van/suv

[emanon1501]

I need to shop for a van/suv to replace our family car. I have three kids from 5 to 11 years old. Our family car is Honda Civic. It’s just too small, so we will be shopping for a van or suv. Our max loan will be 15K, so that means it will be older and higher mileage, but that does not matter to us. What do you use to research for vehicles for reliability, quality, repair history, etc.? Many reviews are for new cars. Cars develop problems as it gets older so that review is more for those who buy new cars every few years. I need something that is more tailored to people who buy used car with higher mileage. I am looking for something that is more affordable to repair and still dependable than other cars.

[disneysteve]

I'd suggest either a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey.

We bought a fully loaded 2011 Sienna in July for $22,000. You should be able to find one a year or two older in your price range I would think.

[riverwed070707]

Edmonds.com is a great place to research cars. You can search the year and model and see a full review of safety, features, whats different from previous model years, etc.

[emanon1501]

I have had great luck with Honda, so I am certainly open to buying another one.

Edmonds.com is awesome. It even has consumer review. Thanks!

[Petunia 100]

I loved my Honda Odyssey. It was extremely reliable, and very comfortable for my young family and all of the "stuff" we would take along on road trips, or the extra passengers we seemed to always have. If I needed another large passenger capacity vehicle, I would choose the Odyssey again.

When I no longer needed a minivan, I down-sized to an Accord. Very happy with that, too.

[ua_guy]

Our family has hundreds of thousands of miles on Chrysler minivans. They can be picked up used for dirt cheap. Properly taken care of, they'll do a lot of miles.

[snafu]

A couple of years ago I went to Phil Edmond's lecture book signing event. If he comes to your city he's a terrific [entertaining] speaker and incredibly knowledgeable. Of course he was asked what he was driving...Hyundai Santa Fe, as he hauls stuff around. He mentioned he bought it because his wife had been enjoying her Hyundai and they were dirt cheap. I'd buy Hyundai if there was a significant price differential with Honda but check with your auto insurance agent to learn premium differences between Honda, Hyundai, Toyota , Mazda etc.

[disneysteve]

He mentioned he bought it because his wife had been enjoying her Hyundai and they were dirt cheap. I'd buy Hyundai if there was a significant price differential with Honda but check with your auto insurance agent to learn premium differences between Honda, Hyundai, Toyota , Mazda etc.

When I was shopping for my car last year, we actually left the Toyota dealer to go check out Hyundai. We test drove a Sonata and actually neither of us liked it at all. It is very low to the ground. My petite wife could barely see the road. My normal-height body was also quite put off by that. We headed back to Toyota and bought the Camry I had already checked out.

Of course, that's all OT since this thread is about minivans.