My new Caravan
 

First off let me say that car salesmen are vultures. This car buying experience was nauseating. It was intelligence insulting for them to think that I could not tell how the salesman,car manager and finance were trying to rip me off. I have good credit and they were trying to steer me into a 13% loan. But Im good at playing brinksmanship and they went down all the way to 3.9%. Then the finance charge. I tell ya they are so friendly at first but that quickly changes. The salesman didnt even shake my hand when I left but the feeling was mutual. What a bunch of scumbags.....

But anyway I bought a 2013 GC white in color and the next to the lowest model, the SE. It had the optional 17 inch wheels.

I did notice that the transmission was easily outsmarted by my left foot and the build date was after the tsb range so I learned to drive it differently so its shortcomings wasnt readily apparent.

The fit and finish was on par with other vehicles in this price range.
As soon as I got home I used a clay bar on it and used some very expensive synthetic wax. Then had the front windows tinted along with a sunstrip on the upper windshield.
Im starting to like the way it looks.

I looked at the Hondas and Toyotas but they were WAY too expensive and looked kinda "frumpy".

I also looked at the Hyundais and Kias but they looked too cheap and "frumpy" also.
The Grand Caravan looks AMERICAN and looks sportier and more aggressive especially with the big wheels.

The only problem I had was the wheel alignment. With 200 miles on the odometer driving with the steering wheel straight the car drifted to the right. so I had it aligned.
Well after leaving the dealership I found that there was no change at all.

Went back a week later and told the service writer that the csi score I will give depended on how perfect the alignment was.
Three hours later I received my vehicle with the explaination that they had to shift the cradle. (what ever that means) What ever they did -did the trick. Perfect alignment.
Anyway a few questions I want to ask...

First I want bluetooth. I dont have the "phone" button on my radio or steering wheel. I know they sell the kit in the service dept. but would not rather give THAT dealership any more of my money.
I know the factory kit they sell would be more of a seemless operation as they would flash the radio to make it compatable.
But is there any other aftermarked solution?
Is my SE model prewired?
Would a aftermarket solution be compatible with my radio if it were to be flashed?

Also another question about the 17 inch wheels.
Do the 17's automatically come with the upgraded brakes or do you have to have the 17's in order to order the big brakes?



Thanks in advance

Bart

First, congratulations, you survived a dealer purchase.
You don't get the big brake package just because you ordered the 17's.
Check with PAC Audio for a bluetooth harness. They are radio model specific.
If your radio has an aux in jack, you can aso get a Belkin BT handsfree.
Google is your friend.

What should I look for to confirm what brake package I have?

After searching the forum I came across this thread... https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-c...akes-pics.html
Went out to the garage and its definatly dual piston when comparing it with the pic in the link above. Cool and obviously the caliper is huge now that I really looked at it. One can note that these 17's came on a lowly SE with the big brakes so they might not be seperate options.
I did note how strong the brakes were when the person I was tailgating gave me a brake check lol.

For those of you who have the factory handsfree bluetooth, Does a call interupt any source thats playing on the radio or do you have to press a button on either steering wheel or the radio?

13% is robbery for anyone with a good credit score. Glad to see you saw them coming instead of the other way around. Nice work. Sounds like you have the uprated brakes. The old system is a nightmare for far too many. Minor point. It LOOKS American but isn't. They're all built by our fine neighbors to the north.

The U-Connect Kit will come with a Phone Button that you can stick it at anywhere you please(Except on the steering wheel).

I think when you call or receive a call, the Radio Display will show the name or number that is calling you or you are calling, and your music will stop. And the U-Connect lady will ask you what you want to do thru the speaker. And Most of the commands are Voice Commands.

Don't even try Aftermarket, most of them are nightmare.

I'm now convinced that any 2013 Caravan with 17's has the bigger brakes. To begin with I've never seen one with the smaller brakes. Another factor is that a number of sites which allow you to "build" a Caravan describe the "WFJ" option package as follows:

Wheels, Aluminum
Models w/o SE Plus Group-AJN
Wheels, Aluminum
Models w/SE Plus Group-AJN (N/A After 7/9/2012) [WFJ] $267.00 $300.00
Includes HD Power F&R Disc Brakes & P225/65R17 Touring BSW Tires.

This is from kbb.com. Note the "HD" in the brake description. The two options are different prices depending on whether you have the "SE-Plus" group. That option went away last year anyway.

From the pictures I've seen of the tight clearance between the 17 inch wheels and the dual piston calipers, I don't believe you could even fit the 16 inch steel wheels on the car.

Love to know if anyone has any contradictory info. I may order very soon.

Dave

good dealer experience
 

Sorry to hear you had to deal with a jerk outfit. I just bought a 2013 from Fury Motors in St. Paul Minnesota, and the whole deal was quick, clean, and trouble free and the price was great (21K for an SXT). 3.9% financing, first offer. No problems, no bait & switch. The finance manager tried pretty hard to talk me into an extended warranty, but even at that, the pressure wasn't excessive. One difference, though; mine was a used one with a grand total of 500 miles on it. Maybe the fact that I went in for that particular car kept them from trying to switch me to another one.

why not swap out entire radio system and install one of these aftermarket radios...you'd be surprised to find out that a $600 radio does more than the factory $3,000 navigation radio lol