More van buying ???

[KerriMc]

Ok ... posted earlier about trying to decide on a GM / Honda / Toyota ... etc. Well we are still not completely decided (as usual for me). We did go and test drive a Honda CRV and I just didn't find it all that comfortable (dh loved it and would have signed on the spot ... he is a bit more impulsive ).

Anyways, we currently lease a GM and have had no problems with it at all (Montana). Lease is up at the end of March, but only have 1700 kms left on the lease. Honda offered us the CRV at $375 / mos (lease) nothing down and they would pay one of our last two payments. Offered us $475 / mos for Odyssey (lease) again, nothing down paying one of the payments. I don't think this is bad for their van, but then again it is a lease. Not sure if I want to lease again as right now it is a bit of a pain that we have nothing to trade in. BUT I do like driving a newer vehicle and am thinking of the safety aspect of my children too. What do you think?? Is leasing a good thing when payments are reasonable? I wasn't planning on almost $500/mos to lease, but it is an Odyssey ....

What to do, what to do ... told mr. friendly salesman rolleyes: ) that we'd be back on Saturday ... that is only a couple of days away!! I would really like a Sienna, but right now the rates just aren't there!! I heard that January is a good month to look for a car and that is why we are trying right now. We could wait a month or two, but worried the deals won't be there. Am I wrong???

Kerri

 

[F4disneyfan]

Ok ... posted earlier about trying to decide on a GM / Honda / Toyota ... etc. Well we are still not completely decided (as usual for me). We did go and test drive a Honda CRV and I just didn't find it all that comfortable (dh loved it and would have signed on the spot ... he is a bit more impulsive ).

Anyways, we currently lease a GM and have had no problems with it at all (Montana). Lease is up at the end of March, but only have 1700 kms left on the lease. Honda offered us the CRV at $375 / mos (lease) nothing down and they would pay one of our last two payments. Offered us $475 / mos for Odyssey (lease) again, nothing down paying one of the payments. I don't think this is bad for their van, but then again it is a lease. Not sure if I want to lease again as right now it is a bit of a pain that we have nothing to trade in. BUT I do like driving a newer vehicle and am thinking of the safety aspect of my children too. What do you think?? Is leasing a good thing when payments are reasonable? I wasn't planning on almost $500/mos to lease, but it is an Odyssey ....

What to do, what to do ... told mr. friendly salesman rolleyes: ) that we'd be back on Saturday ... that is only a couple of days away!! I would really like a Sienna, but right now the rates just aren't there!! I heard that January is a good month to look for a car and that is why we are trying right now. We could wait a month or two, but worried the deals won't be there. Am I wrong???

Kerri

The newer Odysseys are not that great since they moved the assembly plant to the US. They are having tranny issues and electrical issues. Once they moved the manufactuing/assembly from Alliston Ontario the build quality went down hill. This was told to me buy a friend of ours that actually works at a honda dealer as a mechanic.

 

[MikeyNS]

Anyways, we currently lease a GM and have had no problems with it at all (Montana). Lease is up at the end of March, but only have 1700 kms left on the lease. Honda offered us the CRV at $375 / mos (lease) nothing down and they would pay one of our last two payments. Offered us $475 / mos for Odyssey (lease) again, nothing down paying one of the payments. I don't think this is bad for their van, but then again it is a lease. Not sure if I want to lease again as right now it is a bit of a pain that we have nothing to trade in. BUT I do like driving a newer vehicle and am thinking of the safety aspect of my children too. What do you think?? Is leasing a good thing when payments are reasonable? I wasn't planning on almost $500/mos to lease, but it is an Odyssey ....

What to do, what to do ... told mr. friendly salesman rolleyes: ) that we'd be back on Saturday ... that is only a couple of days away!! I would really like a Sienna, but right now the rates just aren't there!! I heard that January is a good month to look for a car and that is why we are trying right now. We could wait a month or two, but worried the deals won't be there. Am I wrong???

