nope a fully loaded GC will run you over 40k easily....Still have it.. Have done a few procedures on my own van with good results. Will not post anything untill I am certain which improved my transmission issues ...I am on my 2nd month of transmission shifting perfectly on all forward gears but still get that reverse issue where it just seems to be trying to grab untill you hit the pedal....that will be next on my diagnosis list..

 

Outstanding. You will be one popular puppy!

 

You know, I don't blame anyone being disappointed with a vehicle that's less than 5 years old and experiencing these sorts of things, but I wouldn't be so quick to start thinking Toyota or Nissan or Honda. I could understand back in the 80's when the big three just didn't produce much quality and the Japanese seemed to build vehicles that kept running forever and used little fuel. Honda, Toyota and Nissan have been riding that reputation ever since, and don't get me wrong, they build some nice vehicles. I was a Honda guy for 20 years. And then about 3 years ago I started actually reading up and doing research on my own.

Toyota has done some great marketing to cover the approximately 10 year period starting in the late 90's/early2000's with their catastrophic engine failures due to engine sludging, and not a lot of warranty coverage. And when you consider that many electrical parts and switches that go into a Toyota are also from the same companies that GM purchases from, as well as these vehicles actually being built in North America anyway, you don't necessarily get this "bullet-proof" vehicle that you used to.

Honda is maybe better(maybe not) when it comes to mini-vans, in that they fully admit that you can't have an Odyssey for the same Caravan price, because their vans are a step up... fit and finish, materials used, and the overall feel of the ride is in my opinion anyway, nicer. But Honda Odyssey's have that brutal transmission problem still following them if you do some hunting around... and when that transmission goes, it's a $4500 to $6000 bill. And from what I've read, the goodwill warranty doesn't exist for them.

At least in Canada, Dodge owns about 70% of the market for minivan sales(that means everyone else gets to sell whatever they can in that other 30%). That says something good right there. But when you can come here to this forum (and to other forums for that matter) and get lots of advice and feedback, repairs and diagnostics, some of which even come from technicians, and you can save yourself lots of little repairs, and even some of the big ones, it really starts to add up to being a more cost-effective vehicle to own.

I was a die-hard Honda guy for 20 years. Went shopping for a 2 year old minivan thinking it would be a honda. And here I am now. And we are very happy with our Grand Caravan. What's more, of the things that may go breaking or failing on it, I know that after having surfed around so much on the Toyota and Honda that they have similar little things that go as well. Look at the number of people on this forum with their Caravans showing 100 thousand miles, 150 thousand miles, 200 thousand miles or more... Don't be so quick to sell off your van because of that transmission problem. You'll spend a lot more money to buy that Toyota or Nissan.

It's just my anecdotal evidence, so you all take the 2 cents for the value that it is. But in February 2009, I was almost set to buy a 2007 Oddysey LX for $27,000. We ended up finding a 2007 Grand Caravan SE that we got for $12,600. I got the copy of the original sales agreement where the van was out the door for $25,000 2 years earlier. It had 59,000km when we bought it. That new Oddysey was about $33,000. Yes the Caravan depreciated more, and that is why it was so attractive for me. the ownership costs will make it all worthwhile for me.

 

Hi folks. I have not been here since '14 and remembered after receiving a b'day greeting from the forum. So, I thought I would post an update.
Our first mini-van was a used Olds Sillouette, having decided to own just one do-everything car after spending a lot on cars, trucks, motorcyles and RV's thru the years. Mini-vans are the perfect one-vehicle if you need to carry bikes, etc also. My mechanic suggested that we get rid of the Olds since it's reliability factor was not high. We rented a Chrysler T@C in '13 and really liked it, except for the fact that the transmission seemed to not match the rest of the car's engineering finesse.
I read quite a bit about the Dodge Caravan and decided that the price-point of less than 25K would be do-able. We checked one out, but made the mistake of driving a Toyota and came to the conclusion that we needed to instead, buy either a Toyota or a Honda. We liked the way the Honda rode, but the Toyota was bigger and roomier, so bought a used '13 LE and noticed that as the critics had pointed out, the fit and finish of the interior left a lot to be desired.
We traded for a new '15 SE, since Toyota addressed the quality control issues in this generation's refresh. The only criticism we have is that the HVAC system could be of a better design.
The quality control issue of Chrysler products also had us concerned. I would like to hear from folks who stuck with Dodge Caravans...have you folks been happy with your vehicles? Thanks for reading this post.

 

opinion on my vehicle. shes got 70,000km and eating oil. lucky on tranny so far. brakes is a nightmare, just issues. I keep thinking I trade it in but don't want to loose the $$$ on it.