Hi,


I made the decision last Spring to buy a Grand Caravan mainly because of it's looks and because it's cheap...(of course I also need the space with 3 kids) Unfortunately financing fell thru, but NOW I have financing from 2 different banks and a very large down payment ($8,000).


I'm just wondering what anyone else has paid for a brand new GC? (Price of the car itself, with no rebates or anything).

Right now, Chrysler is having a $2500 rebate on the vans. My best quote so far is $20,995 which includes that rebate.


So the price of the van is $23,495...which I didn't think was a very good price for an SE w/ power windows...I thought they went for like $21,800 or around there?

Thanks!

 

Can't help you on price, bought mine used. Pd 21K for an SXT with 500 miles on it. Might be hard to find a deal like that. You need to look hard at the SXT--personally, I think it has enough extras over the SE to make it worth the extra bucks. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, that might not be something you can do.

 

Hmm...Well, the lowest quote I got so far was $23,500 for an SE w/ power windows...I don't think that's an awesome price by any means...but I don't think I'm being too badly screwed either. It comes to $20,999 w/ the rebate.


Of course, I have the dealerships working against each other. I stopped by one today that told me for $23,500 that's way under invoice and they're making NO profit from the sale...but they'll have to price match my quote. Yeah right, I never believe a dealership, or should I say stealership. I called the first dealership back to see if they can go lower or give more on my trade in.


I'm basing all of this off of the fact that this exact van was going for $22k a month ago without the rebate...now all of a sudden it's $23k-$24k with the rebate. These dealerships just figure they'll make some extra money by concealing the real price with a heavy rebate.

 

The best prices are always found thru cut-throat lowball internet pricing. Only a few dealers play this game, but I see nearly 500 caravans in a 100 mi circle. Dealers willing to sell at super low markup are advertising their lowest prices on autotrader. The prices they offer thru internet sales are lower than those offered to faithful walk-in customers. These dealers show the sticker retail price and cash internet price for each vehicle with all rebates. The only thing you need to consider is the $500 discount they add in for qualified college or military buyers. If you do not qualify for that the actual all-in cost will be $500 higher than advertised.


The advertised prices for fairly basic SE (typically $25K sticker) are hovering around $5K off MSRP which equates to $4500 off without the military/college rebate. For SXT in the $28K sticker range, the total discount off MSRP is about $1500 more than SE which puts them at approx. $21.5K with college/military rebate. I'm not clear about the trade-in allowance which they show as $500....maybe that's another $500 upcharge if you have no trade.

I would surely not be driving around from dealer to dealer haggling and looking for certain pricing, colors and options when this can all be found while sitting on your couch using autotraderdotcom search filters. The lowest price internet dealers will often locate and deliver a vehicle in your desired color or with particular option you want for modest upcharge over their lowball offerings. If you visit the dealer to haggle, the price will only go up. If you want best price you should negotiate over the phone, even if the dealership is 2 miles away.


Based upon autotrader discount pricing, an SXT only costs about $1500 more than an SE with rear power window option. The SXT comes with more stuff standard for modest upcharge so its a far better deal than an ala carte loaded SE.

 

Well we ended up buying a 2014 SE for $20,999 w/ the rebates. I don't think I got a deal; but I certainly didn't get screwed to badly either.


We're supposed to pick it up any day this week-it's still in transit. They're going to clean it and apply "Simoniz GlassCoat" that we got for free. We also got the extended lifetime bumper to bumper warranty (price reduced) and 3 years of free oil changes.


It's the "Maximum Steel" color which I love. I'll have to take a picture when we take delivery.

 

I'd say you did OK. When I priced new, the local dealer wanted over 19K for the AVP. Getting the extended warranty in there too makes it a really good deal.

 

Just picked up the new van today!!! So far so good... I only have 3 complaints: the big thing is the transmission. As we were driving down the street, I said to my fiancé "I don't know what the hell they're talking about on the forums; this thing shifts great" then the tranny banged and/or felt like it slipped.


99% of the time the van shifts perfect, but a few times during driving it feels like it slips or rubs gears or something...I quiver every time it does that! It doesn't feel right, I'm not afraid that the tranny is broken, I'm afraid the crappy programming or econo mode is going to break something!


Also, we live on a hill...and we had the dreaded backup problem. HOWEVER, the van does not shake or jump around like some have stated...it just feels like the tranny is slipping or "rubbing gears" is the best way I can describe it.


I'm worried that this is going to cause a problem with the tranny....Would taking off the ECONO mode fix the backing up/slipping problem?


Other than not being able to work the rear heat controls and the fact that it doesn't smell all that new for being brand new (ha ha)...Van is great! Just worried about the tranny.

 

From what I can tell, the 6spd tranny NVH issues haven't changed much since it debuted in '08.

The '08 version of this 6spd tranny was originally calibrated to shift early, at a lower RPM. The larger, torquey engines were fine with that. After lots of complaints about slamming and bumping sensations, a running change was made in ECM's and one of their routine dealer reflash jobs raised the shift point. Then everyone was stuck with elevated 3K RPM upshifts into 2nd and 3rd gear under very light throttle. Such a calibration belongs in a gutless 4 cyl car and this led to wasting fuel with big motors in stop and go traffic. An econo mode feature was later added to allow users to regain lost fuel economy at the expense of occasional banging & bumping. You can now pick your poison.

I doubt if the econo mode affects the behaviors exibited when backing up. Reverse gear ratio is simply too high and the bouncing and shudder when trying to back up a hill is is probably clutches slipping. I don't think it will break though, the slamming and bumping is only a nuisance.

This quirky tranny design has long outlived it's usefulness and will be gone in a year or so. From a metro/city NVH and stop-go driving efficiency standpoint, it gets a D or worse. From a durability standpoint, it gets a B.

Chrysler has tried hard to keep costs down and part of that strategy involves producing their own trannys for fwd apps. This urge keeps them from equipping their minivans with a world class Getrag tranny or similar.

 

According to the most recent press release this week, the next gen T&C will have the 9 speed (ZF design) and AWD option. Now that the Pentastar head issues are fixed, and with a new trans, the next gen vans should be class competitive. The current 4 speed - converted to 8 speed - but use 6 trans is a real weak link. I will definitely take a look at a Pentastar / 9 speed / AWD van, if they can keep stow-and-go with AWD, otherwise I'd likely stick with 2WD.

 

I dunno; I must be getting used to the shifting now. It suddenly doesn't seem all that bad anymore...I mean it does bang and shift early sometimes, but it's not really that bad or noticeable.


The backup issue is intermittent, this morning when the van was cold it backed up perfect. 8 hours later coming home from work it shuttered.


These trannys may be a weak link, but they're not that bad. In my opinion it still shifts better than my old Corolla.


Does anyone know if that software update would apply to a 2014? Or would it come from the factory updated by now? Thanks!