I know this has been haggled here in and out many times in the past. Coming back to ask for your opinions/advice as to what to do....here's my situation:
Bought a brand new car back in July 2006. Loved it, but from day 1 had nothing but problems. Filed lemon law suit against GM and settled right before they filed bankruptcy a few years back. I got approx $2K from the settlement, not even close to what I wanted but on the advice from my attorney, took what they were offering at the time as we knew bankruptcy was looming for GM & I would have gotten nothing. Glad I did it, as if I had waited I would have got nothing. Fast forward to today... not *many* problems since the settlement, thank goodness. Brakes have been replaced once, rotors turned 3x already and needing done again... need new tires at this point. The rotor thing has got me, why do they need turned so much? I'm not hard on them or anything, I think it's just junk material on the car. Anyway....
Wanting something a little bigger with more room for the kids (we have 2 kids) so a van is not a necessity but would be nice. I drove an Odyssey last week but still looking at T & C also. Have not driven one yet. I know Honda's last for ever and ever... but we currently have a Dodge (car) and it has over 200K miles on it, and have a friend also with a Dodge with 300K+ miles on it. So this tells me that Chrysler products last as long as Honda, at least this is my opinion, wanting to know what your opinion was on these two choices?
Also I still owe $7500 approx on my car, and they are only wanting to give $6500 for trade. Given the work that needs put into it right now as it sits ($500 for tires, $200 approx for brakes) would I really be in that bad of shape to trade at this point?
Ah....decisions. I just want something that's gonna last, as this car should, but it's not! And if we make any road trips or anything, something where the kids are not sitting on top of each other and picking on each other, as they are now. I was also considering an Acadia, but again, a GM product, and not really wanting to go down that road again. ALSO not wanting a $500 per month car payment!
All of this process makes my stomach in knots.Thanks so much for all the replies. We're still haggling this out. I will def check out Consumer Reports (mag) and Edmunds.com. Thanks for that suggestion!
I don't think I will buy another GM product as long as I live given the issues I've had with the vehicle I have right now. That is for sure!!
The T & C is very decked out, like someone above mentioned, the skin deep things. I do want something reliable and that will last, not be in the shop all the time. Alot to consider. I wish someone would decide for me and then go and negotiate with the dealer to get me a good deal!!
We currently have a 2005 T & C, and it has been a pretty good vehicle. We are hard on our vehicles...push maintenance out as long as we can and put a LOT of miles on each year. It currently has over 130,000 miles on it (we did buy it used). I feel like we are constantly doing something with the brakes, and the rotors need to be turned quite often. It may just be my imagination, or simply we drive a lot!
There are a few little "glitches" that we found in ours...the sliding passenger doors have broken (the wires held in the casing at the bottom were exposed) and the automatic locks stopped working for a while. These two things are outside the normal wear and tear, and were annoying until my husband rigged something up to fix them. Upon researching each of the issues, we found others who have had the same experience and found solutions to them. Just an annoyance.
I will admit the vehicle is not my favorite, but for no reason in particular. I did not want a minivan, but caved to my husband even though it is my vehicle. I would much rather prefer and SUV. It does get the job done, though!
Bolded by me - my thoughts EXACTLY! I hate minivans but because of our family size and the price we got a brand new Chrysler T&C this past August. The kids love all of the gadgets - double DVD screens, satellite radio and power everything. The power liftgate came in very handy after my shoulder surgery. We have had it back in the shop already for issues with the sliding passenger door (an issue someone else we know with a T&C had as well). The carpeting on the floorboard in the passenger seat will not stay tucked in under the plastic panel so we have to have the dealership "fix" it every time we take it in for something else. DH's key fob is dead already and he hardly drives the car. I find the front seats horribly uncomfortable (I miss my plush leather seats in our old Yukon XL that you would sink into) and I swear the "leather" in the T&C is some sort of vinyl instead. The stow n go feature is nice when we want to haul stuff around and those are quick and easy (even the older kids can do this themselves).
We are looking at a new vehicle in the next year or so and the Odyssey is at the top if the list. But I will check out everything mentioned here, as well as drive a T & C and see how I like it. I do appreciate everyone's input so far! And you are right, every type of vehicle and manufacturer can have issues and I suppose it's just luck of the draw. That's how I feel about my current car, since, like I said, we have 3 in the family and mine's the only one with issues. 
