Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

[Mark42]

Well, its actually the wifes vehicle. The old Mountaineer is 11 years old with 220,000 miles. I figure it was getting in to the "no so reliable" state. A few minor issues popped up lately and I decided it was time to replace it. So wife wanted an AWD, 7 seat, roomy passenger vehicle. After having that Mountaineer for so long, I guess she was tired of SUV's and wanted something more car-like.

Well the only mini-van that has AWD and 7 passenger seating and tows 3500lbs (my requirement), is the Toyota Sienna. So we went looking for about a week, and finally found a 2007 Sienna AWD LE demo with 7K miles, and ended up buying it last night. Saved about 5K over buying a new 2008 (all the 2007's are going, going, gone!) so I guess I got a fair deal.

The AWD sienna's come with heavy duty radiator & cooling fan, power steering cooler, and 150 amp alternator. But the tow hitch and wire harness is extra so I got that included. Saved about $600 over walking in and having it added.

Wife loves it, very nice and lots of room. Kids think its cool. Got nice stereo, lots of cup holders Got very good reviews, so I hope it holds up.

Not a big fan of minivans, but it should hold the family and tow the boat.

Wish us luck.

 

[ANIMAL]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

I'm sorry. I'd have bought her a 4x4 Chevy Suberban if she wanted awd and room to haul kids. You can even get them with 3 seats that will seat 9 adults.....ANIMAL

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Just remember, when Momma is happy, everybody is happy......

 

[ANIMAL]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

You gotta point there HM...ANIMAL

 

[aspeck]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

OMG! I agree with ANIMAL twice in one thread! The sky is falling! The sky is falling! LOL!

 

[QC]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

I won't even rent a mini-van . . .

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Nothing wrong with them, I have 4.
The last one, the Dodge Crand Caravan is nice.
That's the reason I drive it and the girls get the Astros.

 

[ANIMAL]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

I'll give you a quarter for every one {mini van} you can park in my yard,,,because they are worth about $50 - $75 at the scrape yard.....ANIMAL

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Yea when I get done with them for sure.
After 300,000 on my last Astro, it was ready for the pasture and that is where it is.
I have 3 more of them and prolly will replace them in the spring.
They all have close to 250,000 miles on them.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

....well, they are probably the most practical machine on the road. However....if we ever see YOU driving it....we aren't going to hang with you any more...somebody might see us.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

....well, they are probably the most practical machine on the road. However....if we ever see YOU driving it....we aren't going to hang with you any more...somebody might see us.

I will wear a mask so they don't know me.

 

[tommays]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

A real man would buy a truck and give the kids raincoats and a rope to hang on to



Tommays

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

A real man would buy a truck and give the kids raincoats and a rope to hang on to



Tommays

I have the truck, the vans are for work.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

mom's car pool , grocery getter.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

I sat down and read the entire owners manual. If you removed all the warnings (don't pull on the door handle while the vehicle is moving because the door will open and other bits of wisdom) there will be 30% fewer pages in it.

Another favorite: Don't put your hands under the seat while operating the power seat mechanism because it can cause injury to your hand(s).

Anyway, there is so much stuff packed into that car, it took a while to go through it all. I tell ya, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a cup holder (13 of 'em), power receptical or storage bin.

I also spent some time driving it, and I have to admit, its a very nice handling van.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Congratulations. Remember I work at a Toyota dealership.

For everyone who hates vans....... take a trip in a Sienna then try to complain. They are VERY comfortable.

Mark you have a PM.

 

[rentalguy1]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Don't feel bad. All the guys at work have taken to calling me "soccer mommy" since I traded for the Explorer. I had a bad-a** Ranger that I custom built for off-roading. Oh well, I'm very comfy now and this thing pulls the boat better than the truck did, and I can fit my whole family and then some in it (third row seating).

 

[i386]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Loss of the coolness factor aside, vans are very comfortable to drive in my opinion. Excellent visibility as well. I find the captain's chair seating (like vans have) to be my favorite type of seating in a vehicle. Coincidentally, that type of seating is one of my favorite features of my new truck. Good on you mark. I hope you both enjoy it.

 

[1730V]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

I drove Mini Vans for seventeen years. You know, kids in sports, etc. I'm sorry to hear you went foreign. My last Aerostar (AWD) is reported to have 356K.

My Aerostars and Windstars were flawless. All of them. I guess you thought 220K on your Mountaineer was a fluke? Don't expect that out of a Sienna.

 

[woodrat]

Re: Uuuggghhhh!!!! I Bought A Minivan!

Sometimes I miss mine. I had a 4wd mazda mpv van, and I thought it was a really comfortable and awesome rig. I got caught by surprise one night in a sudden and heavy snowstorm in portland and I just put it in 4 lo, and locked the center diff and I didn't slip once and I had a quiet comfy warm ride home. It seated seven (not with much to spare!), but it hauled tons of kayak and camping gear, and i did tow my boat with it once or twice. You could put full sized appliances in the side door and I did more than once. Kids even thought it was cool too.

BUT... it had a v6 and got only 16-19 MPG, and had a horrible, weak electronically controlled auto trans that died once and the replacement was never quite right.

I wish there was a 4wd minivan like the sienna with a stick transmission and a turbodiesel engine. I would never need to buy another car again!