What is the best Minivan?
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I have rented several mini-vans in the last couple of years. Most of them were Uplanders. The last couple of years the Uplanders ride seems to be real bad - very rough and it bounces a lot. Handling is mediocre, gas mileage isn't bad and the power with the 3.9 engine is okay - but nothing great.
I have owned a couple of Caravans (for a short time) and I wasn't impressed with any of them, especially in the reliability department. I'll admit these were older ones, but I'm not convinced that the newer ones are that much better!
I have owned a couple of Caravans (for a short time) and I wasn't impressed with any of them, especially in the reliability department. I'll admit these were older ones, but I'm not convinced that the newer ones are that much better!
The Saturn Relay (an Uplander clone) has had tons of problems. Those mini-vans are widely considered very unreliable. Scanning various consumer rating sites, the Uplander scores very poorly in handling, and has a host of niggling electrical, door, and body integrity problems.
The face-backward 3rd row seating is the Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country. It is part of the Stow & Go package (and may also be available with the new Swivel & Go, but I'm not 100% sure). You basically unlatch the 3rd row seats like you're going to stow them in the floor, but you don't collapse the backrests. You sit on the backrests and the part of the seat you normally put your butt on becomes the backrest. It's actually not bad comfort-wise. Personally, I think the new Swivel & Go is a little gimmicky with the facing backward 2nd row seats and card table, but to each their own.
I have had nothing but great, cheap, reliable service from the '92 Plymouth Voyager in my signature. It's never left me stranded anywhere. I also previously owned a '99 Dodge Caravan which was not a bad vehicle either. Buying used, you will get a better deal out of a domestic van than you will an import. My advice would be to look for a lower-mileage Caravan/T&C that is Certified Used. It comes with the balance of the bumper to bumper as well as an 8 year/80,000 mile powertrain warranty that is upgradable to various levels of coverage (including an unlimited mileage warranty).
I have had nothing but great, cheap, reliable service from the '92 Plymouth Voyager in my signature. It's never left me stranded anywhere. I also previously owned a '99 Dodge Caravan which was not a bad vehicle either. Buying used, you will get a better deal out of a domestic van than you will an import. My advice would be to look for a lower-mileage Caravan/T&C that is Certified Used. It comes with the balance of the bumper to bumper as well as an 8 year/80,000 mile powertrain warranty that is upgradable to various levels of coverage (including an unlimited mileage warranty).
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Toyota. Stay away from Honda and Nissan, especially Honda. The transmission has a spotty reliability record, has a super short service interval that the previous owner probably overlooked, and the timing belt service is pricey.
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Toyota. Stay away from Honda and Nissan, especially Honda. The transmission has a spotty reliability record, has a super short service interval that the previous owner probably overlooked, and the timing belt service is pricey.
In some ways I agree with Critic, but 2006 and up Honda seems to have fixed the tranny problems - but it does sound like the OP is looking for pre 2005, so for sure on the Honda tranny.
OTOH - every real human that have known that has owned a Quest either was fighting with a problem, Nissan or both AND couldn't wait to get rid of the thing. Maybe it's just the crowd I hang with
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
Toyota. Stay away from Honda and Nissan, especially Honda. The transmission has a spotty reliability record, has a super short service interval that the previous owner probably overlooked, and the timing belt service is pricey.
In some ways I agree with Critic, but 2006 and up Honda seems to have fixed the tranny problems - but it does sound like the OP is looking for pre 2005, so for sure on the Honda tranny.
OTOH - every real human that have known that has owned a Quest either was fighting with a problem, Nissan or both AND couldn't wait to get rid of the thing. Maybe it's just the crowd I hang with
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
Originally Posted By: Pablo
OTOH - every real human that have known that has owned a Quest either was fighting with a problem, Nissan or both AND couldn't wait to get rid of the thing. Maybe it's just the crowd I hang with
It's funny you say that. Because my co-worker, who is the only person I've ever known that has owned a Quest, experienced the exact same thing. He couldn't wait to get rid of his Quest and fought the dealer for a long time.
