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We traded an '02 Tahoe for the Ody. The Tahoe was very reliable for the 50k miles we had it. The Ody is about on-par. As for passenger space, the Ody is better at fitting 6-7-8 people with more space for cargo. The '07 Tahoe looks to be a little better, but the Ody is still more people friendly. I miss the towing capacity more than anything which means we have to take one of our trucks when towing. IMHO, the only fair comparison is Suburban vs Ody and we are considering going to the Yukon XL Denali after the "new model" bugs are worked out.
But if you throw snow tires on the Ody, it will make it through most conditions as well as the Yukon with those "all-season" highway tires they put on them. Unless you've got real truck tires on a 4wd, they're at a huge disadvantage. The only downside is the Ody is pretty low to the ground so if you're cutting through deep fresh snow, it'll hang even with snow tires. I live in the boonies and a FWD with snow tires is about the same as a 4x4 with crappy tires in many conditions. But the Ody sits lower than most vehicles which can cause problems. One ice or normal slick roads, the Ody is quite stable with the stability and traction control making a big difference.
The other thing is that I had a major back injury many years ago and I still suffer back pain from it. The Odyessy is just not nearly as comfy as the big comfy seats in the Tahoe/Yukon and the new ones are even better than the old ones. WHat do you think of seats in Odyessy? I used to have the 2000 Odyessy and those seats were not good at all.
I too have thought about the suburban as we have 3 kids and a big large dog that goes with us to snow, lake, beach etc. In fact people have thought we were nuts to get the Tahoe but it is less expensive to purchase and for gas.
I like the '07 (Suburban) a lot, but I won't buy one until much later in the year, or maybe even next year. GM rushed these to market and (hopefully I'm wrong) I don't want to be the product tester. Plus my biggest complaint with my Tahoe was the 4-speed transmission. GM has a new six-speed auto being used in the Escalades that are going to be filtering down to the poor mans SUVs/Trucks next year and that's an awesome transmission. Makes the vehicle drive much better than that lazy 4-speed. The Suburban wasn't much more expensive when I bought the Tahoe, and I proceeded to kick myself for not buying it. I probably would still have it and I wouldn't know beans about an Odyssey.
Seat comfort is very subjective. I have back problems and am a bit picky about seats. I too liked the Tahoe seats, but so far have no complaints with the Ody. We have the EX-L (only way to get 8-passenger seating) which has leather power drivers seat and I've had no problems. I think I like my '02 Tahoe seats better, but I don't have a lot of seat time in the '07 models to really compare. The Ody is more comfortable for the passengers, although a Suburban would likely compete well. Good luck...!
The Sienna has REAL seats for 8 while the Ody EX has real seats for 7 + a nice, oversized, removeable center armrest between the 2 bucket seats in the 2nd row where an 8th person can sit quite comfortably.
Tanker
Would that be the glossy brown plastic trim with wood-like appearance?
ALL BMWs, even lowly 3 Series have real wood! I know, I have one....2001 325ci (6 cyl, 5spd, sport and prem packs). In a BMW, if it looks like wood, it is wood. I also have the "vinyl" sport seats that look brand new and didn't require killing a few cows. Seems like all the leather seats I see look worn and cracked after a few years, maybe the owners didn't take proper care of them.
You check your states lemon laws? You may be able to do it alone without the lawyer. If any vehicle on this earth should qualify for the lemon law, that Ford Freeturd is it.
Good luck.
The process:
Right click the internet photo (you can practice with any google image if you want to try it), and go down to properties. Click properties.
Copy the Address {URL}. It will look like a website address, but longer.
Come back to the page where you are writing your message.
Click the [IMG] button
Paste the Address {URL} that you copied from Properties right after the prompt it will give you (just after the open quote).
Click the IMG button again to close out the address.
POST!">
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A more powerful engine. The Santa Fe has a 240HP engine,
while the most you can get with the Caravan is the same
old 3.3L 180HP and the Caravan is several hundred pounds
heavier than the Santa Fe.
Fold-down seats. Available in the Grand Caravan but not
in the Caravan. I don't have a family to haul around
anymore so the GC is just too much.
The Dodge Nitro might have been an viable alternable but it doesn't have front-wheel drive, which as far as I am concerned is a must. It does have available four wheel drive but that is just something else that can break if most of your driving is on paved roads.
