Author Topic: Upgrading the family vehicle  (Read 15268 times)

Mr.Macinstache

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Upgrading the family vehicle
« on: August 06, 2013, 11:17:39 AM »
I'm on the fence about this.

We have an 02 Odyssey with 128k. We just got back from a Florida trip and it did fine. Since we don't fly this is out yearly transportation for our vacations. Also my wife does some daycare and need to transport kids.

I want to sell it and get a 2012 Sienna with ~30k miles. It would be a $25k loan at 1.9%. When I sell the Ody I'll pay off the $3500 I owe and have ~$2500 to put down against the new Sienna.

I like the idea of selling the Ody now because nothing is wrong with it and I can get the highest price for it.

I know there is more to the picture, other debt is a mortgage, 6k student loan, 1.5k medical bill (no interest) and 1k credit card (about to be paid off).

Thoughts?

madage

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2013, 11:27:25 AM »

Thoughts?

Get off the fence. Don't do it. Taking on debt for a depreciating asset is never good for your savings. Your 2002 works fine and doesn't have a ton of miles on it. You're still digging out of debt. Adding more is a terrible idea.

andru365

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2013, 12:36:35 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2013, 01:05:22 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.

$25k at 1.9% is a good deal, even if the debt is bad. I might make the move and then take the extra funds from the sale of the 02 Ody and pay of the 1k credit card and 1.5k medical bill. THEN I can start knocking down the 6k student loan and have a solid reliable vehicle for childcare and vacation transportation.

prodarwin

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2013, 01:24:28 PM »

$25k at 1.9% is a good deal, even if the debt is bad.

1.9% is a "good deal"

$25k is a bad deal

$25k @ 1.9% is a worse deal


$25k for a car is never a good deal.  If you are (understandably) concerned about the transmission failure, why not sell it and  pick up an 06 Oddy (Ridgeline Transmission) for around $10k?  Or if you must finance, look into an 08, as they are 5 years old and financing should still be achievable at a relatively reasonable rate.  $13k is a much easier pill to swallow than $25k.


Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2013, 01:29:45 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.
...or you can rent a car for road trips. Helluva lot cheaper than buying one

+1. It always astounds me that people buy a huge car because of their vacations, when the majority of their miles are put on in normal commutes, carrying 1 passenger and no bulky items. I know that's not true for the OP because of the need to transport kids on a weekly basis, but in terms of feeling like it'll crap out on you in Colorado, there are options other than buying a new car, and the probability of that happening is pretty low.

Pay down all of your debt, and then put that towards saving for your next car. By then, the 2013 Siena will be a steal.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2013, 01:32:50 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.
...or you can rent a car for road trips. Helluva lot cheaper than buying one

Nope, our cost was going to be $819 to rent a minivan for our trip, not including the gas. Renting one would have been a bad deal.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2013, 01:34:01 PM »

$25k at 1.9% is a good deal, even if the debt is bad.

1.9% is a "good deal"

$25k is a bad deal

$25k @ 1.9% is a worse deal


$25k for a car is never a good deal.  If you are (understandably) concerned about the transmission failure, why not sell it and  pick up an 06 Oddy (Ridgeline Transmission) for around $10k?  Or if you must finance, look into an 08, as they are 5 years old and financing should still be achievable at a relatively reasonable rate.  $13k is a much easier pill to swallow than $25k.

Some of the 07's and all of the 08's had the newer trans. But I have a real hard time paying $13-15k for a van with 90k miles on it already.

Also I'm not looking to buy new, but a used 2011ish with around 20-30k miles. I would never buy any new car. I would rather pay a little more and buy something with 30k miles than pay 8k less and get a car pushing 100k miles.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2013, 01:37:09 PM by MrMacinstache »

onehappypanda

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2013, 01:38:08 PM »
Sounds like you know the option you want, but that doesn't make it a good option.

You have debt to pay down, no idea what your savings are, but you really don't need MORE debt on top of it, especially for an expensive depreciating asset that will only cost you more money down the road. Doesn't make sense financially no matter how much you try to justify it.

