caheaton

I bought a 2013 SE in March and am approaching 3,000 miles. It's the 2.4, so you will likely not care for it's power (I find it adequate), but it's been a great car. Even took it on a 600 mile (one way) road trip last month and it was a very pleasant trip. Big pluses are the cargo volume. One (small) minus is that I too found the seat can be a little tiring on my bum during long trips (starts to get a bit sore after 4 hours or so), but after a quick food stop or rest stop I'm good as new :-0 . So far I've been averaging around 24 to 25 mpg...with that climbing to 28 mpg on the road trip. Craig

Good point about the wife flying around...maybe I can get her a velcro suit and stick her to the carpeting :D . Another factor that I think was sub-consciously influencing me (and I'm more aware of now), is that this is my second new car (most of my cars have been used). I'm almost 50 and I usually keep my cars for 10 years or more. So, given that, how many more new cars will I have a chance to own in my life! :rolleyes: Craig

Hello, Just thought I'd share my opinions here for those who may be shopping or on the fence. I've just entered my 3rd week of ownership of my new SE (with popular and premium equipment group, 2.4L FWD) and so far the car has been a joy to drive (just passed 500 miles on the way to work this morning). I've been averaging close to 25mpg and really enjoy this car more than any other other car I have owned before (previous car was a 2001 Chevrolet Tracker (2.0L, 4WD, convenience group), before that I owned a Hyundai Excel). Used it to haul some cargo yesterday to a storage garage and was pleased with how much I could fit in without having to drop the rear seats. The car gives a very quiet ride, and the 2.4 engine has more than enough power for quick acceleration onto the highway or merging into traffic. The Sirius radio is a joy to listen to...as a youth I enjoyed listening to shortwave radio so the BBC & World Radio channels have become my stations of choice. The radio controls on the steering wheel are great, as they make it easy to flip quickly from a local station for weather and back to the satellite for news. This car drives, looks and feels like a much more expensive car than it is. (I paid only a couple thousand more for this car than what I paid for the Tracker back in 2001!). If I had to give a complaint, the only one I have is that the car is a bit wide when getting in and out...it's a bit of a step (only 5' 3" and it's more of a step for my wife as she's 4' 9" :-) ). Oh, and I also kind of miss the stalk mounted cruse controls as they seemed a bit more intuitive to me than the buttons on the steering spoke (just habit I suppose as all my cars before were stalk controls). These are issues I can live with :-) . I'm looking forward to taking this car on road trips.... Craig

I hope people don't mind me reviving an old thread, but it's a useful one so here goes :-) . I'm just coming near the end of my first tank of gas on my new Journey and so far I've been averaging just under 25 mpg (about 24.8). Not bad considering those miles are about 80% commuting to work miles and only a couple of shorter trips on the highway (about half hour long trips). This mileage is better than what the epa stated the combined mileage would be and a bit better than I was getting with my 2001 Chevrolet Tracker (a much smaller vehicle). I'm satisfied and am looking forward to see if I can maybe inch it up close to 30 mpg on an extended highway trip (say to Florida :-) ). Craig

This thread has been reassuring....the other day it was a cold morning and I noticed my Journey (which had about 200 miles on it at the time) was also ticking a bit. After the engine had warmed the noise was gone. So far, that's the only time I've heard it. A bit of googling showed this to be normal. Craig

