Well, all in all it's been fun...

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00 Ford ZX2 S/R, 02 Toyota Sienna (formerly a 06 Mazda 5)
In late 2005, my wife and I traded our 2002 Taurus in for our new 06 Mazda5. We had 2 kids with one on the way, due late 2005. So we have had it, and we have loved it. We have taken it on road trips to NY and I even took it for some fun on and off road in the snow. We have received uncountable compliments about our 5 and how amazing it looks and that it seats 6. We have loved our Mazda5, and have enjoyed putting all 29000 miles on it.

But I'm afraid that my family has already out grown our 5. What was supposed to suffice as a economic, fun family car is being trumped by a 4th child. My wife and I admit with great sadness...... that we must part with our much loved Mazda5 and trade it in for something bigger. (Yes, a minivan).

Amazingly, after talking to a friend about this, he wants to take over payments of the Mazda despite us still being about $3000 upside down. We are still waiting to hear back from his bank.

Meanwhile, I have been car hunting, looking for something that would give us more room, but leave us in less debt than with the Mazda (never buying new again...at least for a long time). I will not touch any GM vehicles, and have been digging through cars.com and autotrader.com for a Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and even Dodge and Chrysler. Looking at my local options, I am leaning towards either a Town & Country or an Odyssey (preferring the Odyssey for reliability reasons).

But I'm pretty sure I have found exactly what I am looking for. (Here's a link you can see it under for however much longer it's posted on their site: http://www.holmeshonda.com/preownedunder10k.html) A 2003 Honda Odyssey LX with 70000 miles on it. Even though it is Beige colored with the tan interior (I really really really don't like beige colored cars OR tan interiors), it has everything that we are looking for. A LOT more space for kids and luggage, reliability, REAR A/C, similar fuel efficiency with a V6, bucket seats in the 2nd row, etc... Just needs a CD player (it's only cassette). The big thing is the finances of it.

Financing through USAA, I am able to finance up to 120% of their rated value of the specific car. I called and gave them the VIN to the Honda, and they gave me a value of $17000, with the approval to finance up to $21000 for this car. They are selling it for $14000. This means that even if my friend is unable to purchase my car from me, I will still be able to trade it in and afford be approved to finance it. I am going to try to still talk them down on the price more, but un-be-knowst to them, I will probably end up buying it either way. It is what my family needs, and it is the safest, most economical, most dependable way to provide for those needs while possibly reducing overall debt.

So thank you, Mazda5. Take your brand new tires as a memory of us, and never forget who put Amsoil in you because it's way better than any other crap.
 
The 5's gunna miss you! I have still sworn an oath that I'll NEVER buy a minivan. Kids you say? Thats what the roof rack is for! :)
 
Oh well, glad you loved the car. You gotta do what you gotta do. Yeah, among Minivans the Quest and the Odyssey would be among my list (I don't like pure minivans per se, but hey, I cannot resist forever).

Yeah, we only have one little monster now but my wife said that if the count exceeds 2 we would need to go beyond the Mazda5. She actually checked out a Grand Caravan at the mall the other day (after I rented one)... a base trim was around $25K though! Funny thing she asked... "Do they at least have a manual tranny option?" (boom06)
 
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4 kids and 1 wife will still fit in the M5.. lolz.. We are in the same situation but 2 of the 'kids' are now teenagers and the only time we get 'fully' loaded in the M5 is on Sundays and church time. Teenagers will soon be having their beater cars. On a typical M5 use, we have the 3rd row folded.

But I also dream of getting a 2nd hand odyssey. I can use it to transport drywalls from home depot when I renovate our basement.
 
When we traded in our MPV for the 5 my father-in-law took it as a sign (correctly) that we were not planning on having a third child. So I understand the space issue. The 5 is perfect for two kids, any more than that and it gets tight. I commend you for fitting three--and we think we'd try it if we had a third child--but understand completely about upsizing for the fourth.

Good luck. We test drove an Odyssey in '04 and liked it a lot. We didn't buy it because it was bigger than what we wanted, but it's hard to beat when you have four kids.
 
Take a look at the new Kia Minivans. I stress "new" because they just re-styled them for '07. We were really impressed. Nice features, nice to drive, good price, great warranty. If you can get over the fact that it's Korean (some people can't) it's really nice. The new Hyundai Entourage is identical, so go to both dealers and play them off of each other.
 
The Odyssey is a very nice van. And RSX-S wheels look pimp as hell on it. :)
 
Congrats and good luck. If you do end up with the Ody, look up Odyclub.com. I'm a moderator and been a member there since almost day one. Great community, great people. We owned an '01 LX before we let it go for the 5 last year. Hit me up if you have any questions. I'm "hachiroku" on Odyclub. :)
 
Thanks everyone. Yeah, splurged a lot of money of roof racks and a Thule roof storage thingy which we used once this last Christmas to transport gifts p to NY. We will keep the container but depending on where the 5 goes depends on whether I sell the roof racks or not.

As much as we have vowed never to get a minivan (because we are young and we would never be a caught in owning a minivan!), it is offering us absolutely everything that we need at the price we need without guzzling down gas. I get excited thinking about taking a road trip in a car where there are not random things tucked away in every nook and cranny.
 
. I get excited thinking about taking a road trip in a car where there are not random things tucked away in every nook and cranny.

