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With GM's employee pricing for all, I'm sure everyone will have to do more.....Seems like you have time on your side!!! This is a good start, thinking months in advance!!
If you want a nice heavy minivan with less interior space and lower fuel economy, the Kia Sedona would be an excellent choice and also has nice discounts and rebates.
If you want a small minivan with the fold down rear seat, mid range fuel economy and "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" get a Mazda MPV.
If you want to spend most of your time getting to know mechanics, buy a used Volkswagen Eurovan :lemon: as a Volkswagen needs more frequent, costly maintenance than all the rest combined.
If a minivan is a must though, I would look at the MPV then. I like it better than the Sedona, and the gas mileage is better too. I didn't consider either of these vans, for a number of reasons, but I also don't have local dealers for these models, so I wrote them off my list for this very reason. Good luck.
I haven't seen but one on the roads here in Austin, either, so obviously others think they're pricey, too! Do the Freestyle's seats fold down? I would really like to avoid having to take the seats out to put the bikes in.
I happen to think that the 5 is a nice-looking vehicle, and know others that share my feelings (my father, for one), so don't be afraid of driving it if you don't like the styling, because plenty of others think youd be stylin'! :shades:
1. What was the first minivan to offer a driver side sliding door?
2. What was the first minivan to offer a power sliding door?
3. Which one was first with the power rear door?
Of course, these days, you have to offer all three to be a player in this market. I'm just curious as to who was first to market with these ideas.
A little harder to find the other companies' minivan firsts....maybe we'll get some help with that.
I looked at the 2005 GC and T&C again and am impressed with ALL of the extra storage space under the floor when 2nd row seats are in place to haul passengers. Driver, front passenger, and 2nd row seats are more comfortable than my 2002 T&C LX but my 50/50 split tip and fold forward 3rd row seat is much more comfortable than the 3rd row seat of DC minivans with Stow 'N Go seating.
Salesman and sales manager said no more 2005 models are in the pipe line. All future inventory will be 2006 models but they had no more information.
There is almost as much room under those second row stow-n-go seats, as there is in the back well that stores the third row seat. I usually keep one seat stowed and the other up. But you can see in that picture I put up, some of the stuff I keep in just one of those bins. There is a big furniture pad, battery cables, tools, tape, flashlight, umbrella, a can of fix a flat, portable radio and rope. All stowed out of sight. And I still have the other bin if I need it. There isn't another van on the market with anywhere near the storage room as is on the 2005 Chrysler/Dodges.
Chrysler may match GM deals
Me either. But if they did, I'd buy a brand new Odyssey EX-L NAV-RES immediately!
This a good thing for all consumers, not just American made buyers. It forces all competitors to keep making great products. No one can rest on their laurels anymore. Hopefully, the American companies finally realize this, after suffering through the 70s and 80s of thinking they had no competition. The Japanese have forced GM & Ford into making better products, and now the Koreans are after the Japanese. It's a dog eat dog world.
Back to minivans. I do not read owner posts of many problems in 2005 DC minivans but I have read owners report many problems with 2005 Odysseys.
Buy what you like best even if you have doubts about reliability or quality. That is what my friend did when he bought his Mercedes...and it was so enjoyable to drive that he felt the problems were more than offset by owing a vehicle he liked.
While German cars have a high level of owner satisfaction (I've owned two, an Audi and a VW) because they are by and large very nice driving machines, they have suffered quality lapses over the last few years, notably Mercedes and Audi. Doesn't mean they are bad vehicles, I think the sophistication in the electronics and other areas, has been a part of the problem, and recent inidcations are that Mercedes for one seems to have turned the corner, but I rarely see any mention of Mercedes as best in initial quality. High resale though, bested only by Lexus. (Last I checked)
http://www.safercar.gov/
See the "Safety Concern" they note in bold letters. Shame on Honda.
So, let me see, your wife gets hit driving it, she's ejected and killed....
If you don't skip this vehicle for that reason, you aren't human !
The Dodge/Chrysler may not be as good looking in the inside, as the Honda/Toyota, but it is more family/work friendly than any van on the market. I would be surprised if more than a few Honda/Toyota owners would even dream of taking their seats out and putting that stuff in their vans.
I will buy a minivan for my driving preference and treat it with as much care as my other family vehicles, not to be used as a free-loader for others.
It is like being stuck as the day care for the all the kids in the neighborhood because you have a nice pool... Your neigbors will love you for all the wrong reasons.
Happy July 4th!
I tend to agree with this point. That's why we wrestled back and forth between the Quest and Caravan. The Stow-n-go is tough to beat!
Not quite like that. We do for each other, because it's Family. My brother and I spent the whole day today putting that new bathroom together. She saved a weeks time waiting for it to be delivered and over $50.00, by me being able to haul it. The trim was the only thing I had trouble with. It was almost to long to get in the van.
