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Chrysler Town & Country Prices Paid and Buying Experience

captnrogercaptnroger Member Posts: 7
Hi all,

The current incentives and the pending arrival of our 2nd child made us move to our first minivan, and we chose the Town & Country Limited. We're taking delivery this evening. My wife seems to love it.

With options (tow prep, cargo organizer and rear audio), MSRP was 37,180. The dealer claimed his invoice was 34,544. I negotiated down to 33,244, or nearly 4K off the sticker. Another 4500 in incentives takes us down to 28,744 + tax/title. It took me one visit and to the dealer and another day of going back and forth with the salesperson/salesmanager over the phone to get to this price. I couldn't find another dealer withing 100 miles that would come close to the price, with one asking who I was buying from so his boss could buy a couple.

The sales manager and sales person seem just fine, I've been treated well and they don't seem very bent on the deal at all, so I'm assuming they made a fair profit. Anyone get a better deal than this?
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Comments

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Seriously...

    " Did I get a good deal?"

    If you are happy, you got a good deal...move on.

    Someone will, no doubt come here and tell you you paid too much.

    Someone else will tell you you did fine.

    Trust me, someone, somewhere else no doubt bought the same car you did for less.

    Just enjoy! Life is short...
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    I priced that van at carsdirect.com. Target price from them is $31,194 with the rebates. Your price is $2,450 under that.

    I wouldn't get too greedy here. You're at almost $9000 under sticker. Good luck finding that kinda discount on any other minivan. I say buy it and drive happy.
  • rivertownrivertown Member Posts: 928
    A blessed event, a happy family, AND a good deal on a new car!

    ;~} !
  • captnrogercaptnroger Member Posts: 7
    isellhondas - I understand and appreciate your comments. I am happy with the price and have been well treated.

    To everyone else - thank you for your comments. I took my wife down and signed the paperwork this evening on her new and first minivan. She's very happy, although she's not so happy to have to give up her BMW 528. I'm not so happy about giving up my SUV for her minivan, but I am very happy to be inherting her BMW 528 :-)

    In all honesty, I enjoyed this transaction. I felt the sales manager and the salesperson treated us very professionally and fairly over the two days we dealt with them. I feel we got a very fair price, and even if someone came along and said I paid 1500 too much I'd say, "oh well." I could have gone across town and gotten $1000 less, this I know, but I wasn't about to deal with those people. (They advertise $1000 off your best deal, guaranteed, and yes, they are one of the biggest dealers in the US).

    So, I'm happy, we're happy, I was just wondering if you all thought I got a really good price. Sounds like I did. I've bought 11 cars now in my lifetime, including 8 in the over 20K category (3 over 30K and 1 over 40K), and I'd rate this the second best transaction in terms of the dealership and the speed of transaction. Once we struck a price over the phone they faxed an app, which I faxed back, 2 hours later we were approved for our financing so no 'spot deal' required. I gave the sales manager my down payment figure, he gave me the monthly payment price which matched what I had calculated. I told him we were coming down that evening with our 1-year old so please have everything printed up so all we have to do is sign, and I didn't want the warranty or protection plan for the van as I was getting both third party. We got there, the salesperson held the door open for us, we signed the paperwork at his desk, no upsale on the warranty or anything, in 10 minutes we were done. We had to wait a few minutes for the van to be pulled up, but it wasn't long, it was clean, gassed up and ready to roll. He answered our questions about features/functions and was very knowledgable. We were there and gone in 30 minutes at the very outside. VERY impressed, and the next time I need a new car, I will start with this dealer. They weren't big (they had maybe 8 town and country vans TOTAL in their inventory) but they were great to work with.

    Oh, and for the record, my BEST experience was with a BMW dealer on our 528. Did the whole deal over the phone. Was treated like a king when we got there. Got a tour of the whole service center, the whole campus, met the sales manager and general manager. Diet sodas, snacks, the works. When you spend 48K, I guess you should expect it. That car has close to 100K on it, and it still runs/feels brand new (she's a 97). That's another story.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I still have to ask...

    Do you REALLY think you could have save another 1000.00 from the sleazy dealer?

