Minivans, family and new baby on the way..

[raf2379]

well its that time already, its time to buy a minivan. it looks like a choice between Toyota, Honda and Chrysler.

nice thing about Toyota is that its AWD and none of the others have it. Odyssey is just as expensive as Toyota, but now AWD.

I priced out the sienna XLE AWD limited with all bells and whistles at $59,000. frack me its expensive. I didn’t bother pricing out the Odyssey as it would be in the 50's for the fully loaded limited model.

but then I priced out the Chrysler town and country limited, which comes with all the same safety features as the sienna minus AWD, its has mode gizmos such as heated steering wheel, second row heated seats, second and third row dvd standard, power 3rd row foldable seats. and few other options which are standard in the limited edition as oppose to an option on the limited sienna. all this fully loaded with every option possible for $43,000. that’s one hell of a deal

at only 43k this leaves me more money to spend on a tow rig. even though I would love the AWD system in the sienna for my wife when driving in winter time, do I really need it? does it justify spending extra 10K + on a Toyota?

any input from you guys in choosing between the Toyota and Chrysler? dodge grand caravan does not compare to any of these even though its same as the Chrysler its interior quality is crap compared to Chrysler, this might be the last year the town and country is offered in Canada.

car and driver picked Chrysler in second place and Toyota in fourth, Chrysler has a lot quieter interior as well. its hard choice, but i think Chrysler is the way to go even though AWD is superior

any minivan owners? (besides JK's) chime in what are your thought experiences?

[binare]

1000 bucks on an astro van... Done. No but seriously, Id do the caravan myself, is the awd really worth 17k to ya? What's do to your payments? Questions I'd be askin myself.

[esi]

Suburban would go lots of places and double as a tow rig.

we had a 04. Grand caravan. It lasted 6 months. If you re used to a truck or suv they re not one of those by a long shot.

[w squared]

Two things.

First would be asking if there's something that can handle minivan chores and tow rig chores at the same time. Yukon? Suburban? Excursion? Do they even make those things anymore? I guess the other question with that is will Ina want to drive something that size. It won't be an issue for you, but for people that are not used to driving larger vehicles, anything bigger than a minivan can be a bit much. I know a guy that traded in his F150 crew cab because his wife just couldn't get a handle on how to drive the thing through a parking lot without rubbing up against every single shopping cart.

Second would be looking at used minivans. I haven't priced them, but it seems to me that minivans lose resale value VERY quickly. You might be able to find something that's just been turned in off a 2 or 3 year lease. Maybe even a "certified pre-owned" minivan that has tons of warranty left?

Just thinking.

As far as AWD being worth it...it does make a BIG difference in the winter. My GF's Audi is unfreakingbelieveable in the snow and ice. You don't even have to think about it - it's almost like cheating.

[GreenMachine]

I had an 03 ford escape for about a year before my jeep,

other than the electrical problems with the ignititon that they couldnt figure out, ( reason for selling ) it was awesome,
in 06 they swapped engines and gave it an extra 60 hp, bringing it up to 268 I think,

Mine had 4wd, a little cooler than the mini van, and could still do calgary to kelowna on a tank of gas,

I would never buy another ford, but there are some decent suvs out there that still haul the family, with out the "soccer mom" look, for alot cheaper than 60k

[raf2379]

suburban 2500 was my main choice as it would town my jeep, but now I'm more concerned about safety, reliability and comfort for my wife to get the kids in and out. minivans fit the picture. and a dodge truck for a tow rig. the reason the town and country is cheaper is because Chrysler has some type of consumer discount $7k. I've been  reading reviews all day. payments seam to be $150 more a month for the Toyota which is substantial. there are some suv's and crossovers i'm looking at as well, but the wife prefers the sliding doors. why do automakers make minivans so uncool lol

[RckyMtnTJ]

We picked up a 2007 Toyota Sienna LE AWD last year all in for $24500.  If you check out the forums, alot of folks feel the 04-10 Siennas were nicer in feel and such.  I kept away from everything else because I wanted to pull a small trailer for the family and both the Honda and Dodge products were notorious for tranny issues.  I sat in every seat of an 03' Honda and it was super comfortable.  I then sat in a 2011 Dodge Caravan with stow and go seating, and I couldn't see taking a 10km trip in those seats.  Very uncomfortable.  The Toyota got the 276hp engine in 07'.  I didn't really care about getting AWD, but I didn't want GPS or DVD since they get outdated pretty quick, I'd rather get something aftermarket.   I do love my Sienna, its a great people mover.  I don't regret the AWD either.  I only get about 17/22 mpg.  Close to the same range as a Tahoe.  My brother in law has a Tahoe, and it opens alot of options for towing, but it is bigger to driver.  I think my interior space kicks on his though.  Just make sure you go through your options.

[cLAY]

How many kids do you have? For $53K you can get a pretty nice mega cab Dodge truck and tow with it. Or a 7 seater Durango or Commander.

I wouldn't spend $53k on a minivan. Pick up something used.

Before we moved to the acerage we had a 1998 Plymouth Voyager AWD. Used it for commuting to Calgary and hauling family around. I bought it simpply because we needed an AWD commuter and family mover and was super cheap to buy, under $2K. Unfortunately it didn't have enough ground clearance for the snow drifts on the acreage on got swapped out for a Dakota. The wife loves it for hauling "farm" stuff around but every now and then we want to take our kids AND their friends somewhere and it takes two vehicles. Miss the van those days but for those few days its not a big deal.

[Jrama]

Don't rule out GM, they have these CUV type deals instead of the traditional Minivan, Check out the terrain, as much room as a minivan with out the minivan. at 40K they are  loaded, touchscreen, reverse camera and heated and power this and that AWD, and a 266hp 3.0 V6. Oh and the fuel economy is down right decent.

[raf2379]

i though about a dodge truck megacab, but my wife is tiny, she would have a hard time getting her self into the truck let alone the kids, we have a 5 year old and baby on the way. I'll be getting a used truck for a tow rig, a 2500 diesel crew cab can be had for cheep that will do the job towing my xj. we did fall in love with the new durango, test drove it and it was great, but we realized that it has just a little bit more room than our caliber, no different than a journey that my parents have. I wish someone would offer a diesel option in a minivan. even though toyota relaibility and resale value is considared one of the best I think its overpriced for what you get. merc R class looks like a great crossover with blutec diesel, and the ford flex with ecoboost looks like a fun car. i'll be sticking to minivans and crossovers for my choices dont want to buy anything older than 2010.

[WhiteOut]

Know a few people with Mazda CX-9s and they love them.

[TL-Iguana]

If you want to do a motor swap or some head gasket work Tony that gave you the counter top has a minivan in his driveway he may be motivated to move

[dac]

We have 2 kids and an 80 pound bowling ball (dog).  We opted for a truck.  It was cheaper to get a new truck than a decked out suv or minivan.  Mind you we got a pretty sweet deal on the truck.  My wife likes having it and it has more than enough space for camping, road trips, taking garbage to the dump, picking up dirt or gravel, and you can haul around dead deer without worry of staining anything.  Get your wife to test drive one and see how she likes it.  We opted for the Ford because of the back seat space and knew a guy at one of the dealerships.  The trade-off will be fuel economy.

If you do go with a van, we thought about getting one, and my sister and husband has one and swears by it (Toyota).

[TL-Iguana]

buy an old AWD Previa!

[w squared]

My wife likes having it and it has more than enough space for camping, road trips, taking garbage to the dump, picking up dirt or gravel, and you can haul around a dead badger without worry of staining anything. 

Noel?