Good minivan for 20k for a new baby and a dog

used odyssey or sienna.

grand caravan if you feel kids are expendable.

Nissan Quest
Toyota Sienna
Honda

No No No No No Dodge and Chrysler

boonjaca wrote: ↑Can he get any of the japanese vehicles in his price range?

He was thinking of a new caravan since they are cheap.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Caravan/
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Grand_Caravan/
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chrysler/Town_Country/

I own a 2010 Caravan with 116K on it, they are cheap and will move you and the family around but in that price range it's the base model and can be very boring to drive. We've had all kinds of brake issues but everything else has been pretty solid, I do my own brake work otherwise I would have spent a small fortune at a garage. The newer models, I believe 2013 and newer have a new brake design which is supposed to be much better then the old ones that are unsized and poorly designed which causes the pads to seize and ruins the pads and rotors.

20k for 2 years old Hoduh, Toyotuh?? Forget about it, for 20k you are getting 5 years old. Good luck to your friend.

Dodge Caravan CVP

Get yourself a 4 year old odyssey or sienna. Yes its older, but they work very well.

boonjaca wrote: ↑Yeah it is next to impossible to get one at that price. What about Kia, are they any good?

I have a 2008 Sedona, bought a couple of years ago for about 10K. Montreal car, full or rust. I put about 20K km on it, not that much. The only thing I had to do besides oil changes was change the pads and rotors on the front. The pads were easy, I did it myself, but the rotors were impossible to remove because the caliper bolts (I hope that's the right name for them) were stuck. The mechanic had to drill one of them. Parts are not as available as for other cars, but are not that expensive, unless you buy them at the dealership.

Other than that, the car is fine. The engine is rough when starting in cold weather, but that's not a big issue, and it's chain driven so no worries about changing the drive belt. The van is fast in a straight line if pushed, it has a good torque out of the 3.8 liter V6, but corners like a, well, minivan. And drinks gas like it's free, but I have a heavy foot.

My regret to this day is that I did not pay 10K more for a brand new Caravan, but at that time I was really flat, and the Sedona is a bit bigger inside than the current generation Grand Caravan.

Better off with a 4-5 year old sienna or Odessy than a 2 year old caravan.

No such thing...

Minivan = Thrown in the towel.

This forum 100% biased towards asian cars, so it is kind of pointless to ask advise here.

No doubt that Sienna and Odessey are nice minivans but I just dont see myself throwing out 40k for something which will get used and abused by kids, dog, hauling everything imaginable. So I got brand new Grand Caravan and so far in 2 years I had no problems.

Yes the brakes had to be replaced after 30k, and it is known issue with GC. I am not planning to keep it for 10 years once the warranty for engine/transmission is up, I will trade it.

While on vacation we rented Toyota Sienna for 12 days and to tell you the truth the differences were so minor that I glad I went with Grand Caravan.

If it is only one baby, and it has to be around $20,000, a brand new Mazda 5 might be the answer. Or at least it is worth it to check out.

AgentRoyal wrote: ↑Better off with a 4-5 year old sienna or Odessy than a 2 year old caravan.

I totally agree with you. NO NO NO on Grand Caravan or Town and Country.

Until kids are 5+, they are likely going to be vomiting in the car at least once a year. So for the first few years, go with something cheap and then you can upgrade later.

I was in your situation and decided to put more money and buy the Honda Odyssey, I average 9L/100km combined. One thing to consider, the Grand Caravan has an attrocious depreciation, after 4 years you will lose 8-10k$ more than the honda odyssey. If you keep it for 4-6 years the odyssey will be cheaper and if you keep it for longer the odyssey will probably be good for a 5-6 more years.

DBDphotography wrote: ↑used odyssey or sienna.

grand caravan if you feel kids are expendable.

+1

george__ wrote: ↑
No No No No No Dodge and Chrysler

+1

shingor6 wrote: ↑I was in your situation and decided to put more money and buy the Honda Odyssey, I average 9L/100km combined. One thing to consider, the Grand Caravan has an attrocious depreciation, after 4 years you will lose 8-10k$ more than the honda odyssey. If you keep it for 4-6 years the odyssey will be cheaper and if you keep it for longer the odyssey will probably be good for a 5-6 more years.

Base model Odessey sells for 36K, 4 years old sells for 16-20K. So in 4 years you loose 15-20K.
Base Grand Caravan sells for 22K, 4 years old sells for $10K. You lose 10-12K.