OT...Honda Pilot owners (2005 or newer)

[FINFAN]

Still going 'round and 'round with fixing the lemon van or gong into serious auto loan debt...basically not much of a downpayment, but anyway....
looking at the basic Pilot. As much as the kids are PLEADING for the ent system...not in the plan. Just in the thinking stages, but who has a basic Pilot and do you feel it suffers from SUV rollover syndrome? Part of me just wants to get a little civic or maybe accord, do a minimal fix on the van and call it a day.


Pam

 

[goofyforlife]

I own a 2004 CRV- EX (because DH had to have the sunroof and little sunglasses holder thingie) but we really love it.

It seats 5 comfortably. I have ridden in a brand new Pilot within the past year and it didn't seem much bigger to justify the additional expense. (well, it would be nice to have the third row seat sometimes but then you lose the space behind the seat)

But the four wheel drive has been a blessing in the winter.....

 

[DeeCeeSW]

I have an Odyssey and my cousin has a new CRV. I test drove a Pilot recently and I found there to be a noticeable difference in size and comfort in comparison to the CRV. The basic PILOT model is great. However, I like leather, my husband "must" have a moon roof and now that my child has been spoiled with the DVD player in the Odyssey, I have a funny feeling we'll be getting the bells and whistles in a Pilot once it's time to hand back the van. Not sure about your rollover question. I only drive Hondas or Toyotas and have never had a problem with either.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

I drove a mini-van for 8 years, since we only have two kids and we only have one in a booster seat, we decided to buy the 2006 Accord and I love it! I can't believe how much I missed driving a car. With gas prices today, I liked the Accord because of the fuel efficiency. If you are looking at the Accords, it is recommended here.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Still going 'round and 'round with fixing the lemon van or gong into serious auto loan debt...basically not much of a downpayment, but anyway....
looking at the basic Pilot. As much as the kids are PLEADING for the ent system...not in the plan. Just in the thinking stages, but who has a basic Pilot and do you feel it suffers from SUV rollover syndrome? Part of me just wants to get a little civic or maybe accord, do a minimal fix on the van and call it a day.


Pam

Out of curiosity, what kind of van do you have? This might decide the resale, and maybe what you can affordably get into...

 

[FINFAN]

We have a 96 Nissan Quest....currently 74,000 miles. It is a rolling nightmare. I think the only reason the "check engine" light is not on at this time is because it is burnt out from constant use! I would need hours to list all the stuff that has gone wrong with this van, but suffice it to say, trade in is a joke...about 1,200. Selling it outright, I just can't do it. I keep picturing a young family and it is just not a safe vehicle IMHO. We are starting to finish our basement and Home Depot and Lowes are literally 1 mile away so we are going to keep the piece of junk for hauling stuff and as an emergency back-up vehicle. So, any downpayment is out of savings, which kills me, but there you have it,,,without a doubt we had no plans of needing to replace a van with only 74,000 on it. DD will be 16 in June and she liked driving the toyota corolla during drivers ed, better than tooling around in my van or DH's Grand Prix. I am very nervous about an SUV with a new driver, but still have an 11 year old and the "gang" ....also w/DD heading off to college in 2 years would like the space in a van/SUV for moving her stuff, vacation plans etc. We liked the Pilot at the auto show, but I don't know, maybe the accord is the way to go. DH is 6'3"...so can't go too small. This is so frustrating!


Pam

 

[FINFAN]

now my neighbor has suggested the Pontiac van...used to be a Montanna...SV6 or something? Not sure what I think...why does everything cost $30,000 to be safe?


Pam

 

[melanie18]

Have you looked at the Toyota Highlander? We are torn b/w the Pilot & Highlander, but are leaning towards the Toyota more. I think they are a little (& I mean a little) cheaper than the Pilot.

 

[FINFAN]

Yeah..another neighbors..but they do not recommend it as they say it does not corner that well and winter driving was scary...I am so used to sitting up higher in the van, and if we go the Accord/sedan route, I am worried I will not be able to see on the highway...see around the Expeditions, navigators, hummers etc. what the heck do all these people do for a living to buy these things loaded and THEN put gas in them?

 

[minster22]

I had to get in on this......have owned a Honda Accord for 11 years (this is my 3rd Honda) and have had virtually no repair expenses until this past summer, and it has over 200,000 miles on it. The reason I am saying this to you is although the Pilot is highly rated and I have talked to a couple of owners who just rave about them...it is still a $30,000 vehicle. My Accord is a great car that is just so darn cheap to own and operate I doubt I will ever own anything else.Mine is a station wagon so I am holding on to the very end of its usedful life and then I will buy another.I know others feel differently about having newer, bigger cars but having this vehicle has allowed me to spend my money on my Disney vacations, DVC etc. The gas thing is also a huge factor for me,DH has a Trooper suv and spends $45 ++ twice a week to gas up....I spend $26 every 10 days. Have you done a test drive on either vehicle?I think you would be pleasantly surprised with the Accord! Good Luck!!

