Dodge Caliber

neely2005

There's a Caliber R/T Review here:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=115318

wampuscat

After being told by one dealership that all R/Ts come with Electronic Stability Program, which was a falt-out lie and I dropped the dealership, my new dealer said that ESP has not previously been available because they were waiting for the factories to start making Compass and Patriots. So, he says since they stopped the assembly lines for a couple weeks and are now starting to build again, I can order it as an option - but he can't price it for me yet. ESP is also not available to price on the dodge web site yet. Anyone know how much it might add to the cost of the car? Since we do get snow sometimes and we will sometimes use the Caliber to drive for skiing, we're getting the AWD. I thought the ESP would be a natural option to add on (strangely, I think the Compass and Patriot upper models come with ESP standard).

Thanks!

Also, if anyone has photos or knows where to see photos of the Steel Blue color, please let me know. I'm torn between black, red and steel blue (the darker blue).

grayseabring

I guess my biggest mistake was dealing with a five star dealership. In the past I have always been pleased and well serviced. The Chatham Ontario dealer is fairly new ( 8 Months ) and was rated 5 star by Chrysler. I did not keep my eye on the ball. As my license plates were being transfered I was at the sales desk viewing changes to my tradein value and accepting an additional option which was not on the manufactures sticker price. I called the deal off but in the face of pressure from the sales manager I relented.
I have called Chrysler 2 weeks ago and emailed them 6 days ago. No response.
Beware of recommendations like "5 Star". and be prepared to walk away from a deal even though it might be in the last minutes.
I am thoroughly discusted with Chrysler.

caliberchic

I just stumbled across another Caliber forum and I found that users there are stealing my posts from here and posting them under different users names to the other site! I feel violated!

I registered there and went to reply to a post and realized that my information was already supplied. WORD for WORD!

Now I have the hee bee jee bees. :surprise:

wampuscat

I feel badly that you feel like you were taken advantage of. Yes, I'm sure some buyers are put at ease by a dealership's 5-star rating and it may be easier for salespeople to take advantage of that. However, a lot of dealerships work hard to earn that rating. Others - like the Lithia chain - do not have to earn it. You should not be disgusted with Chrysler per se, but the salespeople you worked with. BTW, no I do not work for ChyslerDiamler, but my father does work at a 5-star rated service center and they have to earn that title every year.

calibreath

I saw another Caliberchic username on another forum. She looked hot in her picture.

grendel_cave

I actually drove a steel blue SXT the other day. My opinion was that it was ok as a color, but that it was a bit on the depressing side. Its not a bad color but if you have others to choose from, I think red or black would make a better choice. My local dealership also had a lighter blue sitting on the lot. I found the lighter blue color to be much darker than in the color charts. I liked it much better than the steel blue. Look at toyota's website under Yaris, Hatch "blazing blue pear," and you'll get a closer idea to what Dodge's marine blue pearl really looks like.

grendel_cave

sorry to hear that someone has been stealing your posts. If the other forum you were looking at is new or the website is new, it could have been done by the site as a of way of generating more forum posts. Some sites actually get a few cents every time someone clicks on their link.

grendel_cave

Would anyone who has driven their caliber a few thousand miles tell me what they like best about their dodge and what they like least. I really want to order a Caliber, I just have a hard time letting go of $18,000 without plenty of reviews and reliability studies. Also, anyone know how well dodges hold onto their value and what their reliability is like? I've just got a case of the new model gitters.

caliberchic

Are you being cheeky? LOL

That is me too!

The owner of that site emailed me this about my problem, apparently others here are being copied too.

CaliberChic,
I took a look at the edmunds forums and noticed that indeed there are
copied post; not just yours. The members that copied those post were
actually hired by me. I hired these individuals to help jump start my
forum as paid-per-post posters, which is typical for most new forums
since there is no activity. I had told them that I wanted quality post
and not just one word or one liner topics or responses. I guess they
found large posts elsewhere and just copied them. I thought they were
doing a good job but I guess not! I have already informed these
individuals that I no longer require their services and I assure you
these copied posts will stop. =D

caliberchic

Did you check out the consumer reviews at the top of this page? There are 61 owner reviews up there with a 9.1 average review.

grayseabring

I checked out the Royal banks residual value at the end of their 48 month lease program. The SXT was $9050. You either turn in your keys or purchase for this amount.
I traded a basic Sebring and 3 dealers advised that the value at 4 years was low because so many were sold that the resale was lower because there was many were in everyones used car inventory, many from dealership leases.
Many were sold at the Toronto auctions to clear the lot inventory and had to compete with lease cars from companies like Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Thrifty etc.
If this car is going to be a hot seller now, I have to believe it will have a lower value latter due to so many being up for sale in future years.

nonnemacher

Let me first say that I really like this car. I've got almost 5,000 miles on it and it really drives well for a smaller car. at my age, that's a big deal - I do'nt want a noisy car or one that's too tight over bumps or too sloppy in corners. The Caliber is a very nice drive for the money. The dashboard did buzz a little bit yesterday on my way to church for an early music practice, but I was driving 75 mph on a rough 1.5 lane county road. On better roads at reasonable speeds, it never does this.

