New or Used Minivan?

30k miles is nothing! Go for used, the second you drive that new one off the lot its going to be worth less than the used one.

You wont be able to resell it either, us Mommas like power!

I have a honda odyssey I bought new-it now has 94,000 miles on it. no major problems.

I would go used-you want the power doors.

We never buy used. We have a fully loaded Yukon Denali XL and a fully loaded Nissan Armada LE. We also have a Prius - that has everything but navigation and a sunroof.

We got them all used. The new values drop as soon as you leave the dealership - and 30k is NOTHING!! Go for used :).

What brand/model? We bought a fully loaded Toyota Sienna that was 5 years old and 60K miles on it and it's still going strong 8 years later. 30K miles is nothing for most vehicles these days. Take it to your mechanic for a once-over first before purchasing, though.

I think your question has been answered sufficiently, lol.
Just wanted to add my two cents... Go for used. Have it checked out. Most dealerships will do this for less than $100, it's a good piece of mind. Especially if you're buying from a private party.
If you're buying it from a dealership ask them for the service history records, even if they took it in on trade they will have put it through their shop for safety checks.
Extended warranties are always an option and in my opinion, worth every penny. I worked in the automotive industry for 10+ yrs and I have seen these warranties pay for themselves in 1 visit for repairs. Good luck.

Definitely decked out and used!!! You are really going to want those power doors! LOL!

My husband and I have decided we will probably never buy a new car again. Cars devalue something like 20% when you drive them off the lot. When you look at it from the perspective of an investment, that's just a little insane. You immediately lose 20%! So it's used for us. I know plenty of people who had issues with new cars. My MIL had a new car that spent more time in the shop than on the road. My hubby's car had 20,000 miles on it and beyond minor maintenance stuff, it hasn't had any problems. Shop carefully. Have it looked at by an independent mechanic. And think about the money you are spending. If you buy the new car without all the bells and whistles will you be wishing you bought the used model? Or does the security of having a brand new car outweigh the gamble of buying a used car? I can't answer those for you, but it's some food for thought while you make your choice. GL!

USED! You lose so much money on brand new cars it's ridiculous. Plus -the one main reason to have a mini van is the power doors! I've had three mini vans -the first was a Dodge and it wasn't nearly as nice as the two Toyota Siennas I've had. The only reason I am on my second Sienna is due to a wreck over Christmas. We never had any issues with any of them, but got a Toyota as soon as we could because I did not trust the Dodge to hold out terribly long and it didn't have a number of things I wanted on it.

The first Toyota had 60,000 K on it when we bought it, and I had it for two years with absolutely NO problems. It was completely loaded -power everything, DVD, leather, etc. This Sienna is also completely loaded and had 52,000K on it when I got it last month. It's in great shape. A Toyota or Honda is going to last you a very long time unless you get a rare lemon. I've bought Hondas and my husband has bought Toyotas in the past with 30+ thousand miles on them and they've lasted for years!

GET THE POWER DOORS. I don't know how old your kids are, but that is one of the main advantages of owning a minivan. I have a 3-year-old and a 16-month-old and I don't know what I would do without those automatic sliding doors.

I don't know what type you are looking into, but I bought my Honda Odyssey in February, 2010, and it was 3 years old at the time. So far, loving it.

I'm an insurance agent in AZ. Everyone has an opinion and valid reasons and mine is: NEVER buy brand spankin' new. You loose $$$ the second you drive it off the lot. It just isn't smart financially. And don't buy a Kia either. =) Good luck.

There is not much difference between a vehicle with 0 miles and one that has 30,000 miles except the price and lack of a "break in period." Do your research on the make/model you are considering purchasing and go from there. My car has over 236,000 miles on it and still is wonderful. Seriously. MOST vehicles run for easily over 150,000 miles and many run much much longer, so long as they are properly maintained.

Ask for the service records for any used vehicle. (you can look for signs of it being a lemon, and also for assurance that the owner properly maintained it-- oil changes, rotating tires, etc).
If you are really leary of a 30,000 mile vehicle being in the shop all the time, perhaps you should be considering a different make altogether. Just a thought.

In a lot of ways I think it all comes down to brand. I would not think twice about buying a used Honda but would not consider buying a used domestic vehicle (i.e. Chrysler).

How long do you want to be in debt?

If you buy a Honda, it won't need any work done --ever.

We bought a two year old Honda, fully loaded, with 27k on it. So happy with our decision!

We've only ever bought 1 new car. We will not be doing that again! Waste of money!

I used to be very afraid of buying a used car but more and more it seems to make sense given how long cars last now and how much they drop in value the day you drive it off the lot. If you can get a Toyota or Honda certified used one I think it'd be fine. You usually can get a warranty at the dealer at that time. When we bought our new Toyota minivan, the person doing the paperwork strongly recommended I get the extended warranty for the electric doors. She said it's often needed... And I can see why the way my girls like to open and close them all the time. Sometimes I just turn off the electric function bc I cringe. So if you can't get the power doors under some extra warranty, I'd be more cautious about buying used.

