What kind of mini van do you drive?

[Deb & Bill]

Given the Toyota Recalls and the fact that there have been reports of the Sienna having an acceleration problem(denied by Toyota) I'd stay far far away from one right now.

And GM, Chrysler and Ford have never had serious recalls? Give me a break. Do you know how many Toyotas are on the road? I have nearly 200,000 miles on my two Siennas together and never had a problem. Never.

 

[ReneeA]

We have a 2001 Voyager that we bought new. It's got 120,000 miles on it, and we've never spent any money on it other than routine maintenance. It's been such a great car, that we bought a Dodge Journey last week. Hopefully, it will be as greatof a car as our van has been.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

And GM, Chrysler and Ford have never had serious recalls? Give me a break. Do you know how many Toyotas are on the road? I have nearly 200,000 miles on my two Siennas together and never had a problem. Never.

Well great for you however I can spend my money any which way I choose. There have been reports of accelerators sticking on Toyotas since 1999 and 11 years later there is a recall. Not a great PR move IMO. Toyotas used to be a great car but quality has suffered big time. WE have owned a few Toyotas in teh past but now I'm not sure I'd buy one again because of the way they handled this situation.

 

[Ericandjenng]

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan which I like well enough. It's amazing the room and flexibility of the Fold & Go seats. So far, we've not had any problems (it's a 2008--bought new) and we never had problems with any of the Dodges we've had (including this one and our current Ram, there've been 7 of them) like other people report.

But that being said, I actually miss my Explorer. It did have less room for hauling, but I just liked it.

 

[kkwis2]

We are on our 3rd Honda Odyssey (we have been leasing). Obviously, we love the Odyssey! The last time our lease was about to be up, we test drove a Sienna. Since we live in Minnesota, we really wanted the AWD option which Honda doesn't have. We just didn't like the feel of the Sienna (well, during our 20 minute test drive!). We didn't like how it drove nor that it felt smaller than the Odyssey. So, we ended up with another Odyssey which we love for all the reasons mentioned already. Our only problem, that it doesn't drive great in the snow, won't affect you as it looks like you live in FL. Lucky duck!

 

[kellia]

Grand Caravan- love it!! We've had 3 (98, 05, 07) and they've all been great vans. Just make sure you get the 3.8 NOT the 3.3 engine (we briefly had one of those, piece of junk). Stow and go is great for keeping junk in and moving seats around. Used to hate pulling the bench out of our old one in order to move something. Also tows very nice if you need that. The only thing I wish we had was the auto liftgate. Since the van has stow and go, the door is longer and heavier than our old one that didn't have stow and go.

 

[apnep]

We own a 2005 Toyota Sienna. It is still running great. It drives like a car but is so nice and roomy and I love how all the seats fold down.

I would buy a Toyota even with its sticky pedal problem over a GM car, Ford, or Chrysler anyday. Either a Honda or Toyota you can't go wrong. We also own a Honda.

Ang

 

[DISdreamin']

We are on our 3rd Honda Odyssey (we have been leasing). Obviously, we love the Odyssey! The last time our lease was about to be up, we test drove a Sienna. Since we live in Minnesota, we really wanted the AWD option which Honda doesn't have. We just didn't like the feel of the Sienna (well, during our 20 minute test drive!). We didn't like how it drove nor that it felt smaller than the Odyssey. So, we ended up with another Odyssey which we love for all the reasons mentioned already. Our only problem, that it doesn't drive great in the snow, won't affect you as it looks like you live in FL. Lucky duck!

Snow tires made a huge difference on our Ody. The OEM tires were some kind of Michelins which were awful in the snow. I have a set of Nokian Hakka snowshoes that my girl wears every winter - much better handling with them. I'd strongly recommend ponying up the $600 or so for snows and OEM steel rims for them if you plan on keeping the vehicle long-term.

And yes, my van is a girl.

