Buying a new (to us) van and selling our car

[sensetosave]

Because our family is expanding and we hope it continues to do so, we are going to sell our small car and buy a minivan.

We've determined that we'll get the most money for our car by selling it ourselves (that's usually the case) but we don't know if we'll be able to find what van we're seeking from a private seller, so we may have to work with a dealer.

Any tips for me to consider when we decide which type of van to get? How many miles is too many? We hope to keep it for at least 5 years, and 10 would be fantastic.

On our list: Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna (those two might be a bit out of our price range -- we're looking to spend a round $10k or so), Kia Sedona, and Mazda5.

[garyatk]

I am not to familiar with the mini van market, but I have found that some of the best deals are found in used American car market. I have found that American cars are superior to foreign cars in many ways. You usually get more car for the money (meaning bigger), and several of the foreign low priced car companies aren't well known to produce a car that will service you for 10 to 15 years. I usually buy either GM's or Fords that are 2 or 3 years old, and usually with more than 50K miles on them when I get them. I then keep them until they start getting tired and I know they are going to start to cost a lot to keep running (meaning major engine or transmission work). I currently own a 2000 Impala with over 2000K miles on it, and a 2006 Taurus with 75K miles. Both bought with cash at less than half the new price.

So if I was in your shoes, I think I would take a real good look into the van that started it all, the Chrysler mini van. I bet you will find a much better deal and a quality van.


Good luck!

[pochax]

suggested retail for a 2005 Honda Odyssey LX (base trim) with 70k miles is ~$14k so you are above your suggested price range. if you can scrape up the extra few thousand, that would be a nice vehicle for you. i think you will get 5 yrs out of it for sure. keep looking for deals outside of car dealers which will cut a few thousand bucks off the price. odyssey and sienna (at least recently within the last 4-6 years) are a cut above the rest in quality. my bias is that i do not trust american cars pre-2004-05 but that is based more anecdotally than on actual data.

[4jacks]

I also vote for the Honda.

I love my Honda. It is far superior to any American Government Motors product.

The holy grail of Cars is resale value. Historical resale value of a car is the true market tested, overall, general, sum total, estimate of that make and model's quality. Car's with really low resale value (Kia, daewoo, etc) are generally garbage. And cars that retain resale value, Honda & Toyota, are generally the highest quality. I'm not saying it's not possible to get a great Kia or to get a lemon Honda, But I don't play the lottery either.

[tim_v]

I also vote for the Honda.
...
And cars that retain resale value, Honda & Toyota, are generally the highest quality. I'm not saying it's not possible to get a great Kia or to get a lemon Honda, But I don't play the lottery either.

I like Honda & Toyota (own 2 Toyota's) but don't buy them used because the resale costs are so high. If I was buying used I would try to find a car that had good reports from Consumer Reports without the reputation (& high costs) of Honda/Toyota.

[4jacks]

If I was buying used I would try to find a car that had good reports from Consumer Reports without the reputation (& high costs) of Honda/Toyota.

Unfortunetly that really isn't possible. You are not going to search through consumer reports and find a "secret" car that only you know about, so you can go buy this golden egg off of some schmuck who is having trouble selling his car. Everyone is well aware of the good quality cars and the bad quality ones, supply and demand determines their resale value. Honda and Toyota always seem to be in the top 2 (maybe minus the trucks catagory) So maybe you are just recommending to buy the third option from the top, to keep cost down, which is probably pretty solid advice. In the minivan world that probably means skipping the odyssey and the seinna. I don't know what would be third, lol. Maybe the Chrysler town and county (I've only heard good things about them) But aren't they expensive also?

[tim_v]

Unfortunetly that really isn't possible. You are not going to search through consumer reports and find a "secret" car that only you know about, so you can go buy this golden egg off of some schmuck who is having trouble selling his car. Everyone is well aware of the good quality cars and the bad quality ones, supply and demand determines their resale value. Honda and Toyota always seem to be in the top 2 (maybe minus the trucks catagory) So maybe you are just recommending to buy the third option from the top, to keep cost down, which is probably pretty solid advice. In the minivan world that probably means skipping the odyssey and the seinna. I don't know what would be third, lol. Maybe the Chrysler town and county (I've only heard good things about them) But aren't they expensive also?

You may be right. I haven't bought a car in 5 years.

My thinking is that for reliability and function some makes are very close to Toyota/Honda but because of the overall reputation have a significantly lower resale price.

My overall advice is to estimate how long you think a car will last (in my case I said ~10 years) and then divide by that 'lifespan' to get how much of discount you need to make buying used worth it. When we looked for Toyotas at a dealership we couldn't find 1 year old cars for much less than 90% new or 2 year old cars for 80% new. Now if you buy from an individual you may get a much better price but that would be true for other makes also.

FYI - My brother bought a used Camry and he's pretty smart about cars but in my opinion you have to be looking at keeping it past 10 years old to make it worth buying a Camry used. Although I've heard the recent acceleration news has dropped the resale value of Camrys.

[fleurfavs_finances]

I think thread has so much to answer. My advice is to follow what is in your mind because I guess you have decided what is the right option for you.

[pochax]

I think thread has so much to answer. My advice is to follow what is in your mind because I guess you have decided what is the right option for you.

the way i read this: "my advice is not follow anyone's advice (including this advice that i give you now)".

[4jacks]

I read it as "I need to post 6 times to post a link, so I'm going to write nonsense on old threads"

How is the Van Holding up?