You can have problems with any new or used vehicle you buy.

IF you want to save the most money, buy a used vehicle from the person that is delighted with having a new vehicle in the driveway.

The fewer options you buy the less you pay for the vehicle and the less to have break down over the years you have the vehicle.

I bought a new pickup with only A/C and cloth seats (plus the standard stuff like power steering and automatic transmission). It cost me $6500 less than a one year old pickup with 23,000 miles and fully loaded. I had to lock and unlock my own doors and roll up my own windows, but I saved not only $6500 in vehicle cost, but the taxes and finance charge on that $6500. My truck is now 8 years old, paid for, and I'm so glad I saved that $6500.

Good luck to you and yours.

Vehicles depreciate as soon as they come off the lot so I would buy the used. 30,000 isn't a lot of miles. The make would make a difference too.

I have never bought nor would I ever buy a new car. We have had 3 used minivans (all with over 60K miles on them) and they were all good buys. The first was a Mazda MPV, which is very small. We sold it when we had our 4th child and need more room. We then bought a Chevy Venture. This lasted us 5 years and had over 200K miles when it finally died. I hated it because of the poor quality of the vehicle (typical of older Chevys) but I honestly don't think it owed us another day or mile beyond what we got out of it. We now have a 2006 Honda Odyssey and I love everything about it.

So...I would get the best quality, newest used van that you can afford. A range of 30K miles is nothing on a vehicle that should easily go 200M miles or more.

We recently bought our minivan and ended up choosing the new one. The prices of the used ones in our brand (honda) just weren't that much lower, plus the interest rates are really good right now- we financed the whole thing and are actually making slightly more interest in a savings account, so we are coming out slightly ahead.

We were also able to get some of the newer features.

I think the power doors are nice but not necessarily "all that"- I'm used to having a car, so it's not a big deal for me to use my hands to open the doors.

If you do go with used, find one that is certified so it has a warranty, and do the carfax thing to make sure it's not had an accident. If it's a toyota or honda you probably won't have many problems anyway- they are super reliable.

We have a used 2009 VW Routan and we LOVE it. Right now it has about 30K miles on it, and no problems.

We bought new ONCE--never again. Why should we be the ones to take the big hit on depreciation, especially if we just wait 6 mos to a year we can get the same car for thousands and thousands of dollars less?

I bought a used mini van in 2007 it was a 2004 with 41,000 miles on it. It now has 77,000. It has been great. It is a Ford Freestar ( they don't make mini vans anymore) I will buy a used car again.

Hi - I think you should try a "pre-owned" mini-van. You can get a great deal at Enterprise Car Sales - there vans mostly come from their rental fleet and you know they have to keep them maintained properly. They pull them from their rental fleet before there's too many miles on them so, consequently, you can get a great deal. And they also offer an extended warranty. Just check them on line at www.enterprisecarsales.com. Just log on and you can see what they have. Tell them I sent you - K. Winders (in Southern California) :-) Good luck!

I've always done pretty well when calling around for new vehicles. The only lemon I ever owned was one that I got brand new off the lot. Twice I've bought vehicles that were rentals before and only 1 year old. Both were very good choices.

My current van has held it's value so well that it was able to get me out of the 7000 upside down money I brought into this one. I just paid it off and it's still worth 6000 dollars in trade. So I went into it upside down and came out 5 years later with plenty of equity. The only problem I have is that it gets terrible gas mileage.

Bought mine used with 87K miles 7 years ago (paid cash). We've put 100K miles on it. Very few repairs to date and seems to have a lot of life left in it. It depends on the make/model, but I would definitely consider the used one that's all decked out. I HATE car payments.

I would buy the used one with the extras that you want. Those miles for a van are not bad I don't think.

Used is better - especially with only 30k miles and bonus features. Cars lose 10-30% of their value when you drive them off the lot, so if you bought new your car would be worth less then you paid for it the day you purchase it.

I drive a 2 year old Toyota Highlander - love it, but now I have another child (2 total) and wish we had got the mini van with power doors and some bonus features (rear backup camera etc.).

Congrats on getting a "new" car!

I agree on buying used most of the time, but not every time. I bought my last vehicle new for several reasons, so these are some things to think about. We wanted a specific car, a Subaru Outback, and they hold their value really well. So a used one that was 4 years old, and had at least 50,000 miles, and no side impact airbags (which was my one requirement, since they saved my hip in the accident forcing me to get a new vehicle) was only about $4,000 cheaper than what we paid new. The new one had no miles, a warranty, side impact airbags, and when we drove it off the lot, it was still worth that much (we got a really good deal because they were clearing out old stock for the new models, they are normally several thousand more than what we paid). If you can find a deal like that, buy new, otherwise, go with used. Especially with only 30,000 miles, that is low.

Whichever you can pay cash for is the way to go.
We don't "do" car payments, so I'd buy the new O. only if I could pay cash (AND if I could swear I wouldn't bat an eye over the immediate depreciation you can feel as you're driving it off the lot, which I would, so I wouldn't!)