Minivan suggestions?

[mom_2_boys]

My family of five (me, DH, DS7, DS5 and DD2) are in the market for a new minivan. I have been driving a 2002 Kia Sedona for the past 7 years and it has been very good to us. Any suggestions? We are looking at both new and used options.

TIA!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

You'll never see me advocate for buying a new car. Losing all that money as soon as you drive it off the lot - no thanks. I'll let someone else be the sucker.

Two yrs ago I bought a Toyota Sienna XLE fully loaded with only 50,000 miles on it and love it. I test drove both the Honda Odyssey and the Sienna. DH and I far preferred the Sienna. I've already decided that when it comes time to get a new one, I'm sticking with the Toyota.

I think honestly look at safety rating and then go test drive different ones and see what you like. Happy minivan hunting!!!

 

[mtquinn]

You will find people who swear by their Sienna and Odyssey. I purchased a new Odyssey a few months ago and I love it! And, believe me, I never thought I'd enjoy driving a nerdy van. Hee.

It handles just like my CR-V, and that is a compliment. It's very car-like. Very little lean in turns (I hear the Sienna drives a bit more like a van) and the brakes are great. Very roomy, lots of space, good on gas and the highest safety rating there is. Plus, you can play one dealer on the other and get it pretty cheap. I got mine with cloth interior (an EX, I think) for under $26,000. Great price. Great van. Good luck!

 

[THUNDERMOUNTAINMOMMA]

I bought a 2 yr old Toyota Sienna XLE. Love it!! Has given me no problems at all in the 2 yrs I've had it. I used to have a Honda Odyssey. Loved that, too! Handled more like a sports sedan!! I dont think you could go wrong with either.

 

[liznboys]

We love our Odyssey! Got it in early 2006, right before we had our 4th son.

 

[lsg1]

We are also in the market to buy a new minivan. We have a 2001 Honda Odyssey with 157,000 miles on it. I had to get 2 new transmissions which were free due to an extended warrantee from a class action suit. It feels like the transmission may be going again, so time to trade in. The 2010 Sienna has 1.9% financing right now, so we are looking at a Sienna LE. I read on edmunds.com that people are paying around 25k for the sienna le + package#2.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We have been very happy with our 2002 Mazda MPV. It's our 2nd Mazda and we've found them to be very reliable and affordable. When we were looking for a minivan in 2002, we originally thought about getting an Odyssey. We liked the fact that the rear seats folded down. Most other models at that time had rear seats that needed to be removed completely if you needed extra space in the back. We went to the Honda dealer and they didn't even have an Odyssey in stock that we could look at and test drive. They said we would have to order one and wait 8 weekss for it. We weren't going to order a car that we couldn't get a good look at. The guy told us to find someone with an Odyssey and ask them if we could drive it. Yeah right!

So we went to a Mazda dealer to see what they had. The MPV was one of the first to have fold-down rear seats after the Odyssey came out with them. Many times, the 4 of us go on a trip and meet up with my sister or my parents when we get there. We need the extra space in the back for our luggage on way up. Then we pull the seat up so other people can ride around with us during the trip. That wouldn't work if we had to leave the seats home in the garage!

I'm not going to get another minivan because my kids are getting older. But I would consider another MPV if I needed another minivan.

 

[wildlandmedic]

I have grown up a Dodge advocate. That being said, I don't think I would buy another Dodge minivan. We bought an '03 Grand Caravan Sport a couple years ago. This is the first minivan we have owned, but I have not been impressed. It has good features. Perhaps it is because we are used to Suv's and pickups, but it just doesn't seem very durable. Fuel mileage is around 19mpg.

It could be that we just aren't mini-van people. I think we will go back to SUV's.

 

[liriel]

We bought a Nissan Quest in April, after our 3rd child was born. I can't say enough good things about it. We were looking at both new and used and we got ours for $24K new. It is the S model, and I can't say enough good things about the little extra we paid to get the model with the auto open and closing doors and rear hatch. Its great with 3 small kids.

 

[mykidsand_i]

I LOVE my Chrysler Town and Country- and I know several people who have recently purchased a Doge grand caravan who are very happy as well...

in my T&C there is A LOT of room, the seats are comfortable and we love the storage under the seats as well as the fact that there is a pull up table for my kids to use while we're riding.

