Teach me about minivans

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich) 03/09/2018 at 11:29 • Filed to: None

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Mrs. BaconSandwich is wanting to get a minivan some point in the near future. After a bit of digging, I think I’d like to get either a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey. We’d be looking at buying a used one, rather than new.

Other than the one generation of Odysseys that had transmission issues, is there much else to watch out for? Do both the Sienna and Odyssey use a timing chain, or do they use timing belts?

The Sienna seems to hang onto its value more than the Odyssey, and there seems to be more Odysseys around these parts.  I’d also consider a Kia Sedona - one of the newest generation ones, but it seems like prices are still up higher than what I’m willing to pay.

Ash78, voting early and often > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:37

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Please read my old Odyssey review. Three years later, I would change almost nothing. It’s been reliable and easy to work on, but otherwise:

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-only-honda-odyssey-review-you-ll-ever-need-to-read-1726724121

I would either go Sienna, Sedona, Pacifica, or large crossover if I started again. The Sedona and Pacifica were not available at the time.

HammerheadFistpunch > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:38

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Sienna is a timing chain (2gr-fe engine) and its a pretty stout setup. Like many Toyota’s its the less interesting, less clever choice, but pretty reliable and trouble free.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:39

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The Odyssey is better than the Sienna, neighbor had one and my mom had an Odyssey. The Sienna was 2014 and the Odyssey a 2013, Odyssey drove better and was more comfortable, with all it’s goodies inside (EX-L RES trim). That, I I personally think it looks better than the others. Except maybe the Sedona, but for the price the Odyssey offers a lot more.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:42

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The Kia Sedona depreciates like a brick, terrible resale value.

You can’t go wrong with a Sienna or Odyssey. I think the last time Odysseys had Transmissions problems was like 10 years ago.

 I have driven both as rentals and they’re fine. Sienna is the only minivan you can get with AWD if you need it.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:43

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Whatever you do, don’t get a Metris:

Wacko > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 11:45

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I think the Sienna is the only minivan left that offers AWD

HammerheadFistpunch > Wacko 03/09/2018 at 11:57

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yes, but you lose the spare, which is kinda of a bummer.

Ash78, voting early and often > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 03/09/2018 at 11:58

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Quite the opposite — the Sedona has a lot of value for money, while the Ody is about $6k-$8k overpriced. IMHO, of course.

I rented a $22k Sedona and it had better fit and finish than our $36k Odyssey. Far fewer features, but it was a base model, so apples and oranges.

Wacko > HammerheadFistpunch 03/09/2018 at 12:01

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that’s stupid, so the AWD has runflats I guess.

So in other words get a Highlander if you want an AWD minivan.

HammerheadFistpunch > Wacko 03/09/2018 at 12:03

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correct. It used to be worse, when they first came out they had those 17.5 inch wheels that runflats had so you couldn’t mount non-runflats on them. There was only 1 or 2 options and they rode terrible. Its better now.

Wacko > HammerheadFistpunch 03/09/2018 at 12:12

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I was considering the Sienna and the Highlander in the 1 year used market, but they were cheaper new

I went the AWD CVT pathfinder route myself for my not-a-minivan needs.

vicali > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 12:21

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All my three kid friends swear by these two. I don’t think there is a one-way-better.. Other two-kid families are in Pilots or Hilanders..

BaconSandwich is tasty. > HammerheadFistpunch 03/09/2018 at 12:24

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Oh man, I forgot about those odd sized tires. I do recall hearing that the stock rims from a Camaro will fit. I could be mistaken on that though.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Ash78, voting early and often 03/09/2018 at 12:25

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Pacifica (the new one) is more than I’d be willing to pay. New ones are like $50k up here (Canada).

Long-Voyager > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 12:27

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This was my take on the modern vans after having one of each for a week:

Seinna: Horrible mileage, horrible handling, seems to be reliable, expensive.

Odyssey: Horrible mileage, horrible handling, still having trans issues, expensive.

Grand Caravan GT/RT: Ok mileage, decent handling, few issues when maintained, more content per dollar.

Pacifica: Good mileage, ok handling, haven’t heard of issues yet, great content per dollar.

In the end I decided to keep my old vans. They’re lighter, tighter, more useful, cheaper to maintain, and get the same mileage.

I’ve been looking into the Transit Connect lately as it’s a more efficient better handling minivan focused more on utility.

Long-Voyager > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 03/09/2018 at 12:28

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The Odyssey is horribly ugly.

Long-Voyager > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 03/09/2018 at 12:29

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The Odyssey is still having trans issues as late as 2017 last I checked.

Chariotoflove > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 12:39

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2015 Sedonas can be had for under $20k, under $15k if you look harder and aren’t picky about options. We looked at used Siennas and Odysseys as well. My sister has the latter, and my BIL drives the former. For the money, the Kia is head and shoulders above either in our minds. Over two years and several road trips later, we still love this car.

Chariotoflove > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 03/09/2018 at 12:40

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The Kia Sedona depreciates like a brick, terrible resale value.

That’s a good thing here. They are wonderful cars. A much better value than the Toyota or the Honda.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Chariotoflove 03/09/2018 at 12:55

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Ideally I’m trying to keep it to $10k CAD or less. I think the cheapest Sedona I’ve seen is $25k, at least for the newer ones.

