used Honda Odyssey

[pavulon]

The 4 kids and I are getting too cozy in the Scooby Outback. Is there something I'm missing or is a latest generation used Odyssey about a fella's best minivan bet?

[M.D. Holloway]

good luck trying to find one...can't go wrong with a Honda.

[porsche4life]

We've loved our '06 Sienna. Getting up there I n miles, will probably get another sienna. Hard to beat the comfort and utility of the minivan!

[Red88Carrera]

The Honda Odyssey seems a little small for more than one passenger...

[porsche4life]

#winning

[mikester]

Check the airbag recalls.

[onewhippedpuppy]

The newer ones are pretty bulletproof. The Touring gets a 5-speed auto vs the 4-speed in the normal models and gets better MPG, along with having more goodies. We looked Odyssey, Sienna, and Quest, and ended up with a 2012 Nissan Quest LE (top model). None of them are inspiring to drive, but the Quest had the nicest quality interior by far, and I saved at least $10k over the Odyssey Touring which are crazy expensive in the used market. Another bonus, you don't see the Quest in every suburban driveway. The downsize is gas mileage, at 80 MPH you maybe get 18 MPG where the Odyssey would be more like 25. But I can buy a lot of gas for $10k......

One other option for a "sorta-minivan" solution is the Mazda5. We had a 2013 Grand Touring that we sold to buy the Quest because we needed more space for trips. They have captain's chairs in the 2nd row and a 3rd row bench and are essentially a compact minivan. Fantastic MPG, we frequently saw 28 MPG. Fun to drive, typical great Mazda steering, very playful and tight handling. You can even get a stick in the lower trim levels. They are also cheap, brand new our loaded GT was only $23k.

[Oh Haha]

We have a 2007 and have had no major issues. We bought it used with 60,000 miles.

[yetibone]

Honda Odyssey, or Toyota Sienna are both excellent choices. The Honda, however, I believe still has a timing belt that needs service every 120k miles.

It will probably boil down to which one has the features, and styling you prefer.

[kaisen]

I'd buy a Sienna long before an Odyssey

[pavulon]

In anticipation of this issue (car too small) we all went on a few test drives last summer. We drove Dodge, Honda and Toyota offerings almost back to back to back. The dodge drove ok and offered a lot of features for the money. The Honda was expensive but also seemed to drive the best and was remarkably quiet when going down the road. I had high hopes for the Toyota as it offers a lot of nifty options but was disappointing to drive (seemed really big and had wind noise that I did not expect or experience in the others).

I'll try to find a mazda as I do have a soft spot for them having owned an '85 Rx-7.

Thanks for all the input. I don't understand Sid's "#winning" but laughed at the '80's oddysey pic as we had one when I was young until my drunk dad's drunk buddy rolled it in the rain one night--it was gone in a week.

We had the early version:

[look 171]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfdapHl-6sE

you have to look into this Honda minivan from one of our local boys here but check out his twin turbo 930 is insane

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by kaisen

I'd buy a Sienna long before an Odyssey

Yak about that for a while, stranger.

I do know several Honda models in the late 90's and forward for several years had candy bone auto transmissions.

What's the rub with later models?

[SCadaddle]

My neighbor bought a new 15 odyssey a few months ago. It has developed a rattling noise in the rear right corner that he left it with the dealership for a day to diagnose. I took him to the dealership later that afternoon. Service writer says "nothing found to be a problem". Neighbor insists there is something either loose or not fitting correctly. Service writer says "they all make that noise, here, let me show you on a 16" and he pushes on the side panel near the rear wheel. Neighbor says "looks like a design flaw to me", service writer gets an attitude and says "there are only 2 things we can do here at the dealership. 1) Replace parts and 2) upload firmware/software."

Needless to say the Honda honeymoon is over with my neighbor and the dealership he bought the vehicle from.

So I'd suggest for the test ride you have someone listening in the back seat.

(There is an older one that runs around my neighborhood with a personalized license plate that reads "ILIAD".)

Now, that being said, my other neighbor in her mid 70's was driving her early 2000's Toyota Sienna on a 2 lane highway and crossing a bridge at about 55 mph another vehicle doing about the same speed crossed over into her lane and they hit head on. The neighbor was taken to the hospital and released a few hours later with slight airbag burns and mostly bruised up. She bought a brand new Toyota to replace it.

[look 171]

When we were shopping for a new van, we were only interested in the Honda and Toyota. The Honda sales guy show us the van and look at me and continue talking about performance, handling and that the cockpit looked like a sports car. That, it did look a little like my S2000. it did handling better then the Sienna, but that's not why we bought the van. With "Handling", come stiffer suspension (it seem and felt that way a little at the test drive?). When we drove the Sienna, the van was quiet and comfy and no road noise. We were sold. We still have the van with 150k trouble free miles on it. Shocks have been replaced at 120k miles. The automatic fold down seat went and the auto door developed a scraping sound. Toyota popped for the parts and we paid the labor on it, so it was not too bad.

[vmb]

We bought a used 2007 Odyssey EX-L in 2009 and have only had trouble with the sliding doors (weak rollers) but otherwise have been pretty happy with it. But, if I were to do it all over again, I'd get an AWD Sienna, the only minivan you can get in AWD. I can't get up my driveway and another neighborhood road if they are not plowed. Of course, that only applies if you live in a place that snows.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by kaisen

I'd buy a Sienna long before an Odyssey

Ditto, owned both...

Honda needs premium fuel, Toyota runs regular...

That's a big difference...

Hondas also have gearbox and motor issues...

[Chocaholic]

Premium fuel??? Wrong. Gear box and motor issues??? Wrong again. Do you work for Toyota?

We're on our 2nd. First was an 07, current is an 11. Both bought new. The 07 was a bit noisier and we had a few minor repairs as I recall. Nothing major. The 11 has just under 100k on it now and has been flawless. Very quiet, smooth and versatile. We usually trade at 100k but decided to keep this one longer. Had new timing belt, water pump, brakes, tires, plugs all done recently as insurance for another 100k miles.

Buy a clean and maintained one and you'll be happy. Have driven all others mentioned above (rental cars and while shopping), the Honda is clearly the best looking and driving of the bunch.

[onewhippedpuppy]

This thread is a great example of "different strokes". I thought the Toyota was super cheap inside and floppy to drive, the Odyssey was good but not great in basically every way, and the Nissan had the nicest interior and was otherwise inoffensive.

Btw, there's a reason why the Dodge is the cheapest of the bunch, they don't wear well and can be very problematic. A friend of mine got so pissed at his that he bought new for his wife that they traded it in mid-vacation on a Pilot.

[pavulon]

Don't understand how Dodge can continue to build a problematic van other than in small towns, there are generally few to no import dealers. A neighbor had a Caravan a few years ago. Owned it less than a year and he gave up in disgust. It went through two sets of brakes in a year (!) but that could be the way it was driven as well.

All 3 domestics are represented here in town. It's 40-50 minutes to access the Japanese offerings. Finding a nice used one around here is a tough sell (salt exposure). I'm going to have to travel to get into a clean used example and that stinks. Hate spending money on winter driven cars