Brother has an 05 Oddy (I found it for him and arranged the purchase). They've had it since 2008 and all it has needed is basic maintenance. They're not gentle on it, nor are their 4 kids, but the thing just keeps going. No transmission faults at all and they have to be over 170k miles on the thing by now.
I have an '03 EX-L Ody with 124K, bought new. No transmission issues, routinely gets 25 mpg on trips and 72 mph is right at 2K rpms. Not as creature comfy as the later models, and a sunroof would've been nice, but I can't complain. The only problem we've had was when we hit a rock and busted an A/C line.
If not an Odyssey, check out the Sienna or Town & Country.
Hey at least if you buy the Honda it will still hold it's residual value. I would probably opt for a 3rd gen and make sure all recalls have been taken care of. If I were going to buy a mini-van it would be an Oddity. I mean.....
The problem that I foree w/ buying an odyssey is the buy-in price. For reliability, I would go 3rd gen or newer and when we shopped for ours they were few and far between under $7k. We paid $4500 for ours, but it could have easily been sold for $6k+.
For the price range, I'm gonna say newer Town and Country but overall I would go w/ a newer Ody or even Sienna of you're a toyota guy. I dont have first or even second hand info on the Kia so I cant speak for those. I do know people that drive/ have driven the Dodge. Honda and Toyota products and have had good success w/ each.
It comes down to maint and history thats avail in your price point.
for recalls, does honda track them by vin? meaning would I be able to call a dealership with a vin and see if all the recall work has been done?
In reply to rcutclif: Do you mean tracking across dealerships? I personally cant answer that. All of the work on our minivan was done either by myself, a local honda dealership, a local independant or one other place out of state. I think recalls are tracked somehow( based on recalls that we've had done on our accord that was a CPO ), but I cant speak w/ certainty on this.
rcutclif wrote:mrwillie wrote: Unless I missed it, how many kids do you have and how old are they??Well, only one and he is 3 months old. Number of kids is not the problem, its the stupid rear-facing car seat. There is simply not enough room to be comfortable sitting in the seat directly in front of the car seat in most vehicles, which means when all three of us go for a ride two sit in the back and one drives. I hate trying to chat with my wife like this. For the record, we have tried this in a 2012 focus hatch (owned), a 2014 Maxima (rented) and a 06 Mazda5 (test-drive). While possible to sit in front of the car seat in all three, none were very fun for me. Either cram your knees into the dash or sit straight up. Maybe we are being weenies, or are doing the car seat wrong, but I really feel like there was some collusion between car seat manufacturers and car manufacturers to ensure that the only vehicles with just enough room were the minivans and bigger.
If you only have one, he/she should be in the middle seat in the back. We never had issues with the rear facing car seat not giving enough room, and at the time we only had one child we had a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and a 2001 Acura T/L, then an '04 Infiniti G35. Are you unusually tall?
yeah, across dealerships. Our focus had a 75k mile oil change plan, and I have had it in to at least two different dealerships during that time. At the end, I asked them for a printout of all the service records ford had on my car. 5 minutes later I had every visit to any ford dealership (including oil changes, a crank sensor repair, and recall work) on a few sheets of paper in mileage order. it was very nice.
This is your brain...
This is your brain on kids. Any questions?
In reply to Klayfish:
nope, not unusually tall (6' 200lbs). We did try the middle seat (in our focus) and it works better, but still not great. That's where we have the seat now. The weight of the seat becomes a problem in the middle seat, as you have to lift at a very awkward angle. Not usually a problem for me, but really difficult for my wife now, and our kid is only 14 lbs. Maybe the car seat we have is unusually bad, both size and weight wise. I didn't think much of it, but we haven't really compared.
The other piece of it is I have already agreed to sell the focus to my younger brother, so we are looking to find something for the longer term, and we do plan on more kids.
In reply to rcutclif: Im not sure, but would be interested to find out. I got a stack of receipts w/ our van and have been happy since. We've got over 200k on ours. I would like to get the tranny fluid changed on the next service but its been good to use thus far.
In reply to Flight Service:
Love it. good post.
rcutclif wrote: for recalls, does honda track them by vin? meaning would I be able to call a dealership with a vin and see if all the recall work has been done?
