Your favorite Minivan..... I need your help!!!

[dancin Disney style]

My DH has worked for Chrysler for the last 7 years.

He says the Caravan is garbage. You have to wonder when the employees don't drive their own product.

We have a 1998 Chev Venture. When we bought it it was all that we could afford. We have not had a single problem with it. All that we have done to it are things like brakes and tires--- just the everyday stuff that IMO doesn't count since you can't drive for free. I wouldn't say that I love it but to be fair I can't complain---I had a sports car before so it was hard for me to give that up and get the "mommy van".

Lucky for us DH has gone back to work for Nissan/Infinity so when we get a new car this year it will be back to Japanese quality.

I worked for Toyota and they will always be my first choice. Honda also ranks right beside Toyota for me. You will always pay more for a Japanese car but it the long run you are better off. They have very high resale value(80% in the first five years) and the quality is second to none. My DH remarked once right after he had started to work for Chrysler that he was seeing cars in the shop that were 3 and 4 years old with problems that he was seeing at Nissan on cars that were more than 10 years old.

Good luck, buying a new car is so much fun. Just an after thought---go and rent the ones you are interested in for a weekend at Alamo or someplace like that.

 

[jrasmom]

We love our 2005 Odyssey.......and, unlike someone else said we did get a good price on it, actually right at the MSRP in fact.

And the dealer ordered the model we wanted in the color we wanted for us. Of course, not all dealerships work that way....we have a Honda dealership only 15-20 minutes away BUT we drove 65-70 miles away instead to save over $1100 from our local dealership price. We did everthing over the internet with this dealership.

I would definately buy another Odyssey!!

 

[Disneyrsh]

We love our 2005 Odyssey we did get a good price on it, actually right at the MSRP in fact.

Oy, no offense here, but my idea of a good deal is not paying MSRP!

That stands for Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, or, What The Suits Want You To Pay So They Can Get Rich.

MSRP on my minivan was 26,500, I paid out the door 18,900. Toyota wanted 1k OVER MSRP (this was back in 2003), and I walked. Honda wanted 28k for a car with less options than the MPV, and wouldn't bargain. Two years later my MIL got a loaded Odyssey for 8k under the sticker price because it was one of the last of the 'old style' designs. She paid 23k for an odyssey that has every option known to man. It was all in the timing.

I guess for me saving 10 k and giving up a bit of 'prestige' on the toyota and the honda was worth it-I just couldn't stomach an extra 10k on what were essentially the same vehicles!

Now, with the Caravans running at at least 5k less than that, we had originally gone that way but really learned our lesson-the master cylinder on the brakes failed at 12k miles, almost sending me into a wall, speed limiting sensor failed on the highway and threw me into first gear and nearly into a tractor trailer, and the entire steering column BROKE at 6k miles.

Ugh, in that case, it WASN'T a good deal.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

I think you can get decent deals on cars/vans right now! I would never consider paying the MSRP price, but have always thought somewhere near invoice, or not too much over, would be fine. I was just offered a deal on a 2006 Odyssey for $1000 below invoice. To me, that sounds pretty good, so I think we're going to go for it!!! I was so torn between the Sienna and the Odyssey, but for the 8 seat model, I'll be getting much more for my money with the Honda.

 

[kstinw19]

I have had a Honda Odyssey, a Pontiac Montana, and am waiting on my already purchased Toyota Sienna.

Honda - This was a really nice car but for me it had two cons:

1. no backup feature - don't know if the newer ones have it...I would never get a car without it again.

Too wide: I had so much trouble with it in tight parking spaces or parking garages. Just too wide for me.

Pontiac Montana - We really liked this car. It has the backup feature, which we really liked and had lots and lots of storage room. We could fit three car seats, store at least five pieces of luggage, and still have an extra empty seat in the 2nd row.

We really had no problems with it...just getting rid of it because we have beaten it up and the one con I have is that to take the seats in and out, it's really heavy.

Toyota Sienna: I will let you know when I get it. Ordered the Desert Mica Sand color and apparently that is the most popular color...one month wait on this one.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Our last two vans were Mazda MPVs which I loved. This time DH wanted to go with something new and we chose the Ford Freestar - I've only had it a few weeks but I like it. It came loaded. The kids favorite part is the built in dvd player!

 

[jrasmom]

I think you can get decent deals on cars/vans right now! I would never consider paying the MSRP price, but have always thought somewhere near invoice, or not too much over, would be fine. I was just offered a deal on a 2006 Odyssey for $1000 below invoice. To me, that sounds pretty good, so I think we're going to go for it!!! I was so torn between the Sienna and the Odyssey, but for the 8 seat model, I'll be getting much more for my money with the Honda.

I *meant* to say invoice price! having one of those days around here.....again! We paid a few hundred dollars above the invoice price NOT MSRP!

 

[ntburns22]

I have an Uplander. It is my first van. I really liked the style of it. I can't stand the look of the normal minivan. A big selling point for us was Onstar, we live a a rural area with no cell phone reception. It has come in handy several times. Our last adventure was a car spinning out infront of us and knocking down 2 light poles. I couldn't get through to 911 on our cells. Onstar saved a life. It had turned out the drivers sugar had dropped to 30.

Good luck

 

[kuusimo]

We have had an Odyssey for a little over a year. We test drove both and I really did not like the gear shift of the Sienna. My best friend got the Sienna and loves it. I think it is a personal preference. DH spent hours on the phone with different dealers and got the color, options and price we wanted.

Our Odyssey has a back-up cam (worth every penny!), DVD, Navigation and the 8th seat. We love it.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

We have an 06 T&C Limited. I love it. So far we haven't had any problem other than low gas milegae. But it only has 1300 miles and hasn;t been highway driven yet. It seats 7 and has a lot of trunk space, sto and go storage under the floor. This will be great when we drive to WDW. We have all the upgrades and the seats are very comfortable. I really love my T&C and hope it stays that way. Good luck!

