OT: Wife wants a new minivan

[Larry Gamble]

My wife's 1995 Astro AWD conversion mini-van is about done for. Any suggestions for a replacement? She really likes AWD, but doesn't want a SUV. We rented a Toyota Sienna on a trip recently and she really liked it, but all the reviews of sludge are too scary.



Any suggestions?

 

[Greg Stuhlsatz]

I do not suggest ford minivans. I believe ford has gone backwards on minivans. I have a 2004 freestar. Dad and my brother have the older Windstar. The newer interiors suck. I bought it do to the deal I couldn't pass up. I drive the Trac she drives the van!:lol:

 

[Andrew Tollison 3]

Not a big fan of minivans but the new Honda is nice. A lady at work has one. It has every option that you can get in a minivan. She got it after her boyfriend totatled her 04 Sport Trac.

Good luck with the search.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Have her test drive a Mazda5. They are getting very good reviews. They are roomy inside, but slightly smaller than a normal minivan. They're similar to the Pacifica, and even the basic ones are loaded with features.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Dodge or Honda.



Enuff said.

 

[FlipTrac_511]

I keep reading about Dodge's Caravan as being the big-daddy of minivans and it's being redesigned for the 08 model (on sale Spring 07). The combination of a seemingly good history and Dodge style of late, can't be bad. Could it?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Ford really screwed the pooch on minivans. The Windstar and Freestar is a waste.



My sister-in-law has a Chevy Venture and it is a good van, except for the garbage power sliding door.



I do feel she needs to check out the Mazda.



As for the Dodge. I used to drive them at my last job. Trannies were junk.





Tom

 

[Jim Reeves]

My buddy has a Dodge with 165,000 on it that he uses for a work van. He hasn't had any tranny trouble so he must have lucked out. I would take a look at the Honda.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Dodge vans had crap transmissions until '98. Then they fixed 'em. We have several caravans in our fleet at work with well over 200,000 miles on them-- all hard miles, terrible maintenance, heavy hauling, etc. These vans keep running and running.



We used to have a couple of Ford Aerostars. If you think Windstar and Freestar are horrible, you haven't driven an Aerostar. Those things were nothing but junk inside and out. By 60,000 miles, they had all sorts of things broken, like fuel gages didn't work, door hardware that didn't latch, transmission problems, electrical problems out the ying-yang, noisy valve-clattering engines, body rust, mirrors falling off, etc.

 

[Tom Schindler]

If you think Windstar and Freestar are horrible, you haven't driven an Aerostar.

That is interesting. My father has owned two of them. one was a 1988 and the other is a 1993. I know of 4 people that have them that have well over 200,000 miles on them and wishes Ford would bring them that.



I can honestly say I have yet to see a Windstar with 200,000 miles on it.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Had nothing but problems with our '96 Dodge mini-van. Maybe they are better now.



I suggest looking at the Honda, mostly for lower cost of maint, and better resale (if that's important to you).

 

[Curt NA]

IMO, you're SO lucky your wife is ok getting a minivan. I've been trying to get my wife to get the Odyssey, but she refuses to adhere to what she calls the "minivan" stigma. I'll probably end up getting her a Pilot.

 

[Scott Tanner]

if they still made them, i'd get another aerostar... mine had 205000 on it when i sold it.. try a freestyle... minivan-ish space w/ car size and handling

 

[Rich Stern]

Had a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan. Tranny rebuilt under warranty at 4K (yes, 4K) miles. After that, it was very reliable. My sister-in-law drives it now, and it's well past 120K miles. Still drives and rides well.



We now have a 01 Chrysler Town and Country, and it's been reasonably solid for 65K miles. Window motors are a weak spot (have one that needs replacing now), and brake rotors are subpar (had them turned at 35K and they need it again). The 3.8 V6 motor is surprisngly refined for a pushrod motor. Smooth, fairly quiet and gives brisk performance. For a vehicle with a rear axle, Chrysler manages to coax a lot of good handling and comfort out of these.



Overall, particularly with the steep discounts and rebates, you could do a lot worse. These are comfortable highway and suburb hauling machines.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

True, Rich, our 96 Dodge mini-van was a work-horse and even with out of pocket repairs probably the lowest total-cost-per-mile vechile we have ever owned.

 

[Brandon Hovater]

Chrysler town and country! I have had 2 of them and never had any problems other than small things. I have 4 children and have travled long trips. I will never own any other van!

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Get her a cross over, a Mini Van with style...LOL

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

I recommend the Sienna- we have a '05 XLE Limited with every option, now 27k miles. It has been an awesome vehicle- Nav system, power side doors and hatch, back up camera and the same laser guided cruise control my buddy brags about on his new Mercedes S600. The van holds a ton of stuff, seats can be moved around, it drives well and acceleration is adequate. We tested it against the Odyssey, which is a bit faster but not as stylish(if that term even applies). I have heard that the new Kia and Hyundai minivans are now contenders as well. We paid about $36k with the Costco plan and are well pleased.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

The Costco plan is no different than going into the dealer and telling them to pull invoice and work from it. I have bought every car this way, except my M3 which they don't haggle on price.

 

[Chase Straw]

the aerostar at where i used to work had 425000 (highway) miles on its second engine and tranny they solt it cheap to one the people who worked with me cause it seemed like it was due for another engine due to lack of power, the guy put a new cat on it and was back to normal