As previously posted, my 92 Caravan finally blew the transmission at 204k miles...since rebuild costs match the vehicle's value, I'm pursuing options...
There is someone I work with whose husband is a salesman at the local Dodge dealership...so I went in to meet with him and have a closer look at the new Caravan's. He met me and said he had spoken with the owner and was told to offer me invoice cost...presumably as good as it gets...?
I took a close look at an SE with 3.3 v6 and otherwise basic setup. I also looked at a beautiful teal-ish green SXT with the 3.8 v6 and 6-speed transmission...as well as the daul-monitor DVD system and fancy touch-screen radio with hard drive built in. I'm a computer tech, so those geek gadgets tend to impress me... It also had the automatic doors and rear hatch...which I would honestly just as soon not have. The 96-07 Caravans are OK, but that styling has never really appealed to me...the new ones I like.
Being that I *just* made the last payment on our 2002 Isuzu Trooper 2 months ago, I'm not really looking forward to a payment again...but. The big kicker that is making me think hard about it is the lifetime drivetrain warranty. I keep thinking that if I had bought my 92 new with such a warranty, I'd have another transmission in it by now, covered by the warranty... The other very appealing part is the offer of a full lifetime warranty covering nearly everything, which I'm told costs about $1800. We're the sort of people that will buy a vehicle and run it till it dies...and even then seriously consider repairing it. :-) The other part about buying new now is the promise of good deals by dealerships and automakers desperate to sell vehicles. That likely won't be happening the same if I wait a while to save up some more cash...
Has anyone else had any experience with this sort of warranty? The full lifetime is espcially appealing considering all the goofy options and gadgets that could break on such a well-equipped vehicle. But...is there something I'm missing or have not heard about as far as the warranty goes that I haven't considered?
Anybody else have one of the new Caravan's? What do you think of it so far? I have no experience with Caravan's other than my old 92...
I know it's blasphemy to ask in this forum...but are there other minivans I should look into? I dropped by the Honda dealership a few minutes today, but was running out of time and didn't get to look real close or take one for a drive. I've heard really good things about the Toyota Sienna too...I just don't like the thought of dealing with the sleazy sales department at my local dealership...
Anyway...sorry to ramble on so much...thanks for any advice.
Wesley