going to shop van this weekend, give me some tips

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tlmprnpg

Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
90
Location
TN
I'm going to shop for used van at Dodge dealership this weekend.

I've get pre-approved finance check, no trade-in. No hurry though. Looking for 1-3 year used van. I sent email to inquire one of their vans. The salesman eagerly called me back to set appointment and he said he'd call to confirm again Friday.

Give me some tips please.

Also:

1) Which website used car price you guy use. KBB seems high. Edmunds is kind of lower.

2) Any website give a price for 2010 used grand caravan price. Edmunds.com treats it as new car and won't let me put down the mileages.

3) CarFax or AutoCheck. AutoCheck has better price. Anyway, the dealer should have carfax report pulled for all vehicles.

Thanks a lot.
 
Use the kbb trade in price and the edmunds trade in price as a guide. This will show you what the dealer paid for the vehicle. 95% of the time the dealers cost on the vehicle will be the KBB trade in price. Add to that there marketing costs, inspection costs, re-conditioning ( if any, for a 1-3 yr. old vehicle re-conditioning cost will be nill ). And this is the price at which they would break even at.

General rule of thumb, add $1000 to KBB trade in, if you can get it at this price you drive a hard bargain and should be writing books on how to purchase used vehicles. This is about the lowest you can expect to purchase at.

General rule of thumb #2, add $2000 to Kbb trade in price and at this price point you should easily be able to make a deal if you put some effort into letting them know there are other car dealers out there just as eager for you business. Don't pay more then the 2k above KBB trade in. If you walk on the deal, they will call you back the following week asking if your still interested and they will sell it to you for that price.

Hope that helps.
 
I try to find a happy medium between NADA, KBB, and Edmunds. The best results are when I just browse Autotrader or Cars.com and see what they're really selling for.
 
I'm looking for minivan. In Nov, my in-law parent are going to stay for several months for helping new baby. I need to haul around at least 6-7 people. And plan to keep the van long afterward.

I'm looking for Town&Country/Grand caravan/Kia. I'm not sure about Ford freestar /GM uplander. Honda/Toyota vans are overpriced.
 
Congratulations on the new baby. Our newest is almost 5 months old.

Last July we bought a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. I have absolutely no complaints. I have two kids in car seats, and this van is perfect. Great for travelling or road trips.

You should get the Stow n Go Seats (they also over some swivel seats for the middle row). Stow n Go seats will allow you to fold the middle and rear seats into the floor and have a flat surface. I have used this feature countless times so far.

We got the 3.8L V6, cloth seats, and no tv's or electro-gadgets.

It was a no-brainer for us to choose the Dodge when we compared to other manufacturers. Why would we pay the premium for the Honda or Toyota? They offered features we did not really want. With good credit, we got 0% financing, and it's still available in our area. They also offer the lifetime powertrain warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: mewisemagic
go online to carmax and check prices there. will give some idea of what the going prices are


Thank you.


Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: vtb
Dodge Grand Caravan SXT.....They also offer the lifetime powertrain warranty.

Not anymore.


Correct. 3/36 bumper to bumper, 5/100 powertrain.

Originally Posted By: MC5W20
Use the kbb trade in price and the edmunds trade in price as a guide. This will show you what the dealer paid for the vehicle. 95% of the time the dealers cost on the vehicle will be the KBB trade in price.


Ummm.... no. Any dealer who based their pricing on KBB trade in is a fool. Almost every dealer has access to Manheim auction data online. KBB does not use auction data, so no sensible dealer is going to use a guide that is not connected to where they buy and sell daily.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Most used 2010 Grand Caravans are likely going to be ex-rental units.

Are you comfortable with that?


Yes. I assume most of 1-3 year vans I'll see are going to be ex-rental. I feel most personal own vans trend to sell when the vans get close to 100k. Maybe I'm wrong.

Terry
 
Last edited:
FYI - Freestars and Uplanders have not been made for about 3 years now.

I've had the Kia minivans as rentals, and have been favorably impressed with them.



I think 100k may be a little on the high side.

The pickup that I drive now was 2 model years old, and had 30,000 miles on it when I bought it.

The original owner simply decided that he wanted a crew cab (and traded in the extended cab that I own now).

Some folks trade simply because the warranty is about to expire, or they have to turn it in because their lease is up.

My grandfather would trade vehicles when the factory set of tires needed to be replaced!
 
Another questions. How difficult for DIY oil/filter and ATF changes for both generations (2008 vs 2007)?
 
If you are referring to the Dodge/Chrysler - easy.

Filter and oil changes are a piece of cake. Coolant system has big obvious petcock on left (driver's) side of radiator for drain/flush. Six speed AT is not user serviceable per the manual, but if I wanted to I could drop the pan at the same time as the oil change. No obstructions in the way.
 
Originally Posted By: vtb
If you are referring to the Dodge/Chrysler - easy.

