PLEASE!! Reviews on Your Mini-Van

My mechanic says to avoid all Ford mini-vans. But I don't own one so that is all I am able to pass along. Good luck!!

I drive a dodge caravan and I love it. The middle row has 2 captain chairs so the kids don't sit right next to each other and you can't even believe how much this cuts down on fighting! My only gripe is that theres not much room behind the rear seat for storage. If I had to do it again I would get the grand caravan for more room.

I just had a week-long test drive of the 08 Grand Caravan. I will have to say that the longer I drive it, the less I like it. I have an Explorer that I love. I have two kids in car seats, and it works out just fine. The Grand Caravan is much higher to step into for my daughter since there are no running boards on it. Plus, the seats in the Caravan are so close together between rows that I still have to open the doors on both sides to get the kiddos in and out of it.

The Caravan has some neat features, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is dealing with car seats. For older kids, it is probably ok.

Hi T.,
I have an 88 VW Vanogon and I love it I know your probably looking at much newer vans but if I were to upgrade( i don't want to though) I would stick with VW. My van can hold more cargo than a newer model and can also sleep 2 aduldts and two kids on a huge fold out bed. I don't think any new ones can do that. I also get 28-34 mpg with my 4 cyl.2.0 liter engine. Good luck. Check out the Euro van. They look real nice. A.

Hi T.-

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both drive the Honda Odyssey and absolutely love it! My husband, who swore would never drive a mini-van loves it too and I can see us getting one sometime in the future. Neither of them have had a single problem with it - have you seen the inside of one? They are so roomy and there is SO much storage room in the back.

Hope this helps-
K.

PS- My mom drove a Toyota for awhile and loved it - not nearly as roomy as the Honda.

I love my Dodge Caravan and I don't consider it a mini-van.
I think it is more like a van.

I love my Toyota Sienna. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's reliable, has lots of bells and whistles and handles great. I have owned Toyota before and have never had a problem. Good luck with your decision!

A.

My Husband is a mechanic and my best friend's husband is on also and I have never heard of a single type of mini van that does have problems. In our experience, you either get a great reliable car or a lemon and not much in between. We have replaced the engine once and the tranny twice under warranty in our Windstar. My friend had the tranny replaced twice in her Town and Country too.

Whatever you do I would have a good mechanic check it out before you buy it. Used Mini Vans tend to get used hard and are not always maintained well.

P.S. I drive a Ford Explorer and I love it. 4 wheel drive, 3 rows of seats, 7 seats total and it looks cool 8-)

We bought a new 2006 Honda Odyssey about a year ago. They are rated #1 for safety and my research never lead to issue with transmission. So far it has been an awesome vehicle! Our second choice when we were shopping was the Toyota Sienna. Good luck. K.

In case anybody is still reading the reviews, we have an 04 Ford Freestar (1st model year for the Freestar)-avoid it like the plague! We have problems w/it hesitating & then jumping into gear & lurching, the radio/clock resets itself when the temp changes more than about 5 deg between drives (doesn't reset when we're driving though), the CD player crapped out for 2 mos & then suddenly started working again, the cruise quit on us on a 500-mile roadtrip, going up a hill of course (it'll work when service drives it around town, but not on roadtrips when we need it)... it's got space enough for 2 carseats in the middle row & 2 teenagers in the back row, plus it'll fit a double stroller (the dealbreaker on the Explorer we looked at) in the cargo area. The rear seat folds flat & gives you a lot of cargo space-enough to fit a 50cc ATV back there w/luggage.
Overall though, unless they've upgraded the under-the-hood stuff drastically, stay far away from it!
Our next one was going to be a Town & Country, but I think we might save up for an Oddessy.

It has been about 6 years since we went van shopping so the market my have changed. Our van is a 2000 Chevy Venture. When we went shopping we took our 3 teenagers and the baby's car seat and the Venture seemed to be the one that felt the roomiest. We did also consider the Odyssey because of it's safety rating. It was one of the most crowded with all of us in it and was pricier than we were hoping for.

Before we even got it we noticed that some interior parts were less sturdy than we would prefer. A few little parts that fairly quickly broke: the tiny lever to adjust the height of the front seat passenger's seat belt, a few reflectors inside the driver and passenger door (to show the doors were open) broke off, a couple plastic pieces to anchor a cargo net in the back also broke off...

We have driven the Venture for 6 years and over 80,000 miles. (It had about 36,000 when we got it) We did have to rebuild the transmission, but luckily it was before it hit 100,000 miles and we had an extended warranty that covered it.

We have problems with the fuel system... for a while the fuel gauge would be totally reliable under half a tank. (It would read 1/4 tank one second and literally full the next!) We were eventually able to get that fixed. Now the service engine light comes on about every 2-4 weeks. Last time we asked the car repair guy he said to replace the gas cap, which we did. After a few weeks it came on again. (For now we are letting our son in auto shop try and figure it out.)

Most recently the system that operates the driver's side (power) window broke. Apparently you have to replace the entire assembly and it is only available from the dealer for over $700. We had our car guy secure it closed and disable the switch so we can't use that window-- a problem at drive-thrus...

