Clueless about minivans. Need help deciding between two used cars.
We're looking to get a family minivan to last us about a minimum of 5 years (more would be nice) with minimum maintenance, but it has to be 10k or less. We saw two that we liked. A 2012 Dodge Caravan (56,000 miles) and 2007 Mazda5(74,000). Common sense tells me to just go with the newer model with less miles but a lot of people we've talked to seem to think Mazda is a better option even if it's older. We're not necessarily looking for a huge car, it just has to fit a kid and two dogs but third row seats are a must. What would be a better option between these two?
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We have shopped the Mazda5 thinking we'd prefer the size. The Grand Caravan was great for out recent move out to the SouthWest, but the Mazda5 would be easier to maneuver around town. On our test drives, we found the Madza5 to be a bit cramped in the front seat though.
Leaving aside the size, I'd go with the newer one although the miles on both are low. I don't think the reliability is all that different on the brands.
We never had kids or dogs, but like the big empty for hauling camping gear and bikes and junk. But the Grand Caravan is really too big. But the prices are probably "better" for the Dodge and we've had good luck (so far) with ours. Just a front brake job and a couple of flats. Ours had 125k on it and we've put about 15k on it in less than a year.
I'm kind of surprised that you found a Caravan that new for $10k.
With any used car, it's cheap insurance to get your own mechanic to check it out.