 

[FINFAN]

The Accord is definitely in the running....I am taking the van in this weekend to see how extensive the repairs will be. I know right off the bat getting the rear vent system fixed alone will run close to $600...and I have to get this done. U can't put the kids thru another summer in a hot van with just those side opening wing windows. One thing I learned is that I will NEVER own a vehicle that does not have back windows that won't go down....EVER! Anyway, I am expecting a quote of about $1500...minimum, I would go ahead with that and then get the accord if I knew the van would then be reliable for road trips etc., but I just don't think I will ever trust it. While the sccord is our top sedan choice, it is too small to say "road trip"....and living in Il., road trip really means, at least 12 hours in the car to get to someplace sunny! ( of course, with a car payment now, vacations pretty much get wiped out as our usual $300 a month we put aside in the vacation fund will now become a car payment!)
Sorry to be griping....just frustrated. Happy to read about content accord owners tho!


Pam

 

[snowbunny]

I'd get a CRV rather than the Pilot. It's lighter and will get somewhat better gas mileage, not to mention being a whole lot less expensive than a pilot. It corners pretty well, although I try not to fly around corners at 40 mph the way can be done in DH's Civic coupe.

I have a 1999 CRV-EX. It's never been in the shop once aside from inspections and oil/fluid changes. I finally put new tires on it last fall. There is nothing better than a car that's paid off and that starts up and runs, without fail. My sister and my brother in law now own CRVs as well. The Accord is also a great car, we have two of those in our past. First one finally rusted out with 220,000 miles on it, it was still running.

 

[new_mouser]

I'd get a "used" Pilot - one that's about 1-2 years old that has the entertainment center you want. Hondas are great cars, and if you find one with less than 30K miles on it, it will still last another 150K or so (if not more). Plus the vehicle has already depreciated in value so you can get one at considerable savings.

Someone mentioned the Toyota Highlander, which is slightly smaller than the Pilot, but Toyota also makes great SUVs in the 4Runner and Sequoia lines as well. I think Toyotas are priced slightly higher than Hondas, but pretty similar. I've had both the Honda and Toyota and would recommend either one. Test all of them and pick the one you feel most comfortable in. The Highlander is larger than the CRV and is still built on a car platform (the Camry). It will drive more like a car than a truck.

Another thought - one of the Consumer Report "Best Buys" is a previously owned Acura MDX (made by Honda).

Have fun shopping!

 

[clydenora]

We bought a Pilot last year. It is a 2005 I think EX or LX...no entertainment system, but leather seats. We bought it for one reason and one reason only...room when we travel. We travel a lot and now that our boys are 12 and almost 15, we need the room. We have a Thule for the roof, so losing the extra room in the back when we put up the third seat is not a problem. The manual warns about tipping, and that makes me uneasy. Plus, I am not thrilled we bought a gas guzzler right when gas prices sky-rocketed. But we have it now and will keep it another 4 years, until older DS goes to college. That is our plan...5 years for this car, then it's gone. We really don't like big cars.

We bought a demo car, so it had almost 7000 miles on it, but it certainly helped the price. This is a good way to save money. Honestly, we have not bought a new car in 15 years, so this was like brand spankin' new to us. Most cars we've bought had at least 30,000 miles.

We bought it in the fall, and at Christmas we got the boys a portable DVD player that has two screens (7 inch, I think) that hook up to the back of th efront seats. Got it from Walmart.com for about $250-300...if I remember correctly. If we had opted for the Pilot with ent. system, it would have added thousands to the cost. With their own screens, they don't argue about not being able to see.

Hope this helps. It is a nice car, but it is an SUV.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

now my neighbor has suggested the Pontiac van...used to be a Montanna...SV6 or something? Not sure what I think...why does everything cost $30,000 to be safe?


Pam

Yes, the Pontiac Montana SV6. This van is built by GM. I had one for a rental car and it was AWESOME!! Comes standard with a DVD player. GM also builds this same vehicle in a Chevrolet model (The Uplander, more standard, no frills, but also comes with a no charge DVD player) A Buick Model (The Terazza, fully loaded up, looks good) and the Saturn Relay (Also like the Uplander, with the standard DVD player). I would suggest these vans. Plus, you would get the DVD to make the kids happy for free!! Just another suggestion!