Yet another mini-van thread!

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
We are shopping for a new (to us) mini-van! Woohoo! For a variety of reasons we had been looking toward crossovers, and trying to stick with GM, but I've given up. We are a family of six and we just need another mini-van. Our budget is about $25K which puts us around a 2010-2011 Odyssey or Sienna.

I've read all the threads about the difference between Ody's and Siennas, and the 2010 and 2011 Ody's and I'm feeling overwhelmed! I'm leaning toward the Ody but I can't decide if we're better off going with a 2011 (or even some 2012's) LX or EX with lower miles but fewer options, or perhaps a 2010 EX-L with a few more options? And the differences confuse me.

I would really like an AUX in audio port or blue tooth. It's my only real WANT. We have four children, two full time booster riders (including one very leggy 10 year old who will be out of a booster soon and really needs leg room). My 3.5 year old is forward facing full time now, and we have a RFing 18 month old.

I've largely ruled out the Town & Country due to reliability but my DH wants me to reconsider... He even brought one home as a work rental this week so that I will re-think. He like that we could get one newer, with lower miles and more options. And he particularly likes the stow and go. I'm worried about the reliability. We had an ill-fated Ford Freestar that we put thousands and thousands into, including three new transmissions, a radiator and more and I just do NOT want to do that again.

OK- thoughts? Opinions? Thanks!
 
ADS

MommyShannon

New member
I'd get the 2010 EX-L. We have 4 kids also, 2 in boosters, 1 FF harnessed, and 1 RF in a 2006 Touring. I say pick it over the 2011 because you have to use the 3rd row. In the 2010, you can take out the small 8th seat and slide the captain's chair to the center creating an aisle on the side to the back. I think the 2010 will have an Audio in. The 2011 you could find the right seats to allow you to still flip an outer seat or remove one. It will seat 8 more comfortably than the 2010 since the 8th seat is bigger.
 

sunnydayz

New member
Are you in the US? If so you can get a '14 Odyssey LX brand new for $26-27k with some internet shopping. The benefit to new is warranty, low financing rates, and the Odyssey update passes the small overlap test for model year '14.
 

lgenne

New member
Some fuel for arguing against the T&C for you: I only experienced the stow & go seats during a test drive, but my DH and I both independently managed to painfully pinch our fingers in them. I'm sure we could learn, but with small children, I wasn't willing to even consider it. Also, those seats are not comfortable, if you ever have to sit in them yourself.
 

SavsMom

New member
The newer Town and Country (2012 and newer) are much better in terms of reliability now so I'd be open to one for sure, but from what I have read they aren't the most car seat friendly.
 

MommyShannon

New member
Realistically, the Stow n Go isn't very useful with 4 kids. I fold the 3rd row down if we need space. It makes a ton of flat space. It's very rare that we need more space then that AND don't have kids along so that we could stow the 2nd row and even then we'd rather not remove the car seats from those seats unless we really needed to.
 

CarSafetyGuy

New member
I think the Odyssey is the only minivan that's been officially tested for the small overlap, which to me is big if you're spending 25k. And as far as reliability goes, it's right up there with Toyota.
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
If you're looking at a used Odyssey, you should have Jami R. hook you up with her brother, who sells Hondas. Used Odysseys go fast in our region - when I was shopping last fall, every one I was interested in was sold when I called about it. I found one at their dealership, he had it held for me to look at, and I bought it. :) (And you know how much I LOVE my Odyssey.)
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
The newer Town and Country (2012 and newer) are much better in terms of reliability now so I'd be open to one for sure, but from what I have read they aren't the most car seat friendly.

The newer seats aren't bad. We rented one and drove to Washington DC and back (we're in Michigan) last year. It was a brand new 2013, loaded, and it was really nice, actually.

What's the scoop on reliability?
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
If you're looking at a used Odyssey, you should have Jami R. hook you up with her brother, who sells Hondas. Used Odysseys go fast in our region - when I was shopping last fall, every one I was interested in was sold when I called about it. I found one at their dealership, he had it held for me to look at, and I bought it. :) (And you know how much I LOVE my Odyssey.)

That is AMAZING information!!! I will email her tonight. I was feeling a little daunted as I looked at them online, they do go fast. Thank you!
 

