Minivan

[nhmommy]

Please tell me about your minivan.
We are looking to purchase a new Minivan with leather seats. I would love to know what everyone thinks of theirs.
So far we like the Toyota the best and we have eliminated only the Honda. The town and country catches my eye because of price, but I'm willing to look at all makes.I'm hoping to fall in love with a less expensive one then the Toyota but I'm willing to look at the more expensive ones too.
Even if you would buy the exact same Van what don't you like, Tell me your good and your bad too.
Thanks bunches

 

[beachgrl001]

I have a dodge grand caravan sxt we have driven it to fla 2x (from NJ) the ins is low and payments are low but I really am not too into driving "the bus" lol but if you are planning on traveling in it then its very nice and roomy

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our seven year old Sienna has 90K miles on it and rides great. I will be buying new tires this month before we head out to the beach at the end of May. We had another Sienna with 110K miles on it before it was totaled in a motor vehicle accident. We both love the Sienna and find it extremely comfortable for riding long distances. Roomy, too.

Remember, you get what you pay for.

At work, we had a Dodge Caravan and some Chevy Minivans (I don't think they even make them any more) and none of them rode as nicely as my Sienna.

 

[taylor3297]

In laws have the Dodge Caravan and they love it. Now one neighbor has the Toyota, one has the Honda, and one has the Town and Country.

These folks all try to convince their van is better. So to be honest, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I love my T&C (never thought I would say that!)


Mine is pretty much loaded and the only thing I wish it had is all wheel drive because I am sometimes stuck staying home with our awful driveway after a snow storm. I have been in Toyota and Honda vans as well, my T&C blows them out of the water as far as comfort and features, at least in my experience.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I have been very happy with my '08 town and country. My MIL on the other hand has had problems with her Toyota Sienna (Or the dealership doing her maintenance is screwing her with fake problems.)

My only regret is that I bought the model with the Stow and Go seats, I wish I bought the ones that swivel as they are more comfortable seats (bigger and more padded). However at the time I bought it we were selling at shows and needed the seats to fold in for merchandise & tables.

 

[kellia]

We have a 2008 Grand Caravan, love it! Comfy and stow and go is awesome! We've been doing lots of home improvement projects, don't know how we'd manage without it! 150k miles, no problems. It's the same as the T&C. Tows our boat and pop up great. Get the better motor, though.

 

[jperrot1]

We have driven a Ford Freestar Minivan for the past 7 years. I love it. They don't make them anymore as I believe the Ford Flex has replaced it (but it is not a minivan). Like some other guy said here, you'll love any of the minivans that you decide to buy and own. A minivan is a great tool to have.

But.... my wife drives the Mazda5 microvan. They are less expensive to buy and own than a minivan, but they are much smaller also. They are set up with the back sliding doors like a minivan. It drives and handles like a nice car, and is fun to drive. And, they have a sporty look. You might want to check them out.

 

[artesian]

2 yrs on out Grand Caravan and we love it. We weighed the pricing and options we wanted and this provided the best value compared to all others. No issues beyond regular maint

 

[tink_n_pooh]

And I forgot to add, there is a noticeably difference between the Dodge and the Chrysler as far as standard features, options, and just general comfort/ride. I didn't think I would really notice a difference but it is pretty noticeable.

 

[hapandpam]

We had 4 minivans before my kids went off to college. All were Pontiacs. I loved them and would buy another in a heartbeat if I had younger kids.

 

[Baliezer]

I like the Toyota Sienna and the Town and Country. I owned a Sienna a few years back and never had any problems with it. It drove nicely and had the most advanced features at the time, of any minivan. Just recently I almost bought a town and country. I liked the look and features on it more than the Sienna. Small things that most people would not care about.

I think you really need to test drive the ones that you are interested in. All in the same day if you can. Then go with your gut instinct. Think about the features that you will use most and how your kids will feel in the back. One will usually stand out more.

 

[Eureka]

We have a Honda Odyssey and I love it. Has not given us any problems and drives like a car.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I current drive a 2012 Sienna. I previously had a 1999 Sienna, a 2004 Sienna, and a 2008 Sienna. All have been great vans, which is why I keep buying them. We put a lot of miles on my van, driving to FL, driving to soccer practice, etc. I have over 14,000 miles on my current van, which is about six months old.

