Mini Van

Just over a year ago my fience and I got a Suzuki XL7 and we only have two full time boys that live with us and every other weekend we have his 10 yr old and it seems to work out great. Now there is not a lot of room in the back for older adults but for the children it works out great.

I've had 2 a Plymouth Grand Voyager and a Nissan Quest. The Nissan is more comfortable, it has the leather seats - which with kids is so much easier to clean. But the Voyager had more cargo space but only one side door. My suggestion would be to make a list of what you want out of a van before you go looking.

I would to go www.kbb.com , you can compare mini vans, see which ones have the best safety options, and you can line them up, side by side.. to see which ones offer the best things for you and your family. The website also features Certified Pre-owned vehicles, so that way, you are not getting into a potential used car, that was treated badly. If you are going to buy, brand new. Here, you will also see the fair pricing for these cars, or trade in value of your car. I too am looking for a new car right now. To make sure I am getting the best deal, I always like to blue book the car, and see if the price they are asking is fair. If not, I print it up and take it in to show them.
Furhermore, buying from a car lot. Go the VERY LAST day of the MONTH!!! They need to reach a quota and they will give out the BEST deals on the last day. They often will take a hit on their end, just to get the car off the lot. Also, they are selling good deals, because they are making room for 08's. Which makes it also a great time of year to buy. Just remember. If you find a used car on the lot, or even a new car. Blue Book it first, print off the price, and take that in. Say this is what I want... for this price. You will find that they will have a hard time telling you No. I bought a car this way. I printed off the price, ended up only paying $500 more than the what the website said, but 4 grand less than the sticker price.
Good Luck, and I hope this helps!
~H.

Hello,
My name is C. and I actually had to take the plunge myself. I ended up buying a used town and country van. I work for the Miles Family of Dealerships in Woodburn, OR. I am in the customer service department so don't think that I am going to try and "sell you a car." I work for both the Chevy and the Chrysler Jeep Dodge stores. If you would like, Feel free to give me a call at work and I can hook you up with some great people to help you make a well informed buying desicion. I love my van and would not trade it for any SUV. (Not to mention the money I save on gas!) Hope that your adventure into Mini-van heaven is a good one.
x. C. McCorkle
Customer Service Coordinator
Miles Family of Dealerships
###-###-#### ext. 204

Be careful on where you buy. If you're buying from a third party try not to buy from a single mom. I know this sounds harsh but most single moms cannot afford proper maintanence of a vehicle. They rarely do oil changes on time and let a lot of "little things" go due to lack of money. Try and make sure you have it checked out by a mechanic. It may cost a little extra but not near as much as if you buy one that has serious problems. I wanted a Toyota or Honda myself. I actually ended up with a full size conversion van that I absolutely LOVE! Don't love the gas prices but love my van. I had a plymouth voyager before it. It was nice but had a lot of miles and the voyagers are known for transmission problems once they get high miles so we sold it before we ever ran into those problems. Good Luck!

Hi J., I too, have just recently taken the plunge...never wanted to be the "mini van mom", but I actually LOVE our Hundai Entourage...It's also just like the Kia Sedona....it's been voted the safest mini van ever and it's actually pretty powerful for a van...we bought ours new and it was actually still rather inexpensive. It has a wonderful warranty too! It's VERY roomy...I'm amazed at how much I can fit into it :) I know the last 2 seats fold down and the middle two I know they come out, but I don't think they fold down...it's very easy to fold them down when ya do. Anyway, really love it and would suggest that one. I thought originally that I wanted a Nissan or HOnda, as we've always had good luck with those, but when it came to a minivan, they were spendy...my hubby did tons of research before buying and we're very happy with this one...let us know what you end up with!! ;)
Jackie

HI, We took the plung last year after the birth of our third child, we ended up getting the Nissan Quest. We love it. It's a 2003, although, would recommend the newest one you can afford. We've been really happy with it. Good luck, and I know it's a hard line to cross into "soccer mom" world :)

make sure it is a CHEVROLET......look at the Tahoe's...they are spacious...and SWEET ROAD EYE CANDY....and they are safe for children ...and FUN for all the things that adults want to do ....great on campin trips....GO CHECK THEM OUT ...GOOD LUCK...down with Mini Vans.....BOOO BOOO...this is the new generation of SOCCER MOMS.....tell your husband buy a truck ...you want a Tahoe...;)

Hi, we were in the same boat, we have two girls, two and six months and needed more room and wanted a car that we could take people in if needed also the Hubby is 6' 4" and doesn't fit well in alot of cars....so after a few days of looking we traded in our truck and got a 2007 Mazda 5......it is AWSOME a mix between a car and a mini van. the back doors slide it has two captain seats like a van and then the bench seat. We had been lookin into vans too and picked the same ones you liked, but as you said, they are expensive! The Mazda gets better milage than a van......so far has only cost me 38 to fill it up. I love it! You can look them up on line at mazdausa.com and get some better info. I know you said used, so I don't know what your price range is......but we paid 19,000. for this brand new with 14 miles on it. It's worth checking into! We also were thinking used and didn't think we would be able to get into this car, but we did :) Anyway, let me know if you do look into it..... Good luck with your search! :)

Ok, so we were in the same boat a few years ago. All our friends (with only 1 kid) laughed at us, but we knew better. With comparisons, the KIA Sedona was the best bang for the buck. We bought new, but this was 5 years ago, so not many used models out there. PLENTY now. Very much suggest the seats that fold into the floor if possible, ours don't and it's a pain to keep it in the garage if we need extra space. Safety rating and warranty are worth their weight in gold. We knew the resale was not that of a Honda, but also knew we would be committed to it until it died anyway, so that was not as important. Hubby's only requirement was that it could tow our boat..........done!! Plenty of power and room enough for camping. BTW......all our friends have 2 kids now..........and a van:o)

Go Toyota...This is a stand up car maker and you will not be worried about repairs and breakdowns. Besides it will take you to wherever forever.