I'm looking for recommendations for a basic minivan

April 18, 2018 2:32 AM

I realize minivans aren't super sexy but they are what I need; something that can transport cargo but also more than one or two passengers. I've been reading for days and I can't come away with any decent ideas of what to look for or what to keep in mind.

I'm also not a car person so I'm not familiar with the reputation of various car companies or how difficult a particular model would be to keep running. I'd like to keep it more mechanically simple; no built-in DVD players or automatic electronic doors. This will be mainly for hauling, not road trips. I'd prefer something used to avoid running the budget up. I have about $5,000 to work with but I can be somewhat flexible. Any suggestions of what to look for or what to keep in mind would be appreciated.

posted by Socinus to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

A Honda Odyssey, its brother from another brand the Chrysler Town and Country, or a Toyota Sienna could all be reliable choices, but I don’t know what year and mileage you’d be able to get for $5k.

Would a crew cab pickup work as well?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:31 AM on April 18, 2018 [4 favorites]

The newest one you could get is from 2005 at this point, but if you want a used no frills minivan made for hauling, my mind went immediately to the Chevrolet Astro.

Data point of one: we had an older model Astro when I was growing up, and to this day, my mom says that was the best car she's ever owned.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:26 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Would a crew cab pickup work as well?

Having researched my options to death on vehicles that have lots of hauling capacity but also can carry more than 3 passengers, I think I can say with a high degree of confidence that a crew cab pickup is going to be more expensive than a passenger van, all else (age, miles, condition) being equal.

I'd recommend an older Ford Transit Connect.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:50 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Transit Connects are like someone shot a cube van with a shrink ray. Very, very basic. So if that's your aesthetic, yeah.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:25 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

I did a lot of research on this same question and ended up getting two Dodge Grand Caravans for my contracting business (a 2005 and a 2006). They have been fantastic, zero problems despite heavy use. What's surprising is how much I enjoy driving them. The stow and go seat system also makes them very versatile. 2005-2007 are the best years for these, you can pick up a good one with 100K or so for about $4000 and it should easily go another 100K. There are many driving around out there with 300K+. Very few issues and those that come up rarely cost much.
posted by dacoit at 9:14 AM on April 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

Dodge Caravans are far and away the best bang for the buck in utilitarian minivans. This is a little less the case in the the States compared to Canada (where they were like 50% of the market) but because they are so prevalent and cheap parts are also cheap and readily available.

Grands (which refers to length rather than trim level) hold a full sheet of plywood. They also have simple beam axles in the rear.

I think post 2000 all Caravans had dual sliding doors but if not avoid one without a slider on the drivers side.

Also the common 3.3l is a non interference design; if you don't mind minor surprises you can drive the van till the timing belt breaks.

Astros are more truck than minivan. They have poor packaging; have all the driving problems of a RWD truck platform; and aren't particularly safe. Their old school OHV V6 gets relatively poor mileage. Much harder to find with driver's side slider. Really the only reason to choose one over a Caravan, IMO, is if you need to haul a 6500lb trailer.
posted by Mitheral at 9:45 AM on April 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

Seconding the Dodge Greand Car as. Lots of load space, and comfortable. No repair issues.
posted by Enid Lareg at 9:45 AM on April 18, 2018

Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna. I had an Odyssey, it was reliable, got okay mileage, would recommend. Family member totaled it and I still miss it.
posted by theora55 at 10:12 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you're in the market for an older Odyssey, make sure you avoid the models with known transmission problems. My in-laws had to have their transmission replaced twice. I have an 08 Odyssey and have not been happy about the amount of money I've had to sink into repairs on it.
posted by Otis at 12:15 PM on April 18, 2018

I owned a Dodge Grand Caravan and a Plymouth Grand Voyager together and they were the best. I kept driving them saying I'm just waiting for them to die, but they never did.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:19 PM on April 18, 2018

My wonderful 2002 Toyota Sienna just got totaled by a guy who ran a red light. It was still running great at 225,000 miles. I've owned a couple of them and they're very durable. The Dodge Caravan I owned gave up the ghost around 150 k miles and I won't be buying one of those again.

The best affordable replacement I could find in a hurry (I have a 55 mile daily commute, no public transportation) is a Nissan Quest. I just noticed that, unlike my previous minivans, it does not seem to have an easy way to remove the seats. I've used my minivans for lots of hauling and lots of camping.
posted by mareli at 12:26 PM on April 18, 2018

I used to drive a 99 Plymouth Voyager. I put 220k on it until I gave it to my brother who promptly totaled it. The Chrysler minivans are generally recognized as having the easiest rear-seat removal system, which may be a selling point if you want to be able to haul shit. Back then you just popped 2 levers on the back of the seat and rolled them out on the tracks. Later on, they came out with the "Stow and go" where they fold into the floor, which is nice but raises the level of the floor, eating up some cargo space. I had the older, roll-out setup and with the rear-seats out it was positively cavernous. I would estimate about 50% more useful cargo space than a Chevy Suburban, and much easier to load since the floor was about 12-18 inches lower.

I ended up having the 3rd row seat in most of the time, but leaving the second row out and doing most of my hauling via the side door. Talk about legroom.

Damn, I miss that van.
posted by dudemanlives at 12:40 PM on April 18, 2018

I love Astros but they are more like a 3/4 size van rather than a a minivan. Totally different beast than all the other recommendations here.
posted by twoplussix at 12:42 PM on April 18, 2018

I love my 2011 Sienna, but only the third row folds completely away. The middle row seats fold forward and can be pushed up to the first row to create a lot of room (I've slept back there, and I can fit full-sized bikes in it) but if you want a lot of room you're going to want seats that either fold out of the way or are easily removed.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:50 PM on April 18, 2018

Seconding the Chevy Astro. As soon as my boyfriend ran his last one into the ground recently (mechanical still worked great; it was things like door latches and equipment mounts that started giving out), he turned around and bought another one. It's big enough to hold a sheet of plywood but small enough to park easily. As noted by twoplussix, it's more of a 3/4 size van, but we found one with removable bench seats in the back so it works great when we need that capability.
posted by queensissy at 4:52 PM on April 18, 2018