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GraphiteDak
GenIII
 
9/30/2005
01:03:59
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 Subject: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Our 2004 Grand Caravan SXT vs. late 90's Cavalier.
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No. NOT a race. Even though the 3.8 would out accelerate most Cavaliers form the light.
My wife got into an accident yesterday. Traffic was backed up 1/2 mile. She was trying to turn out form a shopping center and some cars made a gap and waved her through.
But some Cavalier was hauling a$$ down the Suicide lane about 40 I suppose.
OUCH! There goes our fancy, and expensive (30k+) miniVan.
More views.
Not bad at all. I pulled back the plastic and looked behind it and saw that none of the metal was crinkled. The foam across the bumper had cracks in it. The plastic is ripped a bit. The headlight lens cracked. Nothing else I can see broken. Radiator/Condenser still straight.
She was able to drive away and even drive it to work just fine today.
The Cavalier on the other hand, didn;t drive away as you can see. It's phukkered up a bit!
Them two guys had to get another ride.
My wife and one of the kids was just fine. No air bags popped out, luckily!
Pretty bad when there's more meat in a minivan than a FWD sh*t box. I know angle and everything has some to do with it. but still. A SATURN or HONDA would not survive a 10MPH crash without more damage, yet alone near 40!
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Jasonb61
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
01:12:20
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Glad to hear everyone was alright... And Nice to see the Dodge made it out with very little damage compared to the other guy.. Not that I was surprised or anything... I just thought that van would have ate that Chevy for lunch but I see it must have left a bad taste so it just spit it back out.. Figures..
-Jason
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Craig
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
01:18:39
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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You're going to have a hard time getting me to endorse a minivan of any kind, let alone a Caravan, but it did indeed hold up pretty well in this situation. You're lucky to have gotten away with what little damage you got. You would have been luckier if your wife had not gotten into an accident at all of course, but sh*t happens.
You live down in the valley I believe you said- what road was this on? Being that I'm in Wickenburg, It's no surprise I didn't even hear of this happening, but I bet it stuck up traffic for a bit!
I know there's a target on Bell and Grand but nothing looks familiar in the pics...
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
04:55:17
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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So whose fault was it? What does the accident report state?
Those caravan's have some nice safety features. There's more than 1 reason why they are a top seller!
I have a friend who has a honda who rear ended someone (a truck i believe). She was driving about 40-50 when the impact occurred. It was totalled.
- Dan M
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outdoorsman
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
11:47:05
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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buddy of mine 2 1/2 years ago hit a ford aerostar with a 93 dakota. it buggered up the bumper a little(little dents here and there) but didnt do anything other than that.
it wrecked the van. insurance wrote it off.
he t-boned it and on the way back broke the rear axle.
his bags never went off either.
about 45 MPH collision.
granted it was a van so it held up a little better but im with you, f uck the shi tboxes. crappy ass little rinky things.
if your gonna drive something that is gonna kill ya in a wreck anyway, might as well have fun and ride a motorcycle.
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ObieWonDakota
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
12:03:27
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Glad to hear everyone is ok Graphite.
Hey Craig, if I was 18 again, I wouldn't want a minivan either, unless and only unless, it was given to with no funds out of my pocket. Other than that, they are great if you have kids.
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GraphiteDak
GenIII
9/30/2005
12:55:12
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Craig. This was Peoria, West of 43rd ave.
Wife got ticket for failure to yield as she was leaving a private drive (shopping center).
Policeman said that in Glendale, people can use the suicide lane form light to light, as long as they don't use it through an intersection. That sounds crappy.
AS I see it, it was BOTH of their faults. Her for trusting it was safe when stopped traffic waived her to come out.
And them guys for passing the stopped traffic 1t 40MPH in the suicide lane!
Oh well. I was surprised that there is some square tubing holding that bumper in place behind the plastic. So it didn't bend anything that I can see. I'll know more when I pull the plstic. But that wont be until I buy the new plastic front clip.
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yeti
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
13:26:18
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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good luck was on your side, and nobody was hurt. you'll be surprised at the cost of the front fascia. one good thing, is that they are very easy to replace. with an ergonomic arm to position it, the fascia is loose installed at the factory in about 40 seconds. it's a 2 beer job, for you. ( i used to work at the windsor, ont. assembly plant.)
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Craig
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
15:05:01
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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ObiWan, while a minivan might be deemed "uncool", my Dakota was pretty "uncool" where I used to live. I was referring to my distaste of the minivan is having to work on probably 20 different caravans at my Dad's shop. If you've ever put plugs in one, you understand what I mean.