OTOH - every real human that have known that has owned a Quest either was fighting with a problem, Nissan or both AND couldn't wait to get rid of the thing. Maybe it's just the crowd I hang with
It's funny you say that. Because my co-worker, who is the only person I've ever known that has owned a Quest, experienced the exact same thing. He couldn't wait to get rid of his Quest and fought the dealer for a long time.
My co-workers Quest was a great looking van with lots of cool looking electronic goodies in the cabin. That is until one day the entire dash went out. Nissan had it for 3 weeks trying to figure out why the entire dash went dead. Nissan has gone down hill since 2000.
I just rented a 2008 Mazda 5 for a trip to Jacksonville.
I was impressed.
Acceleration would smoke most other 4-bangers on the road. Car had an overall "solid" feel to it. And... I averaged 29 mpg for the entire trip.
I was impressed.
Acceleration would smoke most other 4-bangers on the road. Car had an overall "solid" feel to it. And... I averaged 29 mpg for the entire trip.
Originally Posted By: MinivanMauler
I just rented a 2008 Mazda 5 for a trip to Jacksonville.
I was impressed.
Acceleration would smoke most other 4-bangers on the road. Car had an overall "solid" feel to it. And... I averaged 29 mpg for the entire trip.
I went 428 miles in the wifes 5 the 2nd week we had it and still had a quarter tank, the average mpg was 35 and change. Sales are also up over 40% year to date for the 5 as well. I'll say it again Mazda5 is definately worth a look. My 2008 5 has totally crushed my old van in mileage.
I just rented a 2008 Mazda 5 for a trip to Jacksonville.
I was impressed.
Acceleration would smoke most other 4-bangers on the road. Car had an overall "solid" feel to it. And... I averaged 29 mpg for the entire trip.
I went 428 miles in the wifes 5 the 2nd week we had it and still had a quarter tank, the average mpg was 35 and change. Sales are also up over 40% year to date for the 5 as well. I'll say it again Mazda5 is definately worth a look. My 2008 5 has totally crushed my old van in mileage.
Pre-owned? The Sienna, hands-down. Resale on the Honda is so good that you might as well buy a new one.
The Quest doesn't have very good reliability numbers and it requires premium fuel.
The Quest doesn't have very good reliability numbers and it requires premium fuel.
In 2004 I bought a 2003 T&C with 19K miles for $17k. Comparable Honda or Toyota was $23-$25--it just did not make sense (at least to me) to buy either one of those with such a large price gap.
The big pitch on the Chrsyler/Dodge (at least in 2003) was that they sold more minivans than anyone else. The whisperers said that Chrysler trannies were junk. After being a BITOG member for a year or so I'm convinced most of those problems were the incorrect fluid being installed instead of the Mopar fluid.
Car has 63K on it now and no major issues. The turn signal does not cancel by itself--other than that I have had no problems. It gets about 28 on the highway and 20 or so in the city. I'm satisfied with the car and think it was a good purchase.
If I had the money I would probably buy the Toyota or Honda--I just could not afford them at the time I bought the Chrysler.
Would I buy another Chrysler? Absolutely. At the same price as the Honda or Toyota? Absolutely not..
The big pitch on the Chrsyler/Dodge (at least in 2003) was that they sold more minivans than anyone else. The whisperers said that Chrysler trannies were junk. After being a BITOG member for a year or so I'm convinced most of those problems were the incorrect fluid being installed instead of the Mopar fluid.
Car has 63K on it now and no major issues. The turn signal does not cancel by itself--other than that I have had no problems. It gets about 28 on the highway and 20 or so in the city. I'm satisfied with the car and think it was a good purchase.
If I had the money I would probably buy the Toyota or Honda--I just could not afford them at the time I bought the Chrysler.
Would I buy another Chrysler? Absolutely. At the same price as the Honda or Toyota? Absolutely not..
The best mini-van in the classic sense is the Toyota Sienna. Would I buy one ? NO! Toyota has in my mind priced themselfs out of the true mini-van market with their redickulas priceing! In my mind the best value is the KIA/Hyndai line of Minivans followed by the lower priced models from Chrysler/Dodge. A mini-van is not supposed to be a luxury vechile and should never in my mind cost more then Mid 20K range. When you get above that you really need to consider something else like a SUV or Luxary sedan etc....
