Minivan Advice

[bearrock]

I'm thinking about getting a minivan for my next car (planning to purchase this summer. I'm debating between a few years used and a new one). We are expecting a new baby and I figure the Minivan will come in handy over the upcoming years.

Can anyone give some pros/cons for someone in my situation regarding a minivan? Should I be considering a SUV instead? Any particular brand people can recommend? Thanks in advance.

[chipwhich]

We have a Honda Odyssey with over 100K miles. Runs like new.

Depends on what your needs are. Our odyssey has more room than suv's. I can load it with people, luggage, and still walk around. An SUV once full is full and cramped.

Now that my kids are older, my minivan days will be too.

[wysknz1]

We've had a Dodge and a Merc mini van. I'd never buy the Merc again. Stupid little problems like electrical, sunvisors etc. Even dissappointed on the mechanical aspects. We got it used with only 9k miles and we have 139k now, but like I said, the little things drove me crazy always fixing. The Dodge was fantastic. We wore it totally out and sold it to my brother and he is still driving it with over 200k.

Also my opinion is always buy used. Let someone else pay for the "NEW". There's good deals if you look.

Never owned an SUV so I won't comment on that.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I'm thinking about getting a minivan for my next car (planning to purchase this summer. I'm debating between a few years used and a new one). We are expecting a new baby and I figure the Minivan will come in handy over the upcoming years.

Can anyone give some pros/cons for someone in my situation regarding a minivan? Should I be considering a SUV instead? Any particular brand people can recommend? Thanks in advance.

We've owned two minivans and would never go back.

1) get a big one, you'll always want more space

2) I prefer a mini-van over an SUV because the van is much more versatile and easier to get in and out of, not to mention load...open space is a good thing.

3) get one with big mirrors, I hate the mirrors on my Windstar too small

4) get one that is not built using a car's transmission...like my Windstar, grrr.

5) Get the video systems (dvd, etc) your baby won't appreciate it but if you plan to own it for awhile your 3 and 4 year old will, and the aftermarket stuff like this is not what you want.

6) If you can opt for the power lift gate for the rear, I can't tell you how many times I've had two handfuls of groceries and tried to pull the gate closed.

7) power side doors are good for dropping the kids off at school etc so you don't have to get out and hold up the line (remember the child safety locks won't let your kids open from the inside)

8) Get captains chairs at least for the first two rows, and a bench in the rear. With two kids who would love nothing more than to annoy one another, I've yet to regret that decision.

9) Floor storage in our van would have just turned into another place for the french fries to fall into, IMO not necessary.

10) Tinted windows, dark.

[LegionOfDoom]

+1 Honda Minivan

If you can get a 2005 or better do it. It will be a great investment. It rides and handles like a car. It is like having a really big Accord.

[twa]

A minivan will definitely give you more room,but if it is only one kid a smaller SUV works well.(but then they always have friends)

Go with a late model used,with kids it ain't staying new long.

ASF :rotflmao::thumbsup:

[AsburySkinsFan]

Also my opinion is always buy used. Let someone else pay for the "NEW". There's good deals if you look.

Go with a late model used,with kids it ain't staying new long.

Agreed...its a minivan not a ferrari, its going to have spilled pop (soda), french fries, candy, finger prints, and if your child is anything like my two...there will be times when there are worse things on the carpet that need cleaning (think car sickness). Let someone else pay the new price for the same car, the first time your kid yacks in the back seat you'll be able to use the money you saved to have the van detailed.

[SkinsNut73]

I think ASF hit most of the good points about a minivan and the rest touched on some other good points as well. The only thing that I didn't see mentioned was the seats which fold down into the floor....loved them things. Not sure if that's a standard feature on all minivans now (...been out of the minivan market for 5 or 6 years now...)??? But I found them to be very helpful....fit sheets of plywood, TV sets, and everything else you can imagine in the back of that van.

I also agree on buying used...

