Calling all Mini Van Mamas and Papas Too!

[ruttie]

we went to get an Odessy and came home with a PILOT and love it! I would not go with anyone but HONDA, as far as safety and resale honda beats out everyione even toyota we looked at teh sienna but it was just really small after being in the honda odessy. Like i said we were odyssey all the way but got an awesome deal on a fully loaded pilot and love it we can still fit 8 in it (1 more than my old van) plus it is higher and has 4 wheel drive something we use in the mountains alot...

 

[michboro]

We have a 2001 Honda Odyssey and have had transmission problems with it.
Around 1 or 2 yrs ago they recalled the transmission for 2001 and I think 2000 year Odyssey, and replaced it (approx 45000 miles) and extended the warranty to 10 yrs and 100,000 miles. Just one month ago, the minivan broke down and the transmission had to be replaced again (approx. 78,000 miles). I am looking to buy a Sienna before the 100,000 mile warranty runs out.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I have a 2004 Sienna and love it! My husband even thinks I have the cool car now, with the DVD, backup sensors (great for trying to back up at preschool!), sun shades, and captain's chairs. My kids love that their windows roll down. I love that it has AWD - I don't think Honda does (I saw you are from Illinois).

Drive any that interest you, and check out Consumer Report's April Issue (auto issue). Honda and Toyota are always the top two in terms of reliability. Some people like Honda's sportier feel better - we like Toyota's plush feel. My husband has had two Acuras, and I don't like the feel of the Honda auto transmission - just personal preference.

This is my second Sienna - the old versions were very reliable but just too small as the family grew. I love the newer version, but I'm sure Toyota will come out with something wonderful to make me buy a third!

Good luck in your decision making!

 

[bengalbelle]

I have a 2004 Sienna and love it! My husband even thinks I have the cool car now, with the DVD, backup sensors (great for trying to back up at preschool!), sun shades, and captain's chairs. My kids love that their windows roll down. I love that it has AWD - I don't think Honda does (I saw you are from Illinois).

Drive any that interest you, and check out Consumer Report's April Issue (auto issue). Honda and Toyota are always the top two in terms of reliability. Some people like Honda's sportier feel better - we like Toyota's plush feel. My husband has had two Acuras, and I don't like the feel of the Honda auto transmission - just personal preference.

This is my second Sienna - the old versions were very reliable but just too small as the family grew. I love the newer version, but I'm sure Toyota will come out with something wonderful to make me buy a third!

Good luck in your decision making!

I love the Sienna! We've been looking for about 5-6 months now and I can't find anything I like better. The Odyssey is nice and I'd be happy with one, but I like the feel of the Toyota better.

We're hoping to luck up on the new body style in a used version.

 

[Gillian]

We are in the process of trying to buy a 2006 Sienna. It's the best one for our needs (inc. towing a pop up trailer).

One nice thing about the 2006 Sienna is that even the most basic models come with a zillion airbags. I like that this safety feature is standard! I don't find Siennas to be cheap like the other poster. It probably depends on where you live. However, if you're on a budget you can get a base model that still has the same safety equipment!!

 

[kldmom2000]

I'm no longer a mini-van owner, but if I ever had to go that route again, I'd go for a Honday Odyssey. I'd gone from a Saturn sedan to a Chevy Blazer when I then traded it in for a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan in June 2002. We had nothing but problems w/ Dodge, the dealer, and the minivan in general. Made me hate Dodge : and I swore I'd never buy another Dodge vehicle I ended up trading in the Caravan in Sept. 2004 for a Saturn VUE which I love.... I'll keep sticking with my Saturns unless I do end up needing a minivan... then hands-down it would be the Odyssey.

 

[3mickeys&me]

We are on our second Chysler Town & Country Limited!!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! I has all the bells and whistles and even the kids love it!!!

 

[tcmac]

Bought our first Ody in 2001 when our second dd was born. Now we have dd #4 and a 2005 Odyssey. Love the optional 8th seat. They are very safe and get excellent reviews. Fun to drive too! We did a lot of research and learned a ton from the forums at odyclub.

 

[aterriq]

We have a Toyota Sienna. Only problem we have had is with the tires. The run flat tires seem to wear out fast and are expensive to replace.

 

[WEBINVESTIGATOR]

Stu----uyt
guy----

yuhtt----

refgt----

 

[sm4987]

Nissan Quest 2005 here. I love my Quest. SL leather, dvd, xm radio and those kids of bells and whistles. I love it and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

 

[Gillian]

We have a Toyota Sienna. Only problem we have had is with the tires. The run flat tires seem to wear out fast and are expensive to replace.

If anyone is wondering, this is only on the All Wheel Drive model, and I have heard similar complaints.

We decided not to go with the AWD Sienna because of the tires. We will be towing a popup at times and do not want to be in the situation of towing on a flat tire for any distance. There is no spare because you can drive on the run flats for a while.

