Minivans... - spinoff from M2A's post

kimberley wrote: thanks Dee Dee for posting that. we have to get a vehicle this weekend and are still completely torn on what to get.

i think for practical reasons, i am leaning towards a... *gulp*... minivan
anyone have recommendations? we are buying used, prolly around 2002, 2003.
there is a grand caravan SE AWD with all the options. seems okay, not too many recalls. will test drive on weekend. been driving FIL's pontiac montana and don't like it much and it is brand new. it is really light, skids in rain, sways in wind, squeals around corners at 40km/h and there is not enough room between the front and second row buckets and no cargo once the third row is in.

we also looked at a trailblazer we looooved but it just seems impractical.. more so after reading the other thread with the added costs in maintenance, fuel and insurance.

so, is the grand caravan my best option in the lower priced minivans? any suggestions and opinions appreciated.

redchief replied: According to Edmunds, among the safest of the 2002 and 2003 minivans was the Honda Odyssey.

ETA: A close friend of ours has a 2002 Odyssey and it's spacious and comfortable, and I'm not a big fan of minivans.

CantWait replied: Are you buying brand new? If so I suggest the Hyundai minivan, it's absolutely huge and a smooth ride. I don't know anything else about it. Hyundai is a cheap company so the payments probably wouldn't be as much as other mini vans. Happy hunting.

luvmykids replied: When I got rid of the Excursion it seems like I drove them all... I don't remember specifics about many of them but I did really like the Caravan and the Odyssey both.

Brias3 replied: I'd say Odyssey and Sienna from what I have seen. Best features IMO.

coasterqueen replied: I have a 2002 (I think it's a 2002, lol) Chrysler T&C and I believe it's the 'step-up' from the Dodge Caravan. I absolutely LOVE LOVE my T&C. I would have loved the Honda mentioned in the previous post but it was even more than our T&C and it was well over $30,000 when we got it. Ours is fully loaded, though, which is part of the reason I love it.

My SIL has always stuck to the Dodge Caravan and she loves it. I always found it odd that she went with the Caravan since money is no problem at all for them, always thought they would go with the Honda, but they are Caravan fans.

I, personally, would go with the minivan over the trailblazer. My boss had one, one of the newer looking models (maybe was around the same year as my van or a year newer) and we both hated that thing...so did his wife. He quickly got rid of that thing. It was very impractical IMO with 2 kids, much less even more kids.

GL with your purchase.

J-rod replied:
did you get the gas or diesal excursion. i like the diesel just hink the excursion might be too big...but the explorer too small, dont like the expedition much. and jeep doesnt make anything big enough for people with 2 kids in car seats.

kit_kats_mom replied: I really like my caravan, we got it used but it's a 2005. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the sienna or odessy but IMO if money is an issue, bells and whistles just break and cost more to repair. Before we got the Caravan, we'd bought a used Nissan Quest from a friend. It was an emergency situation to get out of the Civic that I had been driving. The quest was a 1996 but it drove well and didn't give us many problems even though it had tons of miles on it. I'd probably go with a newer caravan if I were you. The payments should be reasonable.

C&K*s Mommie replied: We have driven a rental Grand Caravan, and loved it! It insprired me to want one enough, although Chris is set on getting the Sonata or anything but a minivan.

I love the look of the Odyssey, and the Quest. I think they look different enough but are still functional for a family.

Chris (who used to work for a Hyundai dealership) tried to impress me with the Hyundai van, I still am not so sure what sets it apart from the rest of the minivans. He said it was different, but I could not tell much.

For me I love the Quest or Odyssey overall.

MommyToAshley replied: I have never driven one, but when I was researching minivans, I discovered that the Dodge Caravan is the #1 selling minivan. I didn't do a lot of research though because I think DH is set on a SUV. I have a friend that has a Sienna, and I LOVE it... but not sure of the cost. Again, stopped doing research on minivans.... we're trading in DH's car (not mine) so it looks like we are gonig the SUV route.

