Thinking of buying a LARGE car....

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Baggsy makes a very good point. I had a Montana for 11 yrs and two boys in hockey. One was a goalie so the equipment only got bigger as each year passed. By the end, his pads and bag were like an extra two passengers.

When the Montana was on its last legs, I donated it to a shop where kids could learn to wrench on autos...or scrap it and use the funds for the program.

Considered lots of different options but ended up scoring a new 2011 Grand Caravan SE (not the base model) on the road for under $20k off Toronto Star Auctions.

So far, only had to do tires, brakes all around, one wheel bearing and oil changes. The stow and go seats are a very useful feature, especially if you are a DIY guy.

I am not a big guy (5’10” 150) but it’s nice to have room in a vehicle while travelling....especially with passengers for anything longer than a one hour trip. Vans are great for driving holidays too.

Almost forgot, for the parents/grandparents it is easy access to the middle row of seats while the kids sit in the very back.


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Go for a minivan. You won't regret it.

We shopped around for a car while wife was pregnant and considered everything. My wife is 5'2 and she hated the additional height of an SUV when lifting a car seat with baby in it into the SUV. Sliding doors make a world of difference when you have to load/unload car seat and stroller in tight parking spots. The ride is very comfortable for all in the car.

We nailed it down to Toyota vs. Honda due to the specs and overall quality. Ended up with a used 1-yr old Toyota Sienna that had 16,000 km for 2/3 of the price of a new one (it was a dealership shuttle) I would highly recommend going the used route as someone else paid for the depreciation already. I wish we have remote-control doors, but that's a nice to have. Overall, very happy with it. Just remember to buy winter tires and steelies for the snow and not to rely on the traction control and all-season tires.
 
I drove a friend's Sienna for a bit. Incredible road feel for a minivan. It was also very good on fuel. He put it on Kijiji for nothing and sold it within an hour. If he told me I would have bought it. LS swap and coilovers :).
 
Honda Odysee and Bisimoto engine upgrade...
 
miggs said:
Honda Odysee and Bisimoto engine upgrade...
Click to expand...

He came dead last in Netflix's Fastest Car. Just spun the tyres around and around. He thinks it was a tyre issue. It sounds like he used street tyres.
[video=youtube;ivRj0wa_opc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRj0wa_opc[/video]
 
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A brand new Kia Sedona mini-van starts at $28,495, and you get new vehicle financing rates. The price can climb pretty fast as you climb the feature ladder. It's been the same design for a couple years now, so you can find a decently loaded low-mileage used one for under 30g's. They're apparently a pretty decent van, but the big knock is that it's not a Honda or Toyota, so therefore suffers from pretty severe depreciation. Buying used lets somebody else take the biggest depreciation hit.
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