Probably gonna get an Odyssey...

Been looking to get the wife a new minivan. Her '02 Venture WB-Edition I no
longer trust. 2 weeks ago needed the intake manifold repaired, now last
week the AWD stopped working. Initially they said needed a new rear diff.
to the tune of $3000. Told them to forget it. Later on, after they did
some more research, found some other tech articles suggesting just replacing
the AWD pump in the diff would do the trick. That was only $250 ($170 for
part plus labor). Went ahead with that gamble merely to keep it in as good
a shape as possible till we decide upon it's replacement.

It's not an issue of the dealer. I've dealt with them for many years on
prior vehicles and they've always been straight. It's I just don't trust
the vehicle any longer. Only has 96000 miles on it and seems like it is
falling apart.

3 vehicles we are looking at are the '07 Odyssey EX-L, the '07 Sienna XLE
with Package #3, or the MB R350 (my uncle works for them and can get me a
sweet lease even with a 20000 mile a year allowance.

I haven't driven the Odyssey yet, but my wife went and drove it Thursday.
Today we both tried out the Sienna. Very nice. My wife liked the drive
better than the Odyssey. But the Sienna, in the XLE level, only comes 7
passenger. So that issue, and the 175,000 nearly trouble free miles on my
'01 Accord V6 EX-L has her leaning that way. Dealer is offering it to us
for $29,438, so we're pretty happy with that. Gonna see if I can work him
a little further and/or see what I can get out of him on our trade-in
(haven't even mentioned trade to dealer yet).

Ok, lots of irrelevant history out of the way...Just wanted to get that data
out there in case anybody else is currently comparing the same vehicles.

Any finance deals or incentives either rumored or confirmed in the upcoming
week or 2? Hoping there may be some rebates or financing incentives for the
upcoming President's day weekend.

Thanks

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Seth" > wrote:
>
>> Been looking to get the wife a new minivan. Her '02 Venture WB-Edition I
>> no
>> longer trust.
>
> For a data point: I have an 02 Odyssey, and I trust it 100%--with the
> wife and kids in it, going on long trips.

I *know* that getting an Odyssey would not be a mistake. Same with the
Sienna. I don't think the R350 would be a mistake either, especially since
it's only a 27month lease. What the hell could go wrong in 27 months?

> I'm amazed that people buy cars you can't trust 5 years later.

That's why I'm off GM. Was a GM guy for a long time. This is the last
disappointment.

Seth wrote:
> Dealer is offering it to us
> for $29,438, so we're pretty happy with that.

That's about right if it's for the EX-L with the DVD, and a good deal if
it's for the EX-L with the DVD + navigation, but it's about $1000 high
for the plain EX-L.

Before you harp all the praise on the jap cars look at the 2002 Odyssey
problems on www.odyclub.com . With their transmission, EGR, IAC valve and
other problems they are far worse than the problems you had on the Venture.
The reliability is no better there.

"Seth" > wrote in message
...
> "Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote in message
> ...
>> In article >,
>> "Seth" > wrote:
>>
>>> Been looking to get the wife a new minivan. Her '02 Venture WB-Edition
>>> I no
>>> longer trust.
>>
>> For a data point: I have an 02 Odyssey, and I trust it 100%--with the
>> wife and kids in it, going on long trips.
>
> I *know* that getting an Odyssey would not be a mistake. Same with the
> Sienna. I don't think the R350 would be a mistake either, especially
> since it's only a 27month lease. What the hell could go wrong in 27
> months?
>
>> I'm amazed that people buy cars you can't trust 5 years later.
>
> That's why I'm off GM. Was a GM guy for a long time. This is the last
> disappointment.
>
>

On Feb 11, 8:01 pm, "Seth" > wrote:

> I haven't driven the Odyssey yet, but my wife went and drove it Thursday.
> Today we both tried out the Sienna. Very nice. My wife liked the drive
> better than the Odyssey. But the Sienna, in the XLE level, only comes 7
> passenger.

We did the same thing. I could have lived with either one (we were
going to buy whichever had the better deal) but I actually thought the
Odyssey had a little firmer ride and handled a little better.
Everything about the Sienna was so light-feeling. I like a little
'heft' and feeling in my controls. That, the 8-seating capability and
an excellent lease deal had us buy thr Odyssey.

Since you have an AWD van now, I'm assuming you live in the snow belt
somewhere...? So, unless you're talking about the 4matic version of
the Benz, I'd pass on the R350.

