Minivan suggestions?

[teacup princess]

I say wait a few months, then buy used. My theory is that in a few months alot of these people that traded in their clunkers for a new car are going to realize that they can't really afford them and need to sell. Then we'll see a ton of newer used cars on the market for a good price. Kind of like what happened with the mortgage fiasco- just my prediction.

But anyway. I've owned a Nissan Quest for 4 years and love it. I've had no problems with it whatsoever other than really minor things and maintenance issues.

 

[hildarumpole]

If you're considering a used vehicle, look for a former rental car. They usually have low mileage, have been well-maintained, and include the remainder of the original warranty. We bought a 2009 GMC Acadia earlier this year with 3,500 miles. We saved about $10,000 over buying it brand new. I was a minivan girl for years, but am IN LOVE with my Acadia.

 

[descovy]

along those lines... which minivan has the best fuel efficiancy? Our MPV is rolling over the 100k... which says to me to at least start *thinking* of the day we trade it in.

We don't look for crazy bells and whistles. It is just a car to us. But we do need a 3rd row so these car-crossover-SUV's won't cut it.

So which vans nowadays have the best fuel effiancy? Because when we aren't in our van, we pile the 3 kids in the back of the Prius and get 47mpg... hehe

 

[Colleen27]

We're waiting on finding the right used Town & Country, but I don't expect to find it until next year at least because some of the features I want were new for the '08 or '09 model year. I've been driving Chevys (first an Astro, now a Venture) and have been very happy with them, but since they elimintated the minivan I've decided to give the Town & Country a try. Well, unless we stumble across the right used Ford Flex in the meantime!

 

[stephd219]

We just got a Volkswagen Routan, and I absolutely adore it. We have the two screen entertainment system, which is a nice bonus for long drives, and the backup camera. The one year satellite radio was a nice bonus, too.

The best part was that they are being so deeply discounted, that we got it for only a few thousand more than we paid for my Dodge Grand Caravan when we bought it new five years ago. The VW is so much more comfortable than my last van, and seems to have a lot more room.

 

[sherry7]

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!

Do you definitely want a mini van? How about a Suzuki XL7 (crossover) or perhaps a Kia Borrego (SUV)? Both have 7 seats, but the 3rd row folds into the floor for when you don't need it.

Both of these vehicles have excellent rebates right now for the 2009 models. Depending on the dealership you go to (and how large they are), you can get additional rebates as well. I just bought a 2009 Kia Borrego earlier this week, and almost $7,000 was rebated off the sticker price. The Suzuki XL7 had a similar rebate as well.

You're only about a 3 or 4 hour drive from the large dealer I just bought from (they're the 2nd and 3rd largest US dealer for both Suzuki's and Kias). As mentioned above, because they're such a large dealer, they get extra factory incentives which they pass on to the customer. For my Kia Borrego SUV, they beat the price of another Kia dealership (in the next town over) by almost $4,000, plus they gave me a fair trade in value. The 3 or 4 hour drive might be well worth your time.

If you want the name and location of the dealer I used, just shoot me a PM. I don't want to post it here on the boards.

 

[hockeyprincess]

If you're considering a used vehicle, look for a former rental car. They usually have low mileage, have been well-maintained, and include the remainder of the original warranty. We bought a 2009 GMC Acadia earlier this year with 3,500 miles. We saved about $10,000 over buying it brand new. I was a minivan girl for years, but am IN LOVE with my Acadia.

Where do you find deals like this? I would love to find an Acadia with low miles!

 

[wmharley]

most go to auction...

Budget offers rental sales.

If you buy an Autocheck you can tell if its been rental or not.

 

[NMW]

We had a Toyota Sienna for 5 years and the only thing we ever had done was new tires and oil changes. Fabulously dependable car. We had it detailed when it was 5 yr old and the guys thought it was only 2 years old. Did I mention that I have 3 kids that along with their friends, ate in it on a regular basis?

I owned a Dodge Grand Caravan and the only thing I can say is that I would never purchase another Dodge product. I do have several friends that own Honda minivans and they love them. I would stick with one of those 2. I would not go GM or Chrysler on a minivan. My neighbor hates her Town & Country, something is always wrong with it. All of it has been under warranty, but when it's your primary car for your kids...you want something reliable. It's been a huge hassle for her and has caused major disagreements between she and her husband. She wanted a Toyota or Honda, he wanted the Town and Country...not good.

 

[hildarumpole]

Where do you find deals like this? I would love to find an Acadia with low miles!

