What's your opinion on the MiniVan Market today!

What about the Dodge Caravan? I understand dealers are blowing them out the doors at real cheap prices. Worth a checkout.

Dale

The Odyessy and the Sienna will both easily get you 300,000 miles, with proper maintenance. The prices you quoted for pre-owned seem a bit high. Check out the following sites and see if you can pick out a good low mileage van:

Another option is, go to a dealer that sells used cars only. Tell him EXACTLY what you want (mileage, engine, color, no title blemishes or body work, etc.). Tell him you will pay him $500 over what he can buy for at auction. He should even have a list of what sold and the prices from the previous week's auction. Take a gander at those prices and you will cry to see how much markup dealers add to their used cars. Don't get me wrong, I understand that dealers have to make money. However, if I can save a lot of money, I'm going to do it!

That's a great idea regarding going to a dealer who sells USED cars... I have a freind of a friend that basically goes to the auctions... yes.. I will definetly check that out...

Yea... checked the AutoTrader.com and Cars.com.>>> I was not far off when it comes to the Odyessy or the Sienna... for anywhere between 18-$19,000.00 you get a USED car with right around 50,000 to 70,000 miles... Heck, I've done this before... have a Toyota Camry for myself right now - 1988 with 260,000 miles... bought it 7 years ago and it had 150,000 miles on it... the price was, no kidding $2800.00>>> looks like I am going to do it again!

My SO has a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager. Despite abusive treatment it is still running at 140,000 miles. We did have to have a valve job done because of a burned valve. I suspect this was caused by a combination of irregular oil changes and towing a 24 sailboat down I-95 (the car is not rated to tow anything this big with so much windage). Other than the burned valve it has been fine. And you can buy one for many thousands less than the Toyota or Honda mini vans. However, I am positive that when my SO buys her next vehicle, it will be a new Toyota, but not a mini van.

Good friends of mine had a Ford Windstar. They had zero problems though

90,000 miles, but as soon as Honda revised the Odyssey (made it larger), they dumped the Ford for the Honda. They really like the Odyssey, but then they are definitely "Honda" people. I was shocked when they bought the Windstar and not surprised when they swapped it for the Odyssey (even thought the Windstar had been nearly flawless). The older Siennas were smallish, so be sure you compare apples to apples when comparing prices.

Ed

The market for Japanese minivans wasn't much good until the Honda Odyssey came out in 1999, and even then it took them until 2002 to really get the product right.

And once they did, Toyota and Nissan took notice and finally created real minivans. But, it took them until the 2004 model year to do it. The Nissan Quest was obviously not in the real minivan class, and the Sienna prior to 04 was too small and not well enough equipped. The Previa was pretty good, but too quirky really to compete with the Chrysler minivans.

If you're buying used, and if you want Japanese, there's only one choice: find a 2002 Odyssey.

An 02, yes. A 99-01, maybe. Engine wise, yes. Tranny-wise....???? Honda has extended the transmission warranty on those vehicles to 100K/7 years, but still. Why buy problems?

Don't be fooled into knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. You're attracted by the price, but do you know the VALUE of the Sedona? Heavy, underpowered, horrible gas mileage, no resale value. If you're definitely going to keep it forever, the resale value isn't an issue. But it's still heavy, underpowered, and gets horrible gas mileage. Plus it's a bit sparse inside. You're better off buying that used Odyssey.

Not a lie. The price reflects the name; Toyota has a good reputation. However, that particular engine had *some* kind of problem with the oil; some people are claiming that the oil would turn to sludge and cause damage. Toyota denied it at first, then accepted that and started doing something about it. Toyota techs that I've heard from say that at some point in that engine's design life, Toyota changed the diameter of the oil passages--made them smaller--and that's when the problem started. Whatever the reason, I'd say avoid a used Sienna for the oil problems the same way I say try to avoid a 99-01 Odyssey for the transmission problems.

You seem to keep going back to that Kia Sedona. Why not buy a new Chrysler instead?

Friday afternoon I went to a local Honda dealer to ask what he'd pay for my 02 Odyssey (that can be Honda certified) with 22K on the clock. He said $17,500. He said if I really wanted to sell it that I should offer it on the market myself and take about $20K for it.

Yes and No from what I have seen on autotrader.com>>>

First off, I would only buy a new-used vehicle... why loose money in somethin by just driving it off of a lot!! It looks like you could get a Caravan with 18,000 miles for around the same you could get a Odyessey at say 50-60,000 miles... well, I would still go for the Honda since I am most likely gauranteed over 200,000 miles before I have any real problems... probably would go alot further at that...

With the Caravan???? I don't know, 130-160,000 miles maybe at best??? I just don't know... sounds like a bigger gamble!

Thanks aga>

BUZZ! Thank you for playing. Heavy, yes, but with a 5 speed auto it moves off of the line fairly well - 0 to 60 in 9.6 seconds. That's as good or better than a new Mitsubishi Galant ES, Chrysler Pacifica AWD, Subaru Baja, VW Beetle 2.0, Saturn Ion 3, Mitsubishi Outlander, Maxda Protege, Honda Civic LX, etc..etc.. (see

if you question thenumbers). Mileage could be better, but I'm getting about 17 MPG so far, andbreak-in isn't finished yet, but it still beats just about any full size SUV(and beats the hell out of many). Sparse? Not sure what you're looking for,but my EX has power seats (driver and passenger), front and rear AC, powerlocks, power windows, power mirrors, woodgrain trim, leather available,overhead console with temp, trip computer, etc, full carpeted, four gloveboxes, two deep pockets on each door, first aid kit, seat back pockets, flipup table, 4 power sockets (1 in the far back, one next to the 3rd rowpassenger), and much more. AND, it does all this for about $10,000 less thanan Odyssey - check out for Edmund's big minivantest from last year. Yep, the Odyssey won, but the Sedona took 2nd place.The Odyssey they tested was $29,000, and I just bought my Sedona EX for$18,500. Crash tests as good or better than the Odyssey in every category.I'll never say that any one vehicle is perfect for everyone, but you'll doyourself a disservice if you go looking for a mini-van and don't check outthe Sedona. Oh, yeah, and it's under factory warranty until 2013. Jamie

Bah, you're no fun Dano. Crank out some of that cash and go for a new one. Just kidding.

Yes I agree buying new is sort of foolish, I had myself convinced that I would never buy another new vehicle for the same reasons, but after a bout with the big C I decided that i was going to splurge on a new 04 Sienna after all and that was that. This one may very well be my last, but I'm going to enjoy it and stop counting the money.

Good luck

Dale

First, Caveat Internet.

Heavy: And this is a bad thing until there is an accident. Power: The Kia has plenty of power and a hefty towing capacity - don't void the Honda warranty by putting a hitch on it. Gas: I agree, 18-26 US/MPG is horrible. YMMV. Whatever. Sparse: I'll take my leather, moonroof, fog light equipped Sedona EX any day over the spartan interior of the std Ody EX.

That would be silly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ you got that right, Dale. A serious illness changes a LOT of priorities in life, and you start reorganizing priorities in a hurry. Suddenly your zeal for clipping grocery coupons to save 35c is greatly diminished and what you thought was important becomes a whole lot less important. (and writing a will sometimes becomes top priority) .... : - )

Why buy one that new? If you buy one two years old it still depreciates thousand of dollars every year. If you wait till they are ten years old you can buy one for s few thousand dollars and it will only depreciate a few hundred dollars every year. ;)

mike hunt

dano wrote:

Chrysler... not that far off in price to that of the Oddyessy??? I've had 2 hondas in my life so far... an Accord and a Civic... both went over 260,000 miles... the first one I had bought way back in 1983 (civic 4door) for a whooping $5800.00 with 13,000 miles on it from some lawyer... had it for 13 years - sold it to some college kid for $800.00!

2nd one was an Accord I bought used with 77,000 miles for $4000.00 dollars... it died years later (engine blew) it had 260,000 miles...

Oh yea... beat this... bought used Toyota Camry with 150,000 miles for $2800.00>>>> now 6 years later it has 270,000 miles and going strong... just tuneups here and there Brakes, oil, waterpump, timing belt... that's it... That is hard to beat!

Elmo>>>>

Thanks for the advice on the Odyessy and Toyota.... I'll look for an Odyessey 02... because of the tranny issue! Hey thanks for ALL the feedback...

I hope everyone has a Safe and Healthy coming Year! Dano

As my grandpa used to say, "If ya can affurd it, git it. Life is too short not to enjoy."

Snip:

Brand new 2004 Honda Odyessy LX are selling at $22,500 approx. in Oklahoma City market. Brand new Honda Odyessy EX are selling at around $24,500 or so. That is according to ads in the local paper at two large Honda dealers in the OKC metro area (Bob Howard in OKC and Fowler Honda in Norman).

I bought a 2002 Toyota Sienna XLE back in July this year with 20,000 miles or so. I paid around $22k for it but it is deckec out with everything except heated seats. Besides the rear brake squeal, it is a very nice van so far. Hope to have it for at least 8-10 years.

My 2 cents worth.

I'll bite:

I own a 2002 Sedona EX. Nice van, if a little small. (Hence, the term "minivan", right?) You can see my road trip review in another post in the alt.autos.kia newsgroup. Most of my only other experience with vans are older. My mother had a POS '89 Voyager, which was underpowered and lasted only about 80K miles before she gave it up. My father in law just turned in his '88 Aerostar with over 250K miles last month for a Jeep Liberty. He had nothing but praise for it. I know two different familys with Toyota Previas, each with well over 100K miles. They're very happy. I only know of one family with an Odessy - I think an '95 or '96. I wouldn't call it a minivan, rather a tall station wagon, since it has four doors (not sliding) and a hatchback. Another friend has a '03 Quest, which she bought used, with 6000 miles on it. She got below blue book from the dealer, as they were making room for the 2004 models.

From what I've read, stay away from the new Ford model minivan. They are known to be underpowered.

HTH

I just traded in a 1999 Windstar on my 2003 Sedona EX, and power was never a problem for the Windstar - the engine was strong. Reliability was the problem. The tranny was acting up, the ABS sensors had to be replaced, the paint on the roof was peeling off in big flakes, there was some electric clicking that never did get figured out, the intake manifold was defective (as is every 1999 Windstar's), and I still had to pay for the repair, carbon build up was terrible, etc..etc... PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE WINDSTAR!

Jamie

More Ford bashing in a Toyota NG again I see. One could say things like that in any NG about any other brand as well. Posters do it every day in various NG's ;)

mike hunt

I just traded in a 1999 (insert name) on my 2003 (insert name), and power was never a problem for the (insert name) - the engine was strong. Reliability was the problem. The tranny was acting up, the ABS sensors had to be replaced, the paint on the roof was peeling off in big flakes, there was some electric clicking that never did get figured out, the intake manifold was defective as is every 1999 (insert name,) and I still had to pay for the repair, carbon build up was terrible, etc..etc... PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM (insert name)!