It's about time to graduate to a bigger car...since our three kids are crammed in the backseat!! And I would like to be able to carpool more next year.
What mini-van do you recommend? What features are important? Are there any models you dislike? Do we buy used or new? What is the best way to research them? Any advice would be appreciated!!
Don't let this post stop you from seeing the ones below... ;)
We're not close to needing a mini-van yet but I have a few thoughts anyway! My parents had a Ford Windstar growing up and I hated that thing. It always seemed to have weird lights coming up! Then again - mini-vans have come a long way in just the last 10 years.
ReplyDeleteThe one I always hear raves about is the Honda Odyessy. I think I butchered that spelling. All my friends that have one of those love it!
I'm told sliding doors on each side of the mini-van and a built in dvd player are must haves.
Good luck!
Hey Miss Julie! I love your cute blog and cute family. Its been so long since I've seen ya...like since high school! :) I want to weigh in on the mini van...we just bought a 2005 Honda Odyssey and I LOVE it. We got a really nice touring edition because we bought used. The power sliding doors and power lift tail gate are MUSTS. You can alsway put a DVD player in afterwards or buy some that mount to the back of the seats (thats what we did). Its the safest car out there. The Honda and Toyota Sienna are the top two minivans to have. Hope that helps!!
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteWe LOVE our Toyota Sienna. You get get them used for a great price which is what we did. The best place to look that we found was in the Portland/Vancouver area...we still aren't sure why but it was. The Sienna from 1999 and after are rated really high. Of course the Honda Odessy is a great van also but more expensive because it is not as old.
Good luck with that it is always such a big and expensive decision.
Love,
Kim C
Don't get a Chevy Astro van. Actually, I am not a big fan of Chevy or Ford as we are a low maintenance type of family. I agree with Kim, Toyota Sienna is a good car. Honda Odyssey are good also, but that are a bit more expensive.
ReplyDeletei think that dual sliding doors are a must! i would think twice about putting in a dvd player-it might be nice not to have another thing to fight over with the kids if you don't want them watching it all the time. catherine has a hyundai-they are cheap and cute as far as minivans go.
ReplyDeleteWe do NOT like our Dodge Caravan. Just not the best. Dodge makes great trucks, but they're just not that good at making minivans. Heard good things about the Honda and Toyota minivans. Good luck!
ReplyDeletep.s. How do you know Lachelle? She and I grew up in the same ward, and I even babysat her and her brothers a couple of times. Small world!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't have one yet but I have friends/family who do....they both, in the last 6 months, purchased a Toyota Sienna. They love them! Plus I am biased to foreign cars. The sliding doors, tons of storage in the back, seats 8 instead of only 7. Both families just take out the back row and have extra storage (under the carriage and behind the seats). They love it!
ReplyDeleteWe drive a 2000 Toyota Sienna that we bought off Craig's list in Portland. Must have's, double sliding van doors with remote entry. (This lets you open the van doors so your kids that can walk and buckle themselves in and climb in while you load the younger ones) A DVD system is nice if you plan on traveling. A 60-40 split bench in the back is also nice for transporting things other than kids. Leather seats are worth the money. Kids puke, and make huge messes in cars, and leather cleans up a lot eaiser than cloth and the smell isn't there either. Everything else is just nice options.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had any luck with Dodges. They aren't really reliable. Our next one (hopefully soon) will be a Toyota Sienna. As far as features go... LEATHER!!! I never thought I would want leather in a car, but it cleans up 100 times easier (plus it usually comes with heated seats which is really nice on the back). Dual sliding doors make life easier. Rear air is a total must when you have kids spread out through the car. And tinted windows help keep the sun out of the kids eyes and keeps them from roasting too much. Also, fold and go seats are nice so you don't have to take your rear seats out. I would get one that is a year or two old. And craig's list is a great place to look and compare prices and features!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie!! Thoughts on a minivans - I think that having a door on each side of the back is a must (most have this feature - you'd think all, but no). Personally, I'd love to have the doors that slide open and closed with a button. Personally, I like the middle to have captain's chairs, but some people prefer a bench. And, a friend of mine was in a terrible crash with her Honda Odyssey and it handled so well in the crash. She swears she will never buy another kind of minivan. Have fun looking around! :o)
ReplyDeleteOk, so the vans mentioned above are really good. Do NOT buy a Dodge...total pieces of hud and I don't know anyone who has owned one that it hasn't completely fried out and cost a TON of money to replace. My brother and sister in law bought a Nissan Qwest about a year ago. Apparently Nissan made this particular model which people didn't like that much because of the way the dashboard was set up. Basically the odometer is in the middle of the dash instead of right in front of the driver. The van is AWESOME though and they got it completely loaded for only 17,000 BRAND NEW. Crazy! We have ridden in it several times and LOVE it. It is only that one year's model that you can get for such a good deal though because they changed it after that, but if you research you can find some I'm sure! I wish we could afford a bigger car right now too...we're in the same boat! But we just aren't in that place yet. I guess I'll have to live vicariously through you! Can't wait to see what you decide on! (oh, and just so you know, the insurance on foreign cars is a lot more than a domestic...from someone who used to do insurance!)
ReplyDeleteHi! We have a Chevy Venture. And we really like it. It seats 8 which is nice, but all of the seats can come out individually. so you can get in and out easier. One funny thing is that only one sliding door opens automatically. But we really like it, it is comfortable and fits our needs! Good luck!
ReplyDeletecall me and I'll give you the low-down since we just did TONS of intensive research on this last year. basically, it came down to the sienna and odyssey for us as it does for many people who want quality. depending on the options you want, one or the other can be cheaper. knowing we wanted the optional eighth seat AND the DVD player, the Odyssey EX-L w/DVD trim package was cheaper than the comparable stuff in the Sienna. of course, we bought a 2007, so you will be probably looking at a 2008 or 2009, so I know things have changed. websites to look at: www.edmunds.com, www.honda.com, www.motortrend.com, and most importantly, www.fightingchance.com. i HIGHLY recommend buying this packet. it costs $30, but I gotta tell you, you'll pay it back exponentially in how much you save. we ended up getting our BRAND NEW ody for $30691 which was at least $3k under MSRP... call me and we'll talk shop... :)
ReplyDeleteJULES.
ReplyDeleteyou've heard my take, but i'll voice it again. i absolutely love the toyota sienna and the kia sedona. both are great. i would unrecommend the chevy uplander and any ford (that goes w/o saying). we don't have any hondas in our fleet, so i can't compare them to the sienna or sedona. just stay away from the dodge caravan-- they are overrated and NOT made for short people. i promise.
love you!!! see you sooN!
la
p.s. i just read the other comments, and i'd have to say-- i drive most of these vans everyday, and you have smart friends with good taste. i will put a shout out for the KIA SEDONA!!! let me know if you wanna get one through enterprise-- i can get you the family discount. love you
ReplyDelete