Kerri

Take your time! You can always try the new Hyundai Entourage van, which is supposed to be teriffic (according to some of the articles I read). Tonnes of warranty, safe as anything, supposibly reliable.
I'm not a fan of leasing and always buy my vehicles outright, but then again I buy 1-2 year old vehicles with lots of warranty left so I can do that easily.
I always go in with the montra "What else could I get for xxxx dollars"?, or in your car "What else could I get for ~$400/month lease".
If the dealership really wants your business they should pay off both months AND give you a deal.

 

[drag n' fly]

The newer Odysseys are not that great since they moved the assembly plant to the US. They are having tranny issues and electrical issues. Once they moved the manufactuing/assembly from Alliston Ontario the build quality went down hill. This was told to me buy a friend of ours that actually works at a honda dealer as a mechanic.

Do you know anything about the Honda Pilot's? I am looking at a Pilot or a Toyota Highlander right now.

 

[laxcdn]

I am much happier with my Kia than the GM product and the Kia Sedona and Hyundai Entourage are the same. Hard to beat 5 year bumper-to-bumper. I leased the Kia and bought it afterwards and bought a year 2 year old Montana and got the extra warranty. Don't know if I will ever buy another GM though.

 

[surfer_ed]

I just bought the Odysseys and have to say it has been great for us. We got 2 kids and 2 dogs so our CRV was getting a bit tight for space.

I almost bought the Seinna in the USA, since it was a much better deal, but then got 0.9% from Honda Canada.

 

[F4disneyfan]

Do you know anything about the Honda Pilot's? I am looking at a Pilot or a Toyota Highlander right now.

The pilot also known as the Acura MDX are still a pretty good quality vehicle and still both built in Alliston Ontario. The only issue I have been told about with them is again a small electrical problem and the rear differential seems to leak.

 

[KerriMc]

I too have been reading a TON of reports on transmission problems with the Odyssey, but almost every owner of one that I have talked to have had no problems at all. The one who did said that at the four year mark, they had to have it replaced, but Honda did it all (about 4 years ago). I have been reading now though (on Edmunds) that they were doing this and now they are doing 50/50 as most times this is happening at around the 60,000 km mark (isn't that when warranty ends?).

After reading all of these posts (over 2000) and seeing other websites with same issues (msnauto, yahooauto, etc) we have decided not to go with the Odyssey. Likely we will end up with a domestic as the purchasing is much more affordable. We are also now going to look at a one year old vehicle to see if that is worth it ... if not, we'll stick with new. I would rather buy than lease I think. I enjoy the low pymt of my lease right now, but I hate the fact that I have nothing to trade in on a new vehicle. So we are going to keep watching and then maybe buy ... not sure ... my uncle (Toyota salesman - but not close by unfortunately) has a saying "Buy foreign. Lease domestic." ... so who knows, maybe it will be a domestic lease again. Probably would go well as we are currently leasing.

There is just so much to look into and so many things to figure out!! It is all so overwhelming really.

Kerri

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I would like to put in a reccommendation for the Plymouth Voyager, or the Dodge Minivans. My husband is a diehard Chrysler fan, and the engines on these vehicles, are good, reliable, and won't cost you an arm and a leg to fix. Also the gas mileage is pretty decent too. And if you have a family with large dogs (like ours), the deluxe version of these vehicles really comes in handy. That extra 6 inches of room really comes in handy. And with the way that they have built the seats in the back you have tons of storage space.

 

[KerriMc]

I actually called the salesman from Honda today, just because I wanted to be polite I suppose and let him know we weren't coming down today like we thought we might have. He had never heard of such problems he claimed, and I told him there were over two thousand posts of problems with the transmissions on the Odysseys. He was really nice until I said we weren't probably going to be buying right now, it was then a quick "I'm not here on Wednesdays, maybe I'll see you another day" and then good bye. Funny how nice they are to you at the time of possible purchase and then they drop you so quickly!!

I have a feeling we'll end up with another Montana. We haven't had any problems with our van. We will hopefully buy, but if the deal to lease is good, we may just do that again (unless Toyota runs an amazing sale ... not likely ).