    I mean, 1000.00 is a lot of money.

    I kinda doubt if that would have been the case. I'll bet there was a lot of fine print and qualifiers.

    Too much money to be real.

    I'm sure you did well...enjoy!
  • bretfrazbretfraz Member Posts: 2,021
    And the other dealer would not have had you in & out in 30 mins with a baby in tow. Even if that $1000 was real, would the hassle and headache been worth it to you?

    A couple phone calls, 30 mins at the dealer, and you save $9000. If only all transactions were that easy and benefical. I hope you give the dealer all perfect scores on their survey. Sounds like they deserve it.
  • captnrogercaptnroger Member Posts: 7
    Yes, the dealer advertises $1000 off your bet deal, guaranteed. They are the biggest dealer in Ohio and surrounding states. I have no doubt I would have gotten the extra grand, but I wasn't about to be hassled by it. It would have taken hours to get through the process, and frankly I didn't want to give the dealership my money.

    Thanks all for your comments. You confirmed what I suspected - I got a very fair deal and was well treated. I can't ask for more than that. This dealer restored my faith in the car buying process.
  • cliffkim1cliffkim1 Member Posts: 1
    Got an '03 T&C eX with leather,traction control,side airbags, Infiniti speakers. Stickered a little over $29,000, paid a little over $26,000. $1,500 rebate is all they had on the eX. There were only three of this model within a 300 mile radius of where we live. Had to go out of state. They brought it halfway. Overall a good experience.
  • butchnhbutchnh Member Posts: 4
    Thanks for posting your buying experience. We are looking at a similar T&C with the AWD, we are either going to get the LXi or the limited. I am curious what features the limited has that made you decide for that over the LXi other than it being their top model. Also any info on the rebate would be helpful. The Chrysler site mentions 4000. 3500 cash back plus 500. bonus cash our delaer is offering the 3500. and something they are calling a trade enhancement worth 2000 for any old trade. At this point they are offering $8,250 off their MSRP. Does anyone have any thought on if the incentives are going to improve after Sept 2 or if the dealers are being offered incentives?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    No idea about Sept. incentives - bit of a roll of the dice isn't it?

    2004 T&C pricing is now live on site though:

    link

    Steve, Host
  • mackeegmackeeg Member Posts: 7
    T&C LXI 2003 MSRP is 35,385 they want 29000.00. Good Bad
  • palmerpalmer Member Posts: 33
    Sounds like a decent price but you can probably do better. I had an offer for one of the internet managers last remaining T&C Lxi's on his lot with an MSRP of $36,785 (leather, heated seats, DVD, moonroof, power pedals and security group). He offered it to me at month end for $27,529.

    Remember, the 04's are coming out soon, we are in a bad economy, minivans are not hot sellers in general (compared to SUV's), and there is tough competition out there with the Odyssey and the newly redesigned Sienna and Quest. Bottom line, you should be able to do better unless you are in a region where T&C's sell well.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,142
    A reporter with a major magazine is looking to interview people who were drawn to Chrysler dealerships by the Pacifica, and then experienced sticker shock, and perhaps purchased the Town and Country instead.
    If you fit the bill, please respond to [email protected] by Friday, September 5 with your daytime contact information and a few words about your experience.

    MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
    Need help navigating? [email protected] - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
    Share your vehicle reviews

