml Here are more links from other sources: http://unsafebelts.com/primetime/ http://www.seatbeltdefects.com/gen3/index.html http://www.kirotv.com/weblinks/2148969/detail.html http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?did=764&scid=91 http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2003/03...ts_030331.html http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...54C0A9649C8B63 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HC8NfOtRFI This link has the info half way down: http://www.daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.com/ Needless to say, our van is one of the models affected so here we are looking at Oddyseys. Should have done that the first time around! |
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Replying to: marine2 (Aug 28, 2007 2:05 pm) Did you try swiveling the seats? How's the legroom? Tnink adults have enough legroom if sitting opposite each other in 2nd and 3rd row? I read that if you swivel the seat, the front seat has to be moved up some. How's the front seat legroom with the seat moved forward? Sounds like maybe the car wasn't ready to drive yet. If you test drove it, what can you say about the ride?
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