What I have liked:

For four vans, I have paid nothing except standard maintenance and tires. They just keep running, and they drive great. Plenty of room, very reliable, responsive handling and a very nice ride.

What I have not liked:

The 1999 van was much smaller than the current models. While it was fine, I prefer the larger Siennas (2004 and later). Unless you are looking at used models, that wouldn't be a concern for you.

My 2004 was AWD and had run flat tires (no room for a spare due to AWD system). The run flats lasted about 20,000 miles and were over $200 each. When I got the 2008, I was sure not to get AWD (didn't need it anyway since we had moved to NC).

I have a friend with an Odyssey that she really likes. I know someone else who had a T&C and couldn't wait to get rid of it. They are more SUV people anyway, though, so it might not have been the van's fault.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We have a used 2009 town and country. Before that we had a grand caravan that got totaled by a girl talking on her cell phone. (I did a post about that one)

What we liked about it: stow and go. We have put furniture, appliances etc. in it. Our 3 ds are college aged and are fine in it. Dh loves the back up camera.

Right now the one door wire broke, so dh does not want to pay $400 to fix it so we open the door manually.

Right now what I dont like is this ringing message that lights up and says..call the dealer.. Its really just an oil change that is needed. But is so annoying.

 

[Kellydelly]

I drove a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan for 11 yrs. I loved it . I just traded it in on a 2013 Honda Pilot. I miss my van . I should have listened to my husband and got a new one. I just didn't want to drive a mom mobile for another 5-10 yrs while I am still slightly young (I can dream about 41 being young!). I wanted style, not comfort and ease of use. Just make sure whatever you buy you really figure out if the seats are comfortable or not. The Pilot I bought has the stiffest, most uncomfortable seats, I really don't like them at all (neither do my kids). I think the Sienna looks more stylish than the other minivans, I would have bought one over another Chrysler, although I think they run about $5,000 more in price.

 

[tessieg]

We have had our sienna since 2002; it has 139,000 miles on it! We have always loved it! Also, it has required very little repair--- no more than $3000 since we've had it and that was stuff aging out--timing belt, batteries, gaskets, brakes, etc. Our only other expense has been tires a few times.
We will buy a new car in the next year and it will also be a Sienna.

 

[cm8]

We recently purchased a 2013 T and C Limited with the luxury group We are so happy with our choice. We went back and forth between the Honda Odyssey and the T&C . The T&C we have has black and gray interior, heated leather seats front and rear( not on the 3rd row) and we have stow and go seats too. We also have 3rd row DVD/Blu-ray and a sun/moon roof.

We chose the T&C because of the way it handled when it came to driving it. I love the back up camera, blind spot indicator and blue illumination. I also like that it can "park it's self" and the remote start is awesome. We also have the Push to start button installed so no more keys to lose. It does require that you have the key in the car ( anywhere) or the car beeps until it can locate the signal from the key.

We also opted for the navigation as well as the WiFi. The steering wheel is also heated. It was a great choice and fit for our family. Our Third row seat can also stow or fold down automatically or with a push of a button. It also reverses so you can "tailgate" from the back seat It also came with Two wireless headsets for the DVD/ Blu-ray. I can post you some pictures if you'd like. It's very roomy and the children are in love with it.

Ps, the heated seats works well when I have a backache

 

[basketrn]

We have a 2011 Nissan Quest. We love it so far. Have had it for 3 years now with no problems so far. Has about 35000 miles on it. Has done 3 trips to FL and one trip to CT so far.

 

[redsonja76]

I have a 2010 town and country and I love it. I bought it end of year sale and got a great deal. It is fully loaded and was about $8000 less than the odyssey. I love the leather seats, the DVD package ( you can watch two different DVDs on the two screens which is great because my kids are not into the same things). I have the automatic doors and the backup camera which I love. What I don't like about it is it can't seat 8 like the odyssey and it doesn't have memory seating. I have no idea why they wouldn't have that feature and it drives me crazy but I would still buy this car again in a heartbeat! I plan to drive it until my 6 year old graduates from high school!