The automobile market runs on a false sense of "need" and irrational fear of auto breakdowns, which is what you're feeling right now. It's not surprising that you feel it, because you've probably internalized a lot of marketing. But the fact is, your vehicle isn't that old and, if it's maintained, should have many many more years left. If it does break down, fixing it will cost you a hell of a lot less than $25K. It's extremely unlikely to break down on one of your vacation trips, and if it does there are other options for getting yourself out of that pickle (fix it, rent a vehicle, etc.) than you're assuming. Trust me, I've taken a trip down to Florida in a MUCH older and crappier vehicle and it got us there and back just fine.

Selling the Ody right now because it'll depreciate also doesn't make sense - the majority of its depreciation has already happened. Past 120K miles, depreciation slows down a lot, in my experience. And your alternative is plunking 25K (plus interest) down on a vehicle that is guaranteed to depreciate several thousand dollars once you drive it off the lot. Doesn't make sense.

Throwing good money (that you don't have, and can't really afford to borrow) after a depreciating asset when you already have one that meets all its functions is never a "good deal".

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2013, 01:38:35 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.
...or you can rent a car for road trips. Helluva lot cheaper than buying one

Nope, our cost was going to be $819 to rent a minivan for our trip, not including the gas. Renting one would have been a bad deal.

That's the equivalent of 2 years of interest payments on a $25k loan at 1.9% interest. When you buy a new car, you're paying a premium on the price and your insurance goes up -- especially if you finance it, because you need to have collision. Have you factored that cost into your calculations as well? If you're carrying cc debt, it doesn't seem like you have any wiggle room in that budget to pay anything extra. 

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2013, 01:40:09 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.
...or you can rent a car for road trips. Helluva lot cheaper than buying one

Nope, our cost was going to be $819 to rent a minivan for our trip, not including the gas. Renting one would have been a bad deal.
How is $819 a worse deal than $25k? Hell your car payment for $25k at 1.9% for 5 years would be $437 per month so as long as you're not taking road trips every two months you come out ahead by renting

Suppose you might be right on that... It was just REAL hard to fork out $819 to rent a van when we have one already.

Perhaps paying that cost every year for our big trip vs buying a new one and keeping ours might be a better option.

NumberCruncher

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2013, 01:46:15 PM »
Keep the Ody and have a stash of money handy for tranny repairs (common on that year).  Drive it until the wheels fall off

Yes and if I have the misfortune of having that transmission go out when we are in the mountains of Colorado, I will be forced to buy a new car there or pay a dealer to put in another transmission at $3-4,000.
...or you can rent a car for road trips. Helluva lot cheaper than buying one

Nope, our cost was going to be $819 to rent a minivan for our trip, not including the gas. Renting one would have been a bad deal.

You do realize that $819 < 25k, right?

Okay, that's overly simplistic, but depreciation is huge for new cars. That plus interest for a year likely makes the $819 seem much more appealing. I'm too lazy to do the math right now, but I urge you to.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm   look at the graphs there. 8-year ownership costs and 43% is depreciation

chicagomeg

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2013, 01:52:16 PM »

$25k at 1.9% is a good deal, even if the debt is bad.

1.9% is a "good deal"

$25k is a bad deal

$25k @ 1.9% is a worse deal


$25k for a car is never a good deal.  If you are (understandably) concerned about the transmission failure, why not sell it and  pick up an 06 Oddy (Ridgeline Transmission) for around $10k?  Or if you must finance, look into an 08, as they are 5 years old and financing should still be achievable at a relatively reasonable rate.  $13k is a much easier pill to swallow than $25k.

Some of the 07's and all of the 08's had the newer trans. But I have a real hard time paying $13-15k for a van with 90k miles on it already.

Also I'm not looking to buy new, but a used 2011ish with around 20-30k miles. I would never buy any new car. I would rather pay a little more and buy something with 30k miles than pay 8k less and get a car pushing 100k miles.

The answer is no, no matter how many excuses you want to make up. If you're going to do it anyway regardless of what we say, don't waste our time asking the question. No one here is ever going to tell you that buying a $25k depreciating asset on credit is a good idea.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2013, 02:03:21 PM »
How is $819 a worse deal than $25k? Hell your car payment for $25k at 1.9% for 5 years would be $437 per month so as long as you're not taking road trips every two months you come out ahead by renting

Suppose you might be right on that... It was just REAL hard to fork out $819 to rent a van when we have one already.

