Best older minivan

cdncasper · Mar 27, 2014

We are looking at getting a minivan in the next month. We can't afford much so we are looking at 2003-2006 minivans, specifically dodge, Pontiac or Ford.

We have a 4.5 year old in a Frontier CT and I have a lbb as an emergency seat. I have my nephews in my vehicle often, 1 is in a Scenera (FF) and the other is in an evenflo embrace ( I believe) with no base. I prefer captains seats in the 2nd row and stowaway 3rd row if possible.

What van would be best?

Dillipop · Mar 27, 2014

I'd probably skip ford.

HEVY · Mar 27, 2014

Yes, skip Fords

msg221 · Mar 27, 2014

Any reason why you are not considering the Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey? Those are recommended on here often. I do love the Sienna as my brother and friend each have one. They have been very reliable vans and very comfortable and easy to install seats in.

CarSafetyGuy · Mar 27, 2014

You can pick up a 1st generation Sienna for around 3000 that will be safer and more reliable than an awful lot of Ford, Pontiac, and Dodge minivans.

cdncasper · Mar 27, 2014

What year(s) are first generation?

I haven't found any Toyoto or Hondas in our price range ($4000 max)

Keeanh · Mar 28, 2014

Skip Pontiac too.

I would look at Kia Sedonas. That's my current plan for my next vehicle.

Right now I have a 2000 Safari/Astro. It probably doesn't have a lot of fans on this board, but mine has served me well. It has 170,000 miles on it and no trouble besides an AC leak somewhere. No stowaway 3rd row, though, unless you mean dragging it out the trunk door and "stowing" it on the driveway

.

jjordan · Mar 28, 2014

Keeanh said:
Skip Pontiac too.

I would look at Kia Sedonas. That's my current plan for my next vehicle.

Right now I have a 2000 Safari/Astro. It probably doesn't have a lot of fans on this board, but mine has served me well. It has 170,000 miles on it and no trouble besides an AC leak somewhere. No stowaway 3rd row, though, unless you mean dragging it out the trunk door and "stowing" it on the driveway .

Definitely skip Pontiac for safety reasons. Sedona 2006 or newer is good, or Hyundai (same as Sedona, but hard to find). Darren recommended the 2006-2007 Ford Freestar as a good choice in another minivan thread.

Maybe a Mazda minivan? What is it called, the MPV? I've heard good things about those.

For $4000 I personally would not want the age/mileage of Honda or Toyota that I could afford.

katymyers · Mar 28, 2014

I was going to mention a Mazda MPV, my aunt and uncle have had theirs for years and loved it. It's been very reliable for them and I know they can can be found for very good prices.

cdncasper · Mar 28, 2014

Do the MPVs have trunk space?
I drive my friends 2007 Mazda5 and the lack of truck space is hard for me.

katymyers · Mar 28, 2014

cdncasper said:
Do the MPVs have trunk space? I drive my friends 2007 Mazda5 and the lack of truck space is hard for me.

I have a Mazda5 and the MPV is a lot bigger, though it is more compact than other vans. ETA: I shouldn't say a lot bigger, but it's a good size difference. You can get a full sized travel system stroller in an MPV, whereas my B Agile is a tight squeeze in the 5.

cdncasper · Mar 28, 2014

I travel often with 1-2 very large suitcases so I need trunk space

CarSafetyGuy · Mar 28, 2014

cdncasper said:
What year(s) are first generation?

I haven't found any Toyoto or Hondas in our price range ($4000 max)

Anything before 2004, so 1998 to 2003. I've seen a lot of those below $4000 in the US. It might be a bit harder in Canada...

cdncasper · Apr 3, 2014

What about Chevy?

mamom · Apr 4, 2014

I know others are saying skip Pontiac. But we really like our Montana (ducking from flames )

Baylor · Apr 4, 2014

I love my dodge caravan. I have a 2001. It runs really great, We have had it for 8 years and it has never given us big trouble. I love that my year has tether anchors at every seat position.

There are tons of dodge caravans on the road that are even older than mine. We are going to trade ours in for another that is probably 3-4 years old next year.
We always buy used.

valleyfam · Apr 4, 2014

I'm ducking flames here too but I have no complaints at all about Fords. My 01 Windstar was a great van! It had well over 200,000 miles on it when I sold it. We did rebuild the transmission around 185,000. I sold it to buy my 05 Freestar. I stumbled across a great deal on the 05. It was a repo. I couldn't really pass it up. It had 70,000 less miles than my 01 and by the time I sold mine I ended up only paying like $1500 out of pocket for the 05.

emntheboys · Apr 7, 2014

The Chevy/Pontiac/Olds/Buick clones all had terrible crash test ratings. I'd cut those off the list first.

amelia222 · Apr 7, 2014

My B-ready fits in the back of my MPV. I can take a pic of the trunk space if you want. We've had it for almost a year and love it.

Keeanh · Apr 7, 2014

Are you near Winnipeg? I would check out Crown Honda. Obviously I don't know anything about them, but as I was clicking through looking at what's available in Manitoba, I came across good prices from them. It could be a scam, but from the reviews it looks legit. They claim to sell vehicles the way they were when they were traded in. IOW the same condition they would be in if you bought privately.

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/Windstar/WINNIPEG/Manitoba/19_7891037_/?showcpo=ShowCPO

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Chevrole...2_20100907120803398/?ursrc=hl&showcpo=ShowCPO

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/Uns...30_2005712103641706/?ursrc=hl&showcpo=ShowCPO

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/Gr...2_20100907120803398/?ursrc=hl&showcpo=ShowCPO

Best older minivan

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