I'm going to do it...

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Unfortunately there's many who pay MSRP plus add ons such as paint protection, scotchguard, interior UV protection, wheel insurance, maintenance packages, extended warranties, VIN etching, etc. on vehicles like Dodge Caravans. You then see the sob stories on CBC Marketplace.
 
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Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by StevieC
The price for me would be different because our currency is worth less compared to the USD and I get a retiree discount thanks to my dad. The MSRP on the van is $50K ($38K USD).



That is an insanely high MSRP for a Caravan, I know that Chrysler always seems to have huge discounts on them though so I hope that there isn't a single person in Canada that has actually paid that much for one. Even loaded up with all the bells and whistles it's not worth that much. (especially with the huge depreciation that Dodge/Chryslers typically suffer)


Agreed. I will drive it until the wheels fall off sort of thing to get my monies worth and that should be no problem for this durable model.
 
I'm picking up the new van tonight after work. Going to do the first 100km (60 mile) break-in as per the manual, driving around local streets to vary the RPM as much as possible and then keep the highway driving conservative until 500km with some WOT's in the higher gears on my way to/from the office Thursday/Friday so it's all done and ready to go for our Ohio road trip on the weekend. I will vary the RPM's on the highway as well and not use the cruise control.

(Changing the oil before our trip after the 500km break-in)
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Oh and I'm getting the Krown spray done before we leave on the Saturday morning so that it can drip for the 9 hour drive hahahahahaha.

The crankiness of the transmission in the Highlander hasn't gotten any better. I attempted to reset the adaptive logic over the weekend to see if it could be retrained and while it is slightly better it's still not something that gives me confidence in the transmission long term because of some of the really harsh down / up-shifts and constantly hunting for gears. Anyway. It just confirms my decision to move on.


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I had some pretty major issues with the Tacoma transmission and its tuning. Obviously different transmission, but still.

Post some pics of the new van!
 
I swear I hit each page, maybe missed page 3.

Looks great! I've really come around to liking mini vans. In many ways they are much more practical than SUVs. They lack AWD or 4x4, but with snow tires FWD vans can still do very well. But the people and stuff carrying ability can't be beat.
 
I have long been a fan of mini vans, & am a real glutton for punishment with all the DPC minis I have owned. I must have had and fixed every single problem known to them over the years since they first cam out. The worst one I ever owned was an 84 mini ram van, w a Mikuni(?) carb & 4 speed manual. The best I ever owned was a 94 Plymouth Voyager, which was the best year ever for the DPC minis. They had finally worked out all the kinks w the drivetrain, engines(except for the blowing head gaskets), & electrical systems. My 94 blew the head gaskets so I pulled the engine, did a tear down & rebuild and bored it out to a 3.8, reinstalled it & replaced all the crappy suspension bushings at the same time and it was not the soccer mom's mini van anymore! Then the fools in charge made all the new changes and went back to them being filled with gremlins to drive ya crazy! I am now running a 2013 Dodge GC SXT w 97,000 on it. I miss the AWD feature and it super sux in the snow, but I still love my minis!
 
Originally Posted by HemiHawk
I swear I hit each page, maybe missed page 3.

Looks great! I've really come around to liking mini vans. In many ways they are much more practical than SUVs. They lack AWD or 4x4, but with snow tires FWD vans can still do very well. But the people and stuff carrying ability can't be beat.


Having driven SUV's and Vans I still prefer a van for the utility. The Dodge Caravan is a good value and a durable proven engine/transmission and they have always been able to accept a full size sheet of ply-wood laid flat on the floor with the seats folded down / removed which makes it ideal for home renovations / excessive cargo carrying when needed. Having driven the 2012 for 4 years for work fully loaded I can tell you they run great in the snow with winter tires even though they are only FWD. That 2012 is now in my dad's possession and still running strong with 300K on conventional oil.
 
