mek.highcroft.com

The big present -- the silver Dodge Grand Caravan SXT

So the whole idea of a minivnan was really unappealing to me for many, many years. The first minivan I rode in had the luxurious accoutrements of an armored truck, and almost the same pleasureable ride as a New York City cab. Over the years, the vehicles have changed, and they now are available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and with a list of available options that would make the menu at TGI Fridays look like a business card by comparison.

So it was with a little reluctance that I went shopping for a minivan over the holiday break. I was not sure I'd find anything I liked, let alone something I would be happy to own several years from now. So here I am, munch munch munch,eating my own words, "I'll never buy a minivan" munch, munch, munch.

I guess the moral of the story is never say never.

So, before you run off, scared that I might go start doing other suburbanite things like landscaping (done it), recycling (done it), or coaching kids soccer (hopefully someday), I have to tell you about this van.

We went to look at a Mazda MPV first. The incentives were great, and we were really happy with the Protoge 5 we'd owned for almost a year. So incentives and trade-in value aside, I thought the van was pretty comfortable and fun to drive. The engine has some good zip, and the features were pretty cool. In all honesty we probably would have closed a deal on the silver 2003 model later that week if the "finance manager" or whoever he was had not slithered up to ask up what he needed to do to get us to close the deal. This is very unfortunate. I can honestly say that that guy lost the sale for the dealership. We absolutely loved working with Jim, our previous salesperson, and we were happy to have the chance to work with him again. So we asked for a couple days to think about the van (it was the day before christmas, so I figured we have time to think about it and get back to them). Finance-man reluctantly let us go. A firm handshake and we headed out the door. I had, unfortunately for the dealership, already made up my mind that I would not be doing business with them. Yes, I may write them a letter to let them know the reason we did not spend 25,000 at their dealership in 2003.

While we were on the road home, we called another "local" Mazda dealership, just to see if they had any dark blue 2003 MPV vans in stock. They did. And the rebates? Well, $2800 more than the "huge rebates" at the other dealership, 10 miles away. Salesman was peppy, and we decided we'd go drive by to see what was on the lot. When we got there, the van was there, lookin' good, except that the antenna had been broken off. No biggie. The big deal was that rght next door was a Dodge dealership, so we sauntered over there to take a look. Too bad for the Mazda folks. Nothing against their vans, but the Doge people had a huge selection of vans out on display. And less expensive.

The 2004 dodge vans were REALLY on sale. Like $10,000 off, on sale. Might as well take a look. Ok. Bigger engine. More space. Well the seats don't fold into the floor, bummer. Rear heat and air, nice. Hmmm. It was looking like fair chances that we'd stop by and talk to the Dodge folks on Friday. And maybe the Mazda folks if things don't work out at the Dodge dealership.

We head for the Dodge dealer in the late morning on Friday. No biggie, we're just going to look, right? We were there for like 3 minutes when a sales person came up to ask if we needed help. Yup, we did, and there are a couple vans on the lot we'd like to look at. No problem. We head out to van #1, the silver SXT Grand Caravan, and tell him that it was the price that attracted us. He fumbles his words and nearly curses to himself, as he tells us that the prices were supposed to be taken out of the windows that morning. He gives us the keys and heads back inside, letting us head out on our test drive. We pull through the lot, and watch the folks frantically pulling the "SALE" tags with the major deals out of the windshields as fast as they can. I'm suddenly feeling pretty good. It's probably a bit on the shady side to feel like you're sticking it to the dealer, but they still make money on the vehicels, even when they are on sale. I mean c'mon. They are in business to make a pofit, not give the things away.

So we drive for a bit. Wow. Lots of great sight lines, engine is responsive and the van has almost every option except for the leather seats, moonroof, and multi-disc CD player. Oh yeah, no DVD. No problem. It's got just about everything else, and I actually am enjoying the drive. HUH? Enjoying a MINIVAN? Oh yeah. I'm quite astonished at the thing.

So after switching drivers (Heidi must test drive it, since it will really be hers day to day), and she likes it too. Lots of space. AM/FM/CD/Cassette player is quite awesome. Power stuff all over the van. Lots of cup holders and cubbys. Folding seats. Reclining seats. Trip computer for the geek in all of us. The sticker on the window tells me the "price" and the fuel economy. Well, the "price" is higher than the Mazda, but the payments will amost exactly match with the financing, especially if they will stick to the sale price tag in my hand. Hmmmm.

Well, needless to say we bought the Dodge. We never even visited Mazda dealership #2, and I have not called back dealership #1. We've put almost 600 miles on the van this week, visiting relatives 200 miles away (call it a good chance to break in the engine) who we should have visited a long time ago. They were VERY excited to have us come up for a day. I was also pretty happy to find out that the van is very quiet on the freeway at and, ahem, slightly above the posted speed limits.

The truth of the matter is that the idea of owning a minivan was not appealing to me. I'm a guy bent on functionality and utility, but requiring a certain aesthetic panache. I was not seeing the minivan as a practical object. It really is, and I think the one we chose is also pretty attractive. It's not a Ferrari or Corvette, but it's purpose is quite different. I'm honestly very impressed with our new SXT -- much more than I expected.

Ok, now you can tell me what you think =)

Posted by MEK at January 3, 2004 12:21 AM