Minivans - Belmar,NJ

I was not a fan of minivans either, but bought one last December because I wanted to carpool with someone to get my kids to school and couldn't fit another car seat in my SUV (we have a Toyota Highlander that my husband now drives, but it doesn't have a third row). So, we bought a used Toyota Sienna and I wouldn't change a thing! We got this thing fully loaded with leather, DVD, automatic doors, etc. and it really was SO affordable! Also, like others have said, the reliability and safety of the Sienna and Odessy can't be beat. Either way, I think you'll me much happier with the minivan since, as you said, the kiddos can climb in themselves. Good luck and happy shopping!

Hmm, it might look better but my Caravan was nothing but problem after problem. And they were big ones -- air conditioning, transmission, etc. I went to a Toyota Sienna (didn't like the looks of it as much either) but it was super reliable. Not one problem and I put a lot of miles on cars. Check to see if there are any recalls on the newest model, and see what people on here say.

I'm an Odyssey driver that just wants to say YOU ARE MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE. The sliding doors on Minivans are AMAZING. You are going to love being able to hit a button while saying to your older kids, "climb in and get in your seats."

Seriously. I don't know how people with lots of kids can stand to not having the sliding doors.

I also want to say this: you may want to reconsider the Sienna or Odyssey based on reliability. The others have terrible records. We bought a used Odyssey for not that much money.

My friend has the caravan and I really like it. It has blue lights that can be turned on inside that go the length of the top. They are just light enough that they give some light but not glaring. The seats are comfortable and we enjoy road trips often. the kids put their DVD players and games in all the plugs. It has enough cup holders and enough room for legs and stuff.

I love our grand caravan! I love being able to fold the seats into the floor. I fold one middle seat down and have two kids in the back and one in the other middle seat. The open middle area was great when the twins were little and I needed to change diapers or feed them. Now it just makes it easy for everyone to get in. Ours is a 2005. No problems so far.

We have 3 kids that are all in carseats or boosters. We have a Toyota Sienna minivan and love it to bits. It gets great gas millage comparable to a car. We get mid to high 20s-30 MPG. It's got a great safety rating. These were 2 hugely important things for us. Ours drives like a car and has an amazing turn radius. We watch some of the other minivans struggle to get into parking spots and sometimes give up only to be able to zip right into it in our car no issues. I am amazed by how much stuff we can fit inside of it! We don't always travel light!
I am truly glad we chose this minivan.

I have a Sienna fully loaded that I love love love, but we saved up for years to afford it. If I was on a lower budget I would definitely go with a T&C - our friends bought one fully loaded several years ago for an unbelievable price of like $25k and they have never had a problem with it. And re used minivans - we looked at several (and we normally buy used cars) but used minivans in good interior condition are hard to come by - children are pretty rough on cars.

My husband bought me (surprised me with) my Voyager minivan (same as a Grand Caravan) when I was 5 months pregnant with our son. I was getting too large to fit behind the wheel of my Toyota Camry (plus it was 11 yrs old at the time and time for a new vehicle). I LOVE my minivan! I never want to drive anything else. But now it's 12 yrs old and we have to think about getting something newer. I want to get another minivan, probably a Grand Caravan or Town & Country. What ever we get next, it will the the vehicle my son learns to drive on.

We looked at them and then went with an SUV, I just couldn't make the leap. =)

They both seem poorly made and had parts falling off or loose when they were brand new. The Chrysler seemed better but with all the bells and whistles you were over 40k for a car that you will loose at least a 1/3rd of its value when you drive off the lot! Chrysler and Dodge both have poor resale values, there is a reason.

I know you don't like the look of the Sienna or Oddessy but they are both very reliable. You really need to take the kids and hubby and go test drive all of them with what you want on them. Check the ease of getting the kids car seats in and out, as well as other stuff. When we did almost all of the SUV's we were looking at came off the list.

Good luck. =)

Ugh! I have to buy a van too! Baby numero 3 is on they way. Im leaning towards caravan, interested in your responses.

I ended up buying a used Odyssey and I love it, but while we were shopping, I considered both of the minivans you are considering. Something you might consider is that the Dodge (at least the 2010 - not sure about the 2011) had a lower safety rating than the T&C, Odyssey, and Sienna. For me, that sealed the deal on that one, so I would look into it, at least.