Question Questions for Triplets

rsrvoir · Jul 6, 2014

Wife and I are expecting our first child(ren), three in fact! We do have any other kids so am kind of overwhelmed with researching vehicles, car seats, seating positions, etc.

Here is what I am leaning towards, any pros/cons/critiques/suggestions are welcome:

For vehicle, a 2011-2014 Odyssey or Sienna, 8 passenger. Torn because Odyssey seems to get better quality/performance ratings, but Sienna has better reliability ratings.

For seating positions, I am leaning towards 3 in the 2nd row (for accessibility from sliding doors). I have also considered 3 3rd row or 1 in 2nd+2 in 3rd (for both arrangements, also removing 1 seat in 2nd row to increase 3rd row accessibility).

For car seats, still very up in the air. Trying to decide if I should pick the car seat and then seating positions to fit, or other way around. Most interested in KeyFit 30, onBoard 35 Air, or Graco SnugRide 35.

TIA for any help or insight you can share.

sunnydayz · Jul 7, 2014

We have a 2014 Odyssey and are really happy with it. The '14 Ody was redesigned to pass the new small overlap crash test. Three across is a breeze in the second row as you can put it in "wide" mode. We moved from a Sienna to the Odyssey.

sunnydayz · Jul 7, 2014

And CONGRATS on the triplets!!

jjordan · Jul 7, 2014

Welcome to car-seat.org, and congratulations on your impending arrivals!

Most would say that you really can't go wrong with an Odyssey or Sienna. For the generation that you are considering, around here the Odyssey gets more love, but the Sienna is not without its fans as well. The 8-passenger Odyssey does have more room in the 8th seat, so in that sense it might give you some more car seat options, especially as the triplets grow and are riding in larger seats. Both are good, safe, and reliable. I personally would decide based on which you and your wife prefer after test driving both.

I would not get too hung up on seating positions at this point. It is one of those things that, even if you decide on something now, you might well discover, after living with it for a while, that you want to change it up.

As for seats, carseatblog just TODAY updated their list of recommended seats for preemies and multiples. The seats you mention are all on there (assuming the Graco SR 35 is the newer one rated for 4 pounds). If you do want to have the option of 3 across in one row, then you'll want to try the seats in the vehicle before you buy them (and/or possibly before you buy the vehicle - though the car salespeople might look at you funny when you walk in there with 3 car seats! Who cares what they think, any way?). The keyfit has a reputation for being relatively narrow, but I honestly have not compared 3 keyfits to 3 onboard 35 airs to 3 Graco SR 35's.

sunnydayz · Jul 7, 2014

Some links:

http://www.autotrader.com/research/...sey-vs-2014-toyota-sienna-which-is-better.jsp

http://www.informedforlife.org

tl01 · Jul 7, 2014

I have owned both the current gen ody and sienna and I was not pleased with the build quality of the sienna at all. Mine had definite issues and they wouldn't fix them or take it back under the lemon law. I don't have much good to say about Toyota. Love my ody though!

lgenne · Jul 8, 2014

Particularly given that we're talking about triplets rather than 3 kids of different ages in car seats, the fact that the Odyssey has 6 tether anchors and 5 quite usable sets of lower anchors (vs. 3 tether anchors and 3 sets of lower anchors, only 2 of which count as very usable) I would definitely consider the Odyssey over the Sienna. You'll have far more flexible options for car seat placement in the Odyssey. For rear facing, the Odyssey will comfortably fit 3 in the 2nd row, even past infancy, or you could put 2 in the 3rd row, or even 2 in the 2nd row, and still have access for an adult or 2 to fit back there comfortably. With the Sienna...there isn't even a thread about successful installs in that tiny center seat.

They'll presumably all turn forward facing at about the same time, at which point you'll want tether anchors for improved safety. With the Sienna, you'll have exactly 3 locations to put 3 car seats with tether anchors, and the 2 in the captain's chairs will impede access to the 3rd row. Maybe the kid will have good access, but the adult who will need to buckle that kid will have a tough time.

Once they hit booster age/maturity, you'll either have to make sure that all 3 boosters are being buckled in every time they leave the car, or get boosters that can attach to the lower anchors so that they don't become projectiles in an accident if they're unoccupied. The single set of lower anchors on the Sienna 3rd row doesn't line up with a seat belt at all, so they can't be used that way. The Odyssey has 4 good places (and a 5th partially usable place) to use lower anchors with a booster.

If they were all different ages, it would give you more options with the Sienna (rear facers vs harnessed forward facers vs booster riders have different needs, so they won't all be competing for tether anchors at the same time, for example) but the Odyssey will be far more convenient long term.