I also like the Caliber CVT SXT equipment package - side air bags, ABS, A/C, keyless entry, windows, fold-down seats, ... but make sure you get one with cruise control, as it is not standard on the SXT or SXT Sport.

The overall style and functionality of the car are what sold me on it. Along with that, the Caliber is much more of "substantial" car than many compacts. Its built very solid and rides well, but that takes away a bit from the fuel economy. The new Jeep Compass is coming out soon and it has off-road capability built on the same platform. I'm sure they beefed up some parts, but the overall structure of the car is similar - very solidly built.

As for reliabity, the current (soon to be old) generation DCX minivans are excellent for long-term reliabilty and comfort. Consumers Report even ranks them as a best buy for used vehicles - and they hardly ever approve of domestics. Our 2002 Grand Caravan performs and drives perfectly after four years. The only repairs other than routine maintenacne have been recalls on the power steering hoses, that we never had a problem with.

The only negative thing I can say is that this is NOT a Toyota or Honda, and I do not expect the long term resale value to be nearly as good as these cars. But, I paid $4k less for the 2007 Caliber than a similarly equipped and not nearly as versatile 2006 Civic LX. Right now folks seem to be paying a lot for these cars. I suspect that in a year or so, supply will exceed demand and DCX will begin to offer incentives on the Caliber, like they do on their other models. But, I could be wrong, this might take longer to occur. The PT Cruiser is a good example of this. It is a good car and was in high demand at the outset, but the supply has become more than the demand now in the later years, incentives are offered, and the values tumble. That said, the PT probably still has better resale than most 4-door domestics because it is a versatile car with a good track record.

In my local area the import dealers don't offer many incentives ,if any, and then they brag about resale value. Meanwhile the domestics are giving employee pricing to almost everyone and suffering for it in terms of resale. If resale values were calculated based on average price actually paid for the car rather than MSRP, the domestics would not look so bad - maybe not still quite as high as the imports, but the resale gap would lessen considerably.

I've had no major problems with the Caliber - its a great ride and not your typical economay car. Everyone who ses it likes it and I love it - and by the way, mine is the previously maligned Steel Blue Metallic.

I'd buy another one tomorrow, but the prices that dealers are demanding seem to have gone up quite a bit from when I purchased mine on 3/31/2006. The Caliber is a wonderfully designed and very cool-looking car and I have no hesitation recommending it to you, but considering resale, make sure you get a good deal on it.

lexan1965

I agree with all nonnemacherhas said. I have 9,800 miles on my sxt caliber and have had no issues with it. I love the cvt2 on it also and like he said get the cruise control on it if and when u buy it. That's the only thing I don't have on mine and I can't get it unless dodge comes out with the kit for it later.

Sylvia

Please email me (sylvia@edmunds.com) with the name of this site. We will contact them as copying and pasting our Forums content is illegal and we will want them cease and desist plus remove our posts ASAP.

For the record - is is NOT normal practice to copy/paste/STEAL posts from other forums when you start them. Any Community Manager with any experience knows that - truly disgusting.

wampuscat

Thank you for the pitcures of the steel blue.

And thank you for the opinions of the steel blue. I have seen the marine blue and thought it wasn't quite what I expected after seeing the Web site, so I would hesitate to order one in Steel Blue without at least seeing various photos, etc. I really disliked the marine blue. The steel blue seems like a nice color, but doesn't seem to match (IMHO) the styling of the car. The color seems very understated for such a bold body design. I also like the orange, but probably not for my own car.

caliberchic

I emailed you!

Sylvia

Thanks. Contact has been made and the copied posts are being deleted. If you see any that aren't, please feel free to let us know and we will be sure that the copies are removed as well.

Happy 4th!

nonnemacher

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder... I agree that the Steel Blue Metallic is somewhat of an understated color, but it looks really good with the grey interior color. I also changed out the antenna to be black (any Caravan part fits) because the wiper arm, windshield trim and mirror right around it are all black. I even went so far as to remove a wheel cover and put black tape on the recessed center of the spokes to further tone down the silver on the car. This was just a test fit and my wife did not like it so I took the tape off. If I did do something to darken the wheel covers, I'd probably put on a charcoal grille too...

