Who has a mini van?

[KubotainNH]

If I was looking for a min-van I would consider the Flex. They don't seem to be extremely popular so resale may be low but we keep our vehicles a long time. They look extremely 'practical'.


TBS

Honda Pilot! Now there is a vehicle! We have a 2010 that will be seven years old in January, and the optional warranty that we purchased will run out at that time. Hardly used the warranty at all, but we can get another warranty extension if we want in January. So, we probably will, and maybe even drive it into the ground! Note, however, the huge change to the body style for the 2016 model year. They turned it from a lovely, roomy, square-shouldered critter into just another jellybean. Don't like the new body style at all.

But can you fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in it and have decent headroom? Eddie is looking to fit large dog crates in the back without removing any seats. Very specific needs that pretty much only the T&C accommodates.

 

[Garandman]

That's the dilemma: have seats in name only in the middle row, or have to manually remove them.

 

[ultrarunner]

We tend to have a lot of minivans visitors rent for their USA vacations.

My cousin put 2500 miles on a new Town and Country as really liked it... like liked the room and flat cargo area...

Sister in law just gave up on her 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring... she did not consider another Honda as hers with 130k miles was not problem free... there was a transmission issue and now she was looking at a huge bill to get the A/C working.

It wasn't that she didn't like the car it was she had owned Honda before and never had these issues come up...

 

[k0ua]

Guys I have rode in a lot worse seats than the second row seats in my Chrysler Town and Country. Are they as cushy as some of the other vans mentioned? I doubt it, but they are good enough. And they stow in the floor as flat as a pancake. Everything in life is a trade off.

 

[MossRoad]

One thing about stow and go seating.... after a couple years of owning it, you'll find another name for it:

I forgot I filled the stow and go hole with kid's stuff, blankets, grocery bags, oh, there's that bag of kitty litter, bowling ball from last season, etc....

 

[k0ua]

One thing about stow and go seating.... after a couple years of owning it, you'll find another name for it:

I forgot I filled the stow and go hole with kid's stuff, blankets, grocery bags, oh, there's that bag of kitty litter, bowling ball from last season, etc....

The second row of ours if filled with about 80 pounds of insurance forms. Good place to keep them. Clean, dry, and out of the way. The seat is in the 3rd row hole.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I am in the Sienna camp. The ride, comfort and power is amazing. We took it on vacation this year. We drove 4280 miles. I have zero complaints.The best vehicle we have ever owned. You really need to drive one before you decide.The LE model is the best buy. I have a hard time believing that you will find the Mopar vans as reliable. The Honda is solid, but has less power and seemed to cost more when we last shopped.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm not 100% sold on the Chrysler, but since we do not have kids, seating comfort isn't much of a concern for us. Having the ability to have the second row seating there for short trips to the restaurant with fiends is the only time they will be used. We are more torn between buying brand new, and a new model year that just came out, the Pacifica, or going with the previous model, the Town and Country. The transmissions for the Pacifica is a 9 speed, and for the Town and Country, it's a 6 speed. There are some other cosmetic changes, and a lot of new technology on the Pacifica, but overall, I'm not seeing much of a difference between them. From everything I've always heard, you should never buy the first model year of any vehicle. That is also causing me to think of either a new 2016 Town and Country, or one with a few miles on it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Will you still be able to stay in your budget?

Are you adding to the fleet or will the new vehicle replace existing?

We have had the best luck with Toyota overall...

One thing about having a minivan is you will be taking friends and family more often since everyone can fit...

Also elderly seem to like the seating of a minivan and this has come in handy when I help out taking family/neighbors to their Doctor Appointments.

Never been a big fan of first year and many of my arbitration cases involved first year model launches.

A small van is very handy... the Odyssey has even brought home hay bails in a pinch... with an old tarp spread out first.

 

[HHR]

I'm not 100% sold on the Chrysler, but since we do not have kids, seating comfort isn't much of a concern for us. Having the ability to have the second row seating there for short trips to the restaurant with fiends is the only time they will be used. We are more torn between buying brand new, and a new model year that just came out, the Pacifica, or going with the previous model, the Town and Country. The transmissions for the Pacifica is a 9 speed, and for the Town and Country, it's a 6 speed. There are some other cosmetic changes, and a lot of new technology on the Pacifica, but overall, I'm not seeing much of a difference between them. From everything I've always heard, you should never buy the first model year of any vehicle. That is also causing me to think of either a new 2016 Town and Country, or one with a few miles on it.

If you end up buying a Pacifica, make sure it was built on September 1st or later. The 40,000 they built before that date had an issue with the door coming off in a small offset crash test.

217 Chrysler Pacifica IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Rating - Consumer Reports

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks, that's a good reminder why to avoid the first year of a new model.

 

[EddieWalker]

Will you still be able to stay in your budget?

Are you adding to the fleet or will the new vehicle replace existing?

We have had the best luck with Toyota overall...

One thing about having a minivan is you will be taking friends and family more often since everyone can fit...

Also elderly seem to like the seating of a minivan and this has come in handy when I help out taking family/neighbors to their Doctor Appointments.

Never been a big fan of first year and many of my arbitration cases involved first year model launches.

A small van is very handy... the Odyssey has even brought home hay bails in a pinch... with an old tarp spread out first.

This will replace Karen's Toyota Corolla, which only has 80,000 miles on it. She only drives to work with it and she has been great about maintenance. It's been a great car, but it's just too small for what she needs now. Instead of trading it in, or dealing with selling it ourselves, we are going to give/sort of sell it to her son and his wife. They just had a baby a few months ago and need something like this. We told them they could have it for what we would get from the dealer on a trade in, which is low blue book. Then pay us what they can, when they can, which is probably nothing for a very long time, if ever.