MamanMag

New member
With 4 kiddos I wouldn't rule out the T & C but if you are planning on having even one more, then I would buy an Odyssey!! We bought a T & C new in 2009 and never had an issue with it. We kept it until February of this year. DH used the Stow & Go feature quite often!! It was our favorite feature of the car, of course I had to remove and reinstall the CR's every time which was a pain but I did it so we could use the cargo space. The van fitted us well until we found out I was expecting twins... And we still managed to put all girls in there until they outgrew their coccoros...Trying to fit 5 CR's in there is a nightmare!!! The 3rd row is so narrow and only one top tether... But otherwise a good minivan for a great price!! Even the base model comes with nice features!! We found the seats quite comfortable. Good luck!!

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MamanMag

New member
I think the Odyssey is the only minivan that's been officially tested for the small overlap, which to me is big if you're spending 25k. And as far as reliability goes, it's right up there with Toyota.

True but that is only valid for the 2014 models which cost more than 25k...

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MamanMag

New member
Not necessarily; you can get a '14 Odyssey LE for about 25k.

You're right!! I was looking at what people paid on average which is around $28,000 for the LX (according to truecar.com). Where we live, we could get it for a little over $26,000 but that's an "unusually low price" according to truecar.com... I would try to negotiate for sure!!

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Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
OK, I'm re-considering my anti- T&C stance... Chrysler is offering 0% financing, which means we could literally get a brand new T&C...

I know the Honda's get excellent reviews, and I was really set on it, but is it worth getting a vehicle that's 3 or 4 years older, with 40k+ miles? Over brand new?

Thoughts?

ETA: Although really, my DH will probably push to just get a used one anyway, he just wants the cheapest van I will let him get away with.
 

tl01

New member
OK, I'm re-considering my anti- T&C stance... Chrysler is offering 0% financing, which means we could literally get a brand new T&C...

I know the Honda's get excellent reviews, and I was really set on it, but is it worth getting a vehicle that's 3 or 4 years older, with 40k+ miles? Over brand new?

Thoughts?

ETA: Although really, my DH will probably push to just get a used one anyway, he just wants the cheapest van I will let him get away with.

Have you seen the belt fit issues for booster riders in the third row? How important are bells and whistles? If you aren't big on options... I would do the ody instead. $26 is barely over your $25 k budget and you can often get .9% financing on the ody. The .9 % is a very small amount of interest. Ask dealers if they have honda cash available. Make sure you get all possible rebates. .9% interest is like $240 over 60 months.
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
OK, I drove the Odyssey today and I'm in love. All set there ;)

Now my issue is my DH whose budget keeps shrinking. I'm not clear on this, but he's going backwards. Today we test drove a 2012 EX with 36k for $25k. He's decided that's too much. Apparently our budget is now $20k. He has found ONE that he feels is a good deal and it's in Ohio. SMH. I hate making big purchases with him.
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
Bear with me... We are having a tough time finding Odyssey's in our area and in our price range. There are a couple that are a few thousand above what we want to pay locally. There is one that is in our price range, and it's a 2011 EX-L, which would be awesome, but it's got about 62k miles, which is double what I wanted. I was looking at 2011 EX's with 35k miles or so, for about the same price (around $22K). My husband is insistent that with Honda's track record, I shouldn't be worried about the mileage. That the features (leather, DVD, etc.) are worth the trade off in in mileage. And honestly, the van is here. It's local, it's ready to go, I could have it by Thursday. That's worth a lot, as we are borrowing a car right now. What are your thoughts? Mileage ok? Features? Worth the trade off?
 

MommyShannon

New member
I'd go for the features. We bought our Touring '06 in 2010 with 95,000 miles. We've put about 80,000 miles on it I think. It's been a great van. We also have an '01 Accord that we've had for 13 years and put lots of miles on without issue.
 

sunnydayz

New member
Are you intending to drive the van into the ground? If so, then the extra mileage would be 1-2 years of reduced use, and less time before costly repairs. I believe Honda recommends timing belt/hoses/water pump replacement at 90,000 miles. That is a costly service coming up quickly.

Features are a luxury; function is a necessity. It all depends on how that fits in your budget.
 

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