  • butchnhbutchnh Member Posts: 4
    We decided not to wait and see what the Sept. incentives were going to be. Our local dealer had a model we liked. A black LXi AWD with the rear video, tow package, heated front seats, rear video. The MSRP after the leather seating discount was $38250.(The price on the sticker that reads TOTAL PRICE) We have learned while shopping that many of the dealer advertised discounts are off the price that read TOTAL BEFORE DISCOUNT. The only real glitch was that there seemed to be some difference between the dealers claimed invoice for this vehicle, and the invoice price claimed by Edmunds and another site. The dealer was willing to sell for invoice minus the 4000 factory rebate plus another 2000 off for a junker we had to turn in(they said anything registered and inspected qualified). Since we were only $553.00 apart and I was not sure if my invoice info was accurate(and it was the one my wife wanted) we took the deal. He also quoted a paperwork charge of $123.00. The final delivered price was $29,618. with 3.9 financing through Chrysler. Does anyone know of anyway to search Chryslers database to see which dealers have which models. We would have been in a better bargaining position if I had known where I could have found another model like the one we found. The dealer search at teh Chrysler website only lets you search one dealer at a time and is very time consuming. It would have been nice to know where all the LXi AWD's were in our region.
  • jtheronjtheron Member Posts: 24
    Dealer #1, newspaper ad, from dealership 100+ miles away in state capital, list $9,000 off (unsure of what makes up total), says $9,000 includes $2,000 trade assistant bonus, must have trade to qualify. Funny thing on this example was that their starting MSRP number included freight, then they took $9,000 off and then showed an * by the reduced number and said in small print that all reduced prices plus freight, so you really have to add $680 back in which gives an actual discount of only $8,320. They cant even be straight forward with a discount

    Dealer #2, local metro area dealer, would give us $5,030 off a MSRP of $31,000+ for a LX, no mention of trade in assistance, after I mentioned it then he said they could take an additional $500 off for a trade assistant bonus.

    Dealer #3, local metro area dealer, would give us $3,370 off a MSRP of $29,000+ for an EX, he said they could take an additional $1,000 off for a trade assistant bonus.

    3 different dealers each with a different number, $500 , $1,000 and $2,000
  • car4youcar4you Member Posts: 36
    October 1, 2003

    DaimlerChrysler 2004 Minivan Buildout
    DaimlerChrysler has announced an early buildout of the 2004 Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country. Production for theses vehicles will end in December 2003. Final Fleet Order Date for all DaimlerChrysler minivans is 10/17/03. Orders may be accepted after that date on a "will try" basis.

    Production of the 2005 model year Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country will begin in January 2004. The 2005 models will feature:
    · New front fascia and grille.
    · Optional UConnect wireless phone operation.
    · Optional side curtain air bags for all three passenger rows.
    · Fold-flat third row seat.

    Ordering information for the 2005 models will be available in the near future.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Depends on whether you believe the source (Napleton Fleet Group). A quickie net search doesn't flop up any other collaboration, but it has a legit ring to it.

    How did you find the article?

    Steve, Host
  • car4youcar4you Member Posts: 36
    Here is the url. I did a google search "Chrysler minivans 2005". You have to search a half dozen pages to find it.

    http://www.napleton.com/nfg/nfgweb.nsf/0/698f3b7ff7e37ace86256dbb- 004c730d?OpenDocument
  • car4youcar4you Member Posts: 36
    Found another url that looks legit.

    http://www.arifleet.com/pnews/2003/319-fn.doc
  • car4youcar4you Member Posts: 36
    Ok, one more URL and I will stop. Now I have really confused myself between the Quest, Sienna and DC.

    http://www.allpar.com/model/upcoming.html
  • encsharrisencsharris Member Posts: 4
    I am looking at a used 2003 T&C Lxi (see below) and am willing to pay 23,000 not a penny more. Am I out of line in my pricing?? Is it too much to offer?? This is a fleet vehicle owned by the dealership selling it. They haven’t come below 23,809. I know we are talking only 8 bills but I don’t want to budge off my number and I don’t think the UC manager wants to budge either. I also have a 1996 Dodge Caravan ES (no leather) and they are talking $2,500 to $3,000 for the trade in value. The van is in pretty good shape. I could use some advice.

    What should I expect the dealer to come down to on the Lxi and what should I expect for my trade in?

    Mileage: 13,122 miles
    Body Style: Mini Van (LWB)
    Exterior: Butane Blue
    Interior: Taupe Leather
    Transmission: Automatic
    Engine: 3.8 L 6 CYL.
    Factory Rear Video/DVD System
    Taupe Leather interior
    Heated Seats
    Power Sliding Doors and Lift gate

    They were originally asking $24,568, I offered 22,500.
    The dealer is now asking: $23,809 plus tax doc fee.
  • shuedshued Member Posts: 107
    With the similar equipments, you can get the new 2004 LXi for $28,000. Based on this, the 2003 one should be $21,000. (25% off in the first year). For your 1996 van, you can get 6,000-7,000 easily by selling it yourself, if body is at excellent condition and mileage is at 80,000 miles.
  • rbell2rbell2 Member Posts: 180
    Very doubtful you'll get $6-7,000 selling that '96 DGC-ES. There are just way too many used vans on the market and with the huge discounts they are giving on new DGC and T&C, the de-valuation just trickles down.

    For example, I had a '96 DGC-LE with pretty much all the options for that trim w/o leather. It had 107,000 miles. It was truly in very good condition with all maintenance records. It needed a brake job (~$400) and it had a leaking valve cover gasket (~$175). I tried to sell it for about 4 weeks - got 2 calls and no lookers. Dropped the ad price all the way to $3,750 and still no offers. I went to some wholesalers and the most I was offered was $2,000. I got $2,500 for it trade-in (as is) with my '03 Ody purchase. One reason I bought a Honda - I was really sick from how little I could get for my DGC although it did serve us well for 7 years. All my previous used car selling experiences were Toyo's where they sold fast and for a good price ('84 Celica, '88 Celica, '89 Avalon, and '01 4Runner).

    Good luck.
  • rbell2rbell2 Member Posts: 180
    Very doubtful you'll get $6-7,000 selling that '96 DGC-ES. There are just way too many used vans on the market and with the huge discounts they are giving on new DGC and T&C, the devaluation just trickles down.

    For example, I had a '96 DGC-LE with pretty much all the options for that trim w/o leather. It had 107,000 miles. It was truly in very good condition with all maintenance records. It needed a brake job (~$400) and it had a leaking valve cover gasket (~$175). I tried to sell it for about 4 weeks - got 2 calls and no lookers. Dropped the ad price all the way to $3,750 and still no offers. I went to some wholesalers and the most I was offered was $2,000. I got $2,500 for it trade-in (as is) with my '03 Ody purchase. One reason I bought a Honda - I was really sick from how little I could get for my DGC although it did serve us well for 7 years. All my previous used car selling experiences were Toyo's where they sold fast and for a good price ('84 Celica, '88 Celica, '89 Avalon, and '01 4Runner).

    Good luck.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    That's actually not a bad price. I would check the New Car section (not used) and look at the 2003 models to get an idea of how much the 2003 LXi went for. Also don't forget the rebates offered. I would assume there was a $3k-$4k rebate at the timeof purchase. So take the Invoice price minus the rebate minus the first year depreciation.

    shued: I think you are mixing up the LX with the LXi. The LXi is a higher line then the LX. I believe that lists in the mid to low $30's.
  • kwatson272kwatson272 Member Posts: 1
    Paid $1,000 under invoice + the incentives ($4,000 back)+ n/c DVD. October 2003. Not bad for the boys at County Chrysler - Upper Marlboro, MD. Missed out on the $500 holiday cash - but still happy so far. That's a nice leather - pwr sliders/rear - 6 disc DVD - pwr sunroof - groc. divider in back - 3.8L - etc. for $28,500 + tax. (List 36k. Wait for the 05's?? I'm a person that isn't crazy about 1st yr overhauls. For that reason alone - forget the Toyota. Almost rather have the model with the bugs out.
  • familyguy1familyguy1 Member Posts: 7
    I just purchased a 2004 Limited FWD on Friday 1/2, just as some recent incentives were expiring. Here's the details:
    Car: 2004 T&C Limited FWD
    Color: Stone White
    Options: Power Moonroof
    Miles: 9
    Area: Cincinnati, OH

    Base MSRP: $37,700
    Options: $895 (moonroof)
    Dest Charge: $680
    Total MSRP: $39,275

    Paid: $35,394
    Less Rebates: $5,000 (3,500+1000+500)
    NET: $30,394
    plus: Tax, tile, doc fee (100)

    Traded in my 98 T&C LXi with a whopping 92K miles on it, but we didn't discuss that until after the new car price was agreed to. (Got $6,300 which is bit low, but I'm happy).