 

[dancin Disney style]

We love our 2005 Odyssey.......and, unlike someone else said we did get a good price on it, actually right at the MSRP in fact.

And the dealer ordered the model we wanted in the color we wanted for us. Of course, not all dealerships work that way....we have a Honda dealership only 15-20 minutes away BUT we drove 65-70 miles away instead to save over $1100 from our local dealership price. We did everthing over the internet with this dealership.

I would definately buy another Odyssey!!

Hate to tell ya, MSRP is the maximum you will pay for a vehicle. You want to deal at invoice price. This is what the dealer pays to purchase the vehicle from the manufacturer.

Please just keep in mind that everyone needs to make a buck and all car dealers are not crooks.

 

[IwannaseeMickey]

Didn't read all the posts...we were set to buy the Honda in 2004 and at the last min. decided to give the new Sienna a try and LOVED it. Bought the Sienna the next day, leather w/ DVD. Best purchase we've ever made. Honda now has the same features that the Sienna has, but we preferred the driving and more plush feeling the Sienna had. Hitting 30K miles and am very happy for our purchase.

 

[dchance01]

First let me say that I WAS NEVER going to drive a minivan! Now, I have one, and will probably never drive anything else! HA! Like most people, we chose betweeh the Sienna and the Odessy. I really don't think you can go wrong either way. My friend has the Sienna, and we got the Odessy. My fav feature is the captain's chair in the second row slides over to the middle. I have a 7 month baby girl, and I love that her car seat can still be in the middle instead of on the side. I'd feel safe even if it didn't honestly, but I really like that feature!

 

[KristiKelly]

I haven't read all of the responses but you said that you had narrowed it down to the Odyssey or Sienna. We had done the same but we had a few personal factors that made us choose the Honda.

1 - We had owned a Toyota 4Runner a few years ago. Although we really like the car, we hated the service department at our local dealership. They were so rude and really treated you like they were doing you a favor buy changing your oil.

2 - The location. Our Toyota delearship is across town and the Honda delearship is within a few minutes of our house.

3 - We had heard great things about our local Honda's service.

As far as the vans themselves, we had no real preference but servicing and customer service sold us on the Honda. Just something to think about. Good luck!

 

[FSUGrad97]

I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna, and I LOVE IT!! I love the interior layout, and I think that it looks pretty sporty for a minivan.

In fact, I was very anti-minivan until I realized that when the new baby comes, I will have two carseats to deal with and lifting a 3 year old into an Explorer or Expedition was not going to be fun!

The ride is smooth, and I wish I had bought it before. SUV's are fine (I had an Explorer), but with soon to be 2 kids in car seats, I would only have 2 free seats. With my van (I have the 8 passenger LE model), I will still have 5 free seats.

I have nothing but good things to say about the Sienna!!

 

[JakeJoshMom]

Another vote for Honda Odyssey...we bought a used 2003 and love it so much. Even my DH loves it now.
My 2nd vote would be for the Toyota Sienna. In 2005 it beat the Honday Odyssey for the 1st time in Consumer Reports.

 

[2poohbears]

I test-drove the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna yesterday. Both are very nice and drive so smoothly (especially compared to my Jeep Liberty)! We didn't discuss price because I really just wanted to spend the day looking at them, driving them, and finding out about the features on each one. I really think I'm going to go with the Honda. I really hated the gear shift in the Toyota Sienna---it was like having to go through a maze just to get the thing into drive. I think that would annoy me over time. Also---I think the faux woodgrain trim (in the more expensive models) is unattractive. The only thing I wish the Odyssey had is the remote access to open the back door (only available on the Touring model and I don't want to buy the Touring). I can live without it though. I think we're going to get the EX-L Odyssey in Silver Pearl Metallic. It will probably be the end of July before we buy it.

DH is not thrilled at the thought of a minivan in the garage, but he'll just have to get over it---that macho stuff is so lame. I'll be the one driving it 95% of the time, anyway!

Edit to add: I remember reading somewhere that the best time to buy is the end of the month when the dealers are trying to sell a certain "quota"...more likely to get deals then. Something to keep in mind (I read this in Consumer Reports): 2007 Odyssey comes out in SEPT. If you're planning on keeping the minivan for 5 years or more, you might to better buying 2006 model since you'll get a good price now, but if you're planning to sell before 5 years, it might be better to wait a few months and get the 2007 since you'll already have a year of depreciation by buying a 2006.

 

[uhtimex]

I have a Mazda MPV. I love it. Make sur to get side doors that close by themselfs. I don't and sometimes my DD's have a hard time getting to close all the way.
Seats 7
3rd row stow and go
middle seats slides to center or next to door
avg gas milage about 20mpg I mix up city and highway alot.

Good luck

 

[trustknoone]

Just started looking at something new, currently have a GMC Savana full-size conversion and love it but we have beat the heck out of the poor thing.

Anybody have or looked at the Saturn Relay? Looks super nice from the pics.

Thanks

 

[webairs]

We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna. We LOVE IT!!!! It has over 50K miles on it and the only problem we've had in 3 years is a bad sensor. Our previous vehicle was a 2000 Chevy Venture and it was HUGE lemon, and Chevy refused to stand behind their product. We lost SO much money on that vehicle. Our van before that was a 1995 Ford Windstar, one of the biggest lemons known to the world

I would say go with a Sienna or an Odyssey....after having dealt with 2 lemons, reliability is a HUGE factor in choosing a vehicle IMHO.

I also had many problems with our 2000 Chevy Venture that Chevy refused to stand behind. I swore I would never buy another GM vehicle again, so I know own a Honda Odyssey and I LOVE IT!