Wife wants a minivan! HELP!

[bishir]

Well, my wife is 2months pregnant. She thinks a minivan is the answer to all of our needs. We also have 2 Great Danes and she thinks it would be great to have something to haul the baby (our first) and our dogs if needed. I'm in severe anti-minivan mode right now. I picture middle adulthood approaching fast even though I'm only 24. I'm the one who drives so anytime I go somewhere I'm going to be stuck in whatever we choose. She asked me for alternatives today since I was so against the minivan idea. Interesting enough I couldn't think of anything that wasn't 13sec or faster in the 1/4 I even suggested a Typhoon. When V6 turbo was mentioned she quickly backed away from that idea.

Well can you help me with some ideas of your own?

My first two thoughts were of the two newest vehicles I saw at a local show the other day. The new F-150 and the Chrysler Pacifica. The truck would be nice because I need a truck bad. The Pacifica would be nice because my wife would have an easier time driving it though it's just a minivan really. I could go AWD though and launch it hard at the track!


Any cars/trucks/SUVs out there I might be overlooking that can satisfy my needs? If it were up to me she'd be driving a 57 Nomad with a little trailer for the dogs. Though if it were up to me I guess I wouldn't be asking for help. Posting this was her suggestion by the way.

James

 

[Two Lane]

Toyota Sienna

If you do wind up with a minivan, the new Toyota Sienna is rated #1, in practically all aspects.

Got a super-high rating on crash safety, also.

If you gotta do it, this is the one.

 

[Two Lane]

Info On Toyota Sienna

http://www.toyota.com/sienna/

HTH

 

[national84]

buy an older Chrysler turbo 4 cyl minivan, I have seen guys run low 13's with a big intercooler and minor mods. Buy a woody, woody's are cool.

 

[Buick From Hell]

Just give in to the fact that you can't avoid middle age, scrap the MINI-van idea and consider an ACTUAL van! The custom vans are NICE, fairly cush ride, plenty of room, you may find yourselves having parties in it...no, ya won't run 13's (or even 18's probably) but I'll bet you'll enjoy it a LOT more than any mini-van! You can probably score a real nice 2000 or so for a pretty good price too...

 

[bishir]

Geez Guys... I ask for help and you rub it in.

Next comment will probably be, "if you want to really feel old drive a Buick!"

 

[Reaper]

divorce her!


joking...... (i hate mini vans with a passion)


if i was you i would suggest a tahoe or a suburban. they can be had cheap and run and tow any thing you want well.

growing up we had an 82 suburban then got right of that for a 93 chebby conversion van my mom wanted it cause she thought it would be easier to get my younger sisters out and at the time my mom babysat. she liked the idea of one door and being about to climb in and get the kids out. that idea was quickly dispelled. we ended up hating it, and regretting selling the suburban.

reasons to dislike mini vans:
no real way to feel manly driving them
stupid short nose and HUGE window. its not like driving a car or a truck.
most are built on a car chassis.
most dont offer a V8
not very macho to drive a mini van
silly sliding door.
for what you pay you dont get a lot of use out of them imo. no real towing or work capacity.




my adivce is steer clear of any thing with van in the name.

choice 99 - 02 suburbans can be had with LOW miles for less that 20k for the 02s and the 99s for around 15k
V8, plenty of power and work capacity, room to grow, cheap to repair (non ls1 based motors), cheap to insure. the list goes on.


oh i did forget one thing 4wd!


Dathan

 

[BuickMike]

How about looking into SUV's? Your wife will probably have everything she wants in it and you won't have to lower yourself to being a 'Minivan' owner.

My wife and I are trying to start a family and we vowed not to ever own a minivan. I already have a '00 F150, so all we really need is something with 4 doors. I was thinking about a Harley truck, but mine is paid for and still has 2 years left on the extended warranty. We decided to look into a '96 Impala SS, but just bought a '99 Regal GS for alot less $$$.

If you're going to get a van, find a 80's Chevy cargo van, drop in a 502, paint it black with a red stripe......well, you get the picture.

 

[Vendor Defendor]

Originally posted by bishir
If it were up to me she'd be driving a 57 Nomad

James

Ha! i dont know if this is good or bad for me, but my g/f WANTS a 57 Nomad with a big rumbly 350 in it... she ever threw the idea at me one day that she wanted my stock turbo on there

what about a 95ish Impala SS?

good luck.

-Neil

 

[Little6pack]

Since I have 4 kids & a Grand caravan.
should stay clear of this or not? NOT!

What do you care if she is the one driving it?


Same here James I hate driving her mini van.
Some days she leaves it with me & I won't drive it.
It is only good on the highway once you can build up speed.

Since it is only 1 child I would talk her into a 4 door car like a Impala SS or buick Ultra or regal GS

 

[SilverSleeper]

Hello,my name is Jason,and I own a MINIVAN!

Most minivans are uncool. Most!

I was seriously considering a truck when I went looking for a daily driver.
Being in upstate NY 4wd was a must. I wanted towing capacity, but didnt like the lack of room in a truck for people.
I took a caravan conversion for a ride. Nice ride, but it was wrong wheel drive and crappy towing capacity.
I took an Astro for a drive. Little rougher, but it is AWD, built on basically a 1/2 ton truck setup.
I am single, 25, live by myself, and now own an Astro.
Its not really a typical minivan, if you compare it to the other ones out there. Its kinda in a class by itself.
You can go RWD or AWD. LS (Sport Trim) or LT (Lux Trim) or all sorts of aftermarket conversions.
They are built like a truck. Towing cap on my van is 6000#. I know plenty of people towing even more than that with a WD hitch.
It rides like a truck, tows like a truck, has a decent aftermarket supply of upgrades, but can haul 7 people. Gets decent mileage (about 22 HWY). Extremely reliable. I have beat on mine for nearly a year now, and I love it! Alot of 5.7 motor parts can change over to the 4.3. Many people have swapped in V8s, even LT1's and LS1's.
Trust me, The Astro/Safari vans are a man's van.
Take a peek at
www.astrosafari.com
if you are interested.
If you are still looking for other ideas, why not get a Buick Roadmaster Wagon? Or even a Caprice wagon... throw on the Impy grille, the wheels, tint the windows, and thats a sharp looking wagon. My parents love their Roadmaster.

 

[Mease Performance]

LOL!!!!!

DONT DO IT!!!!! there is no good in minivans, pick up a '91-'96 caprice wagon the '94-6's have the LT-1 motor!!! then maybe someday your engine compartment could look like this:

http://www.measeperformance.com/ttimp.html

maybe you can convince her to get the wagon and turbo it BEFORE her water breaks.....sure as hells get to the hospital in a Jiffffff!!!!!! Almost instant delivery on those Taco Bell orders???

LOL Good luck with the kid, just be sure to keep the boost under 4 psi with the kid in there

 

[GN One Day...]

One or two kids doesn't really warrant a mini-van, just for space. Do you really travel with 2 Great Danes a lot? Whatever you do now, a child really doesn't take up that much space, even on a weekend trip.
I'm not anti-mini van like I used to be. SUV's have become mini vans with bad gas mileage, mini vans are becoming SUV's with good gas mileage. There's less and less difference every year. The station wagon will become popular again, but it will be called anything but that. Dodge Magnum SRT8 was going to be the way to go, but they screwed up the looks enough to make it look like a wuss.
Look at the interior of a Passat wagon. Like a friggin' BMW in there, for a great price. For used, I second the Impala SS. PLENTY of room in there. Buddy of mine has 2 kids and they all fit with ease, as would be expected. Or, a crew cab truck can fit the bill, with the dogs in back. Useful too.

 

[turbojimmy]

I was anti-minivan until my wife finally talked me into looking at them. We went this past weekend and I'm ashamed to admit that I actually like one a lot - the '04 Sienna. I might even go so far as to say I'm excited about it. The Sienna is a kick-ass minivan.

I tried all the other avenues with the wife - another SUV (we're replacing the Exploder), a crossover, a nice big sedan, a wagon. Nothing doing. She wants the sliding doors. I can't argue with that - nothing else has sliding doors. When loading up 2 kids by yourself, sliding doors and a rear gate that open at the push of a button is pretty handy.

I drove an Odyssey and a Sienna. The Odyssey is "adequate", but looking dated. The Sienna has all the bells and whistles and is new for '04. It's basically the same size as the Odyssey but is 2 inches wider. Doesn't seem like a lot, but it is when you look at them. It rides and drives like a Lexus. I'd like to go domestic - I've never owned a foreign car - but no one (critics and owners alike) seems to like any of the domestic models. Plus my sister is getting totally bent over by GM on her new Montana....'nother long story.

$35k is a lot of wood for any car, but that's what it costs the way the wife wants it optioned out. We keep 'em for a long time, though, so I don't mind paying a little more for a nicely optiond one. The possible cool cars $35k could buy keeps me up at night, but what can you do? I have my toy. To make matters worse, my uncle just picked up an '03 Cobra convertible. 5k miles, triple black. LH hit, figures he can turn it out in the low $20k range. And I'm spending $35k on a minivan?! <sigh>

Jim

 

[John Larkin]

Please buy American.

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by John Larkin
Please buy American.

The Toyota was designed and built in the U.S., albeit by a Japanese company. As you know, even the domestic automakers have blurred the lines on "domestic".

I'd love to buy American if the American manufacturers made anything I like or with decent quality. I started by looking at the American offerings. I have to say they are - and this applies to only the minivans - loud, harsh, dated looking and cheesily appointed by comparison. It's a crime that Dodge, who invented the minivan segment, has let that vehicle age the way they have.

The GMs do horribly in crash tests, and the drivetrains are harsh. My sister's Montana is nice, but not as big and it's loud inside. Plus, my sister has been to 3 different dealers to have warranty work done. No one will touch it, making up excuses why they didn't get to it or why they shouldn't work on it. Turns out the bottom line is because she bought it in Texas. The dealers won't work on it unless she bought it there. It's a long story that's still playing out, but GM has treated her like dirt. After having been taken to the cleaners for $2,000 by one of the same dealers, I'll never by another GM and I'll let them know why after I buy my Toyota.

Ford can't keep headgaskets on their 3.8s - even through this model year. It's a problem they've had since the early 80s. Their 3.8 is harsh, too. Interior noise is high and the interiors are cheesy and inefficient. They've done away with the Windstar and Villager and replaced them with Freestar and something else. They've introduced a 4.2 liter option, but I don't want to be the guniea pig. Plus they made the Freestar look like a mini-Expedition. Silly looking, IMO.

Sorry for the long post, or rant depending on how you look at it. I really tried to buy American but when you're dropping $30k, I don't feel like I should have to compromise to buy American.

Jim

 

[turboscott]

There is no such thing as American anymore. Many of the parts that are used in "American" cars are made outside of America. Japanese cars are made in America as much as American cars are AND the quality of the Japanese cars is superior to American.

I would vote for the Nissan Maxima or Altima depending on your financial situation right now. My wife has a Maxima and it has plenty of room for one baby. The baby will be 20" long when it is born, how much space do you need?

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by turboscott
The baby will be 20" long when it is born, how much space do you need?

I thought the same thing. I figured the Explorer would be perfect for many years (and it has been for 7 years now). But, you find out pretty quickly that a 20" long human requires a full seat and a half of space for the car seat (when the manufacturers say "seats 6", they mean 4 adults and 2 half-humans). Another bunch of space for all the crap you have to lug along to maintain said human when you're out in public (diaper bag, stroller, toys, etc.). When you add a second little human, you've consumed all of the rear seating space in a decent sized sedan (or in my case Explorer) with car seats and junk. So, if you go anywhere and want to bring other folks with you you need to take 2 cars. The van, with a third row of seating, is perfect for 2 kids and associated junk AND carrying bigger humans too. Bigger SUVs have 3 rows of seating, but I've BTDT with the SUV. Not interested in them anymore. Plus, with all the seats taken out most, if not all, minivans on the market (domestic or otherwise) will hold a full 4x8 sheet of plywood. You may say who cares, but it is a handy feature if you're a homeowner (not that you carry 4x8 sheets of anything around much, but having cargo space with those dimensions is nice).

Jim

 

[wagon]

She's only two months pregnant?
Well, that means you have 7 months to figure out something.
Here is my suggestion. Build a turbo wagon. I did. I wouldn't be caught dead in a minivan. That may be a stretch of the truth, but I really don't like them. I don't have any younguns, but I do have a baby seat in the back(it holds my helmet), and my Great Dane(Skylark) loves the wagons (I have one turbo and one NA).
Now get off line, and start hunting down the parts. OR, if you want to just buy one, let me know. A friend of mine has one, and is selling it. He has a Malibu with a nice set of wheels, and a fresh paint job. Looks real nice. Cheaper than a new minivan, and not even close to ugly. You can't say that about a minivan, now can ya'?

Brian

 

[Mease Performance]

Brian

A turbo or twin turbo wagon'd be the $hit!!! How about a Nomad wagon with a twin turbo 406 SBC???? You would DEFINITELY be the MAN!!! GN1220 also has a caprice wagon like ours, the impala SS goodies such as wheels, (front) seats, dash, grille, etc all bolts RIGHT onto the wagon....we have a 406 SBC in ours, its a '91 though (No LT-1) but she's gonna get a few turbos stuffed in there real soon...its a real pimp ride (Needs the dubz yo LOL) we've got the impala ss wheels n tires on it , they make the car, and nothing could be WORSE for the mustang and GN eek: ) boys getting spanked by a 406 CID 5600lb WAGON!!!!!!

Just think for the $54K price tag of a new suburban.....you could do LOTS O THINGS!!!