    This is my third T&C (previously had a 94 and 98) and I'm looking forward to years of enjoyment out of it. Hope this helps and good luck with your own purchase.
  • ronb6ronb6 Member Posts: 3
    Thought I would post my deal for pondering. I just bought 2 Jan a 2001 Town and Country Limited AWD for 21500.00. It is silver with the blue interior.
     It has 31150 miles and was a prior lease vehicle (ran carfax on it.)
     It has the tow package and engine block heater for options and a full third row seat (I hate the 50/50 split because the middle person is hating life due to the hinges) plus it still has the eight way passenger seat (deleted in 2003.)
     The best part was the dealer. There was ZERO pressure from them. For the test drive, they handed us the keys told us to have fun and come back when we were done. When we got back, they let us decide with no input from them at all, when we said yes, there was no pressure tactics or anything. He got us financed in less than an hour at a real good rate. We waited over the weekend for them to service it but told David (the salesman) that we could not pick it up until next weekend due to my work sked (the dealership was about 60 mi from my house and they closed at 5:00.) He said he would deliver it on monday and sure enough, monday evening there is a rollback truck in the driveway with our new van on it that was fully detailed and serviced with registration and plates done already (no extra detailing or service charge even for the foglight that burned out when they were loading it up, which they replaced before they left the lot to drop it off.) Barlow Motors in Vernon, CT defiantly gave us the best experience we have had when buying a vehicle.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    No names of individuals please....

