Hi,

One of our cars was recently totaled (no one was hurt, thank God). We're now in the market for a minivan and so I'm looking for any thoughts, positive or negative, on them. We may have to go w/a used one, but I'm still curious about what features you feel are a necessity, what to look out for, etc. Any help would be great. Oh, we're a family of 4, two being kids 5 and under.

Thanks!

We have two Oldsmobile Sillhouttes (1998 and 2001) and love them. The '98 one is fully loaded and the 2001 not quite as loaded, but still excellent. But, yup, unfortunately Oldsmobiles are no longer, but they are a great quaility car, so if you can get you hands on a newer used one, I think you will be happy. We have no problems going to the dealers that used to be Oldsmobile dealers for service if we need it.

We we test drove vans, we drove a Chevy Venture, Pontiac Montana and the Olds. They are the exact same frame, but there are definite differences in the quality overall. The olds was a much smoother ride and we got more bang for our buck. On each of our vans we only have one power sliding door and the other is a manual slider. Definitely get at least one, but if you can get both, all the better. Both of ours also have captain chairs in the middle row instead of the bench--found that is much easier getting in and out of the vans. Hope this helps some.

We're on our second Pontiac Montana and have had nothing but good experiences. I don't love the look as much as some others, but it's a good vehicle.

We just bought a 2007 Chevrolet Uplander and it is awesome.. This is the second van we've had. We had a Dodge caravan up until now.. Don't get me wrong both are great vehicles but the Uplanders come with the DVD player for the kidos.. Any way, just my opinion!!

Dawn

we have a 2006 nissan quest and i love it. its so roomy and its a 7 passenger. The driver seat and front passenger are both captains chairs and also the 2nd row, the third row is like a regular minivan. I have 2 young kids and one of the features i love is that i can walk from the front all the way to the back and not have to get out of the car so if the baby is crying or my 3yr old needs something i dont have to get out to tend to them.