 

[3boymthr]

I had a Dodge Grand Caravan and LOVED it But after 10 years it needed more in repairs than it was worth so I traded it in. I bought a Ford Freestyle. Which while not a mini-van is the next best thing. They call it a cross over but really it's a station wagon My favorite car ever because it combines the seating and gas mileage of a mini-van with the space of an SUV.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We have a 2001 Grand Caravan with 120,000 and my DH loves it.
I'm not a big driver and just use the sedan.

 

[ohlas]

I have an 08 Kia Sedona. We LOVE it

It is just as safe and has all the same features as the more expensive Chryslers and Hondas. Has a great warranty, drives like a car and quiet. Love the stowaway back seats, dual push button sliding doors, tons of storage.

We bought it new last April and paid about $15k for it after trading in our POS Windstar and the great deductions they offered. Also got a nice credit on our tax return this year too.

have 2010 kia sedona and i love tyhe folding seats in back awsome, it got lots of power and quite too hope it last till it hits 125k lol

 

[momofsamandeden]

We have a 2000 Venture and love it especially in the snowy MN where we use traction control all winter long. We also love the five bucket seats in back but these are both features that other brands have also.

 

[tlh0726]

08 chrysler town and country about 36K miles so far, will be 2 years mid june.
This is our 2nd town and country.
Love the stow and go storage, you can fit tons of stuff in there. And the fact that the rear seat fold flat into the floor. Big plus if you ever need to haul anything larger. Bought the kids a trampoline and enclosure (2 huge boxes. They fit perfectly in the 3rd row seat section.

 

[sardanem]

I have a 2001 Grand Caravan with only 65,000 miles on it and we have had lots of problems. I wish I had the money for monthly car payments. I would trade this thing in for almost anything else. I love the mini van since with 3 kids, I need the space, but, I will never buy a Dodge ever again.

 

[2TxAgs]

2000 Sienna ... 170,000miles ... no problems, except I need new tires every couple yrs.
Kids are getting older, ready to drive themselves, so I think my minivan days are coming to an end, but it's sure been a good car.

TxAg

 

[mousebymarriage]

We have a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country and we love it! This is our 4th Chrysler minivan and we have loved every one of them. This one has stow & go seats which is great for traveling because if you don't fold the seats down into the floor then that "compartment" can be used as out of the way storage. We just took ours to Disney in February and it was great.

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

We just purchased an '09 Toyota Sienna a couple of months ago and absolutely love it! It's an 8-passenger and I can fit all three carseats in the middle "row". We also took it to WDW last month and FIL couldn't stop raving about it's comfort.

Definitely handles more like a car and gets great gas mileage for a minivan!

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[edk35]

We have a 2008 Toyota Sienna. WE LOVE IT. We have an old 1990 Dodge Caravan that we still have and we didn't have too many issues with it until the extended warranty expired LOL.

In Dec. 2006 we bought a Chrysler Town and Country and after a few months I HATED IT. It just didn't seem well built. We had some small problems with it right off the bat that had to be fixed. I could hear the wind whistling when we were on the highway. Just little things drove me nuts. I had major buyer's remorse. SOOOOOOOOOOO....in early Dec. 2007 we traded it for a brand new Sienna. Our Sienna is fully loaded/AWD and we love everything about it. We have had NO issues at all. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

 

[edk35]

We own a 2005 Toyota Sienna. It is still running great. It drives like a car but is so nice and roomy and I love how all the seats fold down.

I would buy a Toyota even with its sticky pedal problem over a GM car, Ford, or Chrysler anyday. Either a Honda or Toyota you can't go wrong. We also own a Honda.

Ang

I agree. We will will always buy Toyotas from now on despite the the issues they are having right now. We got our daughter a 2008 Toyota Corolla in Sept. of 2007 and it is great. We/She has not had any problems with it either.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our poor 2000 Sienna just bit the dust. My son had an accident with it. It had about 110,000 miles on it and he was just starting to really like it. He had taken a bunch of kids to the local Mardi Gras parade a few nights before the accident. Damage was more than $7500 so we got a check from our insurance company for nearly $7500 to put down on a another car. Got a 2006 Highlander Hybrid with 4WD. But I miss Old Red. We still have a 2006 Sienna, though.