Mini van opinions (Update pg 2)

[Melora]

Our 2000 Chevy Venture lost one of its drive belts again.. same one it lost 2 weeks ago...

They had said they thought there was a problem with the belt tensioner but thought they fixed it..apparantly NOT! It broke in *exactly* the same place on the freeway that it did last time.

So now we are thinking of trading it in. The tranny is making a whirring noise and even though they say nothing is wrong... thats all I need is for it to go while I'm driving it.

What do you all have and do you like it? We want one with a DVD player (or one that has that option) We travel a lot and it keeps the younger ones busy on the open road.

Jeff wants to trade for another Chevy (up until now it hasnt given us any problems and it has over 100,000 miles on it) but I really want to at least look at the Hondas or something else... A fully loaded Chevy is $33K. We would be able to get about $10K in insentives if we went with another Venture. I don't know what to do, but it will be a decision we have to make in the next day or so... we need 2 cars!

 

[onecoolmama]

I am looking because mine is 10 years old. But, I want to pay all cash, so I will prbably buy from carmax...again off topic.

The ones I really like are the Quest (which is what I have now and has lasted 10 years), The Sienna..I think that is a well made car.

I have asked a couple of Car repair guys what they thought and all of them have said the Oddessy. They rarely see them!

If you are looking for a comperable one to the Quest..the Mercury Villager is the exact same model. It just doesnt hold it's value as well, but again..there is nothing different about them.

Go out a few times and test them all (Carmax has them all so I would go there.) You dont have to buy, but at least you can get a feel for all of them.

 

[bananiem]

I love my '02 Town and Country. I'd love to have one of the new ones with the extra storage.
My sisters and sil all love their Honda Odysseys. I find the seats a little stiff in the Honda but maybe it's different from model to model.

 

[sgtdisney]

We have had two Pontiac Montana's and have had great luck with both of them so far. I would buy another one if we needed one. As you mentioned, the sticker on a loaded one can appear steep but there are some heavy discounts on the now. Keep in mind the Venture name is going to disappear after the 2004 model year. GM is revamping their minivans, Buick and Saturn are getting their own versions as well. The basic chasis will be the same but GMs 2005 minivans will be redesigned to look more "SUV-like" with a higher and longer hood, revised wheels and doorframes. They are also going to get a more powerful engine. Something to consider if you are buying a 2004. They should really discount them since the redesigned models are on their way. The new Chevy model is to be called the Uplander. Here is a link to the information on the Uplander so you can see the differences. http://www.chevrolet.com/uplander/

Good Luck!

 

[nkjzmom]

We really enjoyed our Quest. I hated to give it up but we just couldn't fit 5 children (3 in car seats) in the new ones. We had a 1994 and then a 1999....we thought the dashboard arrangement in the new models was a little odd though.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by onecoolmama
If you are looking for a comperable one to the Quest..the Mercury Villager is the exact same model. It just doesnt hold it's value as well, but again..there is nothing different about them.

Just thought I would let you know that the Villager is no longer being produced. Mercury and Nissan parted ways with their minivan collaboration. Mercury now has a version of the Ford Freestar, I think it is called the Monterrey and the Quest was just redesigned and looks very futuristic now.

 

[huey duey & luey]

I have a 2004 Honda odyssey. I love it. It has a Dvd player, heated leather seats and dual electronic sliding doors. It seems to be pretty good on gas, it cost me $28 to fill up, the car acura TL cost $29. I also would look at the Sienna (seating for 8) and teh Town & Country seems to have some nice new options. We traded in a venture in dec for the odyssey and I am very happy with it
tara

 

[momtoce&j]

We have a 2000 Toyota Sienna and love it. We also looked at the Honda, among many others, but opted for the Sienna. Never regretted it. With the new model out, I've nudged DH to trade in and get the new one. Yeah right. It was worth a try though. Anyway, I strongly suggest the Sienna. Good car. Handles more like a car than van, haven't had any problems with it.

Oh wow, just noticed this is my 100th post. Cool.

Good luck in your search.

