Well I dodged that bullet as long as I could

"Lokiparts" (lokiparts) 04/23/2018 at 10:49 • Filed to: just buy the damn minivan, minivan

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...but resistance was futile.

Although for what it’s worth, we actually did have one for a few years before getting the Tahoe... but it was a complete POS which only further strengthened my position against them.

Proof that a turd actually can be polished

We decided to replace it after we had a fairly steady bout of stupid things failing and needing to be replaced. Overall mechanically it was perfectly sound but like I said is was a series of stupid things, like belts, CV axles, and radiator hoses failing which would actually leave my wife stranded. Not to mention the ridiclous number of electrical issues and components that were constantly failing. Which was the last straw for this van.

Enter the Tahoe...

The Tahoe has been a great vehicle for as long as we owned it. We probably paid a little more than we should have initially, but in the long run its hard to complain as it has been perfectly reliable the whole time. It’s never had a major mechanical issue in the roughly four and a half years that we owned it, and overall it was a good vehicle. But like the old Minivan, in typical early 00's GM fashion, it too started to have electrical gremlins rearing their heads. While most of them I was able to repair as they popped up, the rate of failures was only continuing to accelerate. So with nearing 200K on the clock, and in the interest of continuing to have a reliable family hauler, we began exploring our options.

Initially another Tahoe or Suburban were near the top of the list. But after doing a legitimate pro/con list of other options available, and what we lose and gain in the equation going to different vehicle types, minivan’s just kept rising to the top. So as much as I wanted a cooler family vehicle, the logical part of my brain just could not deny that for every metric that truly matters a minivan was honestly the right choice. Although to be fair, my wife was actually the one who wanted an SUV last time, so that’s what we got. This time she was pretty much split between a minivan or Suburban and I had to be the tie breaker and ultimately pushed for a minivan. Sorry GM you make some wonderful engines but until I know that you have gotten better at electrical systems, I’m out.

So we went out and test drove a few of our top contenders including a couple other three row SUVs and other possible family haulers. we eventually narrowed it down to a couple of Odysseys. One newer with fairly high miles and another older one with low miles. We went home and slept on it, and the one that haunted us though was the older one. It was honestly older than we had even initially considered purchasing, but for a 10 year old van it was ludicrously clean and well maintained, not to mention it only had 45,000 miles on it. The newer van had more than three times that. Ultimately logic won out again over vanity and we chose the older nicer van over the newer flashier one.

2/3rds of our vehicles are now Honda

So far I continue to be amazed by how much nicer it is when just doing normal family things with this van. Like unloading the kids at the store. It’s hard to describe the peace that comes from to not having to worry about them bashing people’s cars with their doors. Not to mention they can actually get in an out unassisted because the floor isn’t two feet off the ground. Another great example would be like the other day when were out to dinner with some friends. One of their kids wanted to come by our house to play with our kids. Instead of me having to squat in the cargo area so all of the kids could have somewhere to sit... because the extra back seat is somewhere back at home in the attic, we just popped that bastard out of the floor and rolled out.

Seriously, I get it now... I won’t make fun of minivans anymore (except my own obviously). The only good thing is that as low as the mileage is on this one, I have no doubt that it’ll probably be the last one we ever have to buy.

They’re right.. just buy the damn minivan

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facw > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 10:54

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Minivans are good! I mean they have sacrifices compared to cars, but except to the rare person who actually does offroading, they are vastly better than an SUV in pretty much every way.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 11:02

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Bisimoto when?

Minivans get a lot of hate but sometimes you just need the right tool for the job.

Lokiparts > facw 04/23/2018 at 11:09

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That’s the thing about it, there is literally nothing I can complain about with this van... other than the fact that it’s an “uncool minivan.” It is the perfect family vehicle, and truthfully anything else is a compromise.

And that Tahoe was honestly way overkill for us. We never took it off-road, and in the years we owned it I maybe towed a trailer 5 times. And even then all but one of those times I could have just as easily used my s10 instead. The 4wd was nice when it snowed, but we really only usually get one or two good snows a year... and the whole region shuts down anyway.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 11:11

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The “paying more than you should have but getting something reliable” is always worth it. Sure you can sometimes save money by buying something with loads of hidden gremlins and just sort them out until it becomes reliable. But some gremlins never truly go away and just bother you forever. Just buying the car that simply works in the first place and was clearly taken care of properly is always the better solution.

Like I think I paid too much for my Miata, there are plenty I’ve seen for sale with similar mileage for half the price. But they would have some questionable mods, not all of the options that I wanted, and have unknown maintenance history. For the little trouble I’ve had with maintenance along with the sheer amount of abuse I have doled upon the car, it was the best purchase choice I could have made.

Lokiparts > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 04/23/2018 at 11:15

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A guy can definitely dream! But in all seriousness it’s already by far the fastest car we own now... and noticeably quicker than the Tahoe was.

I’ve already expressed my annoyance with this fact, and threatened to swap engines with the Civic.

On a solo test drive I accidently burned the tires (tire?) right off of it leaving a stoplight. I mean it’s not sports car fast, but that definitely caught me off guard... and surprised the hell out of the guy next to me. 