But like we said before. One should know what your going to use a van for, before buying one. There are passenger vans and there are work/family vans. I knew I would need a work/family van and not just a passenger van when I bought the Dodge.
How can a person be ejected if she (or he) is wearing their seat/shoulder belt?
I don't think ANYBODY has ever asked me to borrow the Odyssey...
You should be happy that no one has asked you yet.
Do you want them to? If you do, you could become very popular for the wrong reasons.
I will NOT borrow another person's vehicle. I would rather be independent, do without or rent one. And my expectations of them are the same. Accidents happen unexpectedly and I do not want to make excuses for any.
I will only drive another person's vehicle if he/she requests that I do so because of illness/tiredness/drunkenness/etc or I believe that my life is in danger due to his driving.
The only time I would "load it up" is when they are packed in cardboard boxes, ie, ikea and another furniture joint who also does that.
And of course there is always the neighbor who works in a bank but drives a brand spanking new F150
Me too!
I would love to have Marine2 as my neighbor for selfish reasons. I can adopt him as my "Uncle" or "God father"
Exactly, that's what family is for. I'd hate to have a brother that doesn't even want to lend his van to me. What kind of a brother is that? And the same goes for friends. Good for you marine2.
By the way, it is quite coincidental that these two good samaritans, have the number 2 in their forum names.
Any more want to upset this nice number by making this a three-some or higher by willingly lending his/her minivans for others to haul their loads?? Anymore who don't care that their minivan is damaged/more used in this process?
Let us make a list so that we know where we can get help!
But one has to be selective about each case. Because it would be far cheaper/less aggravating to rent a vehicle than to fix any damages to my personal vehicle.
I have carried stuff in my new van for my brother,(air compressor) and the bathroom fixtures I mentioned for my sister. A wagon for my daughter. Nowhere did I say I do things like that for neighbors or friends.
Unlike your Honda, that has cloth on the side paneling,(if I remember right) and those big handles on the back of the seats, I don't need to worry about any handles and the Dodge has plastic on the side panels. I am not worried of tearing or scuffing the plastic, as it hasn't touched it yet. If it did, it wouldn't do any damage.
Your Honda isn't made to haul much of anything without taking extream care not to rip or break something.
My family comes from the old school where one helps family when in need. I know things like that isn't done much anymore, but thank God we still believe in it.
When I needed help replacing the main water shut off valve on my house, guess who helped me?
I wouldn't buy a vehicle where I would be afraid to put anything in it. That is why the Dodge is family friendly and the Honda isn't.
But when I buy any vehicle, be it a minivan or any other car, it is for the driving enjoyment and inspiring sporty handling it provides, NOT for the reasons of hauling goods for others. I like to encourage independence in others because dependence can easily become a habit and that leads to...
I do not want to be an enabler.
As they say, "Teach a hungry man to fish and he won't be hungry for the rest of his life. Give him fish and you would be stuck with doing so daily - welfare"
By the way, my Ody can do exactly what your DGC can do as well. I never had to remove the second row seats - if necessary, I would move it; I ain't dead yet.
How long before the Kia Sedona is # 3 in sales volume after the leader # 1 Grand Caravan and # 2 Town & Country?
What I really wanted to stop was the talk about the interior. I don't know what the rest of you do when concerned about things and the inside of your van, but I always put down a drop cloth and/or pad things that would rip up the interior. Plastic interiors may be some people's cup of tea, but I'd rather have the nice interior and deal with the relatively small inconvenience of having to put a plastic liner down the few times I need it. More often than not I am either transporting no one and nothing, a few people, or things that can't do much to my interiors. I wouldn't really choose any minivan as a work van, unless you are primarily hauling light things. You cannot beat the hauling capability of a full size van or pickup.
Having said all that, I like both the DGC offerrings and the Odys for different reasons. If the Toyota dealers where I am weren't such jerks I would be able to possibly offer up some compelling reasons for driving the Sienna.
As they say, "Teach a hungry man to fish and he won't be hungry for the rest of his life. Give him fish and you would be stuck with doing so daily - welfare"
I have had my van for eight months now and hauled stuff in it three times for three different family members. I think that is far from being an enabler. Guess who is going to watch my dog for 18 days while we go to Europe? Family helping family is what it's all about Mac.
By the way, if you'd had hauled my sister's bathroom stuff, you would have had to take out those middle seats.
Same with 2005 Odyssey (and virtually every vehicle produced).
After reading in Edmund's Town Hall for some time, the numerous owner postings of problems with the Sienna and Odyssey scare me. I am now afraid to buy either a new Sienna or Odyssey where problems are likely to occur. :sick:
On the other hand, the problems with DC minivans appear to be mainly with older models of the mid-90's.