Mini-van/car recommendations?

[JTA Mom]

I just found out this week I am expecting again.

Right now we own a Honda Fit. It's an 07. It's a tight fit with one rear-facing car seat. 2 will fit, but it will make it uncomfortable for dh to either drive or sit as a passenger, since the second one will either be in the middle OR behind one of the two front seats. And it will make it impossible to have another passenger in the back.

I'm thinking a mini-van might be a good fit. BUT I've never been good at comparing models. I want something that's:

1) RELIABLE: this is a biggie. I grew up with Fords that broke down all the time. I do not want to stall on the freeway! BTDT, got the t-shirt, never want to go back.

2) Roomy. I'm thinking maybe having a third seat row? Because I'll be the one driving it, it will probably look like it does when I have the car today. Right now, when I get the car it's me, ds in his car seat, dh and/or family/friends crammed in. A minivan would allow me to take more people too, which is good. Less multiple trips.

3) Good mileage. I'm liking our Fit mpg of around 29, year round. I think as long as it's in the 20s, I'll be happy.

4) Inexpensive. I'm thinking an older model, top cost of $4k. Preferably lower.

I don't care about looks. I just need it to be safe & reliable and just overall a good car.

Any recommendations?

Ami

[CeciMami]

Look on Craigslist (or elsewhere) for a used Honda Odyssey. Its what we have and it is AWESOME. We have a 2004 that we unfortunately paid too much for (bought it at the dealership)...Shop around and see what you can find...good luck and congrats on the new little one!!!!

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by CeciMami

Look on Craigslist (or elsewhere) for a used Honda Odyssey. Its what we have and it is AWESOME. We have a 2004 that we unfortunately paid too much for (bought it at the dealership)...Shop around and see what you can find...good luck and congrats on the new little one!!!!

I have seen a lot of Odysseys around. How is your mpg? I know they have the 'stated' ones on the sticker, but those don't really mesh with real world driving.

What do you really, really, really love about it?

What do you wish were improved/changed?

And thanks!!!! This baby was a complete surprise. We are happy, but it's left us scrambling a bit. We weren't supposed to be ttc until a few more months when dh would be changing careers and we'd be moving. So much for planning life!

Ami

[vm9799]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

I have seen a lot of Odysseys around. How is your mpg? I know they have the 'stated' ones on the sticker, but those don't really mesh with real world driving.

What do you really, really, really love about it?

What do you wish were improved/changed?

And thanks!!!! This baby was a complete surprise. We are happy, but it's left us scrambling a bit. We weren't supposed to be ttc until a few more months when dh would be changing careers and we'd be moving. So much for planning life!

Ami

we have a honda odyssey and LOVE it! ours is a 2005 EX, so it's the new body style. i just asked hubby about the mpg and he said around 20......we live in the middle of the city mind you, so all stop and go driving and hardly ever on the highway unless we're traveling which is only a few times per year. we also have the 'eco' engine that switches from 6 cylinders down to 3 for maximum gas mileage.....does this automatically and it unnoticeable other than the 'eco' light switching on and off.

i honestly love everything about it. it's a VERY luxurious minivan compared to the old town & country we had (the ONLY non-honda vehicle we've ever owned and boy, what a mistake!)........leather interior, heated seats, moonroof, power everything (including both side doors), rear windows that power down just like the front windows, xm satellite radio (i think that's what it's called....i never use it), in dash 6 disc cd changer, heated rearview side mirrors (this is a godsend here in the cold north!), tri-zone heating/air, the 500 cupholders ( or so it seems!), the ample storage, ......etc. etc. the list goes on and on. i also love how easy everything is.

we also have the extra little seat in between the rear captain chairs and we leave it in all the time as i only have 2 kids. for our day to day driving they can flip the back of that seat down and it serves as a table with cup holders. if i'm carpooling i just pop it out for the day.

there are only a few minor things i would change.......

i wish we would have gotten the dvd player.....and only for traveling. and until we got our iphones my hubby wished we'd gotten the GPS system.....but now we mount our iphone up and use the GPS on that instead...works great!

i also wish that i could open the back hatch with my remote like i can open the rear sliding doors. this option is only available on the touring model.

otherwise there is nothing i would change about it at all. we would definitely buy another one in a heartbeat!

