Community Discussions

1.     2000 Toyota Sienna

2.      2000 & 2001 Nissan Quest

3.     2000 & 2001 Mazda MPV (under powered seems to be a common complaint)

4.     2002 Kia Sedona (gas mileage seems to be pretty poor on this)

5.     1999 Honda Odyssey

6.     1999, 2000, 2002 Chevy Astro (reliability seems to be a common complaint with these)

7.     2000 & 2001 GMC Safari

Thanks in advance guys for your opinions/experiences with these.

Paula

Paula,

The vehicle safety inpection is just that:  a check that the vehicle is safe to drive. It doesn't check for mechanical fitness.

If you could get the maintenance history and see that the owner did the regular maintenance and repaired items, then you would at least have a warm and fuzzy feeling that the person cared enough to take care of it. 

A mechanic who works a lot (dealers for example) on the type of vehicle want to buy, with his knowledge of the repair history should be able to look for typical problems. However, it is difficult for them to tell what will go wrong with an individual vehicle and when.

AZ 

Paula

The last time I bought a car the weaselly salesman tried to get me to lease. Asked him what I had at the end of the lease and he referred to "residual value" of the vehicle which I understood to mean that if the vehicle was worth more than the agreed purchase price at the end of the lease then I "had that value." Fine as long as I then turn around and sell it to get that higher worth. Gambling that the vehicle value will be more than the purchase price at the end of the lease, and I never win on gambles.

Overall, unless your mother and you are both into oriectomy as a business and can write off the lease payments, you won't be gaining much. Does your mother like to trade in her cars every three years for a nice shiny one with lots of bells and whistles? Then leasing might be fine. If she hangs onto her vehicle for many years, she is better off buying.

I look at leasing as an opportunity for you to pay off the depreciation and then some so the dealer can sell the car and make something on it when you return it.

Az

Why would you hesitate to recommend Nissan?  I do remember hearing some negatives a few years back but can't remember what (darned memory aint what it used to be.).

I will definitely tell her to check service records....regular oil changes and other maintenance.  

Have you read anything on the Kias?  I know the vans, at least here in the U.S., have only been around since 2002 so its hard to know about their longevity.

Thanks again...your info was great!! I can't think of a better way to judge vehicles than by satisfaction surveys (out of the horses' mouths), other than maybe the car service techs. 

Paula

Paula.
Is leasing an option?
Driving around the city (Detroit) all available storage lots are filled with new vehicles.
Most of my shop rat friends are laid off because of overstocking. (We got cars coming out of our butts around here.)
I have never leased....or know the pros and cons.....but I am hearing that it is a dirt cheap option right now.

Lint

I actually did the lease thing with a Honda CRV....i would never do it again...learned the hard way that at the end of the contract you  have nothing to show unless you want to buy the vehicle for a ridiculous price on top of what you've already paid (wind up paying 1-1/2 to 2 times than what the vehicle is worth if you do the buy-out at the end). 

I definitely think its a buyer's market.....theres a huge glut of cars out there, however, the popular brands still seem to hold their price but I think it does make it easier to deal (cars AND lint coming out of there? ...ok, couldn't resist...)

Another thing I learned is that the Kelley blue book is nothing more than a selling tool for the dealerships....was messing around with it one day, checking out prices on a vehicle - retail (what I would expect to pay the dealership) and trade-in (what the dealership would give me for it)....HOLY COW!  Many times there was at least a $5000.00 difference!  Talk about scam.   I'll be dam*ed if I'm handing any dealership a $5k mark-up! 

I was ready to buy a bicycle after that! 

P.S. I hate hearing about lay-offs...that is so rough not only on the guy getting laid off, but also the family.  Does it look like a continued trend for these guys or just temporary? 

How did you know what my mom does for a living?  Its a skill thats been passed down for generations...and to thnk it all started with the sharp edge of a rock...

Seriously,

She will keep whatever she buys for a while....and whatever she buys will probably take a bit of a beating, interior more than exterior...which is another thing that would rule otu leasing....they tend to dock you for things like rips/scratches, etc on the inside of the vehicles...want them returned in near pristine condition. 

I will definitely remind her to check maintenance records and see if she can call the former owner. 

More than anything, I am trying to save her the time of looking at a whole bunch of vans by narrowing it down to, or ruling out, certain ones.

I really do appreciate all of the help guys.  You're really a terrific group (and you if tell anyone I said that, I'll develop Alzheimers...)

Paula

P.S. I'll defnitely let you know  what she buys. 

It amazes me that dealerships even try to quote NADA...after all its in NADA's best interest to push the prices sellng sky-high and trade-ins as low as they'll go. 

Mom is in a better position as she won't be trading anything in so its an outright purchase which the dealerships, especially with the glut of trade-ins, would favor, I think. 

Paula