Vehicle choosing help needed

devaskyla

New member
Sorry about the 2 threads, I didn't realise this forum existed when I posted my other thread in the Canadian/International section.


Just over a year ago, we bought an '01 Pontiac Montana 8 passenger. It seemed pretty good until a couple weeks ago when the steering control arm broke while I was driving with 2 of our kids.

Turns out, BOTH sides were rusted nearly through, it never should have passed the inspection and it should have been very obvious when Canadian Tire changed our tires a mere 2 weeks before it happened.

Fortunately, we were going very slowly in a parking lot when it went and my kids barely noticed.

Anyway, with only 3rd party liability insurance and the cost to repair both sides nearly the cost of the vehicle, assuming no other problems were found, we've decided to junk the van and get something else.

We have 4 kids ranging in age from 1-12. There is a very slight possibility of more kids, no more than 2 and that only if it's twins. :jive: My husband is very tall (6'8"), I am very short (5'). Our 12 year old hasn't started growing for puberty yet and is already taller than me, so he's likely to be over 6'.

Our set-up in the Montana was 2nd row passenger side removed, youngest rear facing in the middle (lap belt) 2nd row, 4 year old forward facing in the driver's side, 2nd row. 8 yr old boostered in the driver's side 3rd row, 12 year old seat belted in the passenger side 3rd row (middle only had a lap belt)

Our budget is likely under $5000. I'd like head rests/shoulder belts in all positions if possible, decent cargo space (the Montana's sucked, really). I'm open to an SUV, although they all seem difficult to get people into the 3rd row, but would prefer a mini-van. My husband keeps suggesting we get a 15 passenger so we can remove the back row and have lots of cargo space, but I think that's excessive.

The postings about the Nissan NV were very tempting, but waaay out of the current budget, sadly. We've mostly been looking at Siennas & Odysseys. My husband is, understandably, opposed to another Montana.

Sorry for the novel; thanks to anyone who got through it all!
 
ADS

Brianna

New member
I'm pretty clueless about minivans, but I wanted to bump your post for you. I hope you get some responses soon :)
 

devaskyla

New member
Thank you! My husband is now enamoured of a 2005 Ford Expedition that is *just* under our max budget. I'm less than enthused, since it has captain's chairs instead of the 3 person bench most of them have. If it was 8 passenger, I think I'd be as interested in it as he is, since it *seems* to have shoulder belts in all positions.
 

jgomez411

New member
Thank you! My husband is now enamoured of a 2005 Ford Expedition that is *just* under our max budget. I'm less than enthused, since it has captain's chairs instead of the 3 person bench most of them have. If it was 8 passenger, I think I'd be as interested in it as he is, since it *seems* to have shoulder belts in all positions.

I love my 2004 Expedition! I only have one child but I love the captain's chairs. My dad has a bench seat in the second row of his 2008 and its just a pain to put the seat down every time you need to get in the back. Obviously with 4 kids someone will be in the third row so you might actually like it more-just a thought :)
And yes all positions do have shoulder belts.
 

MUTigers

New member
I love my 2004 Expedition! I only have one child but I love the captain's chairs. My dad has a bench seat in the second row of his 2008 and its just a pain to put the seat down every time you need to get in the back. Obviously with 4 kids someone will be in the third row so you might actually like it more-just a thought :)
And yes all positions do have shoulder belts.

But all positions do not have headrests. My parents have an '08 or '10 (can't remember) and there is no headrest in the middle of the second row (there is a lap/shoulder belt) and there may not be a headrest in the middle of the third row (just can't remember right now).

Other than those things I love their expedition! My DH is 6'9" and I'm 5'9" and we fit great! I can install DDs RXT in the center of the second row (with latch) and DH can drive comfortably. I'm really hoping they will sell it to us cheap when they decide to get something new!

