So tell me about mini vans...

[RowdysMom]

My daughter just broke down and bought a mini-van, the Honda Oddessy which is basically the same as the Toyota Sienna. She's 31 and said, only a couple of years ago, she would never drive a mini-van. She has a 12 year old daughter, which means she always has an extra girl with her, and a two year old in a carseat. She had an Expidition which she loved, but getting a growing two year old into and out of the carseat (because the Exp sits up so high) is what pushed her over the edge. And also getting to the 3rd row seats was a pain for whomever had to ride back there. My mom also lives with my daughter, and she is 86 years old and it was getting harder for her to get in and out of the Expidition since it is so high.

The mini-van has all the bells and whistles, dvd, navigation system, backup cameras, sunroof, i-pod jack, heck, she can use her cellphone through the car for hands free calling. It even has a pronged plug-in like a house plug in so hubby can plug in and use his laptop while she is driving and not run the laptop battery down.

The second row is bucket seats and the console between them is removeable so to get to the 3rd row of seats, you just walk between the bucket seats, a breeze! The 12 year old and her friends who ride back there love it!!! Also, there's plenty of room for things behind the 3rd row.

The same thing happened to my daughter, she rode with a friend of hers who had a Honda Oddessy and she loved it. So, she got one too and even though it is a mini-van, she absolutely adores it! It was not all that expensive either, especially for all the options it has.

[carmengamble]

Originally Posted by Erin

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.



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! )

Wow, Erin! I just sold my 2001 Aztek last year! It totally crapped out on me so bad! First, the heated seats stopped working, I could blow harder than the heater would blow out heat, so in -20 celcius weather it took forever to warm up! The back hatch was starting to go just like yours, Also the same thing with yours, the head gasget for the coolant (seal) was totally screwed up and therefore leaked coolant into my oil making it all murky..and probably would have blown the engine in a years time. The engine made a really bad knocking/ticking noise when it was cold also! I always changed the oil and maintained it as well! It only had 80,000 miles! Ridiculous!

I sold it in Feb 2008 and got $7,000 for it. I paid $15,000. I will NEVER in my life purchase a GM vehicle again. I don't know why more people don't realize the crap this company puts out. Sure you may not have problems with your brand new 2009 Acadia or whatever you choose, but when you go to sell it..you will be lucky if you get even half of what you paid for! My parents learned this as well when they purchased a brand new Grand Prix (in 2003..so a while back) They sold it in 2 years with only 50,000 KM on it (30,000miles) and got less than half of what they paid for it originally.

I really miss my Aztek still, a lot of people think it's one of the ugliest vehilces but I think it's so cool! My fiance and I used it to go camping a lot in the summers and the inside of it was just gorgeous! I had the loaded, leather bucket seats..sunroof. I miss the space a lot since now I just have a small '08 Mitusbushi Lancer . But I guess that is why we use the Toyota van when we need the space!

I would definitely go for a Toyota Sienna, when I have children that is what I will be getting! My fiance will always have a sporty car, so we will use that when we want to be "cool" haha! I think practicality rules over being cool most times anyway...at least it should!

[Erin]

Originally Posted by carmengamble

Wow, Erin! I just sold my 2001 Aztek last year! It totally crapped out on me so bad! First, the heated seats stopped working, I could blow harder than the heater would blow out heat, so in -20 celcius weather it took forever to warm up! The back hatch was starting to go just like yours, Also the same thing with yours, the head gasget for the coolant (seal) was totally screwed up and therefore leaked coolant into my oil making it all murky..and probably would have blown the engine in a years time. The engine made a really bad knocking/ticking noise when it was cold also! I always changed the oil and maintained it as well! It only had 80,000 miles! Ridiculous!

I sold it in Feb 2008 and got $7,000 for it. I paid $15,000. I will NEVER in my life purchase a GM vehicle again. I don't know why more people don't realize the crap this company puts out. Sure you may not have problems with your brand new 2009 Acadia or whatever you choose, but when you go to sell it..you will be lucky if you get even half of what you paid for! My parents learned this as well when they purchased a brand new Grand Prix (in 2003..so a while back) They sold it in 2 years with only 50,000 KM on it (30,000miles) and got less than half of what they paid for it originally.

I really miss my Aztek still, a lot of people think it's one of the ugliest vehilces but I think it's so cool! My fiance and I used it to go camping a lot in the summers and the inside of it was just gorgeous! I had the loaded, leather bucket seats..sunroof. I miss the space a lot since now I just have a small '08 Mitusbushi Lancer . But I guess that is why we use the Toyota van when we need the space!

I would definitely go for a Toyota Sienna, when I have children that is what I will be getting! My fiance will always have a sporty car, so we will use that when we want to be "cool" haha! I think practicality rules over being cool most times anyway...at least it should!

LOL I don't know why it's funny... i guess misery loves company. Mine is loaded too and we'll probably just keep it until it dies completely. It's comfy and very driveable (except I need shocks I'm NOT willing to spend money on...) but yeah it sounds like you had all the same problems! They just refuse to stand behind it. They scrapped the model because it didn't sell, but I think it's because they don't want to support it! We also had a Grand Prix with the same experience!

I'm looking at the Siennas now. I'm sure that's what we will get but they are expensive!. I just have 2 problems. My husband also wants a Camry Solara and I'm trying to convince him you can't put a baby in the back. He says they don't roll, but I meant the WIND! And so if you keep the top up then what, you have a 2 door sedan? Heehee. It's OK, we can't afford it anyway so I'll let him keep dreaming The other problem is that he wants the loaded Sienna with all the tech toys and they are like $40K. I checked CarMax but the used ones don't have the toys. I assume if people buy all the extras they keep the car for a while.... Oh well. I'm sure we will find something!

