Home

1AAuto.com Headlight replacement Dodge Caravan Chrysler Town and Country Voyager 2001-07

The helpful people from www.1AAuto.com show you how easy it is to replace a headlight on a Chrysler Voyager. This is the same procedure as a Dodge ...

Product Review Bluemagic Headlight Lens Restorer

I tryed out the Bluemagic headlight cleaner.....it works okay not as good as the picture on the bottle but it works. If anyone knows of a better ...

Chrysler: Penny-wise, pound foolish

Last spring, we replaced our leased 2006 Toyota Sienna with a new-but-left-over 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan , purchased from Family Dodge at the Philadelphia Automall .

By the time we were back in the market (late fall of 2008 through early spring 2009), leasing was no longer an option, with the price of a lease on a comparative van being $150 higher than the expiring lease.  The Sienna was by far a superior vehicle, in terms of performance and fit and finish, but the negotiated price between similarly equipped new vehicles (when considering 2009 and 2008 left-overs) was VERY substantial, to the amount of $10,000.  Knowing that we would have to purchase and finance this vehicle, the purchase price became more important than the payment.  The Toyota may have been nice, but it wasn’t $10,000 nicer.   The experience was relatively painless (note that I sold cars for Saturn for some years, as well as being a Finance Manager).  The owner came over to make small talk.  Having always had a soft spot for American cars, and especially for the Chrysler minivans (my father has bought 4 of them through the years), I was sold.

The Grand Caravan is deficient compared to the previous-generation Sienna (which was redesigned for the 2011 model year and available as I write this) in several areas.  The fuel economy may be marginally better, but it is noisier, rougher, full of design compromises, and has an interior that looks to be made of Rubbermaid.  Design wise, these are problems that up till recently have been found in most American cars.  Both Ford and General Motors have since recognized the folly of skimping on the area driver’s spend all of their time and are finally building world quality interiors.  Hopefully Chrysler will catch up.

My first hint of those design compromises was tail-lamp bulbs.  I know, it seems like something trivial to complain about, but it is representative of Chrysler’s philosophy with regards to quality.  We had our Sienna for near-40,000 miles (we leased for 36-months and extended it by 3-months while we car shopped).  We never replaced a headlight or tail lamp the entire time we owned the Toyota.  Before 12-months had elapsed, BOTH tail lamps (4-bulbs total) on the Chrysler had failed.

Read more...