From just reading the reviews, Honda seems like a better van then Toyota, but it's probably splitting hairs. In some reviews, they put the Chrysler ahead of the Toyota, but I also think they where splitting hairs and not taking into account the long history of what Toyota has done and elevated some of the features Chrysler is offering.

Karen has been able to fit two square bales in the back seat of her Corolla!!!

 

[Garandman]

We like the styling of the Toyota better than Honda, liked the reclining seats power was about the same, steering was typically Toyota numb but adequate.

What stopped us was firs that while the have an AWD model, it doesn't have a spare tire so you have to use run-flats. They're horrible. More importantly for us, at the time while Toyota advertised they were "tow ready" and rated for $3,500 lbs, they don't sell a trailer hitch! You had to buy an aftermarket product that fit under the bumper.

Honda has the trailer package (hitch, wiring, and transmission cooler) and roof rails available as a dealer-installed option. It is much better integrated to the rear bumper and doesn't drag.

We added air springs, which is great to keep it level when really loaded. We keep 5-10psi in them all the time, 25 if we are loaded.

 

[newbury]

I was sorry Ford quit making a mini-van. We bought a 2001 Windstar from CarMax the day after Christmas, 2002. It had 27k miles on it when we bought it. And my wife mistakenly thought she'd rather have a sedan again and we traded off that Windstar in January 2009. It only had 101k miles on it, and while mileage varied, as they all do, overall it got 19.555 mpg while we had it, and was still in great condition. I've driven a friend's Honda several times, and if I were going to buy a mini-van again, that's the one I'd want (if I could afford it).

Ford makes a mini-van - Transit Connect

You might also look at the Ford Transit Connect. It's available as a van, with seats and windows, but is practical and doesn't cost as much as the bigger models.

And I guess you could throw in the Mercedes Metris, though dealers are sparse.

Yes, I'm about to buy a Transit Connect because VW is taking my Jetta Sportwagen Diesel.

Its the Routan. Just imagine Chrustler build quality (or the lack thereof) paired with VW's German complexity...
I might second looking at the passenger version of the Transit Connect. I have heard good things about them.


Aaron Z

Or go whole hog, and look at a Transit 350HD.
Get a diesel dually!

 

[ultrarunner]

People either love the run flats or not... can't seem to find a middle ground.

Some liked them until they were directed to the Dealer for replacement... at least it was this way a few years back.

Can't really go wrong with a Toyota Corolla... we now have two S models... the 2001 with 72k miles that was stolen and recovered and the 2011 with 31k miles that was bought prior to the 2001 recovery.

With a care that car should provide many years of economical service... it's nice when you can help out family and they appreciate it... what year/trim?

 

[newbury]

People either love the run flats or not... can't seem to find a middle ground.

Some liked them until they were directed to the Dealer for replacement... at least it was this way a few years back.

Can't really go wrong with a Toyota Corolla... we now have two S models... the 2001 with 72k miles that was stolen and recovered and the 2011 with 31k miles that was bought prior to the 2001 recovery.

With a care that car should provide many years of economical service... it's nice when you can help out family and they appreciate it... what year/trim?

?????
We were talking mini-vans.

 

[ultrarunner]

?????
We were talking mini-vans.

The run flats came standard on the top of the line Honda Odyssey Touring... my sister in law had the first model with them and it was a chore/expensive with the Dealer being the only source when it came time for new tires.

Eddie mentioned Karen currently drives a 80,000 mile Corolla that they will not be keeping but have offered to her daughter's family with the newborn...

Going from a Corolla to a minivan is quite a leap... even if the Corolla has hauled hay bales...

My thought is how nice to be able to help out the kids who are short on resources and since she has had a good Toyota experience with her Corolla... maybe the Toyota Mini would be a good fit... staying in the same family or automobiles, dealers etc...

 

[MossRoad]

If it matters to anyone, the Toyota is rated the most American built out of them all. The Honda is right behind it. The Mopars didn't make the top 10.

From here:
Japan's Toyota has the most made-in-the USA car: Camry

Here's the list:

Rank Make/Model U.S. Assembly Location 2015 Rank
1 Toyota Camry Georgetown, Ky., or Lafayette, Ind. 1
2 Honda Accord Marysville, Ohio –
3 Toyota Sienna Princeton, Ind. 2
4 Honda Odyssey Lincoln, Ala. 4
5 Honda Pilot Lincoln, Ala. –
6 Chevrolet Traverse Lansing, Mich. 3
7 GMC Acadia Lansing, Mich. 5
8 Buick Enclave Lansing, Mich. 6

I know that doesn't matter to a lot of folks, but its interesting that they beat out the American companies for "most American". :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Eddie,

I can't stress enough that you should try and test-drive all of your considerations at highway speeds for some time to make sure you two are comfortable in the seats. I really like everything about my in-law's Toyota (as I mentioned, its about 10 years old now), with the exceptions of the driver's seat and tilt wheel!!! The seat won't go low enough, back far enough, and the tilt wheel won't go high enough to be of use for me. I'm 6' tall, 200ish pounds. Its enough to grate on me after several hours.

So I'd recommend renting them to go on a couple trips before purchasing. Lately, once you figure in everything, its about break even to rent a car for a trip VS putting the miles on your own vehicle, and its a really good way to see how you like a vehicle without committing to it. Just last month, we had a car usage conflict and my wife rented a Nissan Altima for dirt cheap for 4 days. So she critiqued it while she had it. She liked it. It might end up being our next car!

 

[ultrarunner]

There was a time when I knew people that would only buy USA and maybe Canada.

A lot of them changed when GM/Toyota joint ventured in building GM and Toyota vehicles on the same line at the NUMMI plant in Fremont CA... of course this is no more and the plant now builds Tesla.