Oh yeah, theirs has 150,000 some miles on it and it runs great. My FIL has an expedition that is probably early 2000's or older and has 250,000 some miles. It is also still running pretty well.
 

jgomez411

New member
Yeah, no headrest in the middle seat of the third row. I can't remember about second row middle seat either though but if they're looking at one with captains chairs, I don't think that will be an issue.
And like PP said, they will run forever! I bought mine in 2011 with 120000 miles. It's got 140000 now and the only thing outside of routine maintenance that I've done is a transmission oil change. My dad's 2008 is used for his limousine business so it's driven a lot more than a regular family car. It has 185000 miles on it and he has had very few issues with it, issues which probably would not be a problem if you don't drive it 40000 miles a year.
 

devaskyla

New member
Well 2 days later and we're still waiting to hear from the dealer, so I'm open to more ideas.

Which years were Odyssey and Sienna good in Canada ?
 

YinzerMama

New member
I have 4 kids and we're done. Used to have an 08 sienna 8 pass. which imo is the sweetest deal there is for lots of kids, minivan wise. But I am not sure you'll find one for under 5k. The sienna and ody both hold their value very very well. But you never know.

A 7 pass sienna will also work for 5 kids (adding one mentally for you) since the 3rd row is wider than most. So squeezing in car seats back there you have more options.

The older odys you can find with 8 pass set up but getting 3 car seats in the back row of an ody can be tricky so realistically you may be looking at fitting only 5 people in there, and the middle seat is a really teeny seat which can be tricky to work with.

So my vote would be older sienna, ideally 8 pass but they are hard to find, 7 pass as a runner up, or get an ody and stick with 4 kids. :eek: People make the older odys work with 5 but I'd rather have a sienna for 5, personally. The newer Odys work much better for 5 kids (because the center seat is just a tad nicer) but they're not going to be under 5k.

I do know people who fit 5 kids in a dodge caravan but I am not sure how their trunks compare to the montana. I know it is less than sienna or ody. And the more kids you have the more stuff you carry so those small trunks don't make me happy. You can always put stuff on the roof of course. And they will def. be more within your budget... although they are more prone to mechanical issues than toyota or hondas. I don't know about when candadian ones were good but for the US I believe people look for '05 and later Ody and '06 and later Sienna? Earlier odys may or may not be prone to tranny issues. Older Siennas are probably just fine mechanically but not as nice as the '06-'10 imo.

Have you considered a Kia? They do not have super big trunks and the 3rd row is not as wide as an old sienna and you can't move the captains chairs together like an old sienna - and they are only 7 pass not 8 - but they seem a good mix of budget + reliability. Also safety. I seem to think '06 and above is what you want for safety. Not sure if you have kia there? I don't know if there are brands canada doesn't have?
 

bubbaray

New member
I just quickly searched CL for the Vancouver area. The Odys listed for under $5k were all pre-2005 (ie tranny issues). The Siennas listed were all even older than that (1998).

Cars are way more expensive here.
 

nannykates

New member
Yes odys have tranny issues. But its a one time deal to get fixed and will give you much more life out of the vehicle. There are people on here who avoid them like the plauge but in my family's experience its totally worth it.
 

devaskyla

New member
I've found a few Odysseys and Sienna in our budget on Kijiji. The latest year in our budget was 2004 for an Odyssey and 2003 for a Sienna. They were all for sale by owner, not dealer, though. No 8 passengers, sadly. Not really surprised about that, I was shocked when dh came home with an 8 passenger Montana for our previous van.

Still waiting to hear from the dealer about the Expedition. It has one thing I really like, which is adjustable pedals, but I'm still not entirely sold on an SUV. It uses a lot more gas than our van did and we don't have anything we need to tow.
 

YinzerMama

New member
Yes odys have tranny issues. But its a one time deal to get fixed and will give you much more life out of the vehicle. There are people on here who avoid them like the plauge but in my family's experience its totally worth it.

This is true but it's gonna add $$$ on to the price, and from a private party with no warranty, it is a gamble.

OTOH if it's that old and they've been driving it that long, odds are, it may not have had the issues.

Do you have a trusted mechanic you can have look over any potential private party vans?

You do still see PLENTY of the older Odys on the road (you can spot them by the fixed middle window and the dot on the 3rd row window, where the bracket is to open the window - the last 2 gens of ody 3rd row windows don't open

I like identifying the vintage of vans. :eek:
 

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