[AsburySkinsFan]

ASF :rotflmao::thumbsup:

As a father of two, soccer coach, little league coach, and pastor, I know my stuff when it comes to mini-vans. All of that goes to show that I am totally not the GQ'ist person alive, in fact I look a little like .

[zoony]

I think buying a used car is foolish, personally.

What good is saving money on depreciation if what you're buying is a piece of :pooh:????

I see the way people take care of their cars. A friend of mine has 50k miles on his car and he's changed the oil twice. This is pretty common.

Besides, price something like a used Honda. My wifes 2004 Accord still has a blue-book value of over $14,000. Sure, a 2004 Chrysler is worth $3k, but again, why would you want to buy someone elses problems? A new Accord you can buy for invoice at around $22k. If you buy a good quality car depreciation won't be a factor. And what depreciation you do incur will be far outweighed by the lack of headaches and mechanics bills you'll have by inheriting someone else's car that they didn't care about.

Buy a new car and take care of it. Pay it off, keep it for 7-10 years. Buying used is something lots of people do to think they're really doing something smart, but I don't think it ever works out that way.

[zoony]

Oh, and BTW- my wife and I are looking at minivans. We've decided on the Honda Odyssey EX-L. Invoice is around $30k, msrp around $34k. I think in this economy I could maybe get one for $28,500. We'll see

I'm not much of a minivan guy but the Odyssey is really nice. So is the Toyota Sienna. You can't beat the utility -vs- the cost of ownership and fuel mileage with a minivan. The Odyssey even has variable cylinder management so you get up to 26 mpg on the Highway.

[AsburySkinsFan]

The only thing that I didn't see mentioned was the seats which fold down into the floor....loved them things. Not sure if that's a standard feature on all minivans now (...been out of the minivan market for 5 or 6 years now...)??? But I found them to be very helpful....fit sheets of plywood, TV sets, and everything else you can imagine in the back of that van.

I own a full sized Dodge pick-up so my hauling is done in that, but if you do plan to haul medium sized things with the van then if not the fold down seats at least seats that can be easily removed. I took the rear bench out of my van once....in 4 years....and I won't do it again because I'm too old to get a hernia.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I think buying a used car is foolish, personally.

What good is saving money on depreciation if what you're buying is a piece of :pooh:????

I see the way people take care of their cars. A friend of mine has 50k miles on his car and he's changed the oil twice. This is pretty common.

When I say used, I mean like 1 year old typically "program cars", with very low mileage, still dodging the new car depreciation while maintaining the warranty.

[zoony]

When I say used, I mean like 1 year old typically "program cars", with very low mileage, still dodging the new car depreciation while maintaining the warranty.

I hear what you're saying but if you buy a good quality brand like Honda you're really not saving much. Because again, they don't really depreciate. Check 1 year old Accords -vs- new. Hardly a difference (seriously)

As for program cars and lease turn ins, I drive a company vehicle. Let me put it this way, I pity the poor sap who pays good money for that piece of ****.

...

[Larry]

Something to be said for zoony's point concerning new/used.

Remember long (OK, decades) ago, when I'd decided that my next car would be a Subaru, I decided I'd check out the used ones.

Discovered that I could only find 3-4 2 year old Subarus on the market in the entire NoVa area. (Whereas every used car dealer in NoVa, about half of their lot was 2-4 year old Escorts.)

If it's a decent car, then there won't be many low-use ones for sale.

[zoony]

If it's a decent car, then there won't be many low-use ones for sale.

that is absolutely true!

[AsburySkinsFan]

that is absolutely true!

Unless it is a program car, and as someone whose budget would not allow for a $26k+ automobile, we had to go program. We did buy our truck new though, back when it was just me and the wife and we could afford the price tag.

BTW, Zoony take it easy on your car, I may be driving it one day.

[chipwhich]

I hear what you're saying but if you buy a good quality brand like Honda you're really not saving much. Because again, they don't really depreciate. Check 1 year old Accords -vs- new. Hardly a difference (seriously)

...