DawgDad · Jul 8, 2014

Because you will have 3 kids at the same age forever, right now it's the Odyssey by a mile. The ability to safely install 3 car seats in the car in so many different ways puts that vehicle way up the list of "must have". The 2014 had a huge redesign with safety features and some tech perks. We recently traded in our 2012 Touring for the 2014 Elite. What we got was blind spot detection, lane departure warning, frontal collision warning, HID lights (that's a safety upgrade), LED lights in the back (also a safety and convenience upgrade), lights automatically come on when windshield wipers are turned on, smart key with push to start (my wife can actually just get in the car and go...no more hunting for keys and for a parent of 3 infants...this is VERY safe), dual screen to allow for two movies at one time (sanity perk = safety increase so I don't lose my mind while driving), and a vacuum cleaner in the trunk (ocd perk = safety increase so I don't kill my kids for the always spilling of the goldfish). That's just off the top of my head...still getting used to the added screen.

That is a HUGE upgrade to a van when they didn't even do a full model overhaul. Quite impressed with Honda for the improvements.

rsrvoir · Jul 8, 2014

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. That is exactly the kind of experienced insight we lack. Sounds like the tether and anchor positions alone is taking us to the Odyssey. Now I will dig a little further and decide which model year to go for (the 2014 sounds great, but might be out of our price range).

Also thanks for pointing me to the updated preemie and multiples car seat list. Timing couldn't be better

sunnydayz · Jul 8, 2014

rsrvoir said:
Thanks everyone for the helpful information. That is exactly the kind of experienced insight we lack. Sounds like the tether and anchor positions alone is taking us to the Odyssey. Now I will dig a little further and decide which model year to go for (the 2014 sounds great, but might be out of our price range). Also thanks for pointing me to the updated preemie and multiples car seat list. Timing couldn't be better

New Honda pricing tends to be very close to used in many cases as they don't depreciate as quickly as other manufacturers and financing is usually lower on new cars. We negotiated our purchase online and paid under the True Car pricing for our area.

http://www.truecar.com/

Make sure to change the trim level on the pricing. An EX trim level or up has the 8th seat.

Also, you can purchase a genuine Honda Care extended warranty online. We purchased 8 yr / 120k warranty for $1300. It was less than 1/2 price of what our dealer was offering.

http://hyannishondacare.com

http://www.saccuccihondacare.com

nannykates · Jul 8, 2014

Another option you may or may not have looked at is the previous generation sienna 8 passenger. Its similarily car seat friendly to the current gen ody. With 3 useable seats across the second row and 2 more tethers in the 3rd.

marigold · Jul 8, 2014

nannykates said:
Another option you may or may not have looked at is the previous generation sienna 8 passenger. Its similarly car seat friendly to the current gen ody. With 3 useable seats across the second row and 2 more tethers in the 3rd.

Good point. 2 of my sisters and me now own 8 passenger Siennas somehwere between 2005 and 2010. From what I understand 2010 was the last good year for sienna with the wider 2nd row middle seat and the full 5 tethers. In 2011 they shrunk the 2nd row middle seat and reduced by 2 tethers - What were they thinking?!?!?!

Anyways, if more recent Ody's are out of your price range, you might consider looking for a used 2009-2010 Sienna (or anything 2005-2010) to get 5 tethers and a full middle row bench seat situation.

kathysr98 · Jul 8, 2014

If you're looking at used vehicles, check TD Auto for financing. Our dealer uses them and my parents' business has two vehicles financed with them at under 2%. Both were bought as 1-2 year old vehicles with 4-5 year financing.

rsrvoir · Jul 30, 2014

Been doing a lot of research. Looks like I can get a 2014 Odyssey EX-L for 34,900 OTD. Or I can get a 2008 Sienna LE (8 passenger with 69k miles) for 14,125 OTD. Both could be 100% financed at 1.99% for 48 months. Thoughts?

DawgDad · Jul 30, 2014

rsrvoir said:
Been doing a lot of research. Looks like I can get a 2014 Odyssey EX-L for 34,900 OTD. Or I can get a 2008 Sienna LE (8 passenger with 69k miles) for 14,125 OTD. Both could be 100% financed at 1.99% for 48 months. Thoughts?

Good question! Crazy that the 2008 only had 69k miles on it...we did 46k on our 2012 for only 2.5 years using it.

A couple of clarification questions as I don't know what was added on the 2008 Sienna (Toyota has more options able to add into their lines than Honda does, so the used market can be spotty when it comes to what's in it). Does it have the backup camera? Is it leather as well? Do either of them have the RES (Rear Entertainment System)?

