You know it's time for a mini-van when . . .

[Disnydad]

We went to a minivan right after kid #2 came along and it sure was nice having all that room and ability to take along guests with us. Over a 12 year period we used up 3 minivans (1 Dodge & 2 Fords) without many problems. The kids are off and we are now in a sedan and crossover.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

My DW and I have given in and with the birth of our second daughter we agree that with all the stuff that goes with the kids it is probably time for a mini-van.

For others that already have a mini-van, how did you know that it was time for a mini-van? What make/model did you choose?

We bought our first mini-van (used 98 Oldsmobile Silhouette) after DS was born. We had a two year old daughter and a month old son. DH (6'3") couldn't sit comfortably in the front seat of the car (97 Honda Accord) with DS's rear facing car seat behind him or DD in her car seat and legs kicking his seat (or resting on his head rest). We had absolutely no extra room in the car (diaper bag, etc.) let alone try to put two suitcases in the trunk along with baby gear (and dog, at that time) to head out for a weekend. So, when DS was 4 weeks old we had our first mini-van. We kept that van until it completely died in 2007 and purchased a new Toyota Sienna (love it!).

 

[mrodgers]

When you want one?

I don't understand the fuss over a minivan. What the heck are you folks carrying that you "need" a minivan? We got along just fine in a tiny Nissan Altima (before they became the bohemuth that it is today) with 2 kids, a stroller and a diaper bag my wife had to have.

We looked at them briefly when the Altima was getting up close to the 175,000 mile range before I had critical problems with my truck. At that point, we decided we "wanted" a small SUV instead of a minivan and I took the Altima for a few more painstaking years (automatic, blah.... )

We didn't need an SUV at the time either. We just wanted one. Too bad I had the thoughts of new and warranty and bought a Ford instead of buying a 5 year old Toyota or Honda.

 

[runnergirl97]

Whatever you do, DO NOT get a Chrysler town and country! It is by far the worst car we have ever had. The doors were recalled, the speakers have broken to the point where they blast jet engine sounds throughout the whole car even when they're off, the breaks are awful even after getting them fixed many times. We have also had problems with the air conditioning and multiple other part recalls. If you decide to get one, good luck and I hope it works out better than ours has!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Two weeks before child number 3 arrived!

Our Toyota Sienna will be 8 in October. It is still great. It holds so much! I loved the power doors when I had three small kids. We had a Durango which I liked, but I really didn't know how much easier my mini-van would be with three kids. Love it! Even my DH who said he would never have a mini-van agreed it was a good move.

 

[arthuruscg]

The reason why you need a minivan is the car seats now are huge and kids should remain rear facing until they are 2. Not 2 months 2 YEARS.

Have you ever tried placing a rear facing car seats behind the driver or passenger in a small car? It is imposable to not have the driver or passenger not be in the death zone of the airbag. 10 inches for the driver and 2 FEET for the passenger.

FYI: The Venza and Highlander are minivans with out sliding doors.

 

[tvguy]

We skipped right from a Pinto to a Suburban. Rented a few minivans on vacation, not sure how folks make do with something so small.

 

[momz]

The old body style. It's smaller than other minivans, but is better on gas. Has plenty of room. Is comfortable for long drives.

Ours is 8 years old with 130K miles and is still running strong. Had the brakes repaired last weekend. Has never needed anything other than routine maintainence.

If you can find a used low miles MPV, I'd snatch it up.

Am so sad they changed it. The new body style makes it a completely different vehicle...apples and oranges.

 

[disykat]

The old body style. It's smaller than other minivans, but is better on gas. Has plenty of room. Is comfortable for long drives.

Ours is 8 years old with 130K miles and is still running strong. Had the brakes repaired last weekend. Has never needed anything other than routine maintainence.

If you can find a used low miles MPV, I'd snatch it up.

Am so sad they changed it. The new body style makes it a completely different vehicle...apples and oranges.

I think they stopped selling MPV's in the US in 2006. I agree it's a great van if you're looking for a used vehicle.

 

[cari12]

It was after the birth of our second child and we had a Mercury Sable (not a small car) but with 2 car seats in the back, the 3rd (middle) seat was basically unusable. So we went ot visit my Mom and realized, we could not even take her anywhere because we no longer had an extra seat!
Then we bought a mini-van. DH wanted a Dodge Durango SUV but that was out of our price range so we bought a Ford Freestar. That was back in 2005 and it was a great van. In 2009, we were hit and the van was totalled and we ended up getting an ex-lease Dodge Durango. DH finally got his SUV.

 

[RN2003AZ]

Had an '04 Chevy Trailblazer when DS#1 was born. When he was 3 I decided I was going to get a minivan. Got a top of the line '09 VW Routan. DS#2 was born last year and it's been great and very roomy. January of this year and only 22,000 miles, the transmission blew. That's what I get for buying a Chrysler in German clothing! I've been looking to unload it since then. I now have a '13 Ford Explorer on order! I'm looking forward to going back to the SUV and 4wd for gross New England winters but am sad to see the space of the minivan go. There were no other vans on the market the peaked my interest and I love the look of the Explorer!

 

[spacemountainmom]

I was driving an extended cab pick-up when child 2 came along. I hated having to deal with the car seat in that vehicle so dh and I traded. He was driving a Chevy Lumina and it was easier to deal with the baby having a door that opened to the back seat.

After the millionth time I hit my head on the door frame putting ds in the car seat, I started lobbying for a mini-van. We said good-bye to the Lumina and bought a used Grand Caravan. I was in love from day one. I loved the space and the ease of getting ds in and out of his carseat. I drove it for 6 1/2 years. The in-laws were getting rid of their Ford Explorer so we bought that. DS was in a booster and buckling himself by then so it was all good.

 

[badblackpug]

4 kids, 2 in car seats. 2 dogs, mom lives with us, and at 1 point a double stroller. Still no mini van.

 

[VAfamily1998]

We held off on getting a minivan as long as possible. I was pregnant with #4--we had 3 other kids under the age of 6 already.

We got a Honda Odyssey. We had it over 6 years, but about a year ago it was in a major accident, which got repaired, but then about 6 months ago it started needing lots of other things, new battery, new tires (PAX @$400 each!) new altinator, new transmission...basically we starting sinking hundreds-thousands of dollars into it each month...so when they told us it would be over $3000 for a new transmission we just decided to get a new van.

I've had my Chrysler Town and Country since May and love it!

 

[dizdad223]

The old body style. It's smaller than other minivans, but is better on gas. Has plenty of room. Is comfortable for long drives.

Ours is 8 years old with 130K miles and is still running strong. Had the brakes repaired last weekend. Has never needed anything other than routine maintainence.

If you can find a used low miles MPV, I'd snatch it up.

Am so sad they changed it. The new body style makes it a completely different vehicle...apples and oranges.

I agree. I really like the MPV when it came out and was disappointed when they changed to the 5. It's just not the same.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I posted my reply before I saw everyone else's and am so bummed to see everyone saying the Town and Country is so bad...I was nervous before we bought it, but our neighbors had one and when we asked them about theirs, they had nothing but wonderful things to say.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Two kids, older one plays on a traveling soccer team, we have extra kids often, not to mention two dogs that we take on vacation with us. DH is the one who originally wanted the van,but u don't know how we'd do without it now. We have an 8-year old Toyota Sienna, and when it needs replaced, we'll get another one.

 

[DMickey28]

I have actually really wanted a minivan for about a year! I just loved the room it gave. What really drove me was the sliding doors though. I love not having to open the door for the kids!

We bought our first one in February of this year. We bought a 2011 Town and Country and we really like it. I don't have any complaints on my van. I do wish that we could have afforded one with more options but that doesn't depend on the brand. I don't know what more I want for options, leather maybe, but otherwise I have everything I want I just want more luxury! LOL. We have auto air control, sliding doors and liftgate, auto start, DVD, SAT and the U-Connect Hands free system. The only things missing are the leather seats, dual DVD for the third row and navigation.

 

[DMickey28]

I just want to say that T&C went over a huge overhaul starting with their 2011 models. That is when the relationship with Fiat started impacting the production. Obviously we don't know the long term outcome of the van but I wouldn't have touched anything less than a 2011 with a 10 foot pole.

 

[suejai]

We had a Ford Windstar Sport and loved it!! They don't make them anymore, but if we were still at the stage where we needed that type of vehicle I would consider the Ford Flex.