need minivan recommendation...

my mom has been harassing me to buy a minivan for awhile. i have a toyota 4runner and am totally happy with that, have had it 3 yrs with no problems. but she has a minivan (a chevrolet something) that is a 2008 and she bought brand new in 3/09 and today the automatic locks are not working on it! they said she'll have to put it in the shop for who knows how long. anyway, she called me again urging me to go out and buy a minivan today, because she has the girls' carseats (britax marathons) in her minivan because she is the one who takes them to and from daycare, and when we go anywhere, she just drives. so now if she puts her van in the shop, how are we gonna get the girls around? i dont even know if the carseats will fit in my backseat. i still have them facing backwards because of the talk by the american academy of pediatrics of possibly recommending that carseats remain facing backwards til like 4 yrs old.

sorry, this story is getting long! anyway, as i said, i have a toyota, and certainly wouldn't mind sticking with a toyota or a nissan. i need some recommendations with pluses and minuses for minivans, preferably toyota and nissan, but will read anything! please mention a roundabout $ figure, since obviously as a single mom, $ is an issue. but i think she's gonna drive me crazy til i get something new!
thanks in advance!

 

We bought a 2006 Honda Odyssey a few months ago and love it. I think we paid $17,500 fully loaded with leather, moonroof and rear entertainment. I really loved the Toyota Sienna as well. They were my top 2 choices.

 

We have a 2006 Nissan Quest that I bought new. It was around $32K I think. It's fully loaded minus navigation and DVD (we didn't want them). I love the car. I had my first issue with it yesterday and had to replace the battery. Not a big deal. I am looking to trade it in soon and get either another Quest or a Honda Odyssey.

And I'm sure your marathans will fit in your 4 runner. They fit in my mom's GMC Envoy which is smaller than a 4 runner.

 

I bought a 2009 Honda Odyssey in June and I LOVE it!!!

 

For us it's between the Odyssey and the Sienna but the Sienna seems cheaper and more roomy, so we'll go with that once we can afford it.

 

We have a 06 Kia Sedona. I honestly wasn't sure I would like it. I had a 00 Ford Windstar and HATED it. I LOVE the Kia. I'm only 5ft 4inches, and don't feel too small in it. I can see out of it well and I like the captains chairs for our twins and that we can put the back seat down if the other kids aren't with us and we have too much baby stuff. I bought it at Carmax. Our Carmax here was very nice, they didn't pressure us into buying. I will definitely be going back there when we need a new van.

 

Same here, we bought ours in March and it's everything I could have ever wanted! However what would be a lot cheaper is maybe going out and buying some skinnier carseats that fit your Toyota. If you like your car so much then why get rid of it? It's much cheaper to buy carseats that fit your car rather then buying a new car. Just a thought. Good luck!

 

I second what Brigette said. We purchased a Toyota Sienna in 2007 and I do love it, my only beef with it is that I have trouble parking it...but that's me and not the vehicle's fault. It's very roomy, the gas economy could be a little better, and I like being able to have a third row to put down and up. You can also move out one of your second row seats should you need to. To also add, my BF has 2007 Rav-4 and totes three kids around in it (2 in booster in seats and one in a convertible car seat).

 

We bought a 2007 Toyota Sienna, and we LOVE it. It easily holds four adults, two twins, two big dogs, and luggage for a getaway for the beach. The features are numerous. And the power is excellent. We chose the Sienna over the Odyssey for the additional power. This thing hauls butt up the mountains. It has more cup holders than you could ever need. It's easy to organize. Best of all, the front passenger seat flips down for a quick changing table that can be reached from the driver's side or the back seat.

I had a Toyota 4Runner, too, and I can't say enough good things about the brand. Even my husband likes driving the minivan because it has so many features and it is not shy when you hit the accelerator. Although we are not lead feet...we find this to be a safety feature when merging onto our crazy highways where everyone else is speeding.

Just be sure you invest in the rubber mats for your minivan. You'll be glad you did come winter.

 

I was thinking this as well... #1 I would suggest trying the carseats in your existing vehicle, they may surprise you and fit it! I'm sure can fit your children into your life instead of the other way around if that's what you want.

I haven't gotten new carseats yet, but if you are looking for skinnier ones, the Sunshine Radian ones are smaller. And the new Complete (Air) by Safety 1st avail at Babies R Us are only 18 inches wide. I know several other of the carseats are 20 or more inches wide. Times 2 that's at least 4 extra inches...

good luck with your decision. p.s. I have a wagon and am going to stick with it for as long as I can. I have no desire to get a minivan... if you don't want to change vehicles don't feel pressured into getting a new car payment that you don't need...

 

well i'm officially a minivan owner! lol, i went out this morning and got home this afternoon with a 2009 toyota sienna! it's silver with tinted windows. i am happy with it, but it seems huge compared to the 4runner. it will definitely take some getting used to. thanks to everyone for the advice!

 

My husband is a car freek - knows all the ratings etc...With money a little tight we went instead with a Ford Freestar. Ford does not make minivans anymore and we ended up getting a great deal on a used with 24,000 miles. We have been very happy with it. We use a wagon to take our boys around and it fits perfectly in the back.

 

:yahoo: Congrats on your minivan!

 

Congrats on your new car!!!

We have a 2008 Honda Odyssey and like PP I LOVE it too!