used minivan?

[dakotablue]

I've looked over past threads and everyone seems to love the toyota sienna...

I don't think we can afford one. We need a minivan and are planning to buy a used one with part of our tax return so I'm hoping to spend 3-4,000.

I was thinking around 100,000 miles, but I wasn't sure of what kinda car would be safest or reliable that is in the cheaper range.

Anyone have suggestions? or should we really suck it up and save for the extra 2-3,000 needed to get a sienna?

We need to do this before this new baby outgrows the infant seat (we simply cannot fit two rearfacing carseats in our hyundai) so spring...

Thanks so much to anyone who's done this before me. I really know very little about minivans...

[Lisa1970]

I do not like my Toyota Sienna. My Honda Odyssey was so much better. But, I think the Sienna is better than most of the choices. 

[liberal_chick]

With 100K miles, I'd go Honda or Toyota for sure.  I've test driven both an Odyssey and a Sienna and I liked the Sienna better.  It seemed to be more spacious for the money, although the Honda we drove was considered "top of the line" with leather seats and dual automatic doors and such.  The Sienna was a basic model, but I still liked it better.

[BathrobeGoddess]

It might be hard pressed finding a sienna or odyssey with only 100K on it for $3-4 range...my dh has been looking for a new car and mid to late-1990 are still $5-6K and with many more miles even ....I was amazed! It is of course entirely possible that it is my area

[Drummer's Wife]

^It doesn't seem possible in my area, either. I'm looking for a used vehicle right now (to pay cash for), and possibly a minivan. The older Odysseys and Siennas (2000-2002) with over 100k miles are still $8,000 ish. I haven't even seen Dodge's or similar brands for $3-4k (and honestly wouldn't trust one with that many miles). I'm hoping to find a Mazda5 or MPV in my price range, but may end up settling for a sedan to drivefor a year or so and then finance a new Mazda5, since that's what I'd prefer.

I think if you want something that will hopefully last about 5 years, you'll need to double your budget (and even then, it's going to have high miles and likely need work from time to time).

[lactatinggirl]

I don't know about pricing on them, but I liked this list of best used minivans. http://www.autotropolis.com/usedcar-buyingguide/best-used-cars-minivans-toyota-dodge-honda.html

Also, the Odyssey is just as expensive as the Sienna. Which one you like of the two seems to be a preference. I love Toyotas in general because I've never had one break down like any other car I've owned. I would think that it might be worth it to save up a bit more to get a toyota that you'll be able to trust at high mileage. If you don't want to save up, I would say just look at it at a car-by-car basis. Don't worry so much about brands, just make sure they have what you need and then evaluate them by how they look at what not. I wish I would have done that better with my Mitsubishi Lancer because it's obvious that someone has driven the crap out of this car and now I'm paying for it.

Also, I would suggest looking into getting a 2003 or older if you want a latch system. That's when it became mandatory.

[Vaske]

Mazda MPV is supposed to be nearly as reliable as a Sienna, and more reasonably priced, but they can be hard to find.

[dakotablue]

Originally Posted by Vaske 

Mazda MPV is supposed to be nearly as reliable as a Sienna, and more reasonably priced, but they can be hard to find.

Thanks! I looked and it seems I maybe able to find one. There were a few around 4,000

Where I am there are cars for sale around 3-4,000, but they are mostly Chrysler, dodge and kia's

There are some sienna's I've seen for around 6-7,000

Odyssey's are like non existent.

Any more input would be awesome.

Thanks so so much!!!

[~Amy~]

I would definitely look for an MPV if you can find one.  As others have mentioned, Siennas are going to be about double your budget and Odysseys will likely be even more.  I know some friends who are happy with their Hyundai Entourage as well.  I would definitely steer clear of the GM minivans (Chevy Venture, Pontiac Montana, Olds Silhouette) if possible.  They get quite poor safety ratings.