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

We have a Odyssey 06 Touring model. Fine car though leather seats are a bit
hard. Interior of Sienna reminded me of a Ford Taurus. Both are good
cars. Read consumer reports review at library. For better handling get the
Odyssey. For slightly softer ride get the Sienna. I would go with the
better dealer if it was a toss up. Odyssey should be cheaper to take home
feature for feature.


"Seth" > wrote in message
...
> Been looking to get the wife a new minivan. Her '02 Venture WB-Edition I
> no longer trust. 2 weeks ago needed the intake manifold repaired, now
> last week the AWD stopped working. Initially they said needed a new rear
> diff. to the tune of $3000. Told them to forget it. Later on, after they
> did some more research, found some other tech articles suggesting just
> replacing the AWD pump in the diff would do the trick. That was only $250
> ($170 for part plus labor). Went ahead with that gamble merely to keep it
> in as good a shape as possible till we decide upon it's replacement.
>
> It's not an issue of the dealer. I've dealt with them for many years on
> prior vehicles and they've always been straight. It's I just don't trust
> the vehicle any longer. Only has 96000 miles on it and seems like it is
> falling apart.
>
> 3 vehicles we are looking at are the '07 Odyssey EX-L, the '07 Sienna XLE
> with Package #3, or the MB R350 (my uncle works for them and can get me a
> sweet lease even with a 20000 mile a year allowance.
>
> I haven't driven the Odyssey yet, but my wife went and drove it Thursday.
> Today we both tried out the Sienna. Very nice. My wife liked the drive
> better than the Odyssey. But the Sienna, in the XLE level, only comes 7
> passenger. So that issue, and the 175,000 nearly trouble free miles on my
> '01 Accord V6 EX-L has her leaning that way. Dealer is offering it to us
> for $29,438, so we're pretty happy with that. Gonna see if I can work
> him a little further and/or see what I can get out of him on our trade-in
> (haven't even mentioned trade to dealer yet).
>
> Ok, lots of irrelevant history out of the way...Just wanted to get that
> data out there in case anybody else is currently comparing the same
> vehicles.
>
> Any finance deals or incentives either rumored or confirmed in the
> upcoming week or 2? Hoping there may be some rebates or financing
> incentives for the upcoming President's day weekend.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

In article > ,
says...

> Before you harp all the praise on the jap cars look at the 2002 Odyssey
> problems on www.odyclub.com . With their transmission, EGR, IAC valve and
> other problems they are far worse than the problems you had on the Venture.
> The reliability is no better there.

Except he's talking about an 07 Odyssey, not an 02. The transmission
problems that plagued the V6-powered Odysseys and Accords have, for the
most part, been resolved since then. And he's gotta be living right
since he also mentioned he has an 01 Accord V6 with 175K miles on it.

Dave

But he is comparing it to a 2002. The problems he had then are also fixed in
the 07 GM cars. The 07 Odyssey hasn't been out long enough to say the
problems are fixed....

"Dave Garrett" > wrote in message
...
> In article > ,
> says...
>
>> Before you harp all the praise on the jap cars look at the 2002 Odyssey
>> problems on www.odyclub.com . With their transmission, EGR, IAC valve and
>> other problems they are far worse than the problems you had on the
>> Venture.
>> The reliability is no better there.
>
> Except he's talking about an 07 Odyssey, not an 02. The transmission
> problems that plagued the V6-powered Odysseys and Accords have, for the
> most part, been resolved since then. And he's gotta be living right
> since he also mentioned he has an 01 Accord V6 with 175K miles on it.
>
> Dave
>

"SMS" > wrote in message
...
> Seth wrote:
>> Dealer is offering it to us for $29,438, so we're pretty happy with
>> that.
>
> That's about right if it's for the EX-L with the DVD, and a good deal if
> it's for the EX-L with the DVD + navigation, but it's about $1000 high for
> the plain EX-L.

Good to know.

I've since gotten an email offer from another Honda dealer I contacted
through edmunds.com for 27,989.

I'll see if my preferred dealer will match that.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Seth" > wrote:
>
>> I *know* that getting an Odyssey would not be a mistake. Same with the
>> Sienna. I don't think the R350 would be a mistake either, especially
>> since
>> it's only a 27month lease. What the hell could go wrong in 27 months?
>
> Well, hell, you could save yourself some dough and get another GM if
> you're going to dump it 27 months/27,000 miles.

Except the GM doesn't lease as well. The higher end cars lease much better
if that's the route I choose to take.

> I like the way you put it, though--the German car (which overall is a
> mistake) *should* be OK for 27 months...

I've had German in the past and my last 2 motorcycles have been German with
no issues.