But that is one of my favorite parts of taking the 5 on the road. You can fit so much stuff into all of the little areas :). I guess I just enjoy the challenge. We just took a trip to Hilton Head Island, about 1800 miles round trip, and we were able to fit everything we needed in the 5. It would not work with more than 2 kids though, so I fully understand what you are doing.
 
Sorry to hear the 5 has to go, Airman. Have you found hard numbers on Odyssey reliability? Chrysler had big trouble with their Ultradrive transmissions a decade or more ago, but Honda has had SEVERE troubles much more recently with transmissions. I'm not sure of the status now, but thought I should mention it since you're looking at Honda partly for reliability. If that 70,000-miler happens to be from the timeframe with the weak tranny in it, now is the time for it to let go.

Good luck and take care!
 
Yep

Nature of Defect:
2. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Recall Number:04V176000Dates Manufactured:AUG 2002 to AUG 2003 Number of Vehicles Affected:600000Date Owners Notified On:N/A Vehicle: 2003 Honda OdysseyDefect Description:
ON SOME MINI VANS, SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES, CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS CAN RESULT IN HEAT BUILD-UP BETWEEN THE COUNTERSHAFT AND SECONDARY SHAFT SECOND GEARS IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, EVENTUALLY LEADING TO GEAR TOOTH CHIPPING OR GEAR BREAKAGE.
Consequence of Defect:
GEAR FAILURE COULD RESULT IN TRANSMISSION LOCKUP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
Corrective Action:
ON VEHICLES WITH 15,000 MILES OR LESS, THE DEALER WILL UPDATE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A SIMPLE REVISION TO THE OIL COOLER RETURN LINE TO INCREASE LUBRICATION TO THE SECOND GEAR. ON VEHICLES WITH MORE THAN 15,000 MILES, THE DEALER WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION TO IDENTIFY GEARS THAT HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED DISCOLORATION DUE TO OVERHEATING. IF DISCOLORATION EXISTS, THE TRANSMISSION WILL BE REPLACED IF DISCOLORATION IS NOT PRESENT, THE DEALER WILL PERFORM THE REVISION TO THE OIL COOLER RETURN LINE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 21, 2004, FOR PILOT, ODYSSEY, AND MDX OWNERS. OWNERS OF THE ACCORD VEHICLES WILL START RECEIVING LETTERS ON JUNE 28, 2004, AND ON JUNE 29, 2004, FOR OWNERS OF THE TL AND CL VEHICLES. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238.

And... 194 TSBs: http://applications.edmunds.com/maintenance/recalltsb.do?step=tsb&year=2003&make=Honda&model=Odyssey&style=LX+4dr+Minivan+%283.5L+6cyl+5A%29&zip=80126&synpartner=edmunds#61

Sorry to hear the 5 has to go, Airman. Have you found hard numbers on Odyssey reliability? Chrysler had big trouble with their Ultradrive transmissions a decade or more ago, but Honda has had SEVERE troubles much more recently with transmissions. I'm not sure of the status now, but thought I should mention it since you're looking at Honda partly for reliability. If that 70,000-miler happens to be from the timeframe with the weak tranny in it, now is the time for it to let go.

Good luck and take care!
 
I can highly recommend a Ford Freestyle and hope you go look at one and test drive one. This crossover is fantanstic for a family with the command seating and CVT. Good mpg and power.
Why not take a few minutes and check one out?
Good luck to you and your family.
 
Minivan vs. crossover: it's just lots easier to get little ones out with the open pathway to the back seat without having to flip/tumble/whatever with the 2nd row, not to mention the convenience of the sliding doors which won't ding the cars to either side as the kids exit. The Freestyle/Taurus X is available with captain chairs but it then becomes a six-seater.

Power sliders are even nicer, especially with the heavier doors the big minivans have. We went on vacation with a van without them, came back to our Sienna, and were much relieved.
 
Once I hit the 2 kid mark I became the most pragmatic person alive. Minivans are among the best, most practical, versatile, safest (in most cases), easiest vehicles to move your family around in. Why the vanity?!? Who effin cares what you're driving? If you show to my house in a minivan I'm not gonna talk bad about you or sneer at you. (Course I'm a geek and would come out and talk minivan with you)

It's a total effin shame that folks would turn away from a perfect family truckster in the name of fashion. There is not a vehicle produced today that is as versatile, comfortable and family-rearing-friendly as a minivan. NOTHING.

I'd have one in my driveway again if my wife wasn't like some of you! :D :D


BTW, every growing family should have 3 cars. One minivan, a beater for work and one car that you WOULD be caught dead in. ;)
 
What about a used MPV? Even used the MPV has more sport and character than most Minivans new & old! Plus, it's no doubt a handsome vehicle...so much so that it makes you proud to own a minivan! :D IMO ;)

I know if I find myself with a Family...I'm going to consider the MPV here in Japan because it's bad ass!
 
I have 3 kids...

We use our M5 most of the time. We use a Town & Country for long trips and hauling large loads. We even put the cargo box on the back for the 2 Pack 'n' plays and strollers! I wanted an MPV (instead of the T&C), but it wasn't quite big enough. I wish I could find a CAI for the T&C. (pow)
 
I have had 2 Grand Caravans, 1 with the 3.8L and 1 with the 3.3L. I made a cold air intake for both that sucked and only made noise. (shrug) They looked nice though...

I, too, like the Japanese MPV. It's to me what a minivan should look like, not the bloated pig of an Odyssey or the squared-off, new Caravan.
 
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