Originally Posted by JP56
I have long been a fan of mini vans, & am a real glutton for punishment with all the DPC minis I have owned. I must have had and fixed every single problem known to them over the years since they first cam out. The worst one I ever owned was an 84 mini ram van, w a Mikuni(?) carb & 4 speed manual. The best I ever owned was a 94 Plymouth Voyager, which was the best year ever for the DPC minis. They had finally worked out all the kinks w the drivetrain, engines(except for the blowing head gaskets), & electrical systems. My 94 blew the head gaskets so I pulled the engine, did a tear down & rebuild and bored it out to a 3.8, reinstalled it & replaced all the crappy suspension bushings at the same time and it was not the soccer mom's mini van anymore! Then the fools in charge made all the new changes and went back to them being filled with gremlins to drive ya crazy! I am now running a 2013 Dodge GC SXT w 97,000 on it. I miss the AWD feature and it super sux in the snow, but I still love my minis!


I had that same carb on my 86 Caravan with the 2.6L Mitsu 4 cylinder oil burner. They were great carbs when setup right. Only weak point was the choke diaphram which we kept spares in the glove box and only took a few minutes to change. If this diaphram was in good shape it was the only carb I knew of that would start in the dead cold of a Canadian winter by just turning the key without the typical gas pedal pump to prime the system. It was so good we actually had a remote starter on this van the first year the Pro-Start kits from Canadian Tire came out. I loved that van and although it burned a lot of oil and was gutless going up hill it was super reliable and I drove it to 460,000km before an electrical fire claimed it.

It had 0 rust too thanks to the Krown sprays done annually on it.
 
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What sold me on the Grand Caravan vs the Odyssey and Sienna is the stow and go seats and two DVD screens, one for the second row and one for the third row, which is something extremely useful when you have children and they want to watch different things on long trips.

But the stow and go is a true gem. I don't need to plan and remove the second row seats when going shopping, if I need the space, I just fold the seats as needed. A 50 gallon gas water heater, still in it's package, no problem, 1000 square feet of vinyl flooring and some other stuff, no problem at all. I didn't even have to fold the second row seats.

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Folding the seats into the floor in rows 2 and 3 which is what I did in the fleet van I drove was awesome for winter time because it puts the weight down low in the van.
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Got the new van and drove it 100km tonight to do the variable speed break-in so I can take it on the highway tomorrow with conservative varying speed. It's the good old Caravan I remember when I drove the 2012 only this one has some nice upgrades in it being the GT version. Also to my surprise they mucked up the interest rate so I ended up getting it for 0.98% Dropping my payment by almost $100/month. ($6,000 savings)

I like the digital read-out in the gauge cluster. Lets me see oil pressure, oil temperature, coolant temperature among other things. Great for a wrench-head like myself.
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Oh and did I mention the 6 speed is SOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER than the Toyota direct shift 8-speed nonsense? Oh why didn't I buy this first. Oh well, live and learn.
It's gorgeous in black, the pictures don't do it justice. I'll try to snap some of my own tomorrow at work when the lighting is good from the sun.

Can't wait to do the first oil change which will happen on Friday before the Ohio road-trip. I think I will keep it on conventional until I get back from the trip to help it break in further. Thoughts?
 
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Originally Posted by StevieC

I like the digital read-out in the gauge cluster. Lets me see oil pressure, oil temperature, coolant temperature among other things. Great for a wrench-head like myself.
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Oh and did I mention the 6 speed is SOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER than the Toyota direct shift 8-speed nonsense? Oh why didn't I buy this first. Oh well, live and learn.


I'm really impressed with FCA tech. Uconnect is great, and the info provided in the DIC is amazing.
 
Yeah they really got it right with the Caravan. I'm happy to own of the last models. It's being discontinued in its current form in 2019.
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Some photos of it parked at my office. Really happy with the look.

I'm purposely off center in the spot as no one parks in the one spot to the left of the van due to the bushes.



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