$34,900 with tax, tag, title seems like you could get it a little lower. $35,625 is the sticker on the regular EX-L...now if you got $34,900 with the RES...you are getting a great deal. The price on the used Toyota seems in line, but it's a 7 year old car with only 70k miles on it. In the next year or two, depending on how much you drive it, will be replacing the typical parts that need replacing at or around the 100k mark.

All-in-all, a lot of it depends on your buying style with regards to cars. Most Americans get a new car every 3-5 years, but with vans it tends to be every 5-8 years. That means, the used market is usually pretty bare of quality stock, therefore the resale price is usually quite nice. In fact, the Odyssey does better resale than most luxury cars...especially the well-equipped trims. All that means is that if you do purchase the new Odyssey, and you want to trade it in years down the road, you will get a pretty good trade offer or private-party sale price.

For me personally? I don't like the 2008 body style and interior of the Sienna, especially over the Odyssey. Is it worth more than twice as much? For me...yes, but that's my personal preference.

jennzee · Jul 30, 2014

rsrvoir said:
Been doing a lot of research. Looks like I can get a 2014 Odyssey EX-L for 34,900 OTD. Or I can get a 2008 Sienna LE (8 passenger with 69k miles) for 14,125 OTD. Both could be 100% financed at 1.99% for 48 months. Thoughts?

If you've got a little bit of time on your hands, waiting a couple more months will likely get you a better price as dealerships start moving out the 2014's to make room for the 2015's. We talked to a couple of dealerships last weekend that mentioned the upcoming incentives to buy a 2014. Ultimately, it was still more than we wanted to pay, but if we had wanted to buy new, waiting just a bit longer would have saved us a few thousand dollars.

rsrvoir · Jul 30, 2014

Thanks for the feedback. Few extra details.

2008 would have cloth seats, no backup camera.

2014 would be normal EX-L (no RES or NAV options).

As far as price goes, 34,900 OTD comes down to a sale price of 32,650 plus about 6.5% for TTL. Everything I see indicates that the invoice price of the car is 32,550, so paying $100 over invoice. I got firm price quotes from about 12 dealerships, and this is $500 cheaper than any other dealer. It is a high volume dealership with 10 EX-Ls on lot, so feel like they are already trying to move them out for the 2015 models.

On that note, does anyone know when the 2015 is going to be released?

DawgDad · Jul 30, 2014

The 2015s for Honda should be in October. 2014 incentives usually will be a small one when the 2015s are about to show up on the lot and then a very nice one at Christmas time (yes, surprisingly no one buys cars in December as much as Lexus likes you to think with their commercials and the big red bows). There isn't anything new from what I have read about the 2015s in the Honda, however, the Toyota Sienna is getting rear top tethers again in the 3rd row.

Also, thanks for sharing the breakdown of the deal on the new one. A little tip on the car dealership world...there is a reserve behind the invoice price called "dealer holdback" (especially at high volume dealerships). On high margin cars like the Odyssey and SUVs, dealerships have anywhere between $1000-2500 below invoice where they still make money because of manufacture incentives. Getting at or below invoice is a good deal, so it sounds like you have one (didn't know your taxes were that high...).

Given that knowledge...I would still go with the Odyssey between the known differences because of how much I use the backup camera (it's near impossible to see anything right behind you when backing up), and leather...because I love it and think it's easier to clean spills and such that kids WILL do in your car.

Whatever one you purchase, spring for all-weather mats. Best investment you could ever make besides a rear-entertainment system for a family vehicle.

BTW...I sincerely like that you are researching this buying decision. In the end, you will feel better about whatever decision you make than if you just emotionally purchased on the spot. I am that way for every big ticket purchase and pretty much most of my other purchases. Just my modus operandi I suppose.

jjordan · Jul 30, 2014

Personally, it would be very hard for me to stomach paying $35k for a vehicle when I found a really great option for $14k. Have you had a chance to see both cars in person?

DawgDad · Jul 30, 2014

jjordan said:
Personally, it would be very hard for me to stomach paying $35k for a vehicle when I found a really great option for $14k. Have you had a chance to see both cars in person?

Oh I don't disagree there...it would be something where I would (sadly) put together a spreadsheet with pros/cons to see if I can find a massive discrepancy. In what is important to me plus the amount we drive our cars, often times deters us away from what seems like a good deal for a used van. Every time we have looked into one, they have just been...well...kid destroyed. Sure, my kids will most likely do that to our car, but it's just different knowing it's mine than it is that it was someone else's kid who decided to get toenail polish in the car. Not to mention, most are just right there under that threshold before common repairs start to happen. We all lead busy lives and I am out of town a lot...I just couldn't imagine my wife needing a repair on something for her car and all the kids...then balancing the repair time into my days home.

Again...my neurosis is not the norm...so take it for what it's worth.

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