Cooper did you ever decide? Older post here. If you are buying used, like said, ALL the 'imports' will be next to impossible to source, or will be priced too close to new. I do love our 2008 Odyssey, but a Sienna should be less costly to maintain in the long run. I also loved our Windstar. You will find screaming deals on used Freestars or Windstars. You don't hear of the intake manifold, head gasket or EGR plugging issues with the Ford 3.9/4.2 V6 in the Freestar like you did with the old 3.8L and the later (2001+) AX4N is much less troublesome than the earlier transmissions. The Chrysler vans are also an awesome used buy. IMO, the ride and interior layout/quality of the GM variants was horrible. The GMs rusted the quickest as well.
Joel
Joel
Probably not looking for anything this old but, I truly wish we had our 98 Plymouth Grand Voyager back. It was roomy and had all the bells and whistles. The 3.8L had plenty of power and was flex-fuel. I think we ranged in the mid 20's on fuel milage. Once the mad money builds back up (yeah right...), I might find another one for around a couple of grand or a mid 2000 ( Chrysler/Dodge) model for a little more. Good for trips. Traded our van in with 130K, it still ran strong and didn't burn a drop of oil.
I had a 08 Sienna rental for 2 weeks (35,000km) and drove it though the rockies for 2500km. (3.5 v6 I think) Power was very good and mileage avg mid 20's. No complaints power train wise. Looks and interior didn't thrill me though.
I prefer the new body style 08 Caravan though. Performance and power were about the same from what the butt dyno could tell. Mileage was comparable. Back end on the Caravan is very boxy but the low bumper height make(un)loading cargo much easier.
I generally don't consider imports in my vehicle choices though.
I prefer the new body style 08 Caravan though. Performance and power were about the same from what the butt dyno could tell. Mileage was comparable. Back end on the Caravan is very boxy but the low bumper height make(un)loading cargo much easier.
I generally don't consider imports in my vehicle choices though.
I recently had a chance to rent a 2008 Dodge Caravan SXT. After driving it for 2 days, I am really glad I pulled the trigger on my Toyota Sienna. I'm not bashing the Dodge as it is a nice van, but the Toyota is on another level.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
And how much is an '08?
$24k for an 06???!? what a rip!
Id agree with others on the toyota, and IMO, the honda is a nice one, IF they have fully taken care of the AT issues.
But buying these things used just looks like a terribly poor deal.
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
And how much is an '08?
$24k for an 06???!? what a rip!
Id agree with others on the toyota, and IMO, the honda is a nice one, IF they have fully taken care of the AT issues.
But buying these things used just looks like a terribly poor deal.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
And how much is an '08?
$24k for an 06???!? what a rip!
Id agree with others on the toyota, and IMO, the honda is a nice one, IF they have fully taken care of the AT issues.
But buying these things used just looks like a terribly poor deal.
IIRC, I could have bought out 2008 Ody LX (base) for just under $22K. The prices ramp up incredibly with the few more gadgets you get with an EX, EX-L and up. Yeah, I wouldn't buy an Ody used.
Joel
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I just went through the Saturday car adds: 2006 Honda Ody Ex $24K. 2004 $18K and so on.
And how much is an '08?
$24k for an 06???!? what a rip!
Id agree with others on the toyota, and IMO, the honda is a nice one, IF they have fully taken care of the AT issues.
But buying these things used just looks like a terribly poor deal.
IIRC, I could have bought out 2008 Ody LX (base) for just under $22K. The prices ramp up incredibly with the few more gadgets you get with an EX, EX-L and up. Yeah, I wouldn't buy an Ody used.
Joel
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Originally Posted By: Rabbler
Not much experience with the Imports.
I just saw a ca 40 year old VW Fridolin van a few days ago. They used to be in service with the rural German Postal service. The Fridolin is pretty nice and very mini!
Not much experience with the Imports.
I just saw a ca 40 year old VW Fridolin van a few days ago. They used to be in service with the rural German Postal service. The Fridolin is pretty nice and very mini!
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