    Steve, Host
  • ronb6ronb6 Member Posts: 3
    I did try to remove that with your editor because I realized my mistake but the corrected copy was the one deleted. Why, I don't know.The correction was made 3 minutes after the initial posting. Got to love computers
  • jtheronjtheron Member Posts: 24
    We checked out the 2005 T&C's and were disappointed with the Stow n Go seats, neat how they went into the floor and all but they seemed very odd looking and uncomfortable to us. We know for a fact that we will regularly have four people riding in the van but only very very rarely would we have the need for using the full cargo area and we didn't want to have to always endure uncomfortable seats for a few times of needing all the cargo space. We didn't think we wanted to ride in the Stow n Go seats for any length of time ourselves so we thought we should get a 2004 while they are available and were discounted.
    Bought a 2004 Platinum/Touring with a total price of $35,890 and no charge DVD for a net MSRP of $34,995. The Platinum/Touring series seemed very close in features to the Limited but was about $4,300 less and we didn't see $4,300 in value for the extras the limited had over the Platinum.
    We paid $22,500 plus traded a 1993 Caravan with 99,000 miles, dealer said it was worth $600 yet we saw blue book and edmunds trade-in values of about $1,500. Using $1,500 trade value we felt total discounts of $11,890 off of top line list was not too bad so we bought it, figures out to a discount of better than 33%.
    If the 2005 vans would have not disappointed us we would have held off as the 1993 van ran just fine, we just didn't want to have the Stow n Go seats as the only seats available as we understand they are the standard seats on the nicer 2005 town and country's.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    Wow. I thought I did good with my 04 Platinum Series with my affiliate rewards discount of 1% under invoice, plus the $6000 rebate – for a total of $27,842 on a sticker price of $36,800. This is a little less than what carsdirect showed, so I thought it was a good deal. I didn’t think they would go near 3K under invoice, even with the new models coming out. Was this an advertised special? Just wondering how you would even get to the point of asking for $3000 under invoice, when there’s already a $6K rebate. Great job
  • jtheronjtheron Member Posts: 24
    Hi blonde.
    Thanks.
    No, ours was not an advertised special, the T&C advertised special was for a MSRP of $27,490 and a newspaper ad price of $18,964, for a total discount of $8,526.
    We inquired about the price they would sell a Touring with a MSRP of $33,505, they said they would sell that one for $27,218,(giving us a discount of $6,287) they would allow $800 for trade value for our van plus wanted $26,418 cash. (my error in my original post, as it was another dealer said our trade was worth $600). We laughed at that, their first offer, and showed them their own ad that discounted the $27,490 van by $2,239 ($8,526 - $6,287 = $2,239) more than they were offering us yet we were buying a $6,015 more expensive van. We also had 10 ads from other dealers in this and neighboring metro areas that showed T&C vans discounted by $9,500 and $10,000 and $10,500, some ads said $500 below invoice and customer keeps all rebates, some ads said $1,000 and now even $1,500 below invoice with customer keeping all rebates.
    We told them we felt $21,000 cash + trade-in van was fair for a $33,505 - 2004 T&C Touring, they asked us were we came up with $21,000? We said we didn't know anything about vans but the pricing info we got was from all these different ads, and then we started listing off all the various rebates the ads mentioned, we said we felt our offer was reasonable, but if it was not it would only be because the ads we based our offer on must have been misleading.
    After some time when they tried to get us to increase our offer (which we said we originally only planned to pay $20,000 so we were already $1,000 more than we wanted) they also tried to get us to accept less options, like removing the center console, we held firm and then after more time they said yes they would sell us the van with a $33,505 MSRP for $21,000 cash + our old van. After I looked at the new van I noticed they were quoting for a van without leather and I wanted leather. A Platinum series in a different color was available that was $1,490 more MSRP but included a free DVD priced at $895 for a gross price of $35,890, the increase in MSRP + the "free" DVD was $2,385 and we offered them $1,500 more to get to $22,500 cash + the 1993 caravan. The DVD was wanted by our children and was included in the Touring model we priced and was included no charge in the Platinum Series, only we got the DVD for no charge by moving up to the leather seated Platinum Series.
    We felt the price was fair and it was $1,500 less than another dealer said was his lowest offer he would sell at, so we took it.
    Only thing we can think of if the discounts are out of line was that our trade-in van, a 1993 caravan with 99,000 miles was worth more than the $600 or $800 the dealers said they would allow for it or more than the $1,500 that kbb and edmunds said was a fair trade in value for it, who knows? They kept showing us all kinds of numbers and we were getting confused so we just focused on how much cash they wanted.
    Interesting thing was after the paperwork was printed up for us to sign, the 1993 caravan that we traded in, the one that the dealer said they would allow us $800 trade-in value for, they listed it on the purchase contract as having a trade-in allowance of $6,995. We thought it was worth more than $800 and figured the kbb and edmunds price of $1,500 was fair but we know it wasn't worth $6,995. We made a comment to the salesman on how we were surprised that the 1993 caravan went from being worth $800 to $6,995 in 1 day, said if we knew they were worth so much we would have traded in 3 more of them and got the new T&C for no cash, he didn't say anything to that.
    Also we noticed that the various ads showed discounts for, loyalty and conquest and farm bureau and military and college grad and mail certificate and national and TDM (whatever that is)and trade-in allowance and such, but the dealer didn't ask us what rebates applied and didn't seem to care which ones we may have qualified for or not.
    Good luck to you with your new van and best to you.
  • hondacbrhondacbr Member Posts: 6
    We're looking for a used minivan - prefer the T&C LXi or LTD over pretty much all the other vans out there. Have spent a lot of time in the discussions - what's a decent price to pay for a 2001 LTD or 2002 LTD? We're in Northwest Indiana. I've come across a 2002 LTD (no TV), very clean, only 14,000 miles - asking price is $24800 - but I know that's way too much. What's a good (non-insulting offer)??
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Besides checking the TMV in the Used Cars section, try asking over in Real-World Trade-In Values.

    Steve, Host
  • bluetrainstopbluetrainstop Member Posts: 15
    Anyone bought or priced a 2004 Dodge Caravan SXT lately. I looked in Edmunds and found invoice with destination for 22,805. I got a price from dealer for 21,300 plus tax and 179 processing fees and 70 dmv total was 22,551 minus 2000 cash rebate with 0% financing and additional 1000.00 added to our trade in of 1998 Carvan with 76400 miles on it. I looked at TMV price on edmunds and its 22,565 less incentives. That's only $14 dollars more than my price. Shouldn't I be getting a better deal with the 2005 coming out and the state of car sales right now.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    TMV reflects what the average buyer is paying. An educated consumer should be able to beat it; since you are at Edmunds, you aren't average :-)

    I haven't seen any sales numbers recently, but my gut feeling is that car sales are down. And the '05's are hitting the dealers. Then again, interest rates remain low, and the consumer bubble is still going strong, so maybe the vans aren't piling up?