Sorry to hear about your problems. I've come to the conclusion that all auto manufacturers have their problems. Before buying my Journey, I owned a 2001 Chevrolet Tracker that was largely trouble free for the 12 years I owned it, EXCEPT that one day in January as I was driving I heard a loud "clunk" sound from under the car. After that, the car would pull a hard right every time I pressed on the brakes. As it turned out, the problem was caused by a front cross member that had rusted through to the point where the upper connection of the front right wheels suspension had broken free from the frame! Further research showed that this was a known problem with the vehicle and GM had issued an internal recall for the problem as a large number of cross members had apparently left the factory with "inadequate rustproofing" (which a mechanic later confirmed as meaning they neglected to paint the inside surfaces of the cross member). The terms of this recall were that you had to live in a state that applied salt to the roads in winter, the car had to 10 years old or newer and the car had to have 150,000 miles or less. Plus, the recall expired in October of 2012. If you didn't meet all of those terms, the repair was at owner's expense (approximately $1,000 )! After many go arounds with both the dealership and GM, they refused to repair my car or even partially pay for the repair as the car was more than 10 years old (but with only 120,000 miles). The rep from GM even implied that the car was "too old" to still be driving anyway. The final resolution was that they would offer me a $1,000 voucher towards the purchase of new GM car. I mentioned that they had already mailed me a $1,000 voucher as part of a marketing promotion and asked if I could combine the offers. I was told "no", so clearly their "offer" was worth nothing. Turns out, that was only the beginning of my problems! For, GM in their wisdom, had ceased production of the required part and NONE of the local parts places or dealerships could locate the part. My mechanic was at a loss, as the car was undriveable in it's condition and no one had the required parts. I finally had to locate it myself from a parts house in Arizona that had "new old stock" on hand. HOWEVER, they did not have all the bolts in stock that are required to install the cross member and 2 of the 8 bolts that are required had also been discontinued by GM. A further search online and I was finally able to locate the bolts from a parts house in Boston. This entire process ended up taking about six weeks! While doing my search, I noticed that large number of other parts for this car had ceased production by GM, including such parts as suspension knuckles, portions of the exhaust system, various special bolts, etc. So, I ended up selling the tracker (which now was in excellent driveable condition, but had me concerned about the future) to a buyer who is also a mechanic by trade (so it works out well for him). I also was able to sell it for 6x what the dealership had offered me in trade. So, to make a long story short, my wife and I had been loyal GM customers but now I drive a Dodge! (And may be looking to replace my wife's Vibe in a couple years with a Dart). Craig

Hello, I've been very happy with my new Black Crystal SE and have already put almost 200 miles on it since taking delivery this past Sunday...seems everyday I'm trying something new (today I explored the satellite radio :-) ). I'm not big on customizing my vehicles, but I would like to add a few personal touches (seat covers in the back for the dog, ditto cargo cover, weathertechs for the feet, etc). At the moment I've been shopping for a good looking license plate frame for the rear plate....something that is a bit out of the ordinary but also expresses my personality a bit. Initially I'd hoped to find one (dont' laugh :hysterical2: ) that had a Snoopy or Charlie Brown theme...perhaps done in chrome and with the comic character embossed into a corner. Sadly, such a plate appears to be non-existent! (I thought Peanuts was into merchandising on everything!). I'd hoped for Snoopy as I've been a fan of the strip all my life (and a Peanuts book was my first book as a child...still have that book). Has anybody found such a frame? I'm also interested in rubber floor matts with a similar theme, but those too are hard to find. Did find some on Overstock, but didn't care for the apparent quality of them. Lacking the Peanuts frame, I'd settle for a frame that is good, heavy gauge metal with a good chrome plating and the Dodge name embossed into the top of the frame in a "rugged" font. I've seen a few online, but they seem to be either lacking in quality or simply just dont strike a chord with me. I'd like the embossing to be ideally enameled in block against a silver chrome frame (which would go with the cars color scheme of black ext and int). So...what kind of plate frame have you put on your vehicle and any good suggestions? Craig

Well, I'm no longer on the fence. I went to the dealership today and ended up signing the papers on a new SE in Black Crystal. It's a nice car, as it comes equipped with both the premium & popular equipment packages. No third row seat (which I kind of wanted), but I decided that it just wasn't worth getting a third row given that I would only use it but 2 or 3 times a year. My wife said she would volunteer to sit in the cargo area on those rare occasions :-) (not as bad as it sounds as she's only 4 foot 10 :-) ). Craig

Hello, I'm on the fence here as to which vehicle to go with. At the moment, I'm looking at a 2013 SE (true SE with the luggage rack) equipped with the popular and premium equipment groups and Al wheels, 4 cylinder. OR For about a thousand less (and more like 1500 to 2000 less out the door), I can purchase a used 2012 Journey with 30k on the odometer (but a clean Carfax bill of health) and has papers showing it was checked by an independant mechanic and given a clean bill of health. This car is an SXT with the third row and V6. I really like to have a new car, but I know that after a couple years it won't feel new anymore and the used one offers the features I really want (V6, 3rd row and SXT model) in my target price range. My only hesitation is that a little research shows that Dodge doesn't transfer their drivetrain warranty unless the car is sold as a Certified Used Dodge (which this car isn't). The dealer does offer their own 1 year power train warranty. The 6k left on the bumper to bumper warranty does transfer. However, with 30k on the clock, you'd think if there were problems they would have shown themselves by now. Also, the SXT was well maintained as it had been a fleet vehicle and it did not come from the North East where they had the flooding. I'm kind of leaning towards the used one. I usually keep my cars for 10 ~ 12 years and average around 10k a year in miles driven, so this car will only have 130 to 150k by the time I'm ready for another... If the choice were yours, which would you pick and why? (I'm really trying to keep my car purchase close to 20k, give or take a bit). Craig

The used one I've considered is a 2012, the new one is a 2013, both SXT. That's a great price on your Crew. All of the Crew's around here are running closer to 28k out the door.

