Safe affordable minivan

nu_dad · Jul 27, 2003

My wife researched safe minivans and determined that the new Toyota Sienna and Honda Oddesy were tops on her researched list. So I check the dealer and discovered that these cars go for 30K+!!! (Way over my budget!)
Question: Should we just wait a few years and buy these new minivans with some mileage for 10K less, OR can someone recommend a later model minivan that ranks high for safety, something we can afford now?
Other way to phrase this question would be, are these new 2004 vehicles drastically safer than something older?
I know "safety" encompasses a lot of different things. We have two small kids one 3 years old and the other 1 week old. My wife is concerned with the rollover factor and crash tests, I'm more concerned with reliability.

SafeDad · Jul 27, 2003

Hi-

We got our Odyssey LX for 25k out the door a couple years ago. They are actually cheaper now, as many dealers currently sell them for $500-$1500 under MSRP.

The Kia Sedona is a bargain for a reasonably safe minivan, also. You can also get base versions of recent Siennas, MPVs and Windstars and they are also good choices. For more, see:

http://www.car-safety.org/family.html

mamamia · Jul 27, 2003

I have and love the 2004 Sienna!

We paid $500 under MSRP, and have had it a little over 2 months. I can't say enough about it. I got a LE 7 passenger with option package 7. It is a FWD with traction/stability/vehicle control. Sticker was under $27,000. (I live in New England). The XLE Limited AWD are several thousand more, but the CE version is about $24,000. The Sienna is considerably bigger than the Mazda MPV and Kia Sedona which you should keep in mind. Not sure how much your family may grow, and how much you want to haul. I really wanted a van that could hold 5 car seats

joolsplus3 · Jul 27, 2003

The 2003 Odyssey is essentially the same as the ones that have been out for a couple years, so going with a nearly new one should be sufficient....and Hondas tend to run smoothly for a long time, so i wouldn't hesitate to get a used one with a clean history. Though, there were well over 2 dozen new ones on the lot when we bought ours in May, and they were as willing to "deal" as Honda dealers can get

Safe affordable minivan

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