Filter and oil changes are a piece of cake. Coolant system has big obvious petcock on left (driver's) side of radiator for drain/flush. Six speed AT is not user serviceable per the manual, but if I wanted to I could drop the pan at the same time as the oil change. No obstructions in the way.


thanks.
 
I have a Freestar. You can get these for a good price once they have sat on the dealer lot for 45 days. If you do some online used car research, this van gets slammed by some sites. Which makes it easy to get good deals on them. A lot of people avoid them based on what they read. The freestar eats gas in stop and go, but is surprisingly efficient on pure highway.

I am very happy with mine. I have drove the Chrysler minivans also. I would most likely be just as happy with one of those also.
 
We love our 2007 T&C. We didn't care for the styling of the 5th generation vans when they came out, and I personally think the quality of the interior materials went the wrong way with the 2008 models. We bought our '07 model in July of 2007, just before the '08s came on the lot (but long after I got a good look at them). We traded our '03 Grand Caravan for the '07 T&C.

The reliability of our T&C has been the pits. It's had about $5000's worth of warranty work done to it. I believe at least half of that was due to inept dealership technicians or just silly parts practices. For instance, they had to replace the entire powertrain wiring harness ($1300) on our van because a battery cable corroded off...from a hole in the original battery. They wouldn't replace just the cable end...had to replace the entire harness. It's on its 3rd A/C compressor. It's on its 2nd alternator. I question the replacement of both of those as "shotgunning" parts to chase a belt drive noise. It's on its 3rd belt tensioner. I think I've counted 5 front sway bar bushing replacements. These vans are notorious for that. I've put three new rear wheel ABS sensors on it (two right, and one left).

Curiously, all the extra do-dads on our van (heated seats, nav system, power doors and 'gate, moonroof, DVD) have functioned just fine. It's the fundamentals that have failed. I take the van to the dealer this coming week for a leaking solenoid pack on the transmission. That SHOULD be covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. As noted, maintenance is easy. And for the most part, parts are cheap. Because of how Chrysler has treated us, I'd never buy a new one, but I'd be pretty quick to buy a used one, for the right amount of money. They're easy to fix (I'm a master mechanic now) and parts aren't high.

But we love it. The ownership experience has been terrible, but the vehicle itself is rather nice. I think the driving position is the best of any minivan. It's supremely comfortable and gets reasonably good fuel mileage. Our 3.8/4AT van has returned a hair over 19 lifetime MPG. A 3.8/6AT van should be a bit better.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
We love our 2007 T&C. We didn't care for the styling of the 5th generation vans when they came out, and I personally think the quality of the interior materials went the wrong way with the 2008 models. We bought our '07 model in July of 2007, just before the '08s came on the lot (but long after I got a good look at them). We traded our '03 Grand Caravan for the '07 T&C.

The reliability of our T&C has been the pits. It's had about $5000's worth of warranty work done to it. I believe at least half of that was due to inept dealership technicians or just silly parts practices. For instance, they had to replace the entire powertrain wiring harness ($1300) on our van because a battery cable corroded off...from a hole in the original battery. They wouldn't replace just the cable end...had to replace the entire harness. It's on its 3rd A/C compressor. It's on its 2nd alternator. I question the replacement of both of those as "shotgunning" parts to chase a belt drive noise. It's on its 3rd belt tensioner. I think I've counted 5 front sway bar bushing replacements. These vans are notorious for that. I've put three new rear wheel ABS sensors on it (two right, and one left).

Curiously, all the extra do-dads on our van (heated seats, nav system, power doors and 'gate, moonroof, DVD) have functioned just fine. It's the fundamentals that have failed. I take the van to the dealer this coming week for a leaking solenoid pack on the transmission. That SHOULD be covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. As noted, maintenance is easy. And for the most part, parts are cheap. Because of how Chrysler has treated us, I'd never buy a new one, but I'd be pretty quick to buy a used one, for the right amount of money. They're easy to fix (I'm a master mechanic now) and parts aren't high.

But we love it. The ownership experience has been terrible, but the vehicle itself is rather nice. I think the driving position is the best of any minivan. It's supremely comfortable and gets reasonably good fuel mileage. Our 3.8/4AT van has returned a hair over 19 lifetime MPG. A 3.8/6AT van should be a bit better.



Your experience worries me a bit. I look at 2007 model because wishful thinking that most bugs have been fixed.

I am lower my choices to 2006-2007 model (non-loaded trims). I rather keep money to spend on fixing them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
Shop "trouble"...any advice?
3 4 5
Replies
90
Views
16K
joekingcorvette
R
The parts shortage bit me
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
12K
Silverado12
J
  • Locked
Is this standard operating procedure for Ford Dealer?
2 3
Replies
48
Views
10K
dfarr67
T
  • Locked
Shop messed up valve cover gasket fix
2
Replies
33
Views
8K
AutoMechanic
wwillson
  • Locked
Answers - Pennzoil Technology behind "Made From Natural Gas" and Vehicle maintenance while driving less Q&A
Replies
5
Views
39K
RateNate
Back
Top Bottom