We bought from our local GM dealer. In our area, car dealers are the primary auction purchasers of rental cars. I was shopping different dealership websites for a new Acadia and noticed quite a few used ones with low mileage. I checked some of them out on Carfax and found that they had all been rental cars sold at auction to GM dealerships. We decided it would be foolish to pay so much more for a brand new vehicle, especially since we got the rest of the warranty plus it's GM certified.

 

[pennymom]

Last March we picked up an '07 Chrysler Town & Country with low miles for a great price, and we absolutely love it. It seats 7, but we can configure it for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 easily and quickly as the seats fold into the floor. The floor compartments can also be used for storage when the seats are up. I am always moving the seats up and down as I need to move various sized bags and boxes of equipment to and from work for classes.

A am another who would never buy a 'new' car and lose so much money just for driving it off the lot. In this areas we have a dealer that has only 'newer' vehicles that all look new. I don't believe anything is more that 4 or 5 years old, many less than that, and all in beautiful condition and come with the remainder of any factory warranty and an excellent 6-month 'everything' warranty. My mom got a 1-year-old Kia with 6000 miles on it for a steal from the same place.

 

[cajunpeach]

DON'T by a Chrysler Town & Country. I bought a 2002 limited this year and have spent more in repairs that I did for the van and still have more repairs that need to be done. It's a piece of junk. What's so sad is I had my mechanic look at it before I bought it.

I wish I'd spent a little more and bought a used Toyota Sienna, which is what I really wanted.

Good luck

 

[Dreamer04]

Another vote for the Sienna, here! I also agree with the other posters who advised to buy used. There are fabulous deals out there.

Good Luck!

 

[SarahKate]

We bought a used Dodge Grand Caravan (it was just a year or 2 old) when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter who's now 7. We never had any MAJOR repairs, but it was not very well made.

We traded it in '04, DD was a couple years old. That's when we first leased our Honda Odyssey.

Because of the depreciation on the Dodge, we got totally screwed on our trade - so they had to build that into the payment, but luckily it didn't impact our payments that much.

We liked the Odyssey so much that we kept it until last year (by that time we were on a month-to-month lease). That was around the time that gas was close to $4/gal and we decided to get a car instead. 2008 Honda Accord, we love it. But there are days when I DO miss my Odyssey.

When we bought the Accord, it was on the last day of the month and we ended up paying just a little over invoice cost.....which is a GREAT deal for a Honda. Not all dealers discount much on the last day of a month, but some do.

If you're going to buy used, you can very SAFELY buy an Odyssey or Sienna and have many many years left on it.

I will NEVER buy a Dodge/Chrysler van. I know many people have them and love them, but too many other people have troubles.

We did rent a Sienna on one of our WDW trips. It was ok, but it didn't feel as good as the Odyssey.....it's all personal preference!

 

[Minniemama350]

I bought my Toyota Sienna new 7 years ago. Before then, I said I'd never buy new. Now, I think I will do it again when my van finally dies. We're still zoomin' along fine at 80,000 miles. Considering how much we spent on all of the pre-owned vehicles we had prior to my Sienna (all of which bit the dust, and yeswe do know how to tell if a car is a lemon), the Sienna is now cheaper than all of those, especially when you consider all of the cost for fixing the others versus no cost except tires and breaks and basic maintenance on my Sienna. I'm sticking with my Toyota and I will now buy new if I have researched and turned up the same results. I would not say the same for some other car companies. There are plenty others I would never buy new. Good luck!

 

[mom_2_boys]

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. DH and I are going to start the search this afternoon. We are planning on test driving a Toyota Sienna, honda Odyssey and a Kia Sedona. I'll let you know what happens!

 

[It's A Small World]

2006 Nissan Quest owner here and proud of it! I love my Nissan mini-van. It's the best investment we made post-kid's! I highly recommend it.

 

[Dina]

We also don't buy new. In this area we have a dealer called Carsense which only sells preowned, and that's where we go now. We had a car stolen a few years ago, a month after buying it, and we lost so much money because of the amount you lose in it's worth once you drive it off the lot. Really made us think about buying pre-owned.

We bought a 3 year old Ford Freestar there a 2 years ago. Very low mileage-- 24,000 (I think). I love it--- all leather interior (which we would never buy had it been new), very roomy. I love my freestar, but that being said, my husband will only buy American (he's a union guy) so I haven't tested the Odyssey or Sienna. I know the Odyssey is the most popular minivan in our neighborhood, and Sienna is probably second.