Otherwise, there are some transmission issues with the bigger ones, but they're not terriable vehicles really. I've seen some go an awfully long way too... the 3.3/3.8 V6 is a very good design. Watch the oil as it gets older though.
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Mopar318
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
17:24:28
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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I got rear ended tuesday by a cadillac going about 40 MPH. All that happend to my truck was the thick steel bumper got bent A little up into the tail gate. Her cadillac did not even look like a caddy. The whole front end was sitting on the ground. The radiator exploded. And her airbags went off. I had an estimate of 1500 dollars in damage. Her 97 caddy had an estimate of 10,000-15,000 dollars in damage. I will post some pics of the accident when I get some. I have some of my truck but I will have to go take some of the caddy.
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Mopar318
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
17:26:34
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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BTW GraphiteDak: I had an opportunity to drive one of those dodge vans with the 3.8 liter and that thing would roast those front tires better than any other FWD I have ever drove. It would give almost any ricer a run for its money. You should take some videos of the van and some ricers and post it on your site.
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GraphiteDak
GenIII
9/30/2005
17:32:32
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Yeti - I hope to get an aftermarket front clip. However if I can get a pre painted one I may just go that route so I don't have to paint it and use that nasty clear coat in my garage.
I've fixed about 3 front end collisions (for friends/family) in the past 3 years. This one is the mildest so far. i.e., no metal to cut off, nothing to weld back on. I only need to replace the headlight and plastic clip.
Craig - I wasn't LOOKING for a mini van. I was thinking of a Durango!
But my wife saw the damn thing on sale one night when we were dropping my truck off for it's pre paid maintenance (what a drag that was).
It is the Anniversary Edition. Nice trim. All trim is painted the same metallic blue, even the roof rack.
It has Leather seats, the trip computer, and the 6 disc DVD system is great for our kids. We'll be using it to drive to Tuscon tomorrow.
We did get the 7/70 covering everything including all the electrical as well. The passenger side window hasn't rolled down in 6 months. I STILL haven't had time to take it in, OR take it apart and look at it.
So far I've fixed all the problems on our Dakota dn Grand Caravan myself because it's easier than taking it in and waiting for it.
The 3.8 in it makes this thing do 0 to 60 in pretty close times as a V8 Dakota. It's NOT a slow mini van.
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DSW
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
19:53:31
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Graghite, I saw a seller on Ebay that sells pre-painted aftermarket body panels. All you need to do is supply them with the paint code, they paint it to match and ship it to you. I can't say one way or the other if these are good, but for the price it's probably a bargain.
It's not going to be bodyshop perfect since the color won't be blended into the adjacent body panels, but I would think it would pretty darn close,,, the van is only a couple of years old.
Here's $215 for a 96-98 Caravan.........
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-98-DODGE-CARAVAN-BUMPER-W-FOG-PAINTED-4-YOU-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42611QQitemZ4579073046
Check them out on Ebay and see if they can get you an 04 facia.
It really sucks getting new vehicles banged up. 2 weeks ago my neighbor's kid ran a pocket bike into my Dak's drivers door *@^(%!. It's not too noticeable since most of the dent is on the bottom 3-4" of the door, but Awww WTF. A small dent in the truck in exchange for a set of HO cams and some 4.10 gears seems in order since I ain't taking the truck in to get one 4" dent fixed.........
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Craig
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
23:12:59
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Ha, I've heart THAT one too many times, Graphite Dak! :-) Like I said, nothing wrong with 'em except for they're a b_tch to work on sometimes.
Not to down DSW, but be very careful if you do opt for aftermarket body parts. There's a lot of cheap crap out there that's probably not safe or durable. I think you should at least get a Chrysler bumper- insurance companies have gotten in trouble for requireing shoddy parts for the repair of cars and trucks. In some cases, companies have been sued over this, so many of the major insurance companies don't require that you use knock-off parts.
I'm not saying all aftermarket stuff is junk, but a good deal of it is, so be careful is all.
I've had plenty of experience as a detailer where cheap body work hasn't worked out. ;-)
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GraphiteDak
GenIII
10/01/2005
00:40:20
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Well. I called Certi Fit, and believe this or not, they HAVE parts for our '04 Caravan. But they were OUT of the front plastic clip. Must be a popular part or something.
So, I bought the headlight lense so we don't have to worry about it raining or something and killing the exposed light bulb inside.
Headlight listed for close to $200, got it for $75.
The fornt plastic is only $90. but have to wait two weeks for it since they sold out.
Here's what I did today...
There's the broken lense. It's hard to see, but there's close to an inch wide crack.
There's the new one I bought today.
There's no difference between the old one and new one.
