If you buy Toyota or Honda (my vote is on the sienna--I LOVE mine) you won't be babying it at 98,000 miles to make it last. You'll start that at like 175,000-200,000. I'm at 173,000 and going strong.
Friend of mine finally turned over her odyssey at 225,000 miles and it was mechanically perfectly fine. Just needed some air conditioner work.
I've never felt so comfortable driving a car so long. Drove it on a 6 hr trip today with no husband and didn't bat an eye. Reliability is awesome!
I'm leaning toward the Sienna over the Odyssey as well - However, at this point, the one major "sticking point" for me is that the Honda scores higher on the crash test ratings.
Know folks who had a Pacifica and it had lots of issues.
How much are new Sienna minivans and new Odyssey minivans?
Was it one of the new Pacificas? Because the Pacifica has been completely redesigned.
Have you considered a Ford Flex? I got mine a few months ago and LOVE it.
I'm actually a die-hard Chevy girl, & my grandfather would roll over in his grave if I bought a Ford. LOL!
It did. We bought a '12 Odyssey new, at 34,000 miles it started sputtering and wouldn't go. Took it in and they're like "yeah, we know what it is." They replaced 3 pistons, not all six just 3. Also didn't hone and sleeve the cylinder wall (refinish the cylinder wall). This struck me as bizarre and honestly half***. So I traded it off. But I looked into it and they had settled a class action suit for this veritable cylinder management. It caused early wear and they were being overwhelmed with repairs. Their were 8 other odysseys in for the same thing at the dealership with ours.
Hmm... that's interesting....
A few things here. The Odyssey (along with the Accord, with which it shares the V6 motor), had some minor issues with variable cylinder management (VCM). The issue has been corrected with the 2013+ models (change of generation) and the old issue was a bit overblown. Honda also had some issues with their automatic transmissions, but that was YEARS ago, a solid decade now or more. Honda outsourced some of the transmission components, I believe it was to a company called Aisin. They didn't all fail, but they had an un-Honda like failure rate, so they got a bad reputation. However, I think that issue was solved in the mid-2000s. No such issues on any newer ones. The Hondas, Toyotas and Kias are still the class of the field when it comes to reliability.
Sure, you can ask a transmission shop about transmissions, but that's selling yourself short. They'll know about one component of a much larger picture. Transmissions now are more tough then ever, and many of them are no longer serviceable from a repair standpoint. If they break, you throw it out and get another one. Not like the old days where rebuilding was the common route. Some CVTs have had reliability issues...I don't like them because they sap power, sap feeling and cause the engine to drone and whine. The one "good" thing about them is that they have so few parts. Once they get a better handle on making those few parts it has more reliable, they should be tough as nails and cheap. I still prefer my good ol' fashion stick shift, but that's me.
And it's also interesting to me that you put in the Kia up there w/ the Honda & Toyota.
Everyone swears by Honda but that just isn't our experience. My parents had a Honda car they bought new years back that was nothing but trouble; radio quite, wouldn't shift, steering trouble, All before 100,000 miles. I have an aunt that couldn't keep brakes on her civic, new pads every 5,000 miles, and rotors twice in 10,000. I have other family and friends that have had similar bad experiences, maybe were the exception. If people have good luck with them, great but their just not for us. We've had great luck with chevy, my wife and I bought a new 16 Subaru Outback and really like it so far and hopefully it'll treat us better.
Again, my sister has not had a good experience w/ her Odyssey either.
My mom is pretty much a Chevrolet-only person - she's the daughter of a Chevy man (my grandfather). She & my Dad have had a Chevrolet minivan for years, & she wants to trade it in for a Traverse. (I've told her she needs something smaller.)
So... in reading here and our own experiences over the years, I think whatever car we buy it will be a Toyota. We have had three and not an issue with any. We or our close family have had issues with most other brands.
That's kinda what I'm reading too...
I'm sure I'm repeating here, so apologies! SIL bought a new Town & Country and really liked it. She unfortunately totaled it within 2 weeks of owning it. So they got a Chrysler Pacifica after that and they LOVE it. They like it much more than the Town & Country, and it works well for their family - they have a 5 year old and 3 year old. My boss at work is on his second Honda Odyssey and I know he swears by them.
As far as SUVs, a friend at work has the Ford Explorer with third row seating and finds the third row to be useless. It's a smaller row than a minivan would have, especially for head space so it's hard for people to climb back there. It also takes up the cargo/trunk space in the back, so she often needs to fold the seat down. The middle row are bucket seats with no optional middle section to pull down, so no one can sit in the middle. And her bucket seats have car seats in them for her kids, so if she needs to drive more than one other person, the third person has to crawl into the third row.
Everyone to whom I've talked that has one of the new Pacificas LOVES it.
The interior is really, really nice!
We bought a 2016 Odyssey last year and I love it! It handles well, it's user friendly (I hated the stow and go seats in the grand Carvan we had), and it held up well in a recent accident.
We have a Sedona rental due to that accident and it is sweet! It is super sporty and the interior feels more high end than our Odyssey. But they cost as much as an Odyssey and they still don't hold their value in our area.
We've had two Grand Caravans and I hated them both. The new Pacifica still doesn't appeal to me.
Our Grand Caravan has been good to us.
But I have to agree - we rented a Sedona in June, & it was fun! It feels sportier, & I really liked the interior.
I read, though, that you can't take the 2nd row seats out.
I have NOT been impressed w/ the interior of the Odysseys we've seen.
However, I do see the point about getting something that holds its value like the Honda or Toyota.
I just wish they had the styling & interiors of the Kia or the Chrysler.
Aargh... this is soooo hard!
There are pros & cons w/ each van.
Years ago, when we traded in our little Saturn for a Chevrolet Venture minivan, we really weren't in the position to "choose". We took what was available. And, then, when that van died & we had to have something else, we were really grateful to get our Grand Caravan - but, again, there wasn't a lot of choosing. We took what was available.
Hit a deer with my beloved 2008 Dodge Caravan and totaled it. We probably had taken 20 trips to Disney from Baltimore, MD and I knew no other car would be as comfortable. However, we decided to get a 2014 Honda Pilot and our first trip in the Honda to Disney was awesome. 3 row seating, lots of room and not too bad on gas. Love it!
