XP: minivans

TurtleDove1 · September 2011

If you drive a minivan, how important/necessary is the power liftgate?

We have found a great deal on a 2011 van (used with 20000 miles) that has all of the other features we want, but not the power liftgate. I currently have a full-size SUV (2007 durango) that doesn't have it either...so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing?

DH checked and it is $$$$ to add it on now....so that probably isn't an option for us. So, if you have a van with or without a power liftgate, do I really NEED it?

DallasHorn · September 2011

Can you live w/o it...sure. It is nice and convenient....absolutely. It's a want vs. need. I have power liftgate and doors on my minivan and I LOVE it. I can get the doors open via the remote and kids can start to jump in and buckle while I load stuff.

jf198400 · September 2011

We have a van with power sliding doors, but Not the power liftgate and I have never missed it. I love the sliding doors b/c it makes it way easier when you are carrying a baby/toddler to the car. If I have DD with me when I go grocery shopping I get her in the car first and then open the back and unload the groceries. Save your money and get the van you found.

MammaBear81 · September 2011

Power liftgate= want

Power doors=NEED!

My mom has a van with the power liftgate an it's nice, but I get by just fine with the manual one on my van. For us it also came down to the $$, the models with the power liftgate also came with other fancy things we just didn't need either.

pinksweetpea2 · September 2011

Truthfully, it is handy at times, but it can also be annoying. I don't think you will miss it.

Now, the power doors on the other hand are totally worth the extra duckets. I hope those are included.

Edit- we have all the bells and whistles because we wanted AWD and that is what came with the package. We probably wouldn't have gotten a lot of the extras otherwise.

EastCoastBride · September 2011

I agree - the doors are a must. The liftgate? Not so much. I don't use the liftgate nearly as much as I do the doors, and the doors are usually where you're juggling kids, bags, etc.

The liftgate... eh. I know a lot of people w/ mini-vans and I actually don't know anyone who has one.

SportsLover · September 2011

We have power doors, but not the liftgate. I've never had a liftgate, so I technically don't miss it. My power doors are awesome though!!!

Lena122 · September 2011

We have a 2011 Grand Caravan without power doors or lift gate. After doing some research, we noticed that it is not uncommon for the power doors/gate to break for one reason or another and it is NOT cheap to fix. Unfortunately, a broken power door doesn't just turn into a manual door... it cost money to turn it into a regular sliding door. I don't know if that's the case for the gate but I'm guessing it may be. Personally, I don't think either is absolutely necessary but I agree with PPs that the power gate is less necessary than the power doors.

pinksweetpea2 · September 2011

Lena122:
We have a 2011 Unfortunately, a broken power door doesn't just turn into a manual door... it cost money to turn it into a regular sliding door.

That is not the case with the Toyota Sienna- I can turn off the power option and it becomes a regular sliding door.

Lena122 · September 2011

pinksweetpea2:
Lena122:
We have a 2011 Unfortunately, a broken power door doesn't just turn into a manual door... it cost money to turn it into a regular sliding door.
That is not the case with the Toyota Sienna- I can turn off the power option and it becomes a regular sliding door.

There must be a difference in turning the power off and having it break. Or maybe they've made improvements in newer models because my mom has an '06ish and hers broke. It cost $700 just to turn it in a regular sliding door (1k to fix the power). To me it's not worth it but I guess it just depends on your priorities.

MammaBear81 · September 2011

Lena122:
We have a 2011 Grand Caravan without power doors or lift gate. After doing some research, we noticed that it is not uncommon for the power doors/gate to break for one reason or another and it is NOT cheap to fix. Unfortunately, a broken power door doesn't just turn into a manual door... it cost money to turn it into a regular sliding door. I don't know if that's the case for the gate but I'm guessing it may be. Personally, I don't think either is absolutely necessary but I agree with PPs that the power gate is less necessary than the power doors.

My mom had a dodge caravan, like the one I have now, and one of her doors broke. It still worked, but it's a little harder to slide than a door that didn't have the mechanism to be electric. Annoying I'd say, but worth having the working electric door while it lasted!

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XP: minivans

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