Happy minivan shopping!

moped replied: I have a Trailblazer and it is great for just 3, but not practical for your larger family for sure...........how fun to get a new vehicle!

kimberley replied: just to clarify, the trailblazer we were looking at was a 7 seater and was quite spacious. we had half the kids with us and it seemed just fine for room with carseats.

Cary, the price of cars here is stupid. i am looking at paying about $17,000 for 2002/2003 with 80,000km on it . unless we lease, which we prolly could barely afford a car lease let alone a van/truck, there is no way we could afford a newer model. the odyssey and sienna are wayyyyyy more than that too.

for me, i think it is between the odyssey and the grand caravan but dh is still dead set against a minivan. he was looking at the chrysler pacifica and still really likes the trailblazer. i hate shopping.

J-rod replied:
see i dont care much for chevy (ford guy) but those are nice.... how would the room be with say a 2 yr old and newborn both in carseats?

Mama-Sandy replied: We have a 97 Grand Caravan and love it. We regularly tote 4-5 adults and 2 kids in it (we have the model with the two captains chairs in the second row). The one thing we absolutely adore is that we have dual sliding doors, one on each side. It a must. We looked at an Odyssey but they weren't any used ones available. Ours was the only G-Caravan we found used. You have to think that tells you something. The only thing we are thinking of trading up for are those lovely drop down into the floor seating, althought with the captains chairs I can move those alone if needed. We haven't had any major problems with the car, but we bought it with 50,000 miles. The only think I did think was outrageous was the price of spark plug maintenance, it was around $400.00 to change out the spark plugs and give the van a tune up. I have been told it is because of where everything sits on the engine. But from what I understand that it all mini-vans and suv's.
Good Luck!

Kaitlin'smom replied: I have an 05 Saturn Relay, its a mini van that looks more like an SUV. The oldest ones are 05 so probaly a bit out of reach for you but I love it. My sister had a T&C but not fully loaded its nice but I like mine better. However like I said in the other thread if I were shopping I woudl highly consider the pacifica, seats 7, its and SUV that feels like a in a way a mini van.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Not to be a downer here , because this is just my opinion. We drove a Pacifica (also a rental) and immediately I despised it. Only because there is a LARGE blind spot where the rear window meets the side windows. It is a part of the vehicle where the roof comes down to meet the hatch. Anyhow that part of the car was right in the way of having a clear view over either shoulder, fortunately I did not get into any accidents while driving.

J-rod replied: if you like the pacifica...look into the ford freestyle. it beat the pacifica in all tests...and since they only made them in 05 and 06 they be down in price.


if you live close to the US border maybe import one cheaper? even with taxes? i know some guys buy their cars here and with taxes still save money.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
We have a Plymouth Vouyeger SC and I love it. It hasn't given us any problems really and it's so nice to have the room. I thought I'd never own one either, until I realized how practical they are. Welcome to the club of owning a loser cruiser!

Maddie&EthansMom replied: IMO, the Grand Caravan is a fine minivan for the cost.

If you wanted to spend more, I would always suggest a Honda or Toyota. They cannot be beat.

Minivans are really the best vehicle for families. They are most accomodating. I say this, but I don't drive one. I drive an SUV and probably always will unless I get the Saab convertible that I want.

I hope you find the perfect one. Lots of luck.

mommyofpremitwins replied: I love my minivan and wouldn't trade it for anything. My husband even likes driving it more than his newer truck. He says it is one of the nicest driving vehicles that he has had.

We bought ours a year or two before the STOW AND GO and we are thinking of trading in ours for a newer model with stow and go.

Superdork replied: So what about a Ford Windstar? That's what we're going to get first chance. We are also not in a position to buy new.
My sister's family had one years ago, then upgraded to a new one in 2003. They're both really good. The one she has now is ideal to me, and they're cheaper than others, yet reliable--they drove theirs to Massachussets and back, then to Tennessee and back for summer vacations.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I know two people with a Ford Windstar and both of them have MANY problems with them. They are always in the shop with something.