    Often the end of the month is a good time to deal, so you may want to push hard in another week or so. Good luck!

    Steve, Host
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    Edmunds TMV prices never include sales tax and processing fees, so you are comparing your cost with sales tax with Edmunds TMV without sales tax and without processing fees.

    Looks like you beat Edmunds TMV. However, once you put a trade in vehicle into the mix, you never really know how good a deal you got unless you can determine that the trade in they are giving you is reasonable. Best way to deal in this situation is initially make your best deal without a trade in, then bring up the trade in as the last item. Then you will be able to figure out what they are offering on the trade in by the difference in price.
  • ViperggVipergg Member Posts: 24
    Just picked up 2004 T&C LX list 29460 . We paid around $20000 after the 1% below invoice quote and the $4500 rebate plus I managed to get about $5500 out of a 97 Dodge Ram Conversion . So far nice vehicle , Inferno Red with towing package , 3.3 liter . Had some concerns about the 4 speed obviously but after researching this , alot of problems seem to have been fixed starting in the 2001 model year with these . Talked to mechanics at the dealer and they said they haven't replaced one yet on a 2001 or newer minivan . The 7/70000 also helped with the decision .
  • tmcgill1tmcgill1 Member Posts: 2
    We decided to check prices on a 2005 T&C while on vacation in North Carolina. We couldn't pass up the deal on a 2005 Touring edition with 3.8 liter engine. Clothe instead of leather and no other frills (no dvd-much to the kids disapointment). We traded in a 99 Dodge Caravan with 99K miles. The final price (with taxes, title, etc.) was 24,000 even. Our payments over 60 months are only $21 more than when we bought the caravan. On the way home we didn't get that far because they forgot to tighten the spare. It was flapping around in the breeze and made it sound like we had a flat. We got home (20 hours later) and the arm rest fell off one of the middle captain's chairs. They also forgot to bolt it on completely. Minor inconveniences that I can deal with in light of the deal I got. Drives much nicer than the caravan and with so much extra storage, we ditched our circa 1980 car top carrier. Didn't need it.
  • dcsupplierdcsupplier Member Posts: 2
    My job qualifies me for the D-C Affiliate Rewards program mentioned previously. 1% under invoice + any incentives. I couldn't afford the '04s that were left, even with the 3500 incentives and such.

    With the loan my credit rating has afforded me, I will be sticking with the base model T&C or the Caravan SXT(SWB's both). I would love the 3.8l but can't afford the models it comes in. With the program and incentives, I should get a decent ride for around 19500. I need to hop into both models and see how the two compare to each other in a test drive. I have a feeling the T&C will feel more luxurious(of course) and the SXT more sporty. I'll just have to see which one wins me over.

    Ohh - considering an extended warranty. Their cost is negotiable, anyone know how much I should pay for one? 3/4 retail, 1/2 retail or what? Maybe state the transmission issue and ask to get it free or else I'll buy a Toyota???
  • andy1andy1 Member Posts: 8
    After a lot of haranguing around, I have two firm offers. It has come down to a 2004 (New) Chrysler T%C Touring and a 2002 Toyota Sienna XLE with 38000 miles. The Sienna is offered at $21350, warrsnty $800. The T&C is $23000 flat, and new car warranty. No trade in. The Sienna looks new.