So it looks like Chrysler and I have reached the end of our journey together. My new car may be foreign but at least it's not an "import" since it was made in Alabama.
Vans seating MORE than 8 passengers are NOT minivans. Therefore, someone who MAY have some general input on 8+ passenger vans may not find this discussion in here, the MINIvan shopping topic.
This IS the VAN and Minivan forum, isn't it? Where's the discussions on full size vans? As far as I could see, the ONLY general thread we had going concerning comparisons of full-size vans was the one you just shut down. :confuse:
Our Full-Sized Vans is in the Conversion & Full-Sized Vans Folder above.
I'd originally placed the 8+ posts here because this topic's lively and I felt it was more likely to get feedback here. In any case, I've moved it back out and have retitled it: Full-Sized Minivan Shopping
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Here is what we have done so far,and we are a bit confused.Maybe you guys could add a little input.My wife drives a 2005 Subaru Forester currently,and it is a lease that is up in September of 07.We love the Suby,but with 2 ids in car seats it is a little snug.We have a 36 month 15k per year lease on the forester now,and we got it in Sept of 04.The car has been trouble free,and we are way under the mileage with only 23k miles on the clock now with roughly 9 months left.
We recently got a call from Subaru asking if we wanted to do anything early with our Forester,and we told them that we were recently thinking about doing something.We test drove a Tribeca,and liked it,but the cost of them even as a 5 passenger vehicle is really high for us,so we thought we would be better to find a minivan.
We went by our local Dodge dealer that I bought my used 2003 ram 1500 quad cab from,and looked into a grand caravan as they are offering $4000 rebate now,and I can get the emplyee pricing on top of that with my affiliation from my employer.
It seems that even with the rebates our plan of keeping our payments under $400 per month is impossible.The sales person told us of a few 06 Grand caravans they have as used vehicles,and we looked at them as well.Today they called us,and told us they got an 06 Chrysler T&C Touring with 20k miles on it,and better equipped than the new one we test drove.It is equipped with the sto&go seats like the new one,and has a rear DVD entertainment system,power liftgate,tire pressure monitoring system,but does not have the electric pedals.We didn't test drive it as we already test drove the Dodge,and thought they would be the same.The Chrysler is a former rental,so that worries me a little.Am I right to be hesitant of a rental car?The price is $18k for the Chrysler,and that puts our payments where we want them.
To confuse things more we went to the local Honda dealer tonight to see a used 04 Odyssey they had in stock.It is an EX model with the power doors,and is pretty much similarly equipped as the Chrysler only it doesn't have the DV system,and tire pressure system(no big deal on that option)I liked the added head room of the Honda,and the ride seemed better,but we didn't drive them back to back so it is hard to tell.The Honda is a certified pre owned car with a 100k mile warranty,and the price is around the same as the 06 Chrysler.The interior of the Honda seemed a little plain jane,but seemed higher quality.The Honda didn't have sto&go seats or the associated storage under the floor that the Chrysler has,but I doubt we would store the seats in the Chrysler much anyway,but we would use the storage.I could go either way,and so could my wife,but what is teh better buy?
06 Chrysler T&C former rental w/20k miles,and DVD system,or older 04 Honda Odyssey w/42k miles,and Certified pre-owned?
I know the Honda should be more reliable,and should hold its value better,but are we better off getting a newer van?
Sorry for the novel here,but we are confused.Thanks in advance.
Confused in Massachusetts
If you can shop around a little more, look for a similar mileage 05 or 06 DCX van that isn't a rental.
We had an Odyssey of the bodystyle you shopped for (ours was a 2000) and we absolutely loved the thing. But since you are on a tighter budget and don't want to spend too much on a depreciating asset (smart!), I'd go with the newer, lower mileage car if I were in your shoes.
If it were ME, I'd take the Honda though, of course!
I would assume the Honda will be more reliable,and hold its value better,but I have owned plenty of Chrysler products,and never had any major issues.I have never owned a Honda,but I know their history of reliability,and value,and I love Japanese cars.
I am confused.