Peeking behind the plastic. There's really no damage. The tubed bumper did not tweek at all. That actually looks to be more metal than most cars!
Well. All set with the head lights.
Just need the plastic and the paint/clear coat.
I'll probably have $300 in it, if that by time I'm done. A shop would be over $1k easy!
Here's what else I FINALLY fixed today.
The passenger side window hasn't gone down in months! It's under warranty, but no time to take it in. I knew it would be something stupid. And it was...
Similar sh*t to what's in my Dak.
Cable driven power window.
Well, she (or one fo the kids) must have held the button up too long. It bound up. Lots of pressure on the spring loaded pulley. I puleld it from the motor, and manually un jammed the thing.
It's working fine now.
There's TWO power windows, one in each Dodge, that has broken on us. Both still under warranty. But I fixed both at home.
In a few weeks. I should have pix of how the front turns out. I've had some practice fixing other friends/families wrecked cars. Most posted on my web (evidence) :)
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BULLSHlT
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2005
10:38:38
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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NO WAY THAT ACCIDENT WAS NEAR 40....MORE LIKE 8.
DID YOUR WIFE GET CHARGED? i HOPE SO.
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KingKota2001
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2005
10:48:53
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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Hey Graphite...judging by the photos, that accident happened around 43rd Ave and Peoria, right? That entire intersection is NUTS!!
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Mopar318
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2005
10:49:05
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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GraphiteDak: How can I post pics of my truck if they are not on a website. I would like to show everyone how a these trucks can hold up to a 40 MPH rear end.
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Todd in MN
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2005
11:05:36
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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If your truck got rear ended by a vehicle doing 40, while you were stopped, they be picking rear window glass out of your skull.
I investigate and clean up accident scenes. There's no way you got rear ended by a vehicle doing 40 and all you got was a dent on the bumper. Your head would fly off.
You guys should do some research on the net and find out what a 40 MPH accident results in. At 40MPH impact speed, somebody's going to the hospital, maybe even the morgue.
I'm with the BS guy on this one. There's no way in hell that Cav hit the Garbagecan doing anywhere near 40MPH. Did the airbags even deploy? If not then I'd be picking teeth out of the steering wheel. That accident happened at less than 8MPH impact speed.
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GraphiteDak
GenIII
10/01/2005
12:53:21
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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The dude was hauling a$$ around stopped traffic. The Caravan was doing about 5MPH. The Cavalier NEVER hit his breaks. It wasn't a head on.
But the Cavalier moved several feet when they contacted.
So maybe it wasn't quite 40MPH. But it wasn't 8 MPH! 8MPH does NOT bust the front suspension on a car like on that Cavalier. The Caravan was lucky because it took the imact more SQUARE across it's front bumper that has stryofoam, etc. The stryofoam is cracked. But the square tube bumper is not tweeked.
Years back I was driving a F350 with a bad master cyclinder through the mountains. A road worker in a 1/2 ton p/u was stopped in the middle of a two lane highway at the crest of a hill. Miles away from any pull off, turn, etc.
He was stopping for a NEWLY cut in dirt road going to a construction area. So I was shocked to see him stopped. Rear ended him at about 40.
I was surprised. All that was obvious with his truck was the bent rear bumper.
Oh ----> His rear window was shattered when his HEAD hit it :p He was wearing a hard hat and said he was perfectly fine.
The F350. This is what sux. Damn PLASTIC front ends! The F350 was smashed into the radiator. the radiator into the fan. The engine (powerStroke) never stalled. But it wasn't driveable! But the 1/2 ton Chebby was!
Just depends on how you hit!
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Craig
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2005
13:40:54
| RE: Dodge. NOT the wimpiest vehicle!
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The NHS frontal-offset collision tests are 40 or 45 mph I believe, and usually the cars are pretty crushed, but that's with hitting a solid concrete barrier. Both cars absorb some of the impact in a 2 car accident.
As for the certainty of getting hurt, my Mom was in our '83 accord and pulling out of a driveway when a car smashed into her. My mom was unhurt except for a bruise from her wrist banging the shifter. The accident occured at approximately 35 mph, totalled the Accord, and probably did a thousand dollars of damage to the minivan that hit her.
As for smashing through the grille of the F-350, at 40 I don't care what grille you have, you would have wiped out the front facia on any truck, if not worse.
My dad was a towtruck driver before I was even born, and he can tell some grisly stories about stuff he's towed though. It's important to wear your seatbelt. You will not be "thrown clear" in an accident. Your chances of being killed when you're ejected from the vehicle go up 10 fold, if not more. Automotive safety has come a long way, but it doesn't do you any good if you don't wear your seatbelt.
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