Do you drive a minivan?
@vera5d (4004)
United States
March 29, 2008 8:37am CST
Last summer my husband's beat up 2 door nissan finally bit the dust - it needed over $1200 put in it just to pass inspection!
So we started looking at cars. We wanted something big enough for all the kids & possibly more kids plus something that would be good for camping or hauling materials etc...
We started looking at suv's at first, but then decided they weren't big enough and way too expensive to maintain...
we finally started looking at minivans...as the one car dealer said to us "nobody wants to drive a minivan, but you'll be glad you do."
he was so very right. I love the minivan. It's got a v6 engine and a fold down 3rd row seats - it's a 2004 ford freestar. i normally don't really like fords, but we couldn't afford much else. (haha, that should be ford's new slogan "you can afford a ford!") the ratings on this model were also a lot better than they were for the grand caravan & chrysler models for both reliability and saftey.
So do you drive a mini-van? What kind of mini-van do you drive? Do you love yours as much as I love mine?
2 people like this
6 responses
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
29 Mar 08
We have a Plymouth Voyager minivan which is just like a Caravan, and we still love it after way over 100,000 miles. I think the Ford styling is terrific (in fact they had it before the Caravan, etc.) For buzzing around town I like my little sedan, but we take the van on all of our trips and use it for carrying stuff. It is really great, and much more comfortable and roomy than an SUV. I like your slogan. I'm seriously considering a Ford van if we ever have to replace our Voyager, but we may just keep rebuilding the one we have because then the tax and license and insurance and everything won't eat us alive.
The only thing we might like to upgrade over is the automatic doors, which ours doesn't have. We got a great buy on this one used from a car rental agency because it didn't have power windows, but we found a shop that put those in for us after the fact. Maybe it is possible to do that with the doors, too.
@vera5d (4004)
• United States
30 Mar 08
i am not crazy about automatic doors or windows...they always have problems - our one door actually already works sometimes and doesn't lock the rest of the time...thankfully though we can use the lock manually which suits me just fine. we do have a saturn which is good for just 1 of driving around without the kids, but it is so small - we took a vacation in it once and by the end of the trip were all on each other's nerves because it was so cramped, lol.
i don't think they still make the plymouths? i've known a lot of people with them though...i'm not sure if ford still makes minivans - they didn't have a freestar model last year but i've got to say i really do love our minivan...
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Yes, whenever I find a vehicle that I just adore they discontinue it. Happens with lipstick too but that is not as expensive. No they don't make the Plymouth van any more, but probably we can keep getting rebuilt parts for quite a few more years. I love the automatic door locks. On the Ford van with automatic sliding doors I did notice that it took a long time for the door to close, so I may be reconsidering the need for that. I like to quick slam it shut when I am in a hurry. Yes, I would think those might be ripe for misfunctioning after a while, but our automatic windows have been working beautifully for 12 years now and I'm always fiddling with them.
@vera5d (4004)
• United States
1 Apr 08
the automatic doors are awful...my mother in law's chrylsler van has them and you're so afraid your fingers are going to get smashed - we've had a few close calls with her car so i would definately not reccommend those to anybody with kids!
@queenofarms (1659)
• United States
31 Mar 08
I bought a 94 Aerostar van brand new. I owned it for 6 weeks and turned it back in. It made me feel old. MY husband wanted to kill me. We lost $6000.00 by doing this. I don't mind riding in one but don't want to own one.
And Fords are the best....LOL...I'm a Ford fan
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
30 Mar 08
Well, personally I do not drive or own a Car, as I choose not to Drive. My husband though has chosen to own a SUV. We have a Subaru Forrester, and we Love it, but have thought about since it is just the 2 of us to switch to even something smaller like a Toyota Yuris. Maybe if we had kids we would want something bigger, but our Forrester suits us just fine.
@vera5d (4004)
• United States
30 Mar 08
that would be a great car for just 2 people...the kids take up so much space for being such little people!
@spoiled311 (5500)
• Philippines
29 Mar 08
no i don't drive a mini-van. as a matter of fact, i don't drive at all. i would like to study in a driving school for formal lessons because my husband and i fight whenever he teaches me.
we got a second hand car last christmas, which is actually a cute sedan. i don't know if you are familiar with hyundai getz. it is pretty small but with a small engine. but it is what we can afford and it serves its purpose. we have had so many fun times with that car. lol
good day! :)
@vera5d (4004)
• United States
30 Mar 08
haha, i couldn't even begin to imagine my husband teaching me to drive...we don't fight much but i'm sure we would if he was teaching me...hyundai's are good little cars with good gas millage - as long as you're happy with that then it's a good thing :)
@shaggin (74988)
• United States
29 Sep 15
I have a Chevrolet venture right now. I had an older model before this and a GMC Safari before that. I drove my parents cars when I was younger but have myself only owned vans. I like how much room they have and how much I can fit in them. I went looking for a new van today and one of the options I am looking at is a 2005 Ford Freestar. I have never heard of a freestar before this so when I saw this post I was glad I read it.
@vera5d (4004)
• United States
1 Apr 08
we liked the hondas too but we couldn't find one in our budget. glad to hear you like your minivan!
