alohaparenting
New member
this weekend we were in a wreck in our 2008 toyota sienna
we are all okay - don't worry nothing bad happens in the story below, we are all okay( my heart is still racing thinking about it)
we were driving on a windy coastal hwy, going about 45 miles an hour
dh was driving- there was a three car collision, there was no where to go, one side was ocean, the other narrow hwy and oncoming traffic on a corner
I looked up from my knitting in time to see brake lights, then airbag and hearing my newborn just shrieking an awful scream
we both were trying to get out of our seat to get to our four kids, I said we needed to wait till we knew it was over, I was worried more cars would come up behind us and pile up, DH said it was over and I needed to get to my baby- i briefly remembered reading not to move kids from carseats in accidents, but they all seemed okay at first glance - dazed, but not even paniced or anything
the other kids were not crying or yelling, the airbags popping scared the daylights out of my newborn, she was just scared, but in that moment, I had no idea - I could not get my hands on her fast enough
she was in a marathon 70
my three year old was in a boulevard in the outboard middle and in the back my five year old was in a classic marathon and my 8 year old was in a radian sunshine - they were all okay- people were coming up running and just grabbing our kids out of the car, there was smoke and steam everywhere- everyone was asking if we were okay, I was so confused, but I could tell everyone was okay- just confused.
When my kids saw the van as people were grabbing them and getting them away from it- they got pretty freaked
the front end of the van was just - gone- just smashed completely - I have no idea how the engine was not on my lap
but the inside of the cab of the sienna - we were all fine, the front zone toke all the impact, the two other cars involved in the crash also had minimal dammage, our minivan did what it said it would and kept us all safe- it is totaled and destroyed- but again, we were all safe as was everyone else in the other vehicles
anyway!
we got home, and I reordered carseats- I got three britax frontier 85 sict and one britax avalon ( talk about putting the cart ahead of the horse- these things are huge - -hu mangous- HUGE) now not only am I car shopping for a safe vehicle-- but one that will fit four huge tanks of carseats
anyway! long story here- sorry folks-- what I am looking for - one of two things
on one hand
we loved our 2008 sienna - loved it- saw what those safety features did in action - can not believe what it looked like afterwards- and again, loved that car
it was SOOO very nearly paid off, we had no intention of getting back into car payments
...but.... clearly paying for teh safety features was worth it...
(what I really really really want is a 2008 sienna that is nearly paid off- HA!)
okay that is one hand
on the other hand, what if we got an older model sienna or similar something, because I am grimacing about getting right back into $500 a month payments all over again
silly question-- but did the safety standards change year to year? Like I see that the 2006 siennas were rated really good too... but was that good for the safety standards aviable at that time, and since then the bar has been raised as new technologies and such have come out? Do you see what I am asking? Are the safety ratings comparative for their time, or is a five star 2005 the same as a five star 2010 sienna, safe is safe is safe
When we had our sienna, the only thing I wished it could do was pull a pop up camper
and I think they make siennas with towing packages
gas milage does matter
and price tag does matter
and size-- we have four kids all in carseats
the two oldest get themselves in, the two youngest need hands on
DH wants the power sliding doors- what year did those come out?
I see on another thread here that 2004 was a bad year for siennas- and on another thread that the anchors are doofey in 2011- what about the 2012s?
and then of corse we could go with something else all together, like an SUV... but one that got better than awful gas milage, or a crossover that did not require my kids to climb over the middle seat to get to the back seat
(fitting the HUGE seats I got would be a plus, but really, not a deal breaker, I could exchange the csits for the regular frontier 85s and the avalon with the two side things for the regular one without them)
I have been reading all these threads and taking notes on what to be researching- so far I have two pages of notes on 'other than siennas' to be looking at- you folks are very informative! Thank you! I will post as I think up questions
I dont think my head is still on straight about the whole thing- but thanks in advance!
we are all okay - don't worry nothing bad happens in the story below, we are all okay( my heart is still racing thinking about it)
we were driving on a windy coastal hwy, going about 45 miles an hour
dh was driving- there was a three car collision, there was no where to go, one side was ocean, the other narrow hwy and oncoming traffic on a corner
I looked up from my knitting in time to see brake lights, then airbag and hearing my newborn just shrieking an awful scream
we both were trying to get out of our seat to get to our four kids, I said we needed to wait till we knew it was over, I was worried more cars would come up behind us and pile up, DH said it was over and I needed to get to my baby- i briefly remembered reading not to move kids from carseats in accidents, but they all seemed okay at first glance - dazed, but not even paniced or anything
the other kids were not crying or yelling, the airbags popping scared the daylights out of my newborn, she was just scared, but in that moment, I had no idea - I could not get my hands on her fast enough
she was in a marathon 70
my three year old was in a boulevard in the outboard middle and in the back my five year old was in a classic marathon and my 8 year old was in a radian sunshine - they were all okay- people were coming up running and just grabbing our kids out of the car, there was smoke and steam everywhere- everyone was asking if we were okay, I was so confused, but I could tell everyone was okay- just confused.
When my kids saw the van as people were grabbing them and getting them away from it- they got pretty freaked
the front end of the van was just - gone- just smashed completely - I have no idea how the engine was not on my lap
but the inside of the cab of the sienna - we were all fine, the front zone toke all the impact, the two other cars involved in the crash also had minimal dammage, our minivan did what it said it would and kept us all safe- it is totaled and destroyed- but again, we were all safe as was everyone else in the other vehicles
anyway!
we got home, and I reordered carseats- I got three britax frontier 85 sict and one britax avalon ( talk about putting the cart ahead of the horse- these things are huge - -hu mangous- HUGE) now not only am I car shopping for a safe vehicle-- but one that will fit four huge tanks of carseats
anyway! long story here- sorry folks-- what I am looking for - one of two things
on one hand
we loved our 2008 sienna - loved it- saw what those safety features did in action - can not believe what it looked like afterwards- and again, loved that car
it was SOOO very nearly paid off, we had no intention of getting back into car payments
...but.... clearly paying for teh safety features was worth it...
(what I really really really want is a 2008 sienna that is nearly paid off- HA!)
okay that is one hand
on the other hand, what if we got an older model sienna or similar something, because I am grimacing about getting right back into $500 a month payments all over again
silly question-- but did the safety standards change year to year? Like I see that the 2006 siennas were rated really good too... but was that good for the safety standards aviable at that time, and since then the bar has been raised as new technologies and such have come out? Do you see what I am asking? Are the safety ratings comparative for their time, or is a five star 2005 the same as a five star 2010 sienna, safe is safe is safe
When we had our sienna, the only thing I wished it could do was pull a pop up camper
and I think they make siennas with towing packages
gas milage does matter
and price tag does matter
and size-- we have four kids all in carseats
the two oldest get themselves in, the two youngest need hands on
DH wants the power sliding doors- what year did those come out?
I see on another thread here that 2004 was a bad year for siennas- and on another thread that the anchors are doofey in 2011- what about the 2012s?
and then of corse we could go with something else all together, like an SUV... but one that got better than awful gas milage, or a crossover that did not require my kids to climb over the middle seat to get to the back seat
(fitting the HUGE seats I got would be a plus, but really, not a deal breaker, I could exchange the csits for the regular frontier 85s and the avalon with the two side things for the regular one without them)
I have been reading all these threads and taking notes on what to be researching- so far I have two pages of notes on 'other than siennas' to be looking at- you folks are very informative! Thank you! I will post as I think up questions
I dont think my head is still on straight about the whole thing- but thanks in advance!