Perhaps paying that cost every year for our big trip vs buying a new one and keeping ours might be a better option.
*applause* I had you pegged for someone who had your mind set and just hoping to validate your choice so thank you for proving me wrong by considering my advice :)

And as someone else mentioned another cost of the newer van is higher insurance. I'm guessing you only have liability on your '02 and would need full coverage on a financed '12 which would add probably $50-$100/month

Do you NEED a van on road trips? I understand for your personal life you do because of your wife's daycare but how many people are on the road trips with you?

EDIT: If that top part came across as bitchy or sarcastic at all please know it was not meant to be. Text does a bad job of portraying real intent behind words :)

I am paying full coverage on our van now since I still owe $3500 on it. :/

Yes we like to use a van because we bring coolers full of our food (organic, gluten free etc) instead of eating out, plus gear for outdoor activity. We still get 24mpg so the gas costs is acceptable. And its for a family of 4.

As stated, maybe I can come to some middle ground here, finding an older 2006 Sienna with more miles and just use it for our road trips + daily duty. It will have better transmission than our 02 Ody. Because dumping 2,000 on a flawed transmission is not a good idea. The Sienna is just a better in that regard.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2013, 02:17:55 PM »
I am paying full coverage on our van now since I still owe $3500 on it. :/

Yes we like to use a van because we bring coolers full of our food (organic, gluten free etc) instead of eating out, plus gear for outdoor activity. We still get 24mpg so the gas costs is acceptable. And its for a family of 4.

As stated, maybe I can come to some middle ground here, finding an older 2006 Sienna with more miles and just use it for our road trips + daily duty. It will have better transmission than our 02 Ody. Because dumping 2,000 on a flawed transmission is not a good idea. The Sienna is just a better in that regard.
That's right you did say you still owed money on it. Even so though your insurance would rise, just not as bad. I just this year took full coverage off my 03 Taurus (took me forever to convince DH that full coverage on a 10 year old, 200k mile car was not worth it) and then bought a 10 Jetta the difference in full coverage insurance between the two was about $25/month with our amazingly awesome USAA insurance.

I think the '06 Sienna is a much better option than a '12 anything, but personally I'd drive your current van until the tranny falls out, rent a vehicle on road trips and get everything but the mortgage paid off before considering a 'new' vehicle unless you have to. I have no idea what your personal finances are but if you owe $3500 on an 02 vehicle I'm guessing you're not in a position where you should even really consider going into more debt, much less anything remotely close to what you originally proposed.

I think you are right... I do have an excellent knack for finding deals though. If one of them comes up on an older model Sienna I might jump on it so I'm not left with a worthless Ody sans a transmission that I owe money on.

Until then it's debt emergency time. Thanks all.

unpolloloco

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2013, 07:49:40 AM »
Nope, our cost was going to be $819 to rent a minivan for our trip, not including the gas. Renting one would have been a bad deal.

That sounds insanely expensive for a rental.  Got an SUV at $18/day recently...

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2013, 08:42:38 AM »
I hate SUV's.. horrible ride quality, poor gas mileage. I would look at a station wagon or crossover before I rent an SUV and pay 15mpg gas wise.

I bought my 2003 odyssey because they have a reputation for living a long life. I had to replace the transmission, sure, but other than that, it's had no problems. Not one. It has 183k miles on it. I drive it on 1100 mile trips annually w/o worrying about it dying. I haven plans to replace it anytime soon. Why did you get a Honda if you consider it spent at 127k miles?  It is going to be cheaper, and I would say wiser, in the long run to keep your odyssey and just plan to replace the transmission when it needs it. Its a great vehicle otherwise. It should be dependable for a long time.

Yes but how many miles do you have on your trans? There is an inherent design flaw and even the replacement transmissions are pooping out a 50-70k miles. Not exactly cost effective. I'm still going to stick with it for now, but am keeping my eyes open for a used Sienna thats well below blue book value.

MrsPete

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2013, 09:35:17 AM »
Sounds like you have new car fever.  It's a very common disease in America. 

No, don't upgrade your car.  You say it's in perfect running condition -- so keep using it!  You know this vehicle, keep it.  We've kept all our cars til they just wouldn't go anymore, and every one of them has lasted roughly two years past the moment we said, "This car is on its last legs."

We bought a small car (Civic) with the idea that its what we need on a day-to-day basis, and we rent a car when we need more space.  We've only needed a larger car 4-5 times in the six years I've owned this car. 