Yes. You can call the dealer with the VIN and see if there are any open (non-completed) recalls.
We have an '05 Odyssey that we bought as a CPO with 30k or so in '08. It's incredibly convenient for us, the interior room is excellent and the power sliding doors are a huge plus as parking lot spaces are becoming narrower.
From a driving perspective, my biggest complaint is the brakes. The pedal feel is horrible, it just keeps sinking the harder you press the pedal(and yes, we had the master cylinder recall done and the fluid bled at that point). I'm going to try bleeding the fluid with my Motive Power Bleeder, so we'll see if that helps.
We were looking '04 vs. '05 and the '05 had a lot of benefits when compared with the older model:
From a maintenance perspective, we did the timing belt at 6 years (only 60k on mileage at that point), and I keep up with oil changes. I also do the 3X drain & fill with Honda's ATF every 30k. We're currently around 104k for mileage.
I spent some time under the van this year on maintenance items, here's some of what I tackled:
In addition to the areas above, some of the issues are:
- brake master cylinder recall
- fuel tank recall (not sure if they have a fix yet)
- P/S fluid container issues
- A/C condenser is low and can be hit with debris (install gutter guard on the lower grille)
We take the van down to FL and back on a yearly basis, and it's perfect for those trips. We do use the roof rack and a Yakima carrier for those trips, which frees up space inside the car. We've averaged about 24 MPG on those trips (all highway, car full of kids/adults, Yakima skybox on the roof), and that's at average speeds around 70-72 MPH. In-town mileage is nothing to brag about (mid teens), it's a lot of work to get a 4,500 lb vehicle moving. I did install Air-Lift rear airbags and they do a great job of keeping the van level even while fully loaded.
If I were looking, I'd be on the lookout for one without a hitch, and with frequent ATF services. And when I bought it, I'd drain/refill the ATF ASAP.
http://www.odyclub.com is a great resource for these vehicles, with a ton of DIY info.
dj06482 wrote: We have an '05 Odyssey that we bought as a CPO with 30k or so in '08. It's incredibly convenient for us, the interior room is excellent and the power sliding doors are a huge plus as parking lot spaces are becoming narrower. From a driving perspective, my biggest complaint is the brakes. The pedal feel is horrible, it just keeps sinking the harder you press the pedal(and yes, we had the master cylinder recall done and the fluid bled at that point). I'm going to try bleeding the fluid with my Motive Power Bleeder, so we'll see if that helps. We were looking '04 vs. '05 and the '05 had a lot of benefits when compared with the older model: - Side curtain airbags - VSA (stability control) - Revised transmission - Mother in law seat (small seat for the rear center position) From a maintenance perspective, we did the timing belt at 6 years (only 60k on mileage at that point), and I keep up with oil changes. I also do the 3X drain & fill with Honda's ATF every 30k. We're currently around 104k for mileage. I spent a lot of time under the van this year on maintenance items, here's some of what I tackled: - Serpentine belt tensioner - Driver's side drive axle (boot was leaking) - Motor mounts (front and rear, thankfully we have an EX which doesn't have the special and expensive rear motor mount that the ACM version have) - Using stainless steel zip ties and hose clamps to quiet the various heat shield rattles caused by them rusting and breaking In addition to the areas above, some of the issues are: - brake master cylinder recall - fuel tank recall (not sure if they have a fix yet) - P/S fluid container issues - A/C condenser is low and can be hit with debris (install gutter guard on the lower grille) We take the van down to FL and back on a yearly basis, and it's perfect for those trips. We do use the roof rack and a Yakima carrier for those trips, which frees up space inside the car. We've averaged about 24 MPG on those trips (all highway, car full of kids/adults, Yakima skybox on the roof), and that's at average speeds around 70-72 MPH. In-town mileage is nothing to brag about, it's a lot of work to get a 4,500 lb vehicle moving. I did install Air-Lift rear bags and they do a great job of keeping the van level even while fully loaded. If I were looking, I'd be on the lookout for one without a hitch, and with frequent ATF services. And when I bought it, I'd drain/refill the ATF ASAP. http://www.odyclub.com is a great resource for these vehicles, with a ton of DIY info.