Chris
Reliability is the million dollar question. Honda's are supposed to be better, but I had a friend who drove his Dodge van to 300,000 miles with virtually no problems. His secret was regular maintenance and changing of fluids. I agree with the other fellow on staying away from rentals. You don't know how they were driven as they've had a zillion different drivers with different driving habits.
For our part, we just bought a new Honda. We looked at the Dodges, but hated how uncomfortable the stow and go seats were. Safetey features also seemed to be superior on the Honda. They are more pricey however and if you're on a budget I think the Dodges still give more bang for the buck.
That being said, I personally will never spend a dime on a Chrysler.
Since I am so biased against Chrysler, I would go with the Honda. Many many people would go with a newer, lower mileage vehicle (it does seem logical, eh?) for similar money, and for that they have good reason.
Personally, I'd go with the Honda, if only to avoid the Chrysler (for personal reasons mentioned earlier). I am but one person, however, and my perspective is probably much more bitter against Chrysler than many buyers, many buyers who are repeat Chrysler van customers who love their vehicles. This must be for a reason, so in you shoes, I can see why it is hard to pass up a 2006 van for 2004 money.
Does that make ANY more sense? I hope so; if not, I apologize...
I'm shopping for the next van as well. Since I love AWD, I am probably forced to go with the Toyota. I have seen lots of complaints about slipping quality on their vans as well.
You can get lots of anecdotal stories about all the manufacturers. It I was looking at your situation, I would get a maintenance record on the rental car, and have the dealer change the transmission fluid and filter prior to taking delivery. Just make sure they use, Chrysler TSB# 21-006-01 notes that all current vehicles only use ATF+4 type 9602, part 05013457AA.
Good Luck
I know for a fact that blanket statements aren't always true. I'm afraid our problems came well before it was time before transmission service (we had two vehicles with transmission problems, one at 13,000 miles, the other within 6 months of ownership {I don't remember the mileage on the first one, it was years ago}).
Yes, the vehicles were fixed under warranty, but who wants to take a car that eats trannies (and suspension parts in our case) on a cross-country trip? I'd be scared to death.
I think Chrysler has improved, but an experience with a rental Sebring Convertible 2 years ago was not overwhelmingly good (the car would die every time you put it in reverse - not comforting when you are in Memphis, TN, 7 hours from home).
You could chalk it up to being a rental (it was a 2.7 V6 Auto, with low miles) another case against the van our friend is shopping for; it was just very suspect back to our old Chryslers; like nothing had changed.
Don't forget, Honda has issued a major extended warranty on Honda transmissions; something Chrysler doesn't offer. It didn't matter on our 2000 model, as we never had a lick of trouble from it except for a squeaky seat that was lubricated and never heard from again.
Chris
Zoooooom On!
To throw a monkey wrench into the works we just found a really,really left over 2005 mazda mpv lx locally that can be had for $17999,but I bet we could get that lower as well.The only thing is I think the salesguy I spoke on the phone with knows nothing about the van,as it took three call backs to figure out whuch model it was.He said it is the middle of the road lx,but my bet is it is the bottom of the barrel lx-sv which is not what we want.
I love mazdas,but we have not driven an mpv,but i do like the slightly smaller dimensions even at the cost of a little less room.I mean we have been getting by in a forester.Thanks for the input,and keep it coming.
I think we are going to ook at the mazda,and a toyota,and probably take another honda out for a drive.
Chris
The Odyssey might drive the most like a sports car but it is not as quiet as the T&C, GC, or Sienna.
Enlighten me if I am missing something.Granted I have never driven the Mazda,but it seems to be nice.
Chris
If bottom line price is an issue, besides the smaller Caravan/T&C I had mentioned earlier, there is quite a supply of the new and improved Kia Sedona's about which might be worth a look. Don't laugh. Those Koreans are grabbin' market share in this segment like you wouldn't believe. Can you say "upscale" Hyundai Entourage? I've never personally test driven the corporate 10year/100k warranty they offer, but they do seem to be turning heads.
All FWIW or course. Good luck on that decision you have before ya.
12" of length. Suburbanites all bought the "giant" minivans. But they are all 201" long or more.
The MPV is shorter, narrower, and thus is extremely popular in cities. The very good driving dynamics can't make up for all that space - passenger and cargo. We love our MPV, but take our Quest on long family trips.