I do understand that you say you want to carry coolers to save on food when you travel.  Good idea, but keep in mind that you don't have to buy all the food at home.  If you go with a smaller car, pack a smaller cooler . . . And stop at the grocery store every other day.  It doesn't take much time to buy a small quantity. 


Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2013, 09:46:04 AM »
I hate SUV's.. horrible ride quality, poor gas mileage. I would look at a station wagon or crossover before I rent an SUV and pay 15mpg gas wise.
Generally I would agree with you, I HATE SUV's, but we rented a Dodge Jouney a few months ago and got low-to-mid 20's out of it and really wasn't too bad to drive (this is coming from someone who couldn't park a Taurus for a long time because I was used to driving an Escort). I think we paid $200 for it for a 4 day rental and it was only that much because it was Memorial Day weekend

The Journey is more of a crossover and would work just fine for our travels I think. And it would be a lot cheaper to rent than a mini van too. Thanks for the idea. I need to think outside of the box a little more here.

I am talking about a Suburban or Tahoe/Explorer/Durango when I talk about SUV's.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2013, 09:50:59 AM »
Sounds like you have new car fever.  It's a very common disease in America. 

No, don't upgrade your car.  You say it's in perfect running condition -- so keep using it!  You know this vehicle, keep it.  We've kept all our cars til they just wouldn't go anymore, and every one of them has lasted roughly two years past the moment we said, "This car is on its last legs."

We bought a small car (Civic) with the idea that its what we need on a day-to-day basis, and we rent a car when we need more space.  We've only needed a larger car 4-5 times in the six years I've owned this car. 

I do understand that you say you want to carry coolers to save on food when you travel.  Good idea, but keep in mind that you don't have to buy all the food at home.  If you go with a smaller car, pack a smaller cooler . . . And stop at the grocery store every other day.  It doesn't take much time to buy a small quantity.

Very much so. I know its a problem with me...but I have made great strides. I sold my full size pickup truck. I now drive a 98 Civic hatchback daily. I love the gas savings!

If you read the OP, you'll see the wife needs a van to haul around kids for daycare/to and from school etc. I'm going to stick with the Ody unless a killer deal comes along on a USED Sienna.

theSchmett

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #20 on: August 07, 2013, 09:57:01 AM »
The value in the car for sale vs. driving it yourself is always tricky because its an unknown. 

I would suggest doing a little research further into the transmission issue.  Someone mentioned other years of the Oddy had better transmissions, from the Ridgeline. If simple maintenance or a rebuild won't keep the transmission going, potentially buying a used Ridgeline transmission might suit your needs when the time comes. Also - I don't remember rebuilds being all that expensive, and if your auto trans has lasted as long as it has without incident then maybe you've avoided whatever issue they had.

Also - I've been told that transmission coolers can do wonders for extending transmission life. YMMV of course. Of all the things that went wrongish on my 93 Wrangler, once the (3spd auto) transmission was rebuilt and a cooler was added it never gave me any trouble.

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #21 on: August 07, 2013, 10:25:50 AM »
I hate SUV's.. horrible ride quality, poor gas mileage. I would look at a station wagon or crossover before I rent an SUV and pay 15mpg gas wise.

I bought my 2003 odyssey because they have a reputation for living a long life. I had to replace the transmission, sure, but other than that, it's had no problems. Not one. It has 183k miles on it. I drive it on 1100 mile trips annually w/o worrying about it dying. I haven plans to replace it anytime soon. Why did you get a Honda if you consider it spent at 127k miles?  It is going to be cheaper, and I would say wiser, in the long run to keep your odyssey and just plan to replace the transmission when it needs it. Its a great vehicle otherwise. It should be dependable for a long time.

Yes but how many miles do you have on your trans? There is an inherent design flaw and even the replacement transmissions are pooping out a 50-70k miles. Not exactly cost effective. I'm still going to stick with it for now, but am keeping my eyes open for a used Sienna thats well below blue book value.

"Inherent design flaw," you say? Tell us more. Has it been litigated yet?

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #22 on: August 07, 2013, 11:11:16 AM »
The value in the car for sale vs. driving it yourself is always tricky because its an unknown. 