Yeah, its an understated color, but I'm not trying to impress anyone or relive my youth by driving my car. I've already got the girl and we generally don't drive and relive our youth at the same time... I'd better stop there...

neely2005

This reviewer thinks so:

http://driving.canada.com/research/viewroadtest.spy?artid=61175

grendel_cave

Where does Dodge get off only offering the diesel in Europe/Canada? Does anyone know how exactly that works? Who decides for example that a diesel would never sell in the US? Or is it a decision based upon relationships with the oil companies? Loads of other cars, the toyota yaris, for example get a diesel in Europe. I for one, would pay a little extra to get an engine that gets 30 in city and 45 on the highway, and produces way more torque than the standard 1.8 L. Which is, according to another review, what the caliber diesel provides. What are the chances dodge would opt to provide a diesel in an american caliber in the next model year?

grendel_cave

Here is the other website I mentioned that discusses the turbo disel in Europe and its fuel economy: http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/caliber.html
I checked the canada dodge website and it does not offer the turbo diesel as of yet.

grendel_cave

I did a little research on the web last night and the general consensus as to why there are not more turbo diesels in the US has to do with emission standards. Evidently, the diesel fuel in the US burns a lot dirtier due to higher sulphur levels--think tractors, heavy fumes etc. However, the new beetle with turbo diesel (which uses a similar engine as Euro-Caliber) is sold in California, which has some of the toughest emission standards in the US. So again I'm at a loss as to why the option has not been made available here. It just seems like a Caliber that got twice as much torque , a few less horses , and a hell of lot better fuel economy :shades: than the standard 2.0 L engine would be the hottest selling thing on the market. All the reviewers for Euro-Caliber havve rated it as being among the best for handling, acceleration, and fuel economy.

lexan1965

I just went over 10k miles on my caliber...no issues! mpg are ok with 28 to 30 being the best I can get out of it driving to and from work.

mbry

Hey, Can you tell me where you found the chrome door handle covers? I looked on Ebay & couldnt find any. Thanks

caliberchic

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2- F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=chrome+handle+cover+300c&category0=

Here they are. You probably couldn't find them because they are actually listed under the 300c. Trust me they fit, it's the same thing I bought, just different seller. The person I bought from hasn't listed anymore.

mbry

so the door handles on the Caliber & the 300c are the same? Thanks BTW

caliberchic

Yes.

waorgany

Well after a short 16 weeks and 1 day my wife took delivery of or Sunburst Orange Pearl SXT yesterday and it looks pretty good. I cant wait to return from Iraq and take it for a drive. I will post some pic as soon as I figure out how. Thanks.">

grendel_cave

Well, I can officially join the club! I just took the "plunge" and ordered an inferno red SXT. Dodge had stopped taking orders until the end of July, but my local dealer was able to get DCX to accept my order. I was going for the special employee pricing, but they couldn't find the Caliber I wanted in a 500 mile radius due to the number of options, color, and type of transmission I wanted. My dealer assured me 10 weeks at the most, but after reading everyone's posts, I know it may take a bit longer. Anyway, here is the package list of the Caliber I'll be picking up in the next 6-16 weeks:
SXT Sport
inferno red
5 speed manual transmission
UConnect Hands Free Communication
Speed Control
Daytime Running Lamps
Sun Roof
ABS
Music Gate Sound System
Driver Convenience Group

grendel_cave

Does anyone know what the story is with the front grille on the Caliber. The brochure shows the sport option with a chrome grille, but the dodge website and all the sport groups I have seen at the dealership have a bodycolor grille. Moonhunt's Caliber, however, appears to have a sport package and a chrome grille. Can anyone unravel this oh so great mystery for me?

nonnemacher

I think the current production is the way it is meant to be - SXT Sport's get a body-color grille. Some early production vehicles (sales literature included) may have varied from this.

Congrats on ordering your car - I like the inferno red a lot, but bought steel blue metallic to get it quickly.

maniac36

Hey all, just been reading the site and did a check on my VIN through the dodge site today and a recall was issues on July 7, 2006 (yesterday) for the THERMOSTAT DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARE. The document is not posted yet but I have emailed my service dept to see what's up. I too have a strange PING like sound when driving, and sometimes when accelerating. Nothing big but enough to notice and not something we should have to deal with after two months and only 2300km. So...go to this site

http://www.daimlerchrysler.ca/CA/03/EN/OWNERS/1,,CA-03-EN-OWNERS-VEHICLE_RECALL,- - .html

Click on Dodge and then enter your VIN to see if your vehicle falls under the recall. My car was delivered in May 2006. I will reply once service contacts me. The car drives great, just the annoying pinging.