Exactly. Friends of my wife recently bought a new Toyota Rav-4. She was going to buy a used Rav-4, a couple of years old. After evaluating all of her options, she ended up buying a new Rav-4 with payments less than she would have gotten on a used car.

With the incredible financing options, and deals on new vehicles, buying used makes little sense on good quality brands.

[twa]

Exactly. Friends of my wife recently bought a new Toyota Rav-4. She was going to buy a used Rav-4, a couple of years old. After evaluating all of her options, she ended up buying a new Rav-4 with payments less than she would have gotten on a used car.

With the incredible financing options, and deals on new vehicles, buying used makes little sense on good quality brands.

Certainly you need to look closely at the deals, but lower payments do not mean a better deal.

Many are forced into that by economics,but bottom line it is more expensive.

Of course with todays economy new may be cheaper/better deal...but I doubt it.

[bearrock]

Thanks for all the advice (especially lol at ASF )

I'm seriously debating about the new v. used as well. Initially, I thought there's just no way I'm paying for that new car smell, but then I realized that there really isn't much price difference between a new car (especially Honda Odyssey) and a used car. Factoring in higher interest rate on used cars, I'm not sure how much money I would be saving. I'll probably end up buying a new or used car around June (or July at the latest). Maybe there'll some summer deals (around Fourth of July maybe?).

[AsburySkinsFan]

Certainly you need to look closely at the deals, but lower payments do not mean a better deal.

Many are forced into that by economics,but bottom line it is more expensive.

Of course with today's economy new may be cheaper/better deal...but I doubt it.

Yeah, I can't speak for car shopping in today's market we bought our van 4 years ago and will be mailing in the last payment soon. yay. As for cheaper many people and I know I'm one, have had to look at the cheaper in the short term in order to get the vehicle we needed. I would have loved to have been able to pay for a new car each month, but 4 and 5 hundred dollars per month was way out of our budget.

[twa]

Don't forget the new car stimulus(if it makes it's way into the final bill) in the calculations

[Corcaigh]

If you plan to keep it for a long time buying new makes a lot of sense.

We have a Toyota Sienna and it is great. As you're in NoVA you should check out the Carmax Toyota dealership in Laurel. They sell new and when we were there a few years ago they were way cheaper than the local dealers because of the huge volume they have. (I think they were the second largest dealership in the country at the time).

We had done a couple of test drives at our local Toyota dealership of the van we wanted and told them we'd buy from them if they could match the Carmax price. The sales guy said he couldn't get within a couple of thousand of what we were asking and it wasn't worth his time selling for what we were going to pay.

And with Carmax you have the benefit of actually being able to buy the car in little more than an hour.

[GrapeApe]

When my daughter was born we had a Toyota 4Runner (1998 model). It served us well in that it never had a problem and was roomy enough. About a year ago we bought the Honda minivan.

In my opinion, for a family (even a small one like mine) the minivan is fantastic. I'm a pretty big guy and love sitting in the back of the minivan with my daughter on long trips. I've never had so much room in a car. We watch movies, play video games. It has a built in power inverter to power her DS or Wii. Fantastic around town and vacation car. I hate the payments on it, but it's worth it. It drives like a car, where as my 4Runner drove more like a truck.

I'd highly recommend the Honda minivan. We also tested a Hyundai minivan (Sedona or something). It was much cheaper and still very nice. The Honda just had all of the options we wanted and we knew we would have it for 7-10 years so it was worth the extra 10K to us.

We kept our 4Runner for 11 years.

My sister has the Sienna and loves that.

[chipwhich]

Certainly you need to look closely at the deals, but lower payments do not mean a better deal.

Many are forced into that by economics,but bottom line it is more expensive.

Of course with todays economy new may be cheaper/better deal...but I doubt it.

????

If you are financing 2 items over five years.

The one with cheaper payments is the cheaper option. I was comparing apples to apples.

It was cheaper to buy new than used.

If a new vehicle is 25K and a used vehicle is 23K and you were paying cash, certainly the used vehicle is cheaper. Buy simply looking at financing and the future value of money, the new car is cheaper hands down..