I would suggest doing a little research further into the transmission issue.  Someone mentioned other years of the Oddy had better transmissions, from the Ridgeline. If simple maintenance or a rebuild won't keep the transmission going, potentially buying a used Ridgeline transmission might suit your needs when the time comes. Also - I don't remember rebuilds being all that expensive, and if your auto trans has lasted as long as it has without incident then maybe you've avoided whatever issue they had.

Also - I've been told that transmission coolers can do wonders for extending transmission life. YMMV of course. Of all the things that went wrongish on my 93 Wrangler, once the (3spd auto) transmission was rebuilt and a cooler was added it never gave me any trouble.

I've done pretty research into it and its hit or miss... right now there is a bit of shuttering from the torque convertor on very very rare occasions. People report they've had this over many years and that's the nature of the beast.

All in all I think the Sienna is better vehicle... I'm going to move that direction efficiently as possible. I bought our van for a great price, and I've enhanced and detailed it too, so if anything, I think I can break even on it on what I purchased it for.

GeneralJinjur

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #23 on: August 08, 2013, 09:05:12 PM »
We have a 2000 Odyssey that began showing the transmission problems 4 years ago.  We have put another 15K miles on it since we discovered the problem.  We are not replacing the transmission until it fails completely.  Naturally, we didn't expect it to last this long.  Because it could go at any time, we rent minivans when we travel.  They are usually cheapest by the week.  It's just funny to see my family's approach to the same problem proposed by several different posters in the thread. I can tell you that it works well and has saved us a bundle!

I crossed my fingers and took the van up to Vail a couple of weeks ago.  That's a 4,000 foot gain from where I live.  The transmission jerked and slipped several times, but the only time I was really worried was coming out of Vail towards the Eisenhower Tunnel.  I thought it was going to give up the ghost right there, but it didn't.  I could only manage 35mph for the ascent, but after that, it worked all right.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #24 on: August 09, 2013, 08:44:19 AM »
We have a 2000 Odyssey that began showing the transmission problems 4 years ago.  We have put another 15K miles on it since we discovered the problem.  We are not replacing the transmission until it fails completely.  Naturally, we didn't expect it to last this long.  Because it could go at any time, we rent minivans when we travel.  They are usually cheapest by the week.  It's just funny to see my family's approach to the same problem proposed by several different posters in the thread. I can tell you that it works well and has saved us a bundle!

I crossed my fingers and took the van up to Vail a couple of weeks ago.  That's a 4,000 foot gain from where I live.  The transmission jerked and slipped several times, but the only time I was really worried was coming out of Vail towards the Eisenhower Tunnel.  I thought it was going to give up the ghost right there, but it didn't.  I could only manage 35mph for the ascent, but after that, it worked all right.

I guess when it comes to being stranded 1000 miles away from home on the side of the road with 2 small kids, I'm a little more cautious. I have no problem with using it in town. But I will for sure do a rental if we go out of town.

Did you do 3 fluid drain and refills yet? Try some Lubegard? All that works wonders too.

MrsPete

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #25 on: August 09, 2013, 10:49:13 AM »
If you read the OP, you'll see the wife needs a van to haul around kids for daycare/to and from school etc. I'm going to stick with the Ody unless a killer deal comes along on a USED Sienna.
Yeah, I did read that.  Two points:

- I have a Civic, and it has belts for the driver + four people.  I assume kids going to/from school are smaller than my teens and their friends, so a smaller car can manage this trip. 

- If she has 5-6 kids to transport (typical mini-van carries 7), I'd run the numbers to see whether the money she's making from those extra 1-2 kids is worth the difference in a compact vs. a mini-van.  She might well be babysitting extra kids JUST for a large car.  As I said, I'd want to look at the numbers. 

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #26 on: August 09, 2013, 12:38:13 PM »
If you read the OP, you'll see the wife needs a van to haul around kids for daycare/to and from school etc. I'm going to stick with the Ody unless a killer deal comes along on a USED Sienna.
Yeah, I did read that.  Two points:

- I have a Civic, and it has belts for the driver + four people.  I assume kids going to/from school are smaller than my teens and their friends, so a smaller car can manage this trip. 

- If she has 5-6 kids to transport (typical mini-van carries 7), I'd run the numbers to see whether the money she's making from those extra 1-2 kids is worth the difference in a compact vs. a mini-van.  She might well be babysitting extra kids JUST for a large car.  As I said, I'd want to look at the numbers.

I assume the opposite, because it's a rare sedan that can fit 3 carseats across the back, and you can't install a carseat in the front passenger seat without deactivating the airbags. But teenagers can squeeze 3 across and one in the front with no problem.

ketchup

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #27 on: August 09, 2013, 02:23:02 PM »
I have a coworker that drives a 2000 Odyssey (bought new) with 215k (I believe, possibly more by now) on it.  She sees no reason to replace it, and her family goes on plenty of roadtrips with it.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #28 on: August 09, 2013, 02:29:17 PM »
If you read the OP, you'll see the wife needs a van to haul around kids for daycare/to and from school etc. I'm going to stick with the Ody unless a killer deal comes along on a USED Sienna.
Yeah, I did read that.  Two points:

- I have a Civic, and it has belts for the driver + four people.  I assume kids going to/from school are smaller than my teens and their friends, so a smaller car can manage this trip. 

- If she has 5-6 kids to transport (typical mini-van carries 7), I'd run the numbers to see whether the money she's making from those extra 1-2 kids is worth the difference in a compact vs. a mini-van.  She might well be babysitting extra kids JUST for a large car.  As I said, I'd want to look at the numbers.

No, she's not sitting just so we can afford this van. Also, the van makes the clients feel more comfortable when transporting their little kids. Better than pulling up in a little Civic sedan with 3 rear facing kid seats to haul around babies. Not good.

I love the van, its our dual purpose family truckster/day care hauler. We aint going down from here as it would be impractical. She is always on call to pick up friends kids too, so the van is always full on the way back, as well as there.

GeneralJinjur

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #29 on: August 10, 2013, 10:44:17 AM »
We have a 2000 Odyssey that began showing the transmission problems 4 years ago.  We have put another 15K miles on it since we discovered the problem.  We are not replacing the transmission until it fails completely.  Naturally, we didn't expect it to last this long.  Because it could go at any time, we rent minivans when we travel. 

I guess when it comes to being stranded 1000 miles away from home on the side of the road with 2 small kids, I'm a little more cautious. I have no problem with using it in town. But I will for sure do a rental if we go out of town.

Did you do 3 fluid drain and refills yet? Try some Lubegard? All that works wonders too.

I feel the same way about being stranded.  That's why I pointed out that we rent to travel. 

And yes, we have done the drain and fills.  No improvement.  Our independent service shop uses only Honda fluids on the Hondas, so we know that is not part of the problem.  It's just a very inexpensive ticking time bomb, which has given us lots of time to save towards a replacement. 

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #30 on: August 12, 2013, 09:19:53 AM »
We have a 2000 Odyssey that began showing the transmission problems 4 years ago.  We have put another 15K miles on it since we discovered the problem.  We are not replacing the transmission until it fails completely.  Naturally, we didn't expect it to last this long.  Because it could go at any time, we rent minivans when we travel. 

I guess when it comes to being stranded 1000 miles away from home on the side of the road with 2 small kids, I'm a little more cautious. I have no problem with using it in town. But I will for sure do a rental if we go out of town.

Did you do 3 fluid drain and refills yet? Try some Lubegard? All that works wonders too.

I feel the same way about being stranded.  That's why I pointed out that we rent to travel. 

And yes, we have done the drain and fills.  No improvement.  Our independent service shop uses only Honda fluids on the Hondas, so we know that is not part of the problem.  It's just a very inexpensive ticking time bomb, which has given us lots of time to save towards a replacement.

Are you going to put in another trans or just scrap the van when the trans goes?

GeneralJinjur

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #31 on: August 18, 2013, 04:44:45 PM »
Are you going to put in another trans or just scrap the van when the trans goes?

Depends on how bunged up the insides are.  If it happened tomorrow, I would replace the transmission.  The seats are comfy and it is in decent shape, considering its age. 

Nyarlathotep

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #32 on: August 18, 2013, 05:02:50 PM »
I would have to say keep it. The amount you will pay to get the newer car will out weigh the cost to maintain your current van. Just change the oil and be easy on it and it should last you to 200k easy.

Mr.Macinstache

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Re: Upgrading the family vehicle
« Reply #33 on: August 19, 2013, 10:31:04 AM »
Just an update, I'm SO happy I did not get that $25k loan. I'm keeping the van, its a great ride. And I only owe $3800 on it, which I'll pay off in less than a year. Thanks all for steering me right.