Also, where have people been buying accessories...from dealership parts department or elsewhere? I am looking for some stuff...cargo mat, nice floor mats etc.

grayseabring

As I complete my first month of ownership and first 2000km a slight ping developed. Now that I have read your post I will be looking into it further. The recall portion of the Dodge website was not working this morning. Must have been "cheap" gas going through the web. The car, though, has measured up to my expectations.

habalanche

With regards to accesories I'm getting most of my stuff from a dealer but through ebay Stevewhitemotors out of NC great prices very fair S&H.

guykass

Hi All-

I was hoping maybe I could get some info/thoughts from you folks.

About 2 weeks ago I bought an SXT. After about a week ( and 200 miles) the car started "misbehaving" and the dealer's service department tells me it's normal.

The car "pulses" as it drives. The engine seems to run smoothly, but as you are driving, it tends to pulse and/or mildly "buck." It is an automatic transmission.

You can also see the LED's on dashboard pulse and at night you can see the headlights dim and strengthen as it does it.

The problem is intermittent in the respect that sometimes you can barely feel it and other times it is pretty bad.

The dealer tells me it is because of the type of transmission and that this behavior is normal. Anyone have any idea if this is true, or are they full of it?

Thanks in advance,

Guy Kass

maniac36

Did you enter in your VIN? Maybe it is only specific models built on specific dates that have been recalled. I believe once you enter your VIN and if you see nothing you should be fine.

dnrmerlin

If it was normal other cars would suffer the same thing. Bucking is not normal and it has nothing to do with the CVT transmissions. I have two calibers, bit autos and there is no bucking at all. The pulse in the lights including the LED on the dash is not normal. If you get no satisfaction demand to contact the district rep for your area.

utter

I have to agree there. Bucking or dimming of electronics is NOT normal. I would suggest you take you Caliber to another dealer and get a better/second opinion. This guy is full of you know what. That said, I feel like Chrysler/DCX Corporate would be very concerned to hear something like that on any of their cars....

CVT is supposed to be even SMOOTHER than a "regular" automatic tranny. That's partly the point of those things (in addition to fuel economy).

Here's a question..I know that Steel Blue and Sunburst seem pretty popular for colour choices...what do ya'll think the most popular color for the Caliber is right now? It seems to vary widely, but what do you think?

ltdave

looking at the brochure ive got (03/06) i see the chrome grill on everything but the SE...

i would have rather had NO chrome on my white SXT (d package i.e. standard) than what ive got...

oh well...

david

nonnemacher

I had a Dakota pick-up do this a long time ago - 1993 maybe... Turned out to be a bad oxygen sensor. This is most likely a faulty sensor on the intake or exhaust system, which is telling the computer that its working fine, but giving erratic readings. This may cause the computer to change engine speed unnecessarily and sometimes abruptly.

Go to a dealer who knows what they are doing or call Dodge directly... Just because the computer system says everything is fine, that does mean everything is fine. A faulty sensor can easily tell the computer that it is operating correctly when a test drive indicates otherwise.

Sylvia

Here you go - speed-dial link in CarSpace

Dodge Caliber Picture and Photo Gallery

caliberred1

I have browsed the web site many of times. I own an SXT Inferno Red. I was posting some pics for you all to take a look at. Thanks ">link title

nonnemacher

Black antenna and graphite wheel covers on Steel Blue.

charred caliber">link title

caliberred1

Those graphite wheel covers are nice. They do not stand out as much against the paint.

caliberchic

I finally got my rear spoiler swapped out for the larger color matched one. I had talked about it for about a month and today it's complete! I think I am about done doing mods. Unless of course I get some $ for some "twinkie deuces"! j/k

Here are pictures Caliber Wing Pictures

grendel_cave

Did you ever get the chrome grille you mentioned on one of the pics you posted? I was curious as to how much you payed or were quoted on it.

freshgirl

Hi, caliberchic.

I heard that you liked beautiful cars.Can you tell me if is better to buy a new car o used car?. I have another personal question for you, are you married or you have boyfriend?, sorry for the question but I think that you can tell to me because I have my boyfriend and he likes to ride beautiful cars. I want to buy a car for him. Birthdaysgift.

thank's caliberchic.

utter

Hey Caliberchic..that's a big ole spoiler you have on there.

At first, I thought itw as too much, but after looking at a few more pictures, I think it really helps it look even sportier than your Caliber already is!

Looks like it was worth the wait?
That's a sharp looking Caliber indeed!

caliberred1

Hey that is pretty sweet. I was looking at them but was not sure how good they would look. That really set the car off!