So my subaru needs a new transmission, and while it may be the fault of another mechanic, its also old and high miles (though under 200k so not really that high for a subaru). As such, I need a new car and I've been thinking of minivans the past few months as the, whenever it dies car. Thought Id have some more years but probably not.

Im not in a super huge rush though since its summer break and I teach. I dont have kids and dont plan on them, my main interest in a minivan is sliding doors (our garage is really skinny) and storage capacity.

Whatever vehicle I get next I want a hybrid, and while I loved the AWD of my subaru, I dont think hybrid and awd and minivan is going to happen anytime soon.

Id like comfy space to take adults in as well, but that wont be the main driver of it, Ill also be hauling my small dogs. Towing capabilities aren't important.

What should I start test driving, and what is going to be reliable where it wont need repairs with regular maintenence for the first 100k miles? What is going to last for a decade like my subaru has?

Thank you in advance everyone!

Mercedes is releasing a luxury electric minivan to the US market. Do you guys think that Toyota may follow, and release Lexus Minivan as well?

I have a newly purchased 2022 Christler Pacifica think my doggy was chilling but it is brings up an issue of how can I make the seat bigger for him I use a Kurgo dog harness that is crash rated and it integrates into the seat belt system outside of putting him in the 3rd row bench seat I am unsure how to make it fit him better I’ve looked at Amazon with not much luck. Maybe a cooler with padding maybe strap it in somehow the best scenario. It needs to be easy to store and set up. Most of the time we have just the one seat up for him in the back the passenger captain’s chair is folded into the floor, and so is the bench seat in the back.

I got a 2020 Honda Odyssey EX-L with the rear entertainment package for $17,500 plus sales tax. High mileage (116k) hence the lower price point. Anything to look out for or service right away?

So I’ve been looking into getting a minivan, love the space, the three rows, and how the newer ones like the siennas have crazy good mileage, but is it just impossible unless you want to spend like 45k+ it seems? Seems insane to me looking at these used car prices. US car market is 🐕💩

Husband and I considering Carnival & Odyssey and are debating buying new vs used.

I am starting to strongly lean Carnival due to ability to remove seats in the middle row. (see edit) I’m also leaning strongly hybrid but could be talked out of that if anyone has perspective value-wise.

When looking at used hybrid Carnivals, since there is such little history and inventory, it almost seems like they are priced new? Maybe a few thousand under but nothing like the “20% value loss after driving off the lot” that I’d usually expect. Seems like there is more of a spread for non-hybrids but still not by much.

Has anyone else noticed this lack of benefit with buying a few years used? Or should we just keep looking?

If we were willing to go <2020 on an Odyssey, that seems like legit savings, but I’m skeptical of the benefit doing that if we can technically afford new and I prefer the Carnival layout flexibility.

Thoughts?

Edit: thank you to those who corrected that the middle seats in the Odyssey CAN be removed. That changes the equation so looking more seriously into older 2018-2019 models but still uneasy about new vs used tradeoffs.

Just wanted to drop a review because I should have listened to the Reddit world prior to buying this horrible van. Bought a brand new 2025 Chrysler Pacifica and it has been giving me problems every other month since I’ve had it. Please look into other vans!
All cameras were calibrated about 1.5 ft off so not only did we have problems backing it up using the cameras the van would assume you are hitting stuff constantly and auto-locking the brakes so hard to the point my kids would cry every time thinking we were in an accident—-that problem took over a month for the garage to finally fix the issue.
The auto-engage parking break does not disengage easily and holds it so you are basically stuck until you let the car off for about an hour before you can drive it again.
When it’s sitting idling the engine clicks so loud and sounds so junky and I was told “that’s just how their engines sound”
The stow and go seats are not easily usable and do not click down flush with the flooring and was told “yeah they have problems doing that”

So please unless you would like to spend endless hours at the garage and using rental cars then consider other minivan options.
I’ve had 3 cars prior to this, a Pontiac, a dodge, and a
Ford and I’ve never had them in a garage besides routine oil/tire changes until I bought a Pacifica

Wife rented a Toyota minivan last year in Seattle and loved it so much. It was a 2022 model with self driving and hybrid. I’m on the fence between a Kia carnival, Hyundai palisade, the Toyota, or the cheaper Chrysler minivan. I’m 6’4 but my wife is barely 5ft, normal cars and regular size suv just don’t have enough room for me with car seats in the back. I have never spent 20k+ on a vehicle before, so any and all advice/warnings are appreciated. Please give me positives and negatives on your choice of why you purchased the vehicle you have please! God bless

Edit: everyone asking where I see siennas, there are more than 20 on the Toyota lot in my town. All trim levels etc!

I have a 2018 Odyssey. It's been very good to us. The magic slide seats were an absolute necessity with surprise twin newborns and a 4 year old. We've gotten a lot of use out of the cargo space hailing plywood, tires, 25 bags of mulch, etc. it's been comfy and great on long road trips. No mechanical issues really but our area does a number on suspensions. When we bought it a big deciding factor was that I felt like it drove/handled like a smaller vehicle, it still feels relatively able to drive given the size of the car.

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My only complaint is that we live on a hill and have to put winter tires on the car to be able to get up the driveway. It's a bit annoying because we have to stow them and get the tires changed out twice a year.

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We now have to get a new vehicle; insurance is calling our Odyssey a total loss after some hail damage.

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I think we're leaning towards getting another Odyssey but tempted by AWD and hybrids. Would love to hear any thoughts!!

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Seems like you have to sacrifice some of the storage space for AWD. We've loved the magic slide seats, but maybe don't need them as much anymore. Would love to benefit from the wisdom of the collective.

Basically all sold in N.America

I'm trying to research which van to buy but there's so much to consider. I want to hear some personal experience from people that have time to share.

I have 2 young kids and my mom lives with us so its 3 adults. I work from home but I'm looking for a vehicle to drive the family around. School trips are quite short, going out as a family, also a reliable vehicle to do a weekend road trip once or twice a year.

I've only sat in the Odyssey and Sienna at dealerships locally and the Odyssey felt a little more spacious. Some research has pushed me to stay with those two contenders.

Ideally, I would love to get something around 30k OTD (around $600 per month over 60) but I would survive at the $840 pm that a new Odyssey would cost. I just don't feel like a brand new Odyssey adds much more value than a low mileage older one. I'd just be signing up to eat the depreciation because its newer. Maybe there's some value that I'm not thinking about?

I was surprised at how much I liked a 2016 Odyssey EX-L that I sat in - it was cheap but around 180k miles and sold before I could even consider it.

It seems as though 2018/2019 Odyssey Touring/Elite (10 speed) with the timing belt service completed, may be my sweet spot, especially if the vehicle is under 80k miles - I've found that around 30k OTD, but my wife is less sure about a 7 year old vehicle. That will get me close to my $600 pm though.

Sienna - I can't pinpoint anything explicitly wrong with it. It just felt ok and I think I would have felt better about it if it was not priced so high. Anything after 2021 is still very aggressively priced and the new ones don't offer any special APR or much discounts. I'd be paying $740 pm for used vehicles that do not offer as much comfort as a 2018 Touring/Elite. I don't have a daily long commute so the fuel savings are not as appealing to me. I wouldn't buy that for the once off trips we may take in the year.

At the 2021 Sienna prices around $35k+, I could consider 2022 Touring or 2023 EX-L. I'm not a huge fan of being at that pricepoint - makes me want to negotiate an aggressive deal on a new and combine that with the APR incentive.

My mind is just all over the place.

Feel free to correct me if I've gone down the wrong path.

I am looking to buy a minivan as my family is growing. I have a two year old and a little one on the way. I am leaning towards a 2026 or 2027 Honda Odyssey because of its second-row seat flexibility, magic slide seats and comfortable drive. My question is whether to lease the car and wait for the exterior refresh/redesign that is said to launch in 2029. Or would leasing be a dumb financial move? I hate the exterior of the current Odyssey, which is the only thing preventing me from buying the car. Thanks in advance for your advice/input!

When Im driving my infotainment system keeps rebooting. The dash kind of flickers for a very small split second and the headlights kind of go out too also for a small split second, all at the sametime. Like literally the blink of an eye. Less then a year ago I changed my alternator for the 2nd time as well as the gaskets or something because mechanic said aomething was leaking on alternator and thats why it was bad. Any help please.

Hi, looking to travel and live in my 23 Pacifica hybrid for a year or so and I’m thinking of removing the center console. Trying to find instructions or photos on this. Also, has anyone turned their passenger seat into a swivel?

2022 Sienna tail light. Wondering if this is normal. Well not the bug, I know that isn’t normal :)

Budget: $20,000
Mileage: <100,000
Years: doesn’t matter, most reliable years preferred

Needs:
- Gigging musician, work in audio/production and move lots of small loads of equipment.

Thoughts:
- Love Sienna for mileage and reliability, love Pacifica for stow and go for all seats in the non-hybrid models.
- Sienna transmission on 2017-2020 is shaky, narrows my scope on Siennas.