[ SHOWGSD-L ] Van shopping - my experience
- From: Cinosam GSD <cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:12:46 -0700 (PDT)
Last week I asked the question about the best dog show mini van to buy since
I'm retiring the school bus (express van) for something cheaper. Thanks to all
for the responses. This is what I found in my buying experience for those of
you that asked. I was looking for a 2006 or 2007.
Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey - sorry, I didn't look at either one of them
as they are out of my price range, however they are ranked by consumer guides
as the best vans (Honda taking #1). I did hear from someone that the Honda has
something sticking out in the back for the rear seat that prevents two crates
from being set side by side.
Nissan Quest - coolest van on the market and nicely rated if a little
expensive. The rear seat folds into the floor. However this would not make a
good dog show van as the second row seating folds down but not into the
floor...similar to sport utility vehicle and you can't take out the seats. I
ruled this van out before I even test drove it.
Kia Sodona (don't laugh) - this van is one of the higher consumer ranked
vans. It has a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty (best in the industry), has a
powerful engine and is one of the bigