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Minivans - Domestic or Foreign

3798 messages,  Last post on Mar 31, 2013 at 5:37 PM

You are in the Vans & Minivans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Dodge Caravan, Chevrolet Venture, Mazda MPV, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey, Chevrolet Uplander, Nissan Quest, Hyundai Entourage, Van

Messages Page 64 of 381

#622 of 3798 Used minivan decision by tmalik

May 14, 2005 (4:59 pm)

Hi all, need some help. Looking to buy a minivan to hold our growing family (have a 2 yr old and 4 yr old), and I'm trying to work on a budget of Canadian $ 15k. Have looked at what I can get in the Toronto market for this cash and generally the decision has come down to these two:
 
 1 - 2002/03 Caravan with 30-50k miles and maybe 2-3 yrs of powertrain warranty and some protection under the Chrysler 'Certified' used car program.
 
 2 - 1999-2000 Oddysey or Sienna with 80-100k miles and no warranty.
 
The van will be 100% daily suburban driven by my wife, not more than 10k miles a year, and not many long trips. We likely won't hold on to it for more than 5 years. My estimate is that the Caravan will depreciate about $2k more over the course of 5 years. The big unknown is repair cost. I'm hesitant to purchase a Honda with 80k miles already on it. A low-mileage 2002-2003 Toyota or Honda would cost closer to Canadian $25,000, out of our price range.
 
Any thoughts? Would you choose Japanese reliability, even with an extra 3 yrs on the minivan? Thanks!

#623 of 3798 You pay for it. by marine2

May 14, 2005 (7:38 pm)

I hate the way Dodge makes you *pay* for safety features - ABS is extra, side airbags is extra, gimme a break. That's one thing the european car makers are cool about. Even the base model VW has all the safety features and is loaded with airbags & ABS.
 
Dodge makes a model for most every pocketbook. Sure you can get a lot of those safety features standard on other cars and vans on their base model, but you pay for it in a higher price. Some people do not want to pay that extra amount. There is an old saying, "You don't get something for nothing."

#624 of 3798 Re: Used minivan decision [tmalik] by marine2

May 14, 2005 (7:41 pm)

Replying to: tmalik (May 14, 2005 4:59 pm)
I think you should be able to get a 2005 Caravan base model for about $17,000 with air and am'fm/cd

#625 of 3798 Re: Used minivan decision [marine2] by tmalik

May 14, 2005 (9:36 pm)

Replying to: marine2 (May 14, 2005 7:41 pm)
marine2 - yes, a base Caravan can be bought for around US$17,000 (or around 20,000 Canadian dollars), but my budget is around 12,000 US dollars (or 15,000 Canadian dollars), so a new minivan is out of the question. That's why I'm looking at the used market.

#626 of 3798 2006 Toyota Sienna changes by str

May 14, 2005 (10:12 pm)

Ok, we are considering a Toyota Sienna or a Montana SV6. Just a few minutes ago I read two articles stating that the 2006 Sienna is going to have front end changes as well as tail light changes and inside gauge changes. I also found out that the Montana will have added features such as more safety features for the back seat riders and small details like color changes and a rear window wiper (lots more too numerous to mention.) So now we are faced with the dilemma of waiting another, I don't know, however long until the 2006's come out or buying a 2005 and accomidating our family immediately (we are really ok in our Envoy but would like the conveniences of a minivan) then possibly being outdated and wishing we had some of the new features. What to do? Has anyone else heard about these changes? When do 2006 models debut?

#627 of 3798 Re: MPV, Caravan [bluewolf] by jipster

May 15, 2005 (5:18 am)

Replying to: bluewolf (May 14, 2005 3:53 pm)
You must have been looking in the wrong column or something when researching the MPV crash test results. NHTSA gave the MPV a Five-Star safety rating, the highest, in frontal and side impacts.

#628 of 3798 Re: 2006 Toyota Sienna changes [str] by deepan

May 15, 2005 (6:25 am)

Replying to: str (May 14, 2005 10:12 pm)
typically around the Aug time frame. any changes would be minor cosmetic i would imagine.

#629 of 3798 End of 2005 model year by charlotte7

May 16, 2005 (8:34 am)

When is the end of the 2005 model year for most manufacturers? I'm looking at getting a minivan at the end of this summer (or a Chevy HHR or Mazda 5, though I suspect both of thse will get disqualified for various things) and am wondering when the best time is to get the end-of-model-year rebates and discounts.

#630 of 3798 Minivan Shopper researching stowaway seating by sistereinstein

May 16, 2005 (7:51 am)

Hello to everyone!
 
Right now I'm researching minivan market to replace my aging 92 Caravan.
 
My main complaint with this minivan is the impossible seat removal and would like to get another minivan that has stowaway seating on either both rows or just third row.
 
Basically my question is - when was the stowaway seating first introduced? I'm hoping that this will help narrow my search range.
 
Thanks in advance for your advice

#631 of 3798 Re: Minivan Shopper researching stowaway seating [sistereinstein] by badgerfan

May 16, 2005 (8:05 am)

Two row "Stow and Go" seating was introduced for the 2005 Model year Dodge and Chrysler long wheel base minivans. It was an early introduction for the 2005 model year, first started shipping about March or April, 2004.
 
Caution, not all 2005 model year long wheel base Dodege and Chrysler minivans have this feature, however. The lower level base models may not have this feature.

Messages Page 64 of 381

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