 

[allboyz]

If anyone is wondering, this is only on the All Wheel Drive model, and I have heard similar complaints.

We decided not to go with the AWD Sienna because of the tires. We will be towing a popup at times and do not want to be in the situation of towing on a flat tire for any distance. There is no spare because you can drive on the run flats for a while.

Exactly. I have the regular Sienna and still have the same tires from when I purchased it mid- 2003.

 

[CanadianPrincessMom3]

This is only my opinion......I too have a minivan...Chev venture...the engine is already blown out...the windows do not open, the steering is shot..so i am never buying a chev again... and yes it has been a babied car..proper maintenance and so forth.Again this is my experience only..

I too am looking into staying with Toyota as they have a high resale and reliablity factor...My hubby drives a corolla and before that we had a matrix and a tercel...both amazing cars....almost 250,000km and it was in amazing condition...mechanic was shocked!! a couple od stone chips, but that is not the vehicles fault.

I have also looked at the Honda Odsessy and it has been given really good recommendations by a lot of reliable sources.

A third option is the Mazda5...it is a 6 seater and is not as large as a minivan per say, but still roomy (i am not a small framed person so I know it is room...LOL)


anyhow hope that helps

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We have a Toyota Sienna. Only problem we have had is with the tires. The run flat tires seem to wear out fast and are expensive to replace.

I agree - this is definitely a pain. The run flat tires don't last very long (maybe 20,000 - 25,000 miles?), and they cost about $200 each where I live. My husband keeps wanting to put regular tires on it, but there is no spare. They were worth it when I got a nail in my tire with my two DD's in the car and was able to keep driving, but now that I live near the beach and don't need AWD anymore, I grumble whenever I need tires!

I still love my van and wouldn't drive anything else, but I won't get AWD next time if I still live at the beach! It was great in the snow, though, and I was able to go places that I couldn't in FWD (not that that is necessarily a good thing! )

 

[mlwear]

The run flat tires don't last very long (maybe 20,000 - 25,000 miles?), and they cost about $200 each where I live.

I have no knowledge of how long the run flat tires last, but would assume the other posters are correct.
Just wanted to add: our salesman recommended that we add the locks to the tires as they are often stolen. I don't think he was just trying to jack up the price because we got the add ons at cost with no labor (still probably inflated). But, at least for Hondas, there is an online site with a great reputation that sells new factory accessories at low cost. Just something to consider.
I feel safe with the run flat tires.

 

[Tara_Rowan]

I have the Chevy Uplander. It used to be the Venture but they changed it to look more like an SUV for people who swore they ould never drive a minivan!! I do like it-its a lease so if I fall out of love with it I just have to wait for the contract to be up. The one feature this van has that I haven't seen in many (and I looked at them all!!) is a built in child saftey seat. Its built in to one of the seats in the middle row-when you need it you just flip down the back of the seat and its a 5 point harness. its great for bringing other people's kids home from preschool!!
I did like the Odyssey-now the back windows go down wich is a nice feature!

HTH
tara

 

[Rapunsel]

I am sure in the minority here. I have a 1996 Olds silhouette. ( looks like a dustbuster) But I love it!!! I can arrange the 5 seats any way that I want.. I can even fit 3 car seat across with out a problem. As all the seats are individual..

I would love a newer mini-van, but it won't happen for a few more years. But in the mean time I went from a 99 Turbo Beetle to a Mini van. Quite a let down, but hey a Beetle couldn't do road trips with 2 kids..

What ever you do amake sure you like it. At times I wish I had a 4 door car as the van only has 1 sliding door. But hey it is automatic, with leather seats and a cd player. couldn't go wrong with that..

 

[ZachnElli]

I have no knowledge of how long the run flat tires last, but would assume the other posters are correct.
Just wanted to add: our salesman recommended that we add the locks to the tires as they are often stolen. I don't think he was just trying to jack up the price because we got the add ons at cost with no labor (still probably inflated). But, at least for Hondas, there is an online site with a great reputation that sells new factory accessories at low cost. Just something to consider.
I feel safe with the run flat tires.

Well, no one has stolen my tires yet! I replaced my run flats at 22K miles. We discovered they all needed to be replaced when one of my tires was low. Turned out it had a 2 inch long gash in it! With the run-flats all I noticed was it was low (with the low tire light indicator)! They are amazing tires! Do the other mini vans have the laser cruise control yet? I love that feature for long distance trips and I've done several!

 

[ntburns22]

Hi! We just bought a minivan as well. We bought the Chevy Uplander. I love it! It looks like an suv but rides very nicely...and I like the thought that I bought an American car. I would have also looked into Chrysler due to the stow and go, but we bought used (2005) and there wasn't a T&C available. I love the sliding doors as well as the dvd player, which will come in handy for the 2 day trek to disney in a few weeks GOod luck!

We love ours too. I don't like the look of other mini vans. The body style called out to me to buy my first "sports van".