8 seater minivans?

stayinhomewithmy6 · Jan 26, 2007

We are looking to buy a new(er) minivan in a month or two and I'm wondering which ones are available with an 8th seat. I know Chevy Ventures and I think Honda Odysseys can have an 8th seat? Are there others? Our budget will be $9000-$10,000 so we obviously won't be buying brand new. TIA!

Dillipop · Jan 26, 2007

The sienna has an 8th seat option, but I'm not sure when they started that. You might not be able to find one in your price range, since they retain their value.

The oddyssey also has the 8th seat option, but it is pretty small and I don't think many seats would fit there. It is really only good for older children, as an adult probably won't fit there either. Again, I am not sure when this option came available and you might not be able to find one in your price range, since they retain their value.

The venture/uplander/montana have an 8th seat option, but I am pretty sure the crash tests are not great.

The suburban has 8 seats and there may be some SUV's with 8 seats, too.

Jeanum · Jan 26, 2007

The Sienna's 8-passenger seating option began with the '04 model year in the CE and LE trim lines. The XLE versions are 7-passenger only models. I haven't priced a used Sienna in a while but agree with the previous poster about high resale. When I was van shopping about 2 years ago, a used '04 Sienna ran about the same price as a new '05 model. Happy shopping and hope you find what you're looking for.

canadianmom2three · Jan 26, 2007

Not sure if you have exactly what we have in Canada, but I have had the Chevy venture and Pontiac Montana 8 seaters and FWIW I love both of them. It is super convenient to have the folding and tumbling seats to move out of the way for the rear row passangers, and the 3 across situation in the second row is really fairly roomy. We can have all 3 kids across and then the whole rear for cargo, or have all seats up and room for one friend for each kid! Only downfall is that on ours not all belts are shoulder/lap combos, middle for each row is just a lap.

stayinhomewithmy6 · Jan 26, 2007

I'm pretty sure it will be impossible to find an Odyssey or a Sienna with an 8th seat in our price range, so I'm going to look into the Venture and the Montana. I didn't know that the Montana had an 8th seat, so at least that gives us one more option. I might look at some of the bigger SUV's too, but honestly, I'd rather have a minivan (don't ask me why because I really don't know!)

Colleen · Jan 26, 2007

Just watch out for the "converstion vans" recently a few towns away from us one crashed. The mother survived, the baby was in the back properly harnessed and the right car seat for him and survived the inital crash untill the tv they had in the van fatally fell on his head

.

stayinhomewithmy6 · Jan 26, 2007

OMG! That's so scary! I guess that's a good reason to limit projectiles! Do you know if it was a regular TV or the screen from a portable DVD player? Wow - I can't believe that!

Colleen · Jan 26, 2007

It was one of the 13" reg tv's. But I came factory in the van, but aparently not very secure. OMG! We travel w/ our 7" portable DVD player, I never thought of that! But while were on the subject, REMEMBER TO TEACH YOUR KIDDO TO RE-BUCKLE HIS BOOSTER SEAT WHEN NOT IN USE. Talk about projectile, thats one that never crossed my mind before it was pointed out to me. I'm going to post that on the car seat forum also as a freindly reminder.

canadianmom2three · Jan 26, 2007

Thought I'd give you a visual of the 8pass montana...the back row is a split bench and seats 3 too, just not as comfy and roomy as the 2nd row.
http://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t120/canadianmom2three/?action=view&current=viewofcenter.jpg

stayinhomewithmy6 · Jan 26, 2007

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I'm having fun looking already. I'm actually keeping an eye out on ebay. We've never purchased a vehicle that way, but DH's uncle has purchased 4 vehicles on ebay and has had very good experiences every time, so I think we'll give it a try if we find a good deal. Canadianmom - thanks for posting the pics, I can't believe how roomy the middle row looks!

8 seater minivans?

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