The Mrs. and I are kicking around the idea of getting a new car... We have a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan that has performed just fine, but it was a pretty basic model seven years ago... It has manual windows, if that tells you how basic it is... It has around 85,000 miles on it, so it's starting to need more and more age-related repairs... It currently needs struts, which our oil change guy says will cost several hundred dollars... Still cheaper than a car payment, but this is just the latest in an increasingly long line of repairs we're having to pay for... It's not to the point yet where we hold our breath, wondering if it will get us from Point A to Point B without breaking down (and I've had cars like that), but it's our primary travel vehicle, so when we need it to perform, we need it to perform for a long distance...
Our second car, a 2004 Chevy Malibu, is two months away from being paid off... So we'll have money freed up each month after that car is ours... We got a really good deal on that car almost 5 years ago, and it's full of bells and whistles... The Mrs. drives it to and from work each day, it gets good gas mileage, and the Mrs. isn't reporting any major problems with it... So we'll likely hang on to it for a bit longer...
It's worth noting--and I'm happy to give them their due props--that we bought the Malibu at Blanck Chevrolet in Brownsburg, Indiana... We had a rather unpleasant experience with a Toyota dealership in Indianapolis, and when we found the Malibu on Blanck's lot and inquired about it, I made it clear to them what my issue was with the Toyota dealership, and that I had no patience left to deal with sleazebag car salesmen... They treated us very well, didn't pressure us, answered all our questions without making us feel like morons, gave us a fair price, found an additional rebate for us even after we had agreed on a price, and acted like the small-town family-owned business that they are... So we will definitely look to them first for any GM vehicles we purchase in the future...
Unfortunately, GM doesn't offer a lot of vehicles that we're interested in right now... We like having a minivan for its flexibility, its comfort, and its gas mileage, but GM doesn't make a minivan anymore... We've also kicked around the idea of a crossover, but they're considerably more expensive, get worse gas mileage, have less room, and aren't as easy to get car-seat bound children in and out of... I like the Chevrolet Traverse and the Saturn Outlook, but they're both more than I want to pay for a car... The Saturn Vue is too small for our current needs, I think...
I like the Toyota RAV4, too, and one of my coworkers really likes the one he drives, but like the Saturn Vue, I think it's a little small for our current needs... When the kids are older, I think we'll look at the RAV4 again... I still want to take a look at the Toyota Highlander, though... Possibly the Sienna, too, although I'm not a big fan of their body style... But it's worth a trip to the Toyota lot to see in person...
I've been happy with our Dodge, so I'm more than happy to consider another Grand Caravan... The price is more in our range, they get good gas mileage, and I like the looks of them... The Mrs., however, thinks they look boxy... My best friend has rented a couple of Chrysler Town & Country minivans--the more plush version of the Dodge Grand Caravan--for road trips and reports good things about it... His only complaint was low gas mileage, although he admits that running it at 85 mph for hours on end probably didn't optimize his fuel efficiency... But having hauled big, heavy, awkward seats in and out of my van for the past 7 years, I have to say that the Stow 'n Go seating that is in the new Dodges and Chryslers is quite enticing... The built-in DVD player is up there on my list, too, as we've been through two different sets of portable DVD players and had both wear out in an alarmingly short period of time...plus, they're a pain in the butt to put in and take out...and the kids like to kick the cords out while we're driving, and then say, "Uh-oh! What happened?" Dodge is also currently offering employee pricing and free DVD players...until April 30...so now I feel pressured... Dammit...
If the Mrs. dislikes the boxy style of the Grand Caravan, though, she's really not going to like the Ford Flex... It's a little pricey, too, starting at $28,550, so I imagine if you want all four tires, a steering wheel, and brakes that work, you'll be up into the $30K's real fast... Like GM, Ford does not offer a minivan...
Honda makes a minivan--the Odyssey--but it's expensive...
The Hyundai Entourage is comparable in price to the Dodge and Chrysler options, but the nearest dealership is quite a ways away from us, and I don't like the looks of it as well as I like the Dodge...
I'm sure there are other options out there, too, but those are the major options that are relatively close to us...
There is, of course, the debate between buying new and buying used... With the auto industry sagging badly, there are some good deals on pricing, financing (I've seen 0% financing making its way back, which is what we got on our current van), and packages... And the federal government is offering tax breaks for purchasing new vehicles... Plus, having a NEW car is always fun...and you know that some knothead didn't run it for 30,000 miles on a single quart of oil... We'll have to weigh all that against the reduction in price of buying used, though...
So I'm curious to hear from people--especially those who have kids still in car seats--about any experiences they've had with their minivans or crossovers... I think the Mrs. and I have pretty much decided that we'll buy one more minivan and then see where we stand when the kids are 5, 6, or 7 years older...
If I had no kids and about $40,000, though, my choice would be easy: a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T in Deep Water Blue Pearl... Man, those are awesome looking cars...
Anyway...back to reality...let me know good and bad experiences you've had with particular minivans and/or crossovers... Thanks!
my mrs. loves her dodge nitro and it certainly is roomy enough for our two bruisers...although it is not a minivan, it rides nice, has 4 wheel drive, and it blows-up other vehicles(reference the commercials for the nitro when they were introduced)if you want to get a blue hair(read your blogs religiously) out of your way...as for me...i ahd to let go of my plymouth voyager minivan after i got married and before i had kids...now that i'm married and have two kids i have chosen the dodge srt10...500hp, 525lbs of torque(yes the truck with the VIPER motor), and a 500 watt infinity sound system(factory)...i chose the four door model and a dvd player because as you can see from my selection of vehicles its all about family...i'll say this-if dodge will put a viper engine in a minivan then i'm in!!!!!!!!!!!
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