Kerri

 

[F4disneyfan]

I actually called the salesman from Honda today, just because I wanted to be polite I suppose and let him know we weren't coming down today like we thought we might have. He had never heard of such problems he claimed, and I told him there were over two thousand posts of problems with the transmissions on the Odysseys. He was really nice until I said we weren't probably going to be buying right now, it was then a quick "I'm not here on Wednesdays, maybe I'll see you another day" and then good bye. Funny how nice they are to you at the time of possible purchase and then they drop you so quickly!!

I have a feeling we'll end up with another Montana. We haven't had any problems with our van. We will hopefully buy, but if the deal to lease is good, we may just do that again (unless Toyota runs an amazing sale ... not likely ).

Kerri

Ya the Honda salesman also hopes no one researches their transmission history on the Odyssey LOL.

 

[F4disneyfan]

I too have been reading a TON of reports on transmission problems with the Odyssey, but almost every owner of one that I have talked to have had no problems at all. The one who did said that at the four year mark, they had to have it replaced, but Honda did it all (about 4 years ago). I have been reading now though (on Edmunds) that they were doing this and now they are doing 50/50 as most times this is happening at around the 60,000 km mark (isn't that when warranty ends?).

After reading all of these posts (over 2000) and seeing other websites with same issues (msnauto, yahooauto, etc) we have decided not to go with the Odyssey. Likely we will end up with a domestic as the purchasing is much more affordable. We are also now going to look at a one year old vehicle to see if that is worth it ... if not, we'll stick with new. I would rather buy than lease I think. I enjoy the low pymt of my lease right now, but I hate the fact that I have nothing to trade in on a new vehicle. So we are going to keep watching and then maybe buy ... not sure ... my uncle (Toyota salesman - but not close by unfortunately) has a saying "Buy foreign. Lease domestic." ... so who knows, maybe it will be a domestic lease again. Probably would go well as we are currently leasing.

There is just so much to look into and so many things to figure out!! It is all so overwhelming really.

Kerri

Another thing to consider to is the new Montana/Uplander is available with a flex fuel option so you can run regular gas or ethanol.

 

[Stittsville]

For what it's worth, Consumer Reports lists the Sienna and the Oddysey as their recommended minivans. They report the Oddysey tranny problems as being in the pre-2003 models (although it's possible the problems have just not shown up yet in newer models.)

 

[who's ur daddy?]

I am not typically a fan of domestic cars in general just because of my terrible experiences with them. Ford in particular - will never ever buy one again.

In any event, I was at the Detroit Auto Show yesterday and I must say the Chrysler Town & Country rocked! The second row chairs can swivel! Not sure whether if it was an option, but the presentation had the chairs power swivel out to face the door. No more reaching in to unbuckle your kid from the car seat. I would buy a T&C just for this one feature. Would also help the elderly passenger. This was the highlight of the Autoshow for me. Not the Ferraris, Porsches, etc. Nope. The Town & Country!

 

[surfer_ed]

For what it's worth, Consumer Reports lists the Sienna and the Oddysey as their recommended minivans. They report the Oddysey tranny problems as being in the pre-2003 models (although it's possible the problems have just not shown up yet in newer models.)

I checked consumer reports before buying and also understood the tranny problems to be earlier models. I was a little worried about the varible cylinder management as something else that could go wrong. The Toyota and Honda far stood out as the vans to buy.

Hope that is true since we recently bought on. Alos have a CRV that is 5 years old and love it.

2 kids and 2 dogs just need a bit more room.

 

[KerriMc]

Well, we did make a decision!!! We bought ourselves a brand, spanking new Toyota Sienna on Saturday!! We can pick it up on Thursday (we hope). I was so happy that we were able to make it all work and affordable too!! We were going to go with another GM, but after our last sales person never did return our call, we thought we'd just go and have a look at the Toyota dealership! We bought it before we tested it!! (I've driven them before) Isn't that terrible??? It is a beautiful burgandy color and I just love it!!! I am so excited (can you tell??)

Kerri