Minivan Recommendations Needed

orchid2007 · August 2013

We are in the market for a USED (2006-2008) minivan and I am just trying to research which ones are most reliable and which ones to avoid. I originally thought I wanted a Chrysler T&C because of all the great features they have but upon further research I am wondering how reliable they are... Especially when you are shopping used and they tend to have a good amount of miles already driven.

I know it can really be a luck of the draw when you buy something used, but we only buy cash and new cars depreciate too quickly anyways. We are finding that anything between 2006-2008 are in our price range so that is what we are going with.

If you own or know someone who owns a minivan in that model year range can you tell me your experience or make a recommendation?

Thanks!

P.S. I plan to post this on other boards so if you see it duplicated, please don't get annoyed.

EastCoastBride · August 2013

Personally, I think either Toyota or Honda is the way to go as far as reliability. I have a 2007 Odyssey bought in 2009. It's been great and we love it. Most of my mini-van driving friends have either a Honda or Toyota and everyone has been very happy with them.

jf198400 · August 2013

I agree go with Toyota or Honda. I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna and really love it.

thedash · August 2013

We recently bought a Sienna and fully intend to drive it for 15 years or so. The car we replaced was a 1998 Nissan Quest which had very few problems over its lifetime. It had 150,000 miles and was still pretty reliable. I wanted to replace it because it only has one sliding door (huge PITA with two in car seats) and I was concerned about how much safety standards in minivans have improved in 15+ years. The routine maintenance on it was fairly pricey (brakes, etc), but I think you can find better deals on a used Quest than Sienna or Odyssey normally.

DH has two aunts who are both still driving their late 1990's or early 2000's Siennas with no complaints.

I once sat next to a Carmax buyer at a wedding and asked for his advice on used minivans and SUV's. He said without a doubt Toyota are the most reliable and suggested we go with a Highlander or Sienna based on what we were looking for. At the time we planned to buy used but we ended up getting a brand new one with the zero percent interest and other incentives a few months ago. Initially I liked the Chrysler T&C but we did some research and ruled it out because we also were concerned about their reliability.

financialdiva · August 2013

Have you checked out the Nissian Quest? I've heard good things about them. They stopped making them in 2009 I think, and then re-started making them again in 2012. The new models are UGLY, but I like the older models. Since you are look at used anyway, this last sentance isn't applicable.

mittensonkittens · August 2013

Honda had the top minivan for years, but Toyota caught up after the redesign a few years ago. They are currently about equivalent. For those model years I'd probably go with the Honda. But I forget exactly when Toyota did the redesign.

meganandchase · August 2013

Definitely check out Consumer Reports. They have a huge car edition once a year. They talk a lot about used cars.

Both Honda and Toyota are great for reliability and function. I think Hondas tend to be more expensive, at least they were when we were looking. We ended up with a Sienna, which is fine. I'm not a person who "looooves" cars, but I like the Sienna. It has a lot of space. We have been camping with two small children and all their gear and the dog and it had enough space.

We did look at the quest and the amount of space is has is much less than the Siennas and Odysseys. It is also ugly.

drcolleen · August 2013

I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna we bought new, I like it as much as I could like any car and it has some creature comforts (heated seats, automatic stuff, etc). It's plenty big enough for us, we've taken multiple road trips with 8 people (3 being carseats) +2 dogs and it's not uncomfortable, even for the person in the "jump seat." The Honda Odyssey was more expensive and we don't have a dealership within 90min so that was a no go for us. My Grandma has had Chrysler T&Cs since the late 90s and gosh, there seems to always be something new that isn't working or some annoying alarm that's going off.

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