Another van thread

We are thinking about getting a minivan, which would have to be used. Budget about $20,000. I'm thinking 2005 or newer (the newer, the better) but I can accept somewhat high mileage for the age as I'm a low mileage driver so it will even out in the end. Beyond that, I don't really know what I want.

So, what do I want? What should I avoid? I know that Toyota and Honda are the go-to vans, but why, and what's undesirable about other brands?

ETA: We'd keep it until reliability, rust, or repair costs became too much. Generally I consider 10 years, 100,000 miles to be the approximate expected life of a vehicle but I know they can go much longer than that (my first vehicle was 16 years old and only 153,000 miles when I replaced it).

Honda and Toyota will hold their value better and have a better reliability/safety track record (for the most part). I know many people with previous gen Odys and Siennas and, in general, the Sienna owners (of that generation, 2005-2010) have significantly less, overall, complaints.

The 2006-2010 Odys have a useless 8th seat, if you go with an 8 passenger. You may or may not ever need to use that 8th seat, so that may or may not matter to you. There are 2 complete sets of LATCH in the captain's chairs, 1 complete set in the 3rd row, and and 2 "extra" top tether anchors (outboard). I know a lot of people who have had a LOT of transmission issues in these model years. 2005 Ody's 3rd row is 1 set of complete LATCH; no "extra" TTAs. 40 lb vehicle stated LATCH weight limit.

The 2004/5-2010 Siennas have a child friendly 8th seat, equipped with a full set of LATCH. Each captain's chair has LATCH as well and there's 2 complete sets in the 3rd row. Many people have had misc. complaints with MY 2004, but I have a friend who abused hers and drove it into the ground and it still held up like a champ (it needed repairs, obviously, but nothing major). Defers to child seat manufacturer for LATCH weight limit.

The redesigned Chrysler T&C/Dodge GC (2008-2010) would fall into your price range and would likely have low miles, possibly under 25K, depending on the trim. But, the MPG is terrible (I averaged 13-14 city MPG in my '09) and it doesn't handle especially well...and it won't hold its value. If this is a vehicle you'd want to keep long-term, and to accomodate growing kids, I can't say I'd recommend it. The 3rd row is not child (I was nowhere near 5-stepping) or booster seat (we had SERIOUS booster seat drama) friendly and due to the dramatic slope, it makes many FFing seats a nightmare to install. There's LATCH in seach captains chair and 1 off center set in the 3rd row. No "extra" TTAs, but there is a retrofit part. The shoudler belts are set crazy far-forward. The center seatbelt in the 3rd row is an ELR and ridiculously constructed, so it's pretty much impossible to use for installations or boosters (not entirely impossible, but pretty darn close). Lots of brake issues and various leaks...several airbag recalls, blahblahblah. The floor compartments where the seats would go in stow n go mode are awesome for *stuff* (projectiles, bags, whatever), though. And the Radian installs RFing in the captains chair like a dream. I think they were made for eachother. But those are the only 2 "pros" I can pull from that vehicle. 48 lb vehicle stated LATCH weight limit.

In Jan 2010 we bought a 2006 Odyssey Touring with 75,000 miles for $17,000. It has 130,000 on it now and I still love it. I think the 3rd row has 2 sets of LATCH but I've never used LATCH back there except the center so I can't recall. ALL 5 rear seats though have top tethers though the 3rd row center is an awkward spot. The one thing we didn't like was that the Touring and EX-L models came standard with run flat "PAX" tires for a few years including ours. They do not ride smoothly (made the steering wheel shake a little), very few places can replace them, they are vey expensive and they wear out faster than other tires. Basically we did what others did and spent about $1300 to replace the rims and tires with normal ones like were on the other models. It's run like a dream since then. It wouldn't stop me from buying it again, but its a cost to factor in. Search for de-pax odyssey and you will find lots of info.

The 3rd row of the 2005 Odys have 1 complete set of LATCH in the center position. There are no "extra" TTAs in that model year.

The 3rd row of the '06-'07 (and, I think, '08-'10 as well) Odys have 1 complete set of LATCH (center position - the TTA is down by the rear liftgate) and 2 outboard TTAs.

Another "pro" to the Sienna, depending on how you feel about it, is that it has an AWD option, which may be nice since you live in New England. AWD/4WD isn't a huge deal for me (I'm happy with good brakes/tires and FWD), never was, even when I still lived up North, but, to some, it is.

I don't live too, too far from you and we were able to get a 2008 Sienna LE8 with 43K miles on it last May for 16K. We walked out the door with taxes and such for 17,500.

We absolutely love it. It's versatile, gets decent gas mileage, and works for our family of 5. I can easily get 5 seats in there at a time and with just a little work, could see getting 6 in there. Seats install well, it has all the safety features I wanted, and even came with a few extras that I love, such as the overhead info panel.

ETA- we get about 20 mpg around town, 22 with mixed driving, and have gotten up to 27 on long road trips.

If you're aiming for side curtain airbags, front side torso airbags, and stability control, those were standard in the Ody beginning with the 2005 model year. Honda made it simple to get those across the board when the Ody was redesigned for the 2005 model year debut. Toyota, on the other hand, offered side curtain airbags, front side torso airbags and stability control as optional rather than standard equipment on the 2004-2005 Sienna, and gradually climbed up to match Honda with the side curtain and front side torso airbags becoming standard equipment in the Sienna for the 2006 model year, and stability control became standard in the Sienna in either the 2007 or 2008 model year going from memory. AWD was not available in the 8-passenger versions of the 2004-2010 Siennas, only available on the 7-passenger models, and you cannot convert a 7-passenger 2004-2010 Sienna to an 8-passenger due to differences in the floor pans and second row vehicle seat anchorages in case you're wondering or tempted. The Sienna's AWD option also came with the notoriously fast wearing run flat tires IIRC.