Anyone has recent experiences buying a Van?
 

Curious to see if anyone recently has bought a Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. Also if you are a salesperson at either dealership and can share your experiences generally associated with these cars that'll be greatly appreciated.

I've been looking for new Sienna or Odyssey recently and it looks like those two Vans are very popular and high in demand that dealerships are generally unwilling to budge on their MSRP prices. Several places are pretty much out of stock as well. Pretty ridiculous that I've actually contemplated giving Kia Sedona a chance.

Anyway, I was wondering if my small sample size is a good reflection of the situation in the whole lower mainland area. Please do chime in if you have opinions on this. Thanks.

Paging GS8. He bought a Kia Sedona recently.

bought my sienna se just recently. i paid a deposit for it in end of jan and took delivery in mid march. visited multiple toyota dealerships and right off the bat before haggling the salesperson would knock off between 500 - 700. went to the salesperson my mom got her rav from and the guy knocked off over 1k. makes me think if you can get a referral you might get a better deal.

Really appreciate the input guys. Also thanks to those who pmed me as well. Wonder how gs8 is liking his new sedona.

Coworker is picking up his Sienna soon. Paid deposit a few months ago and has been waiting for it to arrive. Siennas/Odysseys are always top choices for vans and generally fly out of deleaerships. $1500 off is the max he negotiated off.

I can has van?

I recently rented a Chrysler Town & Country to help a friend move (got a really good daily rate on it.)

Coming from a 2006 Toyota Sienna and having driven a 2015 Honda Odyssey, the Town & Country is a complete POS. I can only imagine the Dodge Caravan can only be worse in terms of fit, finish, and materials. The driving experience was just awful, especially the throttle control and transmission.

I've had a few Kia Sedona rentals and I absolutely cannot recommend it, even if you were my mortal enemy. Stick with either the Toyota or Honda. If it is an option, get a used one. The Sienna in our family has held up very well, and it's a 10 years old. If you must, pony up and pay the premium if you are set on getting a van. As they say, you get what you pay for.

I've had the Sedona as a rental for work a few times and it's not very good. Uncomfortable seating position, poor fit and finish, and underpowered even when it's empty.

I have a 2012 Toyota Sienna. I have low km's on it about 24,000 but it's been parked outside all its life and it starts up every morning. I never had any issues with any power doors or trunk. The engine is powerful enough for its day to day, but the fuel mileage could of been better (95% city and short trips). It can carry 7 people and its luggage. I can carry big 2 strollers and other baby stuff too and no problem

What I found not very useful was the folding captain chairs with the leg extender. They really only work for For children. If you have mats (rubber or carpet) it's hard to move the captain chairs.

Really appreciate all inputs. I think I've seen enough bad reviews to steer me away from Kia. It looks like although they've stepped up, they are still just not there compared to Toyota and Honda.

It looks like Sienna is out of stock across lower mainland and the wait is about 4-5 months. Who would've thought that Van was that popular?

I'm leaning towards Odyssey despite my friend who's an owner at a mechanic shop telling me that Sienna is much more reliable. The $ difference isn't small based on Honda's 0.99% finance/lease now compared to 2.99% which is the lowest Toyota would go. Also 0.99% makes lease very attractive and I'm comfortable with 48 months lease with the 5 year warranty.

^ sienna is much more reliable. originalhypa might chime in about his experience with his odyssey. my mechanic also owned a new odyssey and said it was nothing but a headache, he sold it and bought a sienna.

also, my parents have owned a sienna since 2001, bought brand new. currently has 350k km on it and still runs awesome and the transmission still shifts smooth.

Have a 2014 odyssey touring, just hitting 29k. Great van. If you don't need the vacuum, don't get it (it's only on touring trim cant get it as a separate option). 5x120 bolt pattern if that matters to you :okay:
No issues mechanically or structural though wife somehow cracked the windshield :fulloffuck:
If you don't need the Bell's and whistles just get the cheaper ex-l and add entertainment /nav save you even more, has the same v6 in all trims.
Oh if your buying it because of family reasons, lease the fucker. Trust me. Kids really makes it "lived in"

I have extensive experience with driving the 2014-15 Sienna and the caravans and its sister T&C. Like mentioned by other people other than the price there is not much going for the chrysler vans. The toyota on the other hand is a very good vehicle all around especially reliability and fuel economy.

If i were you I would look into in the new pacifica swell, its getting really good reviews so far

The pacific looks good but it'll be a huge hurdle for me to own a Chrysler. It's tough to consider without a long solid track record. Also, it starts at $43,995...? That's almost top of the line Ody or Sienna trim.

While Sienna is more reliable I do feel the issues with Odyssey might be a bit overblown. Overall looking at more data as opposed to one-off cases, it appears Odyssey remains a reliable car despite being less reliable than Sienna.

I do wish Odyssey offered leather seats option without entertainment or navi package though. It looks like in order to get leather seats, you have to get either package.

Yeah I was surprised to see the total cost for the touring, but I think the ex trim provides a lot of value.

I guess you should also look at some pre owned models as well

I did. The issue is that, at least for Ody, used car will only get financing of 2.99% at the lowest. Also they hold value surprisingly well, which seems to contradict the fact that they are less reliable, so there isn't much of an incentive to go used. 2 years old 2014 Ody with same trim is going for $36,000 with 40k kms, while a brand new one is $45k.

if you're set on the ody, id wait for the 2017 and see what the new facelift will look like.

I think you'll have to treat the unreliability subjectively, and on a case by case basis. You'll have to compare to the competition and decide for yourself how unreliable are they? If they really were that bad, would people still be buying them? Oh, and 2.99% financing is just awful. Maybe wait it out?

Honda has a reputation for their transmissions on V6 engine going bad after so many years and/or mileage (or a combination of both) so you have to keep these known and proven problems in check, as opposed to, "Oh, the AC doesn't blow cold at 21.0 Celsius all the time." and what have you.

I mean, there are always these.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media...dxbuffvnms.jpg

:troll:

Same experience with the Caravan. Borrowed my friend's 2013 Dodge Caravan, and it was a piece of shit. The throttle response is so sensitive and the weight distribution is so unbalanced that you do a front wheel burnout on any incline, wet or dry. Or at least chirp the tires. And everyone stares at you like WTF?

And the gas mileage for a "family vehicle" was horrendous. I put in $40 once and got 100km in the city.

If I ever was forced to buy a minivan, it would be anything but that fuckin thing.

From what I've heard, Sienna's are flying off the shelves. A lot of times, they're being exported to China now. So most dealers won't budge on pricing. Don't be surprised if they make you sign an agreement to keep the vehicle local down the road either.

heard nothin but good things about the Sienna.

Odyssey was good but in the last 6 years or so, friends and family that have driven them got nothing but headaches (from bearing-related issues to mounts to tranny issues all under 100k of useage). Plus they've learned that Honda will fight you every step of the way with warranty-related issues. I remember reading a post from someone here about their warranty issues with their odyssey last week.

Lastly, Honda can't make V6 auto trannies for shit. I'd honestly drive a Chrysler before I'd get into a V6 Auto Honda again lol

Yes. Gas mileage on the Town & Country was worse.

Could not recommend this.

2016 Sienna SE Tech
MSRP: $43,840
Invoice: $40,295
Difference: $3,545
Margin: 8%