All good info right there. I would also suggest flushing the p/s fluid when you do the trans. Honda is still having some issues with longevity of their systems. Acura has 4 different recalls for them and stopped making reman parts on some models because of issues.
There was a Town and Country with a V6 and transmission that could tow like that, and got decent gas mileage. The GRMS staff had one, and some friends of ours had one as well. It was perhaps the only minivan I found myself actually interested in. I asked the friends to let me know if they ever decided to sell it, so they traded it in as a cash for clunkers. Sigh. Maybe some of the folk here will be able to identify which unicorn minivan this was (year and specific model).
Let me just say up front i love all Odysseys from 3g up and would probably take one over a contemporary Chrysler if there was not a cost issue.
But, i will answer the Chrysler question because i can.
The Chrysler Town and Country from the very beginning had 3.3 and 3.8L engines with the a604 transmission. My opinion and experience as an owner of many 604s and as someone who rebuilt transmissions for a living for a short while, is that the 604 is a very good unit if it has good fluid and a trans cooler. 2/3rds or more of the towing i have ever done has been towing cars on a tow dolley behind a stock 604 trans with zero issue. The particular trans i put all the towing miles on now lives on in a 3.8L Town and Country which i occasionally tow with as well.
But, most people do not have as good an opinion of this trans as i do and it probably isn't the one you're talking about. Having said that, the only other transmission available in a v6 caravan up until ~2006 was the older 3 spd which only came with the 3.0L mitsu motor and the 2.4 4cyl and was never in the v6 Town and Country (it was in the Caravan and Voyager). I like that trans just fine but since it doesnt adjust its own shift timing to compensate for wear like a 604 does, it's a LOT more likely to have shifting issues and need fiddling with before it acts right.
i bought an '03 ody new in Nov '02. original trans was replaced under recall with 44k miles on it. the replacement trans was still working perfectly when we traded the van last spring, with 255k on the odo (211k on the trans). failures of OE parts under my ownership include EGR valve at 105k, battery at 120k, AC Compressor at 140k, alternator at 180k. everything else (and arguably the alternator as well) were what i'd consider wear items.
wifey wanted the new van to be just like the old van, so in the spring of '14 we picked up a '10 Ody EX-L with 48k on it. she didn't like the way the '11-up drove, said it was too soft. the '10 feels a lot like the '03, with some slight ergonomic differences. she was very happy with the '03, and so far is very happy with the '10.
Anyone selling or thinking about selling an Ody? Looking at one tomorrow but thought I'd throw it out here too.
In Chicago but wouldn't rule out travel.
Have a 2010 here EXL we love it and I have seen 28mpg hwy with cruise control at 65. Normal around town is low 20s high teens.
Here's an Odyssey for you. I think it's been featured in GRM. Real race Odyssey.
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Ok, I've gone and done it. I've officially bought the most powerful car I have yet owned in my life (wah wah wah waaaaah). 2005 Odyssey EX-L. 255 hp, 'rated' 28 MPG highway. Tan leather interior. Heated seats up front. 158k miles. More cargo space than a 2005 suburban!!! (everything out but the front two seats in both, something like Odyssey - 146 ft3 vs Suburban 138 ft3)
I just hope I don't have to run in XP like the one above! It has some dents and dings and the front bumper needs work (I guess the woman who drove it had a habit of pulling up on top of the concrete parking blocks at the front of spaces and then tearing at the bumper backing out), but it has been dealer maintained its whole life (timing belt, transmission fluid changes every 30k, etc), and I am the second owner.
Thanks everyone for your feedback in this thread. It is much appreciated. So far, I'm quite happy with it.
Nice, I like the non-silver color! Now get to work on your turbo install
I think the one above is from One Lap; there was an article about it in Car and Driver or Road & Track. If that's the one, it's like 500+ hp.
Yes, it's the One Lap Odyssey. Built by Honda factory workers.
Sounds like ours, I think it was a flood car/damaged in the eastern stuff a few years back has a few dings and whatnot but only had 50k miles leather heated etc the power doors and trunk were a must for the wife and so ours is a 2010 but we love it so far. So much usable space its ridiculous compared to an SUV
Congrats, looks like a nice van and i like the color combo. Judging by that stuff on the ground you'll probably like the heated seats too. 
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