I rent Caravan's all the time on the road. 7 Pax seating, stow and go, drives like a car and always seems to be a good overall workhorse. I have rented that Toyota POS van before for twice as much and totally disliked it, took it back and asked for the Dodge.

For the price I think it's a good mini van and when compared to a Toyota for way more money made it appear even more worthwhile.

The only negative I would say is the stow away seats raise the floor so adults in the back seats knees tend to be off the cushion and a little too raised for comfort.

Sparky, do yourself a favour and test drive a Suzuki SX4 hatchback.. sadly, it's just 8" shy of fitting a pin lengthwise, but man.. what a cool little machine for the price.  It was a toss up between that and the Mazda 3 for us.. the only reason we went with the Mazda 3 in the end was they were the only guys with 0% financing at the time (Suzuki was 1.9%)

Still some incredible design in that car.

My Dad has bought 3 Caravans and he is super cheap and super picky. He seems to like them, and they are great room wise.

I wouldn't buy a Ford, as they seem to be made of the same steel as the Mazdas - 50% rust by volume.

Just came back from Toyota. Totally unflexible on price. I even asked the salesman why they have him there, since the price on the web is the price, period. They even wanted 6000$ cash down on a Matrix.  

Neeeeext.

I will go see what Chrysler has to offer tomorrow. If not good... simple. I keep the MPV and roll it until it croaks, rust and all.

I ended up buying a Honda Pilot last summer. It has proved to be a good pin-hauler. As Steph mentioned it is pricey but you might get a decent price on a slightly used one.

I find Chrysler mini-vans (used to drive one for work and often rent one on business trips) have too many little things that end up annoying the hell out of me. The fit and finish inside is cheap and lower quality then the imports (unfortunately). Anyone have one that doesn't suffer from break squeal - cheap and undersized breaking components for such a heavy vehicle.

As for Toyota, I agree, impossible to negotiate with - take it or leave it was my experience last summer. They make great vehicles and they know it.

Quoted from tom_454

I find Chrysler mini-vans (used to drive one for work and often rent one on business trips) have too many little things that end up annoying the hell out of me. The fit and finish inside is cheap and lower quality then the imports (unfortunately). Anyone have one that doesn't suffer from break squeal - cheap and undersized breaking components for such a heavy vehicle.

I don't mind ''plasticky'' interiors... As for the brakes, I can change a set of front brakes on an older Caravan in 20 minutes, and they are cheap, so no worries. But I hear they got an upgrade on brakes for 2009.

But... I won't lie... a HUGE Grand Caravan would be nice for the Allentown trip!

Don't even look or think about a Dode RAM ,that SOB is one mother sucking gaz guzzler!! that 8-4 cyclender is buuuull crap!! My 2007 Ram does 9/mpg city and 18 mpg highway going 100km on cruse......if you do get one ,make sure you have a company gaz expence account!

2009 Jetta wagon TDI.. 34mpg city 49mpg highway and large enough for the whole family.
Plus 12 year corrosion perforation warranty.
Then buy a used trailer and/or rent a truck/van when you need it. That's my plan anyways.

Unless you're constantly hauling heavy loads buying a large vehicle just doesn't make sense IMO.

Guys, let's stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Go for the Caravan, espescially since it's assembled in Ontario. Let's keep canadians at work. Let's stop our decline. Many parts plants employs canadians and americans. And let's not forget that americans are our biggest clients for everything we produce here in canada.

Quoted from scribec

Guys, let's stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Go for the Caravan, espescially since it's assembled in Ontario. Let's keep canadians at work. Let's stop our decline. Many parts plants employs canadians and americans. And let's not forget that americans are our biggest clients for everything we produce here in canada.

I agree. To me this truck is very good value and besides, we want Sparky to have something big enough to haul all of our crap around in.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

I agree. To me this truck is very good value and besides, we want Sparky to have something big enough to haul all of our crap around in.

If a guy can ship me three playfields from Vancouver, I think you can also...   One thing is for sure, I won't be doing a run like I did for a long time... it cost me too much.

If all you want is a pin hauler, you can spend a couple of grand on a used caravan.  If the main priority is a family vehicle with the option to move a pin when needed, go test drive the new caravan and a Toyota.  Granted, a 5 min test drive won't help you tell all the differences.  We've owned a Grand Caravan for years and it wasn't until we test drove a Sienna that we noticed how crappy a caravan really is.  Go drive a few and you'll see.