For the most part we have loved our van. It can routinely go over 400 miles (highway) on one tank--average about 25 mi/gal. In town it gets much less--probably about 15 mi/gal. It has been roomy enough to haul whatever we've wanted to haul: people, firewood, furniture, camping vacation supplies. We have had comments from others on a couple occasions about it being "bigger than a truck". The seats are fairly heavy and somewhat awkward to move around, but pop in and out easily enough.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Hi T.,

I currently have a Honda Pilot. I love it. It is roomy (sits 8) and has not given us any problems in the 3 years we have had it. We also have a Pontiac Transport, which we have had for 10 years. It also has room for 7. The important hting with any vehicle is that it the oil must be changed every 3500 miles. The oil is the lifeblood of any vehicle, and if gets dirty, performance and engine malfunctions will happen.

Hope this helps you in your search for a dependable vehicle.

God Bless,
C.

Although I am not a mini-van driver, my husband is an ex-auto mechanic and knows cars extremely well. We are strictly a Toyota family - we've owned various Toyota models since the early 90's and we've never had an issue with any of them. The run very well, require minimal maintenance, and are very reliable cars.

I'd be cautious about the Chrysler because I just read yesterday that Daimler is looking to drop the company and let go of another 13,000 workers in the next 3 years. Daimler is planning to sell off the company and that could mean odd issues with warranties and repair issues, depending on who buys Chrysler.

I'd definetly recommend the Toyota, though. I'm a Toyota woman for life. Good luck.

p.s. I drive a 2002 Rav-4, which is a really nice smaller sized SUV - it's great for errands and zipping DD around.

Hi! We have a 06 Toyota Sienna and I LOVE it! I was never a "minivan" type of person, always drove a Expedition and didnt want to be a minivan mom, but when we test drove the Sienna, I fell in love with the space and the convenience. The only problem we have had in two years of ownership is the adapter plug thingy (where we plug the DVD player into) keeps shorting out. Not a huge deal, the dealership takes two minutes to change the thingy out. I sound so illiterate, sorry, my brain isnt thinking right now. Anyway, they gave us a few extra incase it happens again we can do it on our own. Simple problem, but its the ONLY one we have had.

We have a Toyota Sienna we bought in OCtober of 2003. It is a 2004 model and we LOVE IT!!! It is so roomy, drives like a breeze and has not had any problems. We take it in when it needs its oil changes and routine maintenance, which you should always do anyway, and it has been wonderful.
The back seats that fold into the well is very convenient and we can fit in lots of stuff. The middle seats are a little harder to take out if you don't know what you're doing, but once you get it the first time, it will be a snap after that.
I have had people that absolutely HATE mini-vans say that they would drive a Sienna.
Good luck on your search!

T.,
I have a Chrylser Town & Country and just love it. I've had no problems at all.

K. L.
Apprentice Midwife, CLC, CCE, Doula
www.TheFamilyJourney.org

My sis in law has honda odysse, and yes they love it, but had to replace transmission. They are law students with two babies so this was a huge burden on them.. (sorry, random thoughts.) I love my Mercury Monterrey. I have an 07, but not sure they made them past that year. My second choice when shopping was the 07, towne and country. I loved the swivel seats with center table. Especially if you have older kids. I was extremely anti minivan, until my second was on the way. Those keyless entry side doors are a dream come true.

Good luck

Hi T.-
We bought our 2006 Odyssey in June and we love her! I test drove all different kinds of vans and the Odyssey was the winner, no contest. Yes, the Toyota Sienna is very nice, but so much more expensive than the Honda. When we visited the Honda dealership I couldn't believe how much more I could get for my money. This is the first foreign vehicle that I have ever had, but I have lost my faith in American cars. I had a Chevy Equinox before this and it was the biggest pile of junk. We drove a few domestic vans and they were terrible, especially the Ford - AWFUL.

As far as the transmission issues go, the price was so much better on the Honda that we purchased the 100,000 mile extended warranty. Plus, I know lots of moms and dads that drive the Odyssey and have had them for years with no major repairs. I think it looks great and has some giddy-up, and lots of storage and it has been a wonderful addition to our family! All of this comes from someone that said they would NEVER drive a van : )

We love our Toyota Sienna. We also looked at the Honda, as well as many others, but settled on Toyota because they could fit 3 car seats across the middle row (twins). We love it and can pack tons of stuff comfortably into it. My only complaint is I would have liked stow and go in the middle row, but the back row is so easy to do, I really can do it with groceries or a baby in the other hand. Their customer service is terrific. We have a 2006 that we baught new and have put almost 30,000 miles on it and still love it. I highly recommend it! One thing I do recommend though is going through an autobroker to buy. No hassling with the car dealership, you can get any car you want and pay a lot less. We so little brand new (26 miles) that with 15,000 miles a month later it was still worth more than we paid. He got us a great deal!

Honda Odyssey all the way! I got mine right after they changed the body style in '05 and I've had no problems with it. I absolutely love that my 2 girls can sit in the captains chairs in the middle row and my son has the entire back row to himself and nobody can bother the other. The best thing is the remote control sliding doors and tailgate, just love it!!!! We also looked at the Toyota Sienna and the Nissan Quest, but in the end, the Odyssey just had more of the features we wanted. Have fun mini-van shopping!

I would go with Toyota, they are the best cars on the road. I have been driving Toyotas for the last 10 years and they are so reliable, smooth driving cars. I currently have a 4 runner. Their van model looks great but we need our 4H wheel drive. Hope this helps.. C.