I am going to be looking for a “new car” this year and I love minvans (go figure), so I’m curious what the consesis is on the boards.
I’ll have about 10K saved up.
Edmunds and Consumer Reports both say it’s the Honda Odyssey. I’ve got 2 friends with these and they love them.
Chevy Astro/Pontiac Safari. Ive owned a dozen of them, and I still own 2 of them.
They dont make em anymore,so youd have to buy it used anyways.
highest road clearance, largest cargo area, real steel bumpers
The AWD is good if go off the road
We just got a new Mazda 5, which is halfway between a car and a minivan. My wife loves it. I don’t like minvans so this was a good compromise. I’m not sure how long this model has been available in the US, so finding a used one might not be as easy as for other models. The gas mileage is not bad, EPA estimates are 21/27 for the automatic transmission.
+1. I just bought one with a manual transmission, if that’s your cup of tea. They came out in 2006 IIRC.
I also have a Kia Sedona. They have no resale value, so you can snap them up for dirt cheap. It’s not as good as the Odyssey by any stretch, but it’s “good enough,” if you know what I mean.
Urgh. A minivan is the worst possible car to buy used.
The choices aren’t as good - too many of even the best models have trashed interiors from toddlers or dogs. Too many of them have been driven by people too preoccupied to keep track of the maintenance schedule.
We own one - I speak from experience here.
Interesting, I’ve had my Dodge Caravan for almost 7 years now and I could not be happier. But as it’s getting long in the tooth I’m looking to replace it.
Keep the advuice coming!
You have got to love anecdotal evidence. Hey, my dad had a '49 Ford with a bad transmission, so he went Fordless for life after that. If Joe Public got a good used Caravan, then go get one! That there is all the evidence you need!
If there is a Certified Pre-Owned market for used minivans, you might want to go that route to minimize risk and maximize return.
Opinions are as valuable as anecdotal evidence, IMHO. YMMV.
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The Achilles’ heel of all minivans is the transmission. It’s basically a transaxle out of a normal car that has to drag around what is basically a light truck type vehicle. They just don’t have the tolerance for abuse and poor maintenance that modern transmissions installed in cars do.
The Toyota Previa and Honda Odyssey are better than the domestics initially in according to the various used car indexes, but they still have transmission problems. They also hold their value better, so it might be moot if you have to buy an older Japanese van instead of a newer domestic. I don’t really know much about the Sedona, but KIA’s quality in general has gotten much better so it might be a good bet for the same reason as the domestics. Any van that comes with all service records should be a huge plus for you.
Very old Odysseys should be avoided due to transmission problems (greasyjack covers this). Chrysler/Dodge vans that have had a past problem (had transmission replaced/repaired) seem to have repeat problems. Old Ford Aerostars were pretty good except for the AC systems which were money pits.
Get the van checked out independently by a mechanic/transmission shop. ACs tend to age poorly as well.
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Moved from GQ to IMHO.
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I have had the Kia and also a Ssangyong in Australia. These cars have crap resale so you could pick them up cheap. The Honda is a great car but the back seats are small. If you can get leather, go for it.
For what it’s worth, the 2005-2007 Saturn Relay/the Buick Terraza/Chevrolet Uplander/Pontiac Montana SV6 (all basically the same minivan) were built with a truck engine and truck transmission. These models never sold well, so it may be hard to find them used. Also, Saturn, Buick, and Pontiac no longer exist.
This is utter nonsense. The GM U-body vans were all front wheel drive with transverse engine/transmissions, the same units used in GM cars of the era. No truck (other than the Honda Ridgeline which is actually a minivan with the roof cut off) has such a drivetrain. In any case, these vans had rather poor side impact crash ratings so you may not want these if you want your children to live, but mechanically they are not bad as long as we are talking about the the last generation (2005-9). Older versions of the Montana were notorious for a manufacturing defect in the engine’s intake manifold that allowed coolant into the engine oil. Owners eventually won a class action lawsuit against GM but GM was nationalized before they paid anything.
To the original question, your best bet would be a Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town&Country. They are cheap and plentiful on the used market so you will have a wide selection. however READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSMISSIONS.
Basically, very early (1990s) versions of the Chrysler A604 transaxle had very high failure rates because Chrysler somehow told people that they could use the wrong kind of fluid. As long as the correct type of fluid is used in them they are as reliable as any other van. What you should do is find one with A)service records showing correct fluid changes at the dealer B) without a trailer hitch, or any evidence that the van has been used to tow anything. Another common source of transmission failures in minivans (applies to all makes) is that their owners very frequently use them to tow stuff like boats and campers, which do a terrible number on the transmission. Avoid any vans that look like they’ve been used to tow stuff.
Toyota/Honda vans are OK except for certain model years (early 2000s IIRC) of Honda Odyssey that had a manufacturing defect in the transmission that caused them to fail. Unlike the Chrysler transmission there was no reason for this other than shoddy design and workmanship and there is no solution other than complete replacement. They are in any case waaay more expensive than the Chrysler vans (both new and used) while offering no advantage other than some subjectively better cabin materials, something that minivan buyers should place a very low priority on anyway - your child won’t taste the difference, so don’t worry about it.
Thank you Mr. Yatch.
My 2004 Toyota Sienna is holding up so well that I can’t justify selling it because the amount it’ll fetch won’t come close to buying a cute used SUV with the same life expectancy and performance. It only has 67k miles on it, and it has never given me a day’s worry. I can tell that it’s going to be just like my first HP B&W laser printer that just wouldn’t die, even though I was itching to replace it with one of the new color printers.
What if I make you an offer? 
The Kia Sedona’s reliability is rated “much worse than average” by Consumer Reports.
I’d second the poster who recommended the Mazda5, and also suggest you look at the Kia Rondo. These two are “mini-minivans” - smaller than the typical minivan, but still a nice, practical size. The Rondo also has a good reliability record, but can be had for just above your 10k price point (for a 2008 or 2009) and will still have some of its 5 year/60k warranty left over.
Thank you all for your advice.
On Saturday I bought a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan with 31,000 miles.
Dinner in a few weeks. You drive!:eek: