need a mini van/suv for my son 10k

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
2,390
Location
TN
My son needs a new vehicle. Lives in Denver area of Colorado. Need something he can haul a music pa and instruments. I would like to get him something tht has a good reliability record and I have no idea on this class of cars. Looking to keep it in the 10k region but can stretch a little higher if necessary. Suggestions? BTW he is terrible with maint and must use a mechanic for everything he will have issues with.
 
Lots of grand caravans under 10K. You would need to go to an older Honda or Toyota with higher mileage to buy one of these. Reliability is probably better for Honda and Toyota vans. Depends how comfortable you are with an older vehicle with higher miles on the odometer. Good luck, you should be able to pick up a decent mini-van for $10K.

OTOH, if your son (like many others his age) refuses to be seen in a Mini-van and insists on a SUV, then the $10K may only get you something older no matter the make or model.

Best of luck with your purchase.
 
1. Highlander

2007 or 2009. 2009 was last year they were made in Japan. You will find a bunch of 2008's for sale. From the research I did, 2008's
may have more problems than normal. Carcomplaints.com
 
IMO your son should buy his own vehicle, but that's for another thread I guess.

SeaJay's suggestion is a good one. The Grand Caravan is pretty good on reliability and has plenty of room.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
Mazda5! No, really. My wife's DD is our 2015 with almost 80k miles and hasn't needed one thing except brakes and tires.


Shouldn't a Mazda5 be a mini-mini van? Good suggestion. There was talk of rear wheel bearings failing early on these, maybe not the last model year?
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
Mazda5! No, really. My wife's DD is our 2015 with almost 80k miles and hasn't needed one thing except brakes and tires.


Shouldn't a Mazda5 be a mini-mini van? Good suggestion. There was talk of rear wheel bearings failing early on these, maybe not the last model year?

Mazda called it a compact minivan, I think. I call it a microvan. It's been perfect for us and our 3 small but growing kids. If you fold down the second and third rows it's positively cavernous inside.

I'm not sure about the wheel bearing problem. They updated it in 2012 so maybe it was prior to that? I just know ours has been bulletproof. We live in Maine and with snow tires it's also not terrible in winter driving.
 
Originally Posted by BeerCan
My son needs a new vehicle. Lives in Denver area of Colorado. Need something he can haul a music pa and instruments. I would like to get him something tht has a good reliability record and I have no idea on this class of cars. Looking to keep it in the 10k region but can stretch a little higher if necessary. Suggestions? BTW he is terrible with maint and must use a mechanic for everything he will have issues with.


Old school Forester 2.5XT gets my vote. Fun, practical, etc.
 
A Toyota Sienna meets all of your/his requirements, and then some. For Denver it would be advantageous to find one that has AWD (it is the ONLY minivan that has this option). Used Siennas are in plentiful supply, very durable, have a very good reliability/repair record, and get good gas mileage on regular gas. Stay away from the 4-cylinder Siennas, they are WAY underpowered and only get 1 MPG better gas mileage. Also, Toyota products are not overly fussy about getting fastidious maintenance. http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Toyota_Sienna.html
If the PA and instruments he will be hauling are of typical size, a mid-size SUV will not get the job done. To get equal or better cargo carrying capacity in an SUV you would have go with something full-sized, like a Suburban or Expedition. In your price range it will be quite a bit older, and they get pretty poor gas mileage.
I'm making a point about gas mileage because IMO anything you buy now will likely see $5+ a gallon gas prices while he has it.
 
Last edited:
+ 1 for the Japanese built Highlander or a Sienna. All the Honda's got a 60k timing belt interval, and weaker auto transmissions. A low miles Mazda CX9 with their version of the Cyclone v6 could work BUT it has an internal timing chain driven water pump much like the VQ37 they ripped off, so I'd say skip FCA, Nissan Mazda and VW group altogether when looking for a $10k car that's got a 6 cyl.
 
How often is he running equipment? Has he crunched the numbers on renting vs ownership?

Just thinking outside the box.
coffee2.gif
 
Ford Transit Connect seems like a good outside-the box pick. Plenty of room for anything you chuck in it. Find a passenger version and you have an adequate people-hauler, too.
 
Originally Posted by NO2
You can also look at a an older Nissan Quest. They were fairly reliable.


Even the newer ones (2011+) you rarely hear of issues on. They are huge on the inside with the highest roof line of any minivan out there I believe. FWIW we owned a 2001 Windstar, 2007 Honda Odyssey, 2013 Grand Caravan and a 2016 Quest. They were all great in terms of people and cargo movers.
 
2004-07 Saturn Vue V6. Honda drivetrain, rustproof body panels, plenty of room inside, much cheaper than comparable vehicles. Put the $5,000-$6,000 you'll save towards gas and insurance for the next 5 years.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
2004-07 Saturn Vue V6. Honda drivetrain, rustproof body panels, plenty of room inside, much cheaper than comparable vehicles. Put the $5,000-$6,000 you'll save towards gas and insurance for the next 5 years.

That's a good choice. Stay on top of that timing belt, though, as the J series is an interference engine.
 
With the dodge caravan he'll have the full stow n go with seats folding into the floor. That feature is great of you had to pickup something along the way and needed the extra room.

I believe the Sienna's not have this feature? The middle seats slide close to the driver seat.
 
Great options guys thanks. I'll start a search based on these recommendations
 
Saturn Vue v6 is a good suggestion, only potential issue with those beyond timing belts that comes to mind would be if a former owner or shade tree mechanic mixed the wrong coolants together, other those were pretty good vehicles. #Nottheonethatrodknocks
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top