The breaking point for getting a minivan.....

[Anonymous]

I have three kids and just bought my second minivan. I know people hate them but I love driving them with my family. A friend of mine who is just now having a family later in life asked me when my breaking point was that I decided to get one and did I regret it. I told her that I would post this question on the board so she could see what a variety of people say. BTW my breaking point was when our second child was born and I could not get her carseat to fit in our mazda with our oldest daughter's car seat. I think we had our new minivan a week later....now that my mom has health issues it is easier for her to get in and out of the van....omg I could be driving one forever...LOL!

[MidnightVoice]

A minivan is fabulous for a large number of people of for very big (but not very heavey) loads.  We loved ours when we had one.  Reasonable on gas, nice to drive etc

Message Edited by MidnightVoice on 10-16-2008 01:55 PM

[Anonymous]

I was set on a Ford Escape Hybrid last year, until I tried to shove - force - jam - three carseats in the backseat & realized it would just have to be a dream for now... had no choice but to find something with three rows.

I REFUSE. REFUSE. refuse. REFUSE! to ever own a minivan, so I have tricked myself into thinking my Buick Rendezvous Ultra is NOT a minivan. It is a "luxury crossover."  And when my DH calls it a "van" I get terribly upset. And with cream leather/suede, two rows of captain's chairs, navi, alloy wheels and a fold up/down back row I have been able to keep up the "luxury crossover" front for over a year now!

The Ford Escape Hybrid is just TWO more years away!!!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was set on a Ford Escape Hybrid last year, until I tried to shove - force - jam - three carseats in the backseat & realized it would just have to be a dream for now... had no choice but to find something with three rows.

I REFUSE. REFUSE. refuse. REFUSE! to ever own a minivan, so I have tricked myself into thinking my Buick Rendezvous Ultra is NOT a minivan. It is a "luxury crossover."  And when my DH calls it a "van" I get terribly upset. And with cream leather/suede, two rows of captain's chairs, navi, alloy wheels and a fold up/down back row I have been able to keep up the "luxury crossover" front for over a year now!

The Ford Escape Hybrid is just TWO more years away!!!

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Those are really nice....we looked at one but DH did not like it as well as I did....he actually wanted to get a sedan or small suv but after I made him get in back he was back on same page as me.

[Anonymous]

We have two kids and bought our first minivan when we only had one child.  Traded a 5 speed mustang when getting the little guy in and out of the backseat was too much.   We love ours!  (ofcourse when were done hauling all this junk of the kids around I'd love to have another mustang)

I really like that we when we go somewhere with freinds we can usually all fit in our vehicle instead of driving two cars which is much more fun!

[haulingthescoreup]

We got the first minivan once we had more kids than parents. (--not about the third kid, but about the van)

DH refuses to get rid of the most recent one (Bessie, the '95 Nissan Quest), despite her prompt development of engine problems when he and DD#1 tried to drive her to NYC with all DD's wordly belongings. So he uses her for dump runs now, and they're both happy.

I won't touch her. I've paid my dues, thank you. Pretty much all her quarter million miles plus were put on by me, and that's not counting the other two vans.

[llecs]

OP, we got ours for the same reason. Our Saturn sedan just wasn't big enough. And we were on a roadtrip in that Saturn with a 6mo, when someone rear-ended us. Everyone was OK, but we decided to get something bigger and safer. We looked at a Suburban first, but the salesman got us hooked on our Chrysler T&C.

And our next door neighbors claimed over and over that they would never buy a minivan. Funny thing is that a couple weekends ago, they pulled up in their new T&C just like ours (same color too).

We travel quite a bit and enjoy it. Our '03 just hit 108k and need to get a tune-up before we drive from DC to Houston around Christmas.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I REFUSE. REFUSE. refuse. REFUSE! to ever own a minivan......

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That's what DW said a couple years before we got ours.

[Anonymous]

I haven't the need for a mini van - yet, but I remember that my mom wanted one when my brother and I were kids and LOVED it!  I even took my drivers test in it!  It was a 1990 Pontiac Transport.  It lasted 15 years until my mom decided she wanted a new one (kids long grown up, and no grandkids yet).  Her main criteria for her new one was that it needed to be able to haul a 4' x 8' piece of sheetrock flat.  (My parents were in the process of remodeling at the time).  She bought a new Crystler Town & Country in 2005 and loves it even more than her first one.  I think she will be driving a mini van forever!  Myself, I'm waiting for the Saturn VUE Hybrid plug-in!

[Anonymous]

"Don't be like Mary. Have a baby for love, not for German engineering."

Anyone seen the new Volkswagen commercial yet.  

[MsKiwi]

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@Anonymous wrote:

"Don't be like Mary. Have a baby for love, not for German engineering."

Anyone seen the new Volkswagen commercial yet.  

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I love the new commercials for vw.