Lokiparts > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 04/23/2018 at 11:28

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Exactly. The only fun part is you never really know until a few years down the road if your gamble was truly worth it. I can probably safely say that about my Civic now. I bought it with fairly high mileage for it’s age (5 years old & 115,000) but it had a rock solid maintenance history from a guy who literally worked at a Honda dealership and the mileage even made sense as it was his wife’s commuter car who drove something like 200 miles a day for her ridiculous commute.

The price was honestly on the higher end of fair at the time based on the general going price of other Civics, but most of them had half the mileage, but were also were in way worse shape with unknown histories. Ultimately the decision paid off, and it has been the single best car I have ever owned. Now it’s pushing 170K miles and still hasn’t ever needed anything other than normal wear items replaced.  I’m not going to lie my experience with this car is one of the big reasons we went with a Honda Van.

random001 > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 12:48

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Now you know what you have to do...

Stapleface > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 12:55

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Now that you have a minivan, I’m sure you’re probably asking yourself what were you so afraid of? A minivan is probably one of the best jack of all trades vehicle that was ever invented. They ride better than most SUV’s, are way easier to transport people with, and are superior to most other vehicles with cargo carrying capacity.

If I had a need to carry around people or stuff, the minivan would probably be my first choice. Only reason I don’t have one is because I commute roughly 90 miles a day and just don’t want to pay the gas mileage penalty. And I don’t really have any stuff to carry.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 12:59

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That’s a really nice find. That generation is my personal favorite, even considering the new pacifica we ended up with. I still like the looks of those. Just keep the fluids clean, and you should be good to go. Tough to beat a minivan for kid hauling. Or just hauling. I had 8 20” wheels and tires in the back of ours just this past Saturday, and that was with the three boys in the 2nd row and momma up front with me. They make it so easy. The newer ones just refined the interior appointments and the ingress/egress from all rows. But the older vans do great as well. And you’re probably into yours for a quarter of we spent, so you got a nice family hauler right there.

Lokiparts > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 04/23/2018 at 13:26

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Yeah it was one of those cases when the dealer who had it told us “if we don’t jump on it someone else will” and I didn’t’ immediately assume they were blowing smoke up our backside. I mean it was the little things that got me like the fact it still had the factory headphones for the rear seat entertainment system sealed in the original bubble wrap packaging and the batteries never installed.

Granted now that it’ll be hauling around three kids who’s full time job is going to be wearing it out, I don’t expect it to stay so pristine. But it’s just nice to start with something so clean for a change.

Honestly I did like the newer generations a little more, but realistically aside from the styiling and slightly more modern entertainment systems and such they really don’t bring much to the party that this one didn’t... and even so this one is still nicer than any car we’ve ever owned before.

Lokiparts > Stapleface 04/23/2018 at 13:38

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To be fair we did make an attempt with a minivan before, but this one absolutely blows the old one away in every possible way. If I had know a minivan could be this good I never would have even looked at that Chevy Venture, and we probably would have owned a Honda van the whole time.

But yeah the interior space thing is the one that still gets me. I still cannot believe how little interior space there was in something as large as a the tahoe, especially with the third row installed. Our Tahoe originally came with 2nd row captains chairs, and the best thing I ever did while we owned that truck was to swap it out for a bench so we could get all three kids in one row. Even so the van still beats it hands down.

Oh and the fuel economy on this thing is amazing for what it is. I mean compared to the Tahoe it easily gets at least double the mileage... granted the Tahoe was pulling down an average somewhere around 11mpg so it wasn’t exactly a high bar to clear. But my wife has just constantly been floored at how little gas it has been using compared to her old truck. 

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 13:42

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Yeah, we cross shopped the last gen ody and the Pacifica, ended up with the Pacifica, but it was a dead heat. As long as you have leather and get some weathertech type floor liners, you’ll keep the interior nice. And it’s easier to clean puke off a floor mat, than the carpet, trust me. But the leather will clean up nicely too.

You got a nice one.

Lokiparts > random001 04/23/2018 at 13:53

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If anything I’d probably go the other way with it. But that’s because deep down I am still a scumbag minitrucker and import guy at heart. My wife is actually the one who likes big off road vehicles, and she would probably sign off on that in a heartbeat... well at least once the kids are big enough to haul themselves into it.

aquila121 > random001 04/23/2018 at 18:03

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I was going to suggest this, but I’m not going to knock your choice.

Amoore100 > Lokiparts 04/23/2018 at 18:37

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Excellent choice! I think the facelift of that generation Odyssey helped fix many of the issues that the earlier ones (2005-7) suffered like high oil consumption with the early VCM engines and latent transmission issues. With that in mind, the only thing I could recommend is to keep an eye on the oil levels since ours is surprisingly thirsty even with a refreshed powerplant installed. Other than that it’s been relatively bulletproof given the amount of beating we’ve piled on it in 165K miles. Enjoy your van! It’s a surprisingly satisfying machine to have around.

random001 > aquila121 04/23/2018 at 19:24

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I’m good with either option, to be honest.