oh my gosh! - the Journey is SO nice. The girlfriend and I could not be happier right now. I bought one pretty loaded, with Alpine stereo with touch screen, nav, satellite, rear view camera, 19" wheels, sunroof, of course the three row seating, tint, 115 volt power converter, 12v power outlets everywhere, rear HVAC controls, blah blah blah... it even has a rechargeable flashlight in the back.
the V6 is nice after driving 4 bangers for so long (Eagle Summit, Focus, then the 5), the six speed transmission is nice too. But it's the ride that I love. So quiet, so perfect over road irregularities. This car is really impressive.
The dealer gave me $9,300 for the 5, I was pleased with that. The car is not perfect obviously, makes a ton of noise, needs rear brakes and struts. He gave me his family discount on the Journey due to my girlfriend's family link with him, and wether it's true or not, I don't know, but the paper work he showed me says he made $550 on the car. He also said he'll give me a loaner car when it's in for service. Something he only does for family and select friends. They do not actually have a loaner car policy. That will be a big help since my company moved out of town recently.
The 5 always felt fragile to me, something I posted on this forum back in '07 when I first got it. Turned out, at least in my car's case, I was right. First impressions with the Journey are that it's a tougher vehicle. I hope I'm right. But I will admit all the fancy electronics worry me. Things like that are usually the first to go in the long run.
I had a lot of fun on this forum, posting pictures of what would fit in the 5 especially. The 5 holds stuff like the Eagle Summit Wagon I had in the 90s. That I will miss.
have fun everybody... thanks for all the advice and information over the years.
EDIT: anybody want a Mazda CX-7 stubby antenna for their 5? I bought it at the dealer, and used it for 4 years, it's in perfect operating condition. I'll sell it for $9 shipping included to lower 48 states. PM me. (SOLD to hurschel - thanks)
also... if you're near CT I have 4 used Michelin x-ice (ice-x?) winter tires and stock 5 rims with still-useable summer tires on them that I'll sell for a good deal. pick up only.
Maybe you should trade it in after you have the parts replaced under warranty!!?? You realize Dodge will look at the car before they take it right... then tell you everything that's wrong with it and why they'll only give you peanuts for it. At least if you had it fixed first, you can tell them and show them all the new parts and try not to get bum f'd to hard on the trade-in..
If it was me and I was really set on getting rid of the 5 and getting a Journey (haha right!), I'd get it fixed under warranty and sell it privately. Trade-ins are the biggest scam going in the industry!! A private buyer doesn't need to make a profit off of what they're buying... a stealership does = you'll never get even close to what it's worth by trading in.
Is this deal already done?? Can I ask what they offered you for your 5?
And just for your own FYI - I also have a 2007 GT, my struts, shocks and bushings all needed to be replaced, I didn't want OEM so I sucked it up and spent $350 to get KYB shocks and struts, + aftermarket bushings, my dealership did the install under warranty... no issues what-so-ever since... plus the KYB's have a lifetime warranty.
Every vehicle has it's issues, if you think switching to a Jouney is the solution, you may want to have a look at their forums first - http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?/forum/13-tsbs-recalls-maintenance/
Look like lots of fun stuff including - Class action law suit regarding premature brake pad and rotor wear, Violent shaking when rear windows are lowered at high speeds, Engine mounts which become loose, a TSB for power steering grinding during left turns, etc, etc...
I know the Mazda 5 has issues... I'm not trying to say it doesn't, I'm just saying all vehicles have issues and I don't want to see you wasting substantial cash by trading away a great vehicle.
(Also, not sure if your dealership does this, but if I schedule my repairs or maintenance about three weeks ahead a time, I can book a complimentary convenience car (usually a 2012 Mazda5), which means the only inconvenience is stepping out of one car and into another on my way to work.)