    Which is the better choice?
  • coachtdcoachtd Member Posts: 2
    Here is the deal I got in Michigan (metro detroit area)

    2005 Touring 3.8 L engine, 29k package, no added options

    with the employee plan and $1000 down

    $21860 out the door, got 4.19% financing through Chrysler Financial. Payments are $405.24 for 60 months.
  • andy1andy1 Member Posts: 8
    HI Coach

    THat's a good deal! Did you have a trade in? Are you an employee of Chrysler? What sort of discount does that give you?
    Thanks
    Andy
  • coachtdcoachtd Member Posts: 2
    It was an employee discount (my mother-in-law works for Jeep). $1000 rebate, $500 C.Financial Bonus Cash. The dealer near me matched an add for $1000 dealer cash. Along with the $1000 I put down. Good Luck!
  • prlady1prlady1 Member Posts: 573
    Congrats coachtd!
    A reporter is hoping to talk with folks who have recently struck deals like yours. If you are willing to share your story, please provide your daytime phone number to me at [email protected] asap no later than 2pm Eastern on Wednesday, May 18, 2004. I'll make it worth your while with a free Edmunds.com t-shirt.
    Thanks,
    Jeannine Fallon
    PR Director
    Edmunds.com
  • andy1andy1 Member Posts: 8
    Hi
    This is andy1. Here is the deal I got for my 2004 T&C touring so maybe this will qualify for your report, maybe not. It was $31815 list,new with warranty. They wanted to move them off the lot so they offered 23486, final price 23000. No trade in, no rebate. I put 4000 down. It looks like when people say "out the door" they mean the price with whatever down payment they paid, so if you figure that in the price was $19000. Financing with Chrylser at 4%. In my case, timing was everything, as just the Friday before (this was a Monday) the offer was 24315.

    I think I got a great deal. I dont want or need fold in the floor seats so I dont miss that feature of the 2005s. I agree with most of the reviews about the lack of some fairly standard features, but again, most of them I dont really need. My kids are grown so this is my car - I am 51 and this is not for my wife, my kids, but for me. For my wants and needs it is almost perfect.

    I looked at mid-size SUVs, other minivans, and crossovers such as the Malibu Maxx, and the T&C fit me the best. I would have liked the 2005 Sienna, but the outright deceptive pricing from Toyota quickly drives that way out of reach in terms of price. To get even basic features you are quickly looking at $26000, and the $23000 I paid for the T&C stretches my budget as it is. I also had a good offer for a used Odyssey, but my son, who is bigger than I am (I am 6'4") could not fit in the front passenger seat due to the depth of the glove compartment. So the deal I got on a new T&C worked out well for me.

    After the first 500 miles, I think I love this car. I just hope the reliability reports are wrong in my case! Its black with black and grey interior so the "soccer Mom" thing is alleviated quite a bit. As my wife said, "You want something that you can haul your stuff, your family, and your dog...all at the same time." With this car, I think I have it.

    So if this qualifies, let me know.

    And thanks again to coachtd and dusty.
  • harryharry Member Posts: 1
    Just purchased a 2005 T&C Touring. It has no options. Dealer had to get it from another dealer. Sticker was $27750. The deal I got was $25600 - $1000 rebate - $1000 Chrysler financial rebate + $125 Doc Fee = $23725. This is basically invoice - rebates. I didn't have a trade to get any of the additional $1000. Edmunds TMV is $24442 after rebates and Carsdirect.com's target price is $24974. How does this compare to anyone else? Had an offer at another dealer for $23343 for a silver one they had on their lot but my wife wanted a Butane Blue Pearl Coat one. This dealer tried charging me $500 to locate a Butane Blue one.
  • jsvanguyjsvanguy Member Posts: 14
    Edmunds shows the T&C 2005 dealer invoice at $32042, while the 2004 invoice is $34,383. Questions:

    1. What is 2004 higher
    2. For a identically equipped Limited Van (ignore the lack of stow and go on the 04) , how much cheaper will the dealers sell the 04 vs the 05 be at this time?
    3. Since this vehicle depreciates at least $6000 in the first year, would you agree that the 04 needs to be that much cheaper relative to the 05?

    Thanks
  • glurkusglurkus Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a '05 T&C LX. List price with options and destination charge was $27,990. The options included the "Popular Package 2", power driver's seat and the towing prep package.
         I bargained for a $2250 discount and a free Mopar trailer hitch with installation (a $500 value), and received a $1000 CFC rebate and a $1000 consumer rebate. Total cost before tax was $23,740
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