Grindintosecond > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 12:56

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Sienna is great, Odyssey has always been incredibly perfect. For a while we looked at them and the wife doesn’t want the “minivan” but eased up on that when I showed her the Ford Flex....which could be something to think about because it’s listed as an SUV but really is more minivan with actual doors instead. can be AWD too (but with the ecoboost only i think) Check out the interior, surprisingly usable and spacious, but not nearly the huge box of room the sienna has.

Chariotoflove > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 12:58

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Oh, then you are kinda limited. It would be hard to find anything as new as 2015 for that money.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Wacko 03/09/2018 at 14:11

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I’m not too worried about AWD. I’d rather just run a good set of winter tires on it. Both of our current cars are front wheel drive, and we’ve managed.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Chariotoflove 03/09/2018 at 14:12

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Yeah. There are the older ones out there, but I’m a little more dubious of them. And not to be picky, but I don’t think they really look all that good. The newer ones look great, though.

That said, if the price was right, and the vehicle was decent, I wouldn’t turn it down.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Long-Voyager 03/09/2018 at 14:17

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Hmm, that’s not good to hear. I know there was a whole generation in there where they had a class action lawsuit because of them.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Chariotoflove 03/09/2018 at 14:17

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I like it when depreciation works in my favour. :P

BaconSandwich is tasty. > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 14:21

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Edit - correction. I just found one for $30k brand new. I’m still very dubious of Chrysler’s build quality. I’ve heard too many horror stories.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Grindintosecond 03/09/2018 at 14:23

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Mrs. BaconSandwich wants sliding doors. Small kids tend to not look when swinging them open, and I don’t want to door ding anyone else.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 03/09/2018 at 14:26

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The Metris seems like a very basic people hauler. Up here they sell for a lot less. I’ve spotted a few for $30k or thereabouts. It seems to have a different target market than the average family hauler.

It does seem pretty terrible, even by Doug’s standards.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 15:15

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Odyssey is timing belt, or at least the 3rd gen is (05-11?). Overall fairly solid, weaknesses include the transmission (well known problem), door lock actuators that wear out, and some audio issues. If you have any questions about that generation, let me know, my family has had an 07 since new and a 96 or 97 before that.

Chariotoflove > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 15:28

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I don’t know much of the previous gen, but from what I read, they are more old Kia, and probably not very good.

Long-Voyager > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 16:03

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I’ve seen quite a few reports of 2016/2017my Odysseys with trans issues.

Makes me wonder if it’s like Chrysler’s trans “issues”, which were mostly owner issues.

Long-Voyager > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 16:06

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Honestly, the majority of Chrysler quality issues are the people behind the wheel.

My family has had Chryslers of some sort for as long as I can remember, none of them had major issue before the 200k mark. Many of them had over 300k before they were replaced.

Joe6pack > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 17:16

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Get the sliding doors, you won’t regret it. We had an Odyssey for 10 years and 200,000+ miles. We actually bought it used with 43,000 miles. Can’tsay enough good things about it. Ours was a 2002 and we did several timing belts and did replace the transmission, but it was already over 200,000 miles by then (probably should have quit at that point).

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 20:58

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We cross shopped the last gen ody and the new pacifica. Went with the Pacifica and couldn’t be happier. But that said, had we done the odyssey, we would’ve bought new. The resale is so good on them that a year or two old didn’t save much. So don’t rule out a new one. Now if you want a bargain, check out used Pacifica’s. Their resale drops off a cliff. We only bought new because that’s all that was available. We could’ve saved 10-12k if we could’ve waited for new ones to hit the market.

Good luck, you’ll be happy with whatever one you get. And the kias aren’t too bad either. Had a rental one for a week and it was decent. Still like my pacifica though. We’re going to buy my MIL one in a little while when number 4 is born. She’s our nanny and can’t really make her buy a car specific for us just so she can cart our kids around. But we will go used pacifica for her. Either we will trade her ours, and buy a bit higher trim one, or just get her one similar to ours.

But minivans are the shit for hauling little ones.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 03/09/2018 at 21:00

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No need for awd. We have the Pacifica and with snows on it, it’s as unstoppable as our q7 with winter tires. No BS.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 21:03

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Used Pacifica’s should be a good value. All the goodies the odyssey has, mostly, and terrible resale value, which works to your favor.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 21:04

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We love ours. Bought it new and have over 30k miles on it now. It’s great. The Pacifica, and odyssey are damn near neck and neck.

HoustonRunner > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/09/2018 at 22:25

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Hot take here - Chrysler Town and Country. Buy used, most of them (down here at least) are off the rental lot. Yes, rental cars are worked hard, but most people that rent a minivan aren’t honing it, especially since it usually demands a premium rental price. I’ve had two in the last two years, lost both in flooding (long story for a different post). For the price you can’t touch the content. Not nearly as refined as a Honda or Toyota, and I’ve owned an Odyssey Touring. But solid, repairs and maintenance is cheap, I found the infotainment much easier to use than the Honda. We had to break out the manual every other time we used the DVD system in the Honda. Mileage was also surprising. I’m buying another one as soon as my lease is up on the other car.

One caveat - neither my wife or I daily drive it, our nanny does. Though I did drive it almost exclusively on the weekend. But a minivan is the best answer for more than two kids (I have 4 under the age of 12).

Forrest > BaconSandwich is tasty. 03/10/2018 at 03:46

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My recollection:

Pre-2007 Sienna: 3.3L w/ timing belt

2007+ Sienna: 3.5L w/timing chain

Both are pretty reliable.