[lmonter]

I don't think you're going to find any minivan that gets 29mpg. Unless you convert it to biodiesel or it's possible one of the new diesel VW minivans gets that kind of mileage, but those are definitely not in the $4K range.

We bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey this fall in prep for #4 that I'm due with anytime between now and March. It's a minivan, but I like it okay. I don't think I'll ever say I love it, but I have issues that way. We just had to do the 100K mile maintenance on it, get new tires and brakes, and we were on our way (we got a good deal on it because of these things that needed to be done - hubby did a fair amount of the repairs himself). Not sure what our exact mileage is as we haven't done the math yet [we do track our mileage, one of the few habits I inherited from my dad], but I know it's not as good as the 2008 Honda CRV we had to sell, and that was about 24/25mpg in town (up to 28-30mpg freeway). But it's also a whole lot more vehicle to lug around.

The older vans like ours don't have the cushiest of 3rd row seats. It *almost* feels chintzy (think the 3rd row of the first generation of Toyota Highlanders), and is a bit narrow when you put 2 Britax carseats in it. But it works. Right now, I've got my 6yo and 3.5yo in the 3rd row in their Britaxes (Frontier and Marathon), and my 19mo in her rear-facing Roundabout in the captain's chair behind the driver. The other captain's chair is currently in the garage so I can haul things - easier to heft things off the floor there with my belly than lean down into the dip of the cargo area in the way back. Ideally, I'd love to get all three back there in the back, the new babe in a captain's seat, and leave the other captain's seat out so I can still have that spot to easily lean in to buckle/situate kids and haul stuff as need be. Harder to buckle and tighten the 5-pt harnesses in the back row when the second row is all in there. But that's just me and my own laziness I suppose.

The other minivan we were looking at was the Toyota Sienna, but we found a better deal of an Odyssey before we found a deal on a used Sienna, so there you go. We kinda went into the car-shopping with those two models in mind, and whatever we ended up with is what we ended up with.

[plantmama]

We have had an odyssey since August and have been super happy with it. It's a 2000 and cost about $7300 I think, in NH. It gets about 20-22 mpg in the city and I think we got almost 25 mpg on a long trip, mostly highway, though it may have been 23.
I did research mini vans and it just doesn't seem worth buying an older van unless it's a toyota (sienna, didn't review other models) or a honda. Mine is a great car and I NEVER though I would drive a mini van. We have three kids and we fit 7 people very nicely. I can't stress enough how wonderful it is to have the extra space. I was driving an older car and the mileage was the same as the van so we didn't take a hit there.
I would say overall Odysseys are good cars. You will have trouble finding one that is in your price range however. They are a little more expensive. I think it's worth it though because you will have fewer problems.
Mine doesn't have automatic doors or anything, not even a lock button, but it has everything I need.
Good luck!

[JTA Mom]

Vicki, I know I'm going to take a hit on the MPG. I just don't want a really, really bad hit (like under 20 highway).

Plantmama, why are all older mini-vans (other than Honda/Toyota) bad?

I've heard some good things about Mazda. Anyone out there have a Mazda mini-van? How do you like it?

Ami

[treegardner]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Vicki, I know I'm going to take a hit on the MPG. I just don't want a really, really bad hit (like under 20 highway).

Plantmama, why are all older mini-vans (other than Honda/Toyota) bad?

I've heard some good things about Mazda. Anyone out there have a Mazda mini-van? How do you like it?

Ami

We have a Mazda 5 and I love it. It is a nice compromise between a van/car/SUV. It's a little of all 3.

[Drummer's Wife]

We had a Mazda MPV and loved it. What I am wanting now is a Mazda 5. You can buy a new or a couple years old one for pretty cheap.

Other than that, I would also recommend a Honda or Toyota minivan. Both were out of our price range, even used, when we bought the Mazda (which came in 3rd on consumer reports ratings).