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Originally Posted by kcook323  We just recently got a Toyota Sienna. My dh was DEFINITELY not a mini van person. He rode in a friends van and he was so impressed with it, we went and looked at them together and ended up going on home with one. I personally had been lusting after the GMC Acadia. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Sienna. Now, keep in mind, I was coming out of a Nissan Altima that had many miles on it, riding around three growing kids and a grandma. We always had to take two vehicles to church. Now we can all ride together and carry Maximus with us!  |
That's what happened - we rode in a friend's Sienna a while back and my husband really liked it. (Of course, I think he liked all of the TECH toys - nav, dvd, ipod jack) I just thought it was OK, but I'm comfortable in many cars. But my husband is a big guy and part of the reason we only have 1 car right now is because he truly does not feel comfortable in most cars. He's tall and if he feels like his knees hit the new wrap around consoles or the center console he will immediately get out and say no way. Every time my car breaks we typically go car shopping while it's being fixed and we never find what we want. We checked out a used lot that had 13 different makes/models of SUV's, everything from the BMW to Hyundai and nothing really worked.
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Originally Posted by TatumsMom Have you tried a Suburban? You could do the bucket seats for the 2nd row - that makes it easier to get to the 3rd row back seats. Just a thought. |
Yeah his dad had a Suburban and it is comfortable, but GM is going to have to do an awful lot of "restructuring" before I will ever consider buying another GM car. I have had nothing but problems with my Pontiac. GM put bad/underpowered hydrolics on my back hatch so it doesn't open if the weather is below 40 degrees. I've called all the way up to the top and they refuse to do anything or even acknowledge a problem. Everything from my seat heater, sun roof, etc. broke in the first year. It wasn't so much that it happened but their attitude about it. Last summer I had it towed 3 times and it has likes 80,000 miles on it. Apparently, GM used an inferior seal on the 2003 models (and some others). The seals are incompatible with the coolant, failing at about 75,000 miles and costing $3000 in repairs. Sadly, when this happened the first time I asked them to make sure they got ALL of the seals since it's the labor you pay for because they have to take the engine out but the seals are like $5. Anyway, they didn't, so 2 weeks later I was back with a 2nd repair. The dealer acted like they would help us out (with the cost, since it was in NO WAY our fault and a common known issue and should be a recall) but they were jerks when we picked up the car. After months on the phone for GM they reimbursed us for a VERY small portion of it. I'm still paying for the repairs. Oh and then I had a random issue where my ignition just broke. No warning, it just wouldn't allow me to put the key in one day and I had to pay for a tow to a locksmith and a $200 new ignition tumbler whatever. So yeah, GM is not an option for me and it has nothing to do with gas milage!
My mom had a Pontiac mini van that she took great care of, and it lasted 10 years and nearly 200,000 miles but nothing worked on it and it barely made it to the dealer's lot to trade for something new. It looked new but it was falling apart. I know of people (like carmengamble) who get double that with Toyotas. I can't afford to spend another $30,000 on a crappy car to be patriotic. I already did that and look what I got! 5 years later my car is worth $4000. Talk about disposable
So yeah, we really want to make the right decision this time! Plus I think we will look for one about 2 years old so I don't want it to break the second it gets out of a 3 year warranty
I looked at the Highlander and all of the Toyota SUVs but my husband doesn't like them (too narrow) and the back seats are inaccessible IMO. Fine for small kids in a car pool situation, but I wouldn't want to climb back there to put dogs in car seats.
I love the idea of the fold flat back seat. My Aztek is actually on a mini van chassis but it has SUV doors and no 3rd seat, so I have a HUGE cargo space. (when I can open the hatch!) I can fit 6 of those HUGE plastic bins back there and 3 more in the back seat. I can fit my dog stroller, big crate, and multiple suitcases back there and a cooler. I might need the cargo space more than I need the 3rd seat, but it would also be nice to leave the dog seats in the way back so that I don't have to remove then when people ride with us. We do have the camping option too but we've only ever used it at the Drive-in Movie Theater to avoid mosquitoes (The Aztek has a tent that attaches to the back of it - yes I bought a car for a $200 tent package. And I don't camp. It was also the car in Dark Angel! Yes I'm doing my research first this time!
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