This thread is due for a revival , especially since I'll be buying one soon. I've seen 1 definitely, maybe 2 here near Cincinnati. The first one was a beautiful Storm Gray that happened to be parked next to me when I left the grocery...I took it as an omen :-) (I was also considering the Kia Sorento at the time). The only other occasion wasn't a postive id, but it looked like one from afar. that one was bright red. That's it...it's relative rarity here is one of the things I like about it....I prefer driving something that's a bit off the main stream. Craig

That is an excellent deal! I went over the numbers in a bit more detail with the dealer, it seems that one thing I had neglected was that Ohio applies sales tax to the price of the car before the rebates (which doesn't seem ethical in my book, but that's not the dealer's fault). So the corrected OTD price, based upon asking price is $22,398. I asked the salesman about the discrepancy from $21,416 and he didn't know but said that the difference isn't an issue. Still hoping for a deal, I told them I'd go for $22,000 OTD but they didn't reply yet. If I can swing this, it should be a good deal as it's an SXT with 3rd row, sound and popular equipment package. If the deal falls through, I may go used. I can get a used 2012 SXT similarly equipped but with the V6 engine for about $1,500 less. Still under warranty too, but not for long as it has around 30k miles on it.

That's the kicker...it's an SXT loaded with the 3rd row and a couple of options groups...tough deal to walk away from but I hate that I feel the dealer seems to want to add bogus fees and isn't willing to deal openly. Craig

In my prior post, I mentioned how I left the dealership after coming to within $400 of a sale and neither of us would budge. Today I contacted them via email and made a counter offer. They replied with another, but to me the numbers just dont' add up, so I'm going to put it before the group to see if I'm missing something or is this dealership just jerking me around. Here are the numbers: The dealership is asking for $20,585 which includes all rebates, discounts and destination fee. At this price, I calculate the "out the door" price as being: 20,585 asking price on the car's sticker as printed from their website which includes all factory and dealer rebates 250 maximum allowable documentation fee in my state, though I would rather not pay this fee 1354 sales tax 44 title 22189 SUB TOTAL 50 approximate registration fee 22239 OUT THE DOOR PRICE The dealership, in their email told me the best they would offer me is a price of $21,416, which includes my trade-in, which they say "they upped to $1,000 from $500 as a favor". If that's the case, then the actual OTD price is $22,416 which is higher than if I just offered them cash! They insist that at that price I must include my trade-in or no deal...which offends me as it's more than any shmuck off the street could pay by plopping down cash for their asking price! Further more, they insist that my monthly payments on said amount would be $288 at 3.99% for 84 months. My numbers show the payment (using calculator from cars.com) would be $293 (no complaint...but I wonder how they arrived at the figure). The price I had offered and that they rejected would have been an OTD price of $21,087...which my calculations show would indeed yield a monthly payment of $288 (again using the calculator at cars.com). Something just isn't adding up here.....

Well, almost become the proud owner of a new Dodge Journey last night. A local dealer here has a good price on a black SXT, but I had a feelling the negotiations wouldn't go well when they offered me $500 trade in allowance for my existing vehicle. The KBB of the vehicle..,in average condition (of which mine was maybe a tiny step above due to new tires, new brakes, no dents or scratches, etc) is $2,650 for a trade in and around $4,050 for a retail sale. I was a bit insulted by their offer. I asked them why and they made up some crap about the vehicle having a poor safety record (I just double checked...motor trend does list it's rating as only 5 stars!). They did have it marked down already well below sticker, but they refused to budge much below their asking price...I wanted them to come down 600, they came down about 200 and then neither of us would budge. So, after 2 hours of bargaining they lost a deal over $400. It's been on their lot for a month, with the asking price having dropped by $1000 in that time, so we'll wait and see. There are a couple of dings in the paint...(light scuffs in the finish), that's likely why it was marked down. That may work in my favor...hoping they'll call me back but if they don't, I feel time is on my side with the 2014 models coming soon.... Craig