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Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan 2005+

1446 messages,  Last post on May 15, 2013 at 8:51 AM

You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Van

Messages Page 19 of 146

#172 of 1446 New to this board--Attn: Owners/Shoppers of 2005 Grand Caravan by Jason5

Apr 16, 2004 (8:02 am)

Morning group.. Currently own a 2000 Dodge Intrepid ES and have owned several Dodges and Mitsubishis over the years. I'd be interested in hearing from any owners or "shoppers" of the 2005 Grand Caravan SXT. I'm familiar with the Dodge lineup in general (brother was a sales manager for years). I'm interested in hearing from owner who've had some experience and shoppers who are negotiating prices and financing rates. I suspect I'd end up with an SXT priced just shy of $30. Don't need leather, nav but would like Premium group and air curtains. Any thoughts, experiences would help.

#173 of 1446 2005 Crand Caravan SXT ad price of $23,879 by jtheron

Apr 16, 2004 (8:23 am)

Morning Jason
Since you mentioned 2005 SXT, I thought I would share the price advertised in our local paper, unsure of what is MSRP but options listed include stow'n go seating, 3.8 V-6, auto dual power doors, alloy wheels, power lift gate, 7 pass, dual a/c & heat, tilt, cruise and more with an ad price of $23,879 or a 39 month lease with 39,000 miles and $2500 down for a lease payment of $299/month.
Same ad also offers a 2004 GC SE with a MSRP of $28,010 for $20,819
Seems that the price on the 2004 is nothing great but that the 2005 looks interesting
good luck

#174 of 1446 Pricing Information... by Jason5

Apr 26, 2004 (12:48 pm)

Just received a call from my local salesman and 5 Star Dealer. In addition to the $1000 cash back on 2005 Caravan's, Chrysler has added a $1000 loyalty bonus for previous Chrysler Corp owners. From a reasonably dealer you can probably expect a total discount (if your an owner) of about $3000-4000 between cash back, owner loyalty and discount...

#175 of 1446 Pricing and more... by samnoe

Apr 26, 2004 (9:12 pm)

I was at a dealer yesterday, and there was about 5 of the new Town & Countrys (and of course many 300's - all the Hemi's SOLD - and new PT cruiser convertible). I was sitting in a T&C Touring edition (replaces the LXi model) with most options installed.
 
The rear seats are not bad, but really low angled. Quite easy to use the stow-n-go feature.
 
There was one low-end model (LX) sitting there, with a "no-haggle" lease price for $329/month, after $2995 down. Expensive, in my eyes.
 
Overall, even though they advertised (on the van) that T&C is the most luxury minivan, I still think they missed many things they used to offer, and could be a deal-breaker for me. I'm still undecided which minivan to take next (my current Windstar's lease expires in about 8 months).
 
The power controls for the door locks and windows are still NOT illuminated, something they did for years but stopped to save a few pennies, and so is the ignition key ring. The glove box is not illuminated, but the new 'mini' center console between the 2 front seats is lighted - a nice thing. The windshield wipers de-icer which Chrysler invented on their minivans is already copied by Toyota and Kia minivans, but Chrysler stopped to offer it. TOO BAD.
 
Another thing bothers me, the optional packaging. I hate leather, and don't want a car with leather. If I take the Touring edition, I would like to add the luxury group, which adds many good things, as fog lamps, auto dimming mirror (in & out), better stereo system, rear sonar sensor, adjustable pedals, nicer gauges, etc. but if you take this package, you MUST first take the leather package for $2100!! That's just crazy! (Sounds like Toyota - the only thing they copied!

#176 of 1446 Samnoe... by Jason5

Apr 27, 2004 (7:42 am)

It may provide some meager comfort to know that when you order BOTH groups, you get a discounted price because of the duplication of content. The Grand Caravan SXT can be had with both the Leather Package and the Premium Group--which deducts about $800 from the Premium Group--for just under 31,000. I speced out a 2005 G.C. SXT with Premium, Leather and head curtain airbags for a total MSRP of 31,505.00
    I believe the rear seats are angled downward (in the rear--upward at the front) more severely to add in crash survivability--less likely to fly out of the seat. The angle also brings up the knees a bit for a more comfortable seating position.

#177 of 1446 gas mileage by homerkc

Apr 28, 2004 (7:12 am)

What gas mileage can be expected from a GC w/3.8 engine? Is anyone really getting 18/25?

#178 of 1446 homerkc/mileage... by Jason5

Apr 28, 2004 (7:22 am)

I've spoken with two owners of GC's that have the 3.8 and auto. They report between 17-19 in town and considerably better on the highway. Hope that helps.

#179 of 1446 homerkc by shipo

Apr 28, 2004 (4:57 pm)

We have two 3.8 GCs, a 1998 with 80K+ and a 2003 with 20K+ miles. Back when the 1998 was new, it was barely able to get 18 on the highway, now it is able to turn in 22-24 over my usual once a month round trip from New Hampshire to Manhattan. Bear in mind that when the van was new, the speed limit was 55, and my average speed was somewhere in the low to mid 60s, now however, the limit is 65 for the majority of my trip, and my average speed (according to the trip computer) is usually around 72 with a cruising speed of just over 75.
 
The new van made its maiden NH-NYC trip with an average of nearly 20 MPG and is now able to return an average of between 23 and 24.5. I suspect that when it is a little more broken in that 25 will be easily achievable.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#180 of 1446 After Market Screens for DVD by nicometo

May 06, 2004 (12:20 pm)

Hello all, we are a first time owner of a mini-van. Last week we traded in an '02 Durango for an 05 T&C Limited. One of the options we did not get is the screens for the DVD player. We have the 6 disk CD/DVD player, but now we would like to explore screens. From the dealer they are a $995 option plus 1.5 hours installation. We figured there would be a cheaper aftermarket option, as paying $995 for a 7" screen, two headphones and a remote is incredibly expensive. Does anyone have any advice/options on this?
 
Thanks in advance

#181 of 1446 by steve_ HOST

May 06, 2004 (3:15 pm)

Check in DVD/Entertainment Systems too.
 
Oh, and this post may be of interest:
 
tomtomtom "Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans" May 6, 2004 4:58pm
 
Steve, Host

Messages Page 19 of 146

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