I hate my minivan. (vehicles, 2013, sedans, camper)
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I thought it'd be a good substitute for a SUV, but it's not. Kid junk spills out the doors when I open them due to the flat floor, the trunk is unusable for storage due to no cover, and it's just a big lumbering beast that I can't park easily because if I ever so slightly bump the parking stops the transmission freaks out when I back out of the spot.
And people are just jerks to you on the road, it's appalling how much I get tailgated and cut off now, driving the exact same way I did in my compact car just a month ago.
Luckily I owe less than it's worth, but will be losing about $4k on the mistake (funny enough that's what I'd also lose a year from now if I held onto it, very steep loss off the lot).
Why do people like these things, they are the worst.
Good thing Toyota has a wide selection to choose from for trade in (although I am thinking of hitting up Carmax to take the sting of being an idiot out a bit).
03-28-2015, 11:09 PM
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People apparently don't like them, hence why their sales of collapsed from 8% of the market in 2000 to under 4% in 2013.
People bought them because they needed to drag lots of people/stuff around. Now we have SUVs, something people actually like, for that purpose.
We loved our '93 Toyota Previa. We junked the back seats and had a permanent bed platform in the back, on a foot high riser with tons of stowage space underneath. We slept in it about 50 nights a year on road trips. There was room between the front seats for a big Rubbermaid tub always overflowing with every possible road need. It made a great camper.
But you're right about the flat floors, my wife's glasses fell out once in Mexico and it took two days in Oaxaca to get replacements. But the thing was bulletproof, never needed repairs on the road, we bought it at 100K put another 150K on it, oil never went below the full mark between changes.. Economical enough,but just barely.
It was a great in-between size, about a foot longer, higher and wider inside than a Dodge Caravan.
And people are just jerks to you on the road, it's appalling how much I get tailgated and cut off now, driving the exact same way I did in my compact car just a month ago.
Good thing Toyota has a wide selection to choose from for trade in (although I am thinking of hitting up Carmax to take the sting of being an idiot out a bit).
Minivans project an image. Thus the aggressive behavior. Get a bumper sticker that says; "I brake for tailgaters".
CarMax is fine if you are OK with paying above retail Bluebook for a car. They make the buying process less stressful, because their prices are no-haggle. Code for take it or leave it. With that said most people are OK paying extra, because of the various guarantees and protections CarMax offers.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We had a 1987 when we had 3 kids, and for hauling them and their friends to events, and for family vacations it was great, since it held 6 people and still had room for some
storage behind the 3rd seat. We carried more than the 5 of us a lot, and would have had to take 2 cars without that minivan. Once the oldest started driving and had a car, we traded it in for a mid-sized 5 passenger SUV. They can be the best choice but it depends on the circumstances. Today there are more options, with more SUV/Crossover vehicles holding 6-8 people.
Take a Toyota Sequoia for a spin. The third row seat is first-class. Plus you've got a nice big V8, 4x4 with low range and a commanding view of the road. The damn thing is a tank and impossible to kill.
I thought it'd be a good substitute for a SUV, but it's not. Kid junk spills out the doors when I open them due to the flat floor, the trunk is unusable for storage due to no cover, and it's just a big lumbering beast that I can't park easily because if I ever so slightly bump the parking stops the transmission freaks out when I back out of the spot.
A standard-sized SUV will not hold as much cargo as a minivan. I can take the seats out of my folks' old Dodge Grand Caravan and lay 4'×8' sheets of plywood down flat on the floor and still close the lift gate. That's better than most pickup trucks, and certainly better than your average SUV or crossover. The third-row seats in many SUVs absolutely suck for anyone having the misfortune to have to sit in them; they definitely seem like an afterthought. Minivans offer much easier access, and usually more leg-room for the folks in the third row.
If you're having trouble in parking lots, learn to reverse it into the spaces. Long vehicles are easier to reverse into parking spots. It also puts you in a much better position for leaving the space, since as you know, in the driver's seat of a van, you have a heck of a lot more van behind you than you have in front of you.
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And people are just jerks to you on the road, it's appalling how much I get tailgated and cut off now, driving the exact same way I did in my compact car just a month ago.
I've driven minivans, pickup trucks, SUVs, wagons, and sedans. Rude drivers abound no matter what I'm driving. I don't let them get to me.
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Why do people like these things, they are the worst.
Because they fulfill a need. Not everyone cares about driving 90 miles per hour through the corners, or getting from 0-60 in three seconds. Some people just want to haul people or haul stuff, and vans do those things exceptionally well.
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