 

[buzzlady]

We have a 2001 Nissan Quest. We really like it and haven't had any problems (yet). I have seen the new one and I think that it's very strange looking. I would drive a few that you are interested in and get a feel for how each one handles and how much room each one has. Everyone is different and everyone looks for different things. Best to try them out for yourself.

 

[JESW]

We have a 2003 Odyssey and I love it! Has only seen the dealer for scheduled tune-ups and the sticker.

Jill

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Uh, I have a 2000 Chevy Venture and I sure hope I don't start having problems like you have had with yours! I love my minivan!!!!

 

[tidoublegger]

We just returned from the Ford dealership with our "new" used 2002 Ford Windstar with only 25000 miles on it, trading in our 1998 Windstar that had almost 120,000. We LOVE the Windstars, and the new Freestars seem almost the same with some new updates. We based our original decision on buying a Windstar on it's safety rating. It is the *only* minivan with a 5 star safety rating. With our optional front and rear side impact airbags, it has a double 5 star safety rating. Safety is our TOP priority!!! We paid $13,300 used and it looks and feels brand new!

 

[pkasbohm]

we have had a dodge grandcaravan which we were pretty happy with but wanted a newer vehicle. We had a ford windstar--wish we would have kept our dodge we had so many problems with our ford--and bought it brand new--had 97 miles on it when we bought it! We then traded that in and got a chevy venture. It is alright i like the fact that it has 8 pass. and a dvd player in it. It is one of the cheaper model made IMO! The next van i get i will look into the new dodges or chrysler again--the best we have had so far.

Pam

 

[padams]

The lease on my Honda Odyssey is up this summer. I have liked the Honda a lot even though I did NOT want a mini-van. I will probably get another Honda but want to look at other options such as the Sienna. Let's hear from more mini-van owners!

 

[atlnewf]

I just got a 2000 Honda Odyssey. I compared it to all the options. Given what I wanted, it was the best fit for the price. I wanted ROOM without the hassle of having to remove the seats. The Odyssey is the only one that had that from '98 to now. To get it from Toyota you have to get an '04. Same for Chrysler. The Chrysler drove more "soft" than the Honda, but both responded quite well. Consumer Reports puts the Honda and the Toyota at the top of their ratings. Honda is a bit more affordable and BOTH hold value quite well.

Ashley

 

[Pin Wizard]

I have a '99 Quest and LOVE it! I would definitely be getting one if I were in the market for it. But I guess I should find a job and work a while first.

$33K for a new Chevy? Out of my league!

 

[liznboys]

We have a 2000 Ford Windstar and so far so good! We're happy with it, and would buy another Ford minivan in the future.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I have a 2000 Mazda MPV, and I LOVE it!! Plenty of room for our family and we can comfortably fit 4 adults and 3 kids in it. We have also fit 8 adults in it going to a party. Fortunately we all knew each other well BEFORE we got in the van!! Ours only has 37000 on it right now, but we will be putting some serious miles on it this year: the road trip countdown timer is from New Orleans to Atlanta to St Louis to Dallas and back to New Orleans. We haven't decided whether or not we are driving to WDW yet. And we are moving to AZ also. I can see us putting another 37000 miles on the van in the next year (I really hope that is an exaggeration!!)

Anyway, I love my minivan. Never any problems, and thanks to Edmunds.com, we got a (then) fully tricked out for $24,500.

 

[Snowysmom]

We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna and love it. Our other minivan, a 1996 Ford windstar was OK until about 70,000 miles. Then we started having alot of problems with it, major ones. We had some problems before that but never into 4 figures to fix. We spent $3500 on it in 2 months. DH still drives it to work. We didn't trade it in because the trade in was so small (and we had spent so much on it) it was worth more to us to keep it. We mainly bought the Sienna because DS goes to college 2 hours away, we needed reliable transportation, and the Windstar almost left us stranded out there once. So far, I am a Sienna fan.

 

[Mskanga]

I had a 1998 Plymouth grand voyager, I bought it used in 2000 , once it hit the 100.000 miles mark , it was all down the hill.
I traded that one in for a 2003 Chevy Venture , fully loaded except for the entertainment system ( I have my own ) and I love it. I would get another chevy in a heartbeat.