[BeagleMommy]

I love my mom's 2007 Dodge Caravan. It's virtually identical to the 2005's when they started Stow-nGo Seats. That's what I'm hoping we can get when our '01 Malibu wheezes it's last. I'd probably look at an '06 though. My SIL's '05 has had a lot of things break, but I assume that's because it's the first year of the new stuff.  Around here, I saw a 2006 with right under 100,000 Caravan, but it was still $6000, although I know that number was negotioble. I'm going to keep saving and hope the Malibu keeps on a little while longer.

[AnnieA]

I currently own a 2002 Mazda MPV and I have loved it until recently. It is not quite a full-size minivan so since my kids are older, it's a pretty tight fit. We have just under 200K miles on it and the transmission has finally given up the ghost. We're debating on whether to repair it and then sell it or just sell it as is. We need a larger minivan before the baby arrives in July.

But for younger/smaller kids, the MPV is great. Wonderful gas mileage, the kids love that the windows in the sliding doors go down, moving the middle seats from a bench to captain's chairs really help w/arguments and the deep bottom in the back helps out with cargo space.

[starbuckmom]

I have a Sienna, 8 passenger.  If I wasn't going with the 8 passenger, then I was going to look into the Kia Sedona.  They are supposed to be identical to the Sienna but not as expensive and are highly rated.  I would look into those.

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by starbuckmom 

I have a Sienna, 8 passenger.  If I wasn't going with the 8 passenger, then I was going to look into the Kia Sedona.  They are supposed to be identical to the Sienna but not as expensive and are highly rated.  I would look into those.

If you're going to buy Kia, I believe it's 2006 and later you'll want to look at.  Earlier Kias are known for electrical issues and all sorts of other problems.

[MacKinnon]

We went for an older Ford minivan and it's been a nightmare, actually, although it's over 100K now, it was only 40K when we acquired this thing. We've spent thousands in repairs, including the transmission TWICE (second time under warranty, thankfully!), the a/c compressor, the radiator, sway bars, and the list goes on and on.... and something else is wrong now causing it to rev at low speeds and smell like exhaust when idling for a long time. Not to mention the consistently 13 to 15 MPG. I wish we had waited longer, saved more and looked more at the history of the models before we purchased. The Windstar/Freestars are notorious for problems including tranny's going at highway speeds with no warning, which is what happened to us. I would vote wait, save and choose very wisely!

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by MacKinnon 

We went for an older Ford minivan and it's been a nightmare, actually, although it's over 100K now, it was only 40K when we acquired this thing. We've spent thousands in repairs, including the transmission TWICE (second time under warranty, thankfully!), the a/c compressor, the radiator, sway bars, and the list goes on and on.... and something else is wrong now causing it to rev at low speeds and smell like exhaust when idling for a long time. Not to mention the consistently 13 to 15 MPG. I wish we had waited longer, saved more and looked more at the history of the models before we purchased. The Windstar/Freestars are notorious for problems including tranny's going at highway speeds with no warning, which is what happened to us. I would vote wait, save and choose very wisely!

Please check to see if your Windstar is one of the recalled ones.  A mama on another board I frequent had her 2000 Windstar reving like that & it caught fire in her driveway one day  I believe there's a fix for it.

[SubliminalDarkness]

My advice would be to keep an open mind and look at what's available. In the spring of 09 we found a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country with right under 30K miles for under $9000. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was a really great deal and we've been very happy with it. 

[Galatea]

We have a Kia Sedona and loooooooooooove it.

[zoebugsmom]

We were able to find a '99 Sienna last summer with only 70,000 miles for $6500.  It took some looking to find it, though.  If we hadn't found the Sienna we would have gotten a Mazda MPV.  Oddysey was also on our list but we couldn't find any for under 10k and that was with crazy high miles.  According to Consumer Reports, the Sienna, Oddysey, and MPV are the best buys for used vans.  Kia Sedonas newer than '06 were also good but impossible to find for under 10k, here at least.