I have had a T&C since we purchased our first mini-van almst 8 years ago now. We're on our third one and we've had no problems with any one of them. We've never purchased new. I hate the fact of driving a new car off the lot and having it loose 1/2 of the value you bought it for- the one we just got is 9 months old with 38,000 miles on it...almost as good as new- but we paid a lot less!!!

There are lots of great vans- and some bad ones- but the key is to look for features that you want, look at reports of certain makes and models, figure out what price range you want (Honda and Toyota, while great vehicles, are a bit on the higher side of price)...when you look at reports look at the specifics- year, make, model...one year that van could have been 100% perfect, the next it may have more problems...

 

[ers26]

We also have a 2008 Nissan Quest we bought used and we couldn't be more happy with our choice. We considered the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey but decided on the Quest after test driving all three models. We got a great deal on our van. It is the SL model and it is fully loaded with heated leather seats, DVD Entertainment System and the skyview package that essentially turns the roof of the vehicle into a multi-paneled skylights. We have had it about 6 months now and really love it.

Good Luck with whatever choice you make!

 

[clj1410]

Another vote for the Honda Odyssey, we got ours EX in May for $24500 and we love it.

 

[StephMK]

If you can wait til the end of the year, we got a good deal on an 06 Sienna 2 days before Christmas 2006. Since the 07s were out, they were trying to move the old stock before the end of the year. It's 8 passenger which I love w/3 kids since we can go somewhere & there's room for each kid to bring a friend. The second row is big enough for 3 adults though leg room is typical for second row seating.

We bought new because we knew we were going to take several long road trips over the next several years and prices on the new were not much more than a good used one. We owe less than it's worth & got 0% financing, so in this case, I think we did ok w/new though we usually buy used.

 

[Ericandus]

As a family of 5, we actually have 2 minivans! Our first is a Chevrolet Venture. FABULOUS van and had it forever! But...it's a 1997, only has one sliding door!! ugh! Last year we got a 2005 Mercury Monterey and we LOVE it! Got a great deal, power everything (WHAT?! TWO doors and you just push a button to open them!?!? ), leather, only had 19,000 miles. Never had any trouble with it!

 

[SaratogaShan]

Why not buy another KIA? It has a 5 star crash test rating....a lot of other mini van's don't.....and it has a great warranty (100,000 miles)....and they are value priced.

My KIA Sedona (2004) has 150,000 miles on it and NO problems so far!

 

[benolathe]

Honda Odyssey! We bought one brand-new in April 2005, and it's still feels "new" with no problems at all. Honda has a great reputation and track-record for quality vehicles.

We bought all the "bells & whistle" available at the time - DVD player, navigation system, etc. But, what I wish it had and doesn't is MP3 player input. I think that's probably fairly 'standard' now, but in 2005 it wasn't.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Just bought a new 09 Volkswagen Routan and it's great! It is loaded, free sirius satellite for a year, dual screen entertainment system--plays two different movies at one time--automatic doors, etc. I absolutely love it!!

 

[bigbabyblues]

About two years ago, we got a 2004 Sienna with a little less than 60,000 miles and it has been a great car for us. We haven't had any problems with it, and will likely get another one when we're done with this one.

We originally wanted an Odyssey, but when DH went to look at them, the dealer didn't seem interested in selling the two he had.....wouldn't get the keys, insisted they both had dead batteries, etc. DH went about 2 miles down the road and found the Sienna. I would definitely lookat the Honda again, but at a different dealership this time.

 

[Daddy2Abby]

We've owned our EX-L with Navigation and DVD since 2007. It's found it's way to the World a number of times (just got back three weeks ago, heading back in Sept. '10). We bought it after DD#1 was born and have since added DD#2...this will certainly NOT be the last Odyssey in our garage!!!

 

[tloveswdw]

We had the Kia 2001, the first model year and just got rid of it this summer. It needed new everything, and the last straw was the brakes locked. We had a donation place come get it from our drive. That said, it was a great value purchase.

I don't the Kia is as well priced anymore. I still like it, and I am sure there are deals ,but, compared to the many of the others, it seems like their might be better used choices. But, for new, Kia might be my first choice.

We found an excellent deal on an Odyssey, (2008, and 10K)... we love it. Drives fabulously, get great mil, etc...

We have a full size conversion (Dodge), and the Odyssey... love them both, and we too loved the Kia...

Go and look, drive and ask for deals. We went and asked for the best deal, and walked off the lot at many places... wait for the right price if you can