Thanks for all of your help! I will still feel like a dork driving it (I'm only 27!), but I suppose it's the most practical thing. And those power doors would be a welcome change from my stupid broken hatch.

PS - carmengamble you had a 2001 - in 2003ish they added the spoiler on the back. It added weight to the hatch and they didn't increase the power. So in the winter I have to work against the frozen hydrolics to open it (which I ended up seriously hurting my arm doing, so I don't even try) and in the summer they don't have enough power to hold it up so it just falls back on my head. It's like they didn't even test it! We've had problems from the first winter we owned the stupid thing.

[PiePiper]

I drove a mini van for too many years to count. We have a Dodge Caravan that I bought when my son was in Kindergarten. He is now 24 and we still own it. It's great for picking up the crap that you could never fit in a sedan. As the mother of 4 grown children I vowed never to buy a mini van again. My kids always said that they would never own a mini van and my 35 year old daughter just bought a Chrysler Town & Country for her growing family. Never say never.

[chelop555]

I have a Kia Sedona and I have had had a Toyota Sienna. I like them both. I have had the Kia for 3 years with almost no maint. I did the brakes once and oil changes. I love having a mini van for the kids, stuff, the dogs, more stuff, the friends, more stuff and the family members!

[tsurc]

Originally Posted by PiePiper

I drove a mini van for too many years to count. We have a Dodge Caravan that I bought when my son was in Kindergarten. He is now 24 and we still own it. It's great for picking up the crap that you could never fit in a sedan. As the mother of 4 grown children I vowed never to buy a mini van again. My kids always said that they would never own a mini van and my 35 year old daughter just bought a Chrysler Town & Country for her growing family. Never say never.

So true! I always said I would never drive a mini-van...I always owned coupes, with my last being a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Those kinds of cars are just not practical once you start a family...at some point, the coolness (vain)factor is no longer important and practicality should take over.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by tsurc

So true! I always said I would never drive a mini-van...I always owned coupes, with my last being a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Those kinds of cars are just not practical once you start a family...at some point, the coolness (vain)factor is no longer important and practicality should take over.

Yes, the practicality SHOULD take over but there are those of us that still fight it! My problem in trying to make myself downsize to a car (for gas mileage reasons) was that I have found myself every few months actually herding cattle out of the road and back in to our pasture or my husband's grandma's pasture using my Tahoe. We have a big truck and we have a Gator but these things usually happen when I'm in the Tahoe and see them out. I definitely couldn't do that with a car (or a mini-van most likely).

[tsurc]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Yes, the practicality SHOULD take over but there are those of us that still fight it! My problem in trying to make myself downsize to a car (for gas mileage reasons) was that I have found myself every few months actually herding cattle out of the road and back in to our pasture or my husband's grandma's pasture using my Tahoe. We have a big truck and we have a Gator but these things usually happen when I'm in the Tahoe and see them out. I definitely couldn't do that with a car (or a mini-van most likely).

I was talking about those refusing to give up their cool cars...not necessarily anyone posting here. I have had "Friends" that would rather deal with the trouble of getting their babies in and out of the backseat of their Camaros, Eclipses, Mustangs, etc than to just bite the bullet and go with something that would be more comfortable for them and their children...whether that be a mini-van, a 4-door car or an SUV. I just don't get that...

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by tsurc

I was talking about those refusing to give up their cool cars...not necessarily anyone posting here. I have had "Friends" that would rather deal with the trouble of getting their babies in and out of the backseat of their Camaros, Eclipses, Mustangs, etc than to just bite the bullet and go with something that would be more comfortable for them and their children...whether that be a mini-van, a 4-door car or an SUV. I just don't get that...

I know.... I was just kidding. If I had to switch from my SUV, I probably could but it's hard once you have that mindset.

[Yorkiedaze]

If I ever bought a Mini Van, it would be a Toyota. My son has one and he sits in it with room to spare and he's 6' 2". Theyve had it for a few years with no problems at all. We use to buy only Honda's now we buy Toyota's, untill we got the Lexus, but I think it's the same.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Yes, the practicality SHOULD take over but there are those of us that still fight it! My problem in trying to make myself downsize to a car (for gas mileage reasons) was that I have found myself every few months actually herding cattle out of the road and back in to our pasture or my husband's grandma's pasture using my Tahoe. We have a big truck and we have a Gator but these things usually happen when I'm in the Tahoe and see them out. I definitely couldn't do that with a car (or a mini-van most likely).

ha ha I would be one of those that will fight against practicality. BUT there are "cool cars" that are built for families. Like Audi's or a nice TL Type S, or a supercharged RDX, which is a 4 cyl small SUV with a bit of a kick. Can you tell I'm more familiar with Acura's???
Plus the whole "car thing" is like the "yorkie thing." Some people don't understand why someone would dress up and fuss over a dog so much, same with the car some people just don't understand. It's their thing and it's hard to give up, so it isn't just the cool factor. You'd have to be a car fanatic to understand... like me, I live in both the yorkie and car world. Don't think I'd be able to part with either!!!!

If I had to go with a mini van, then I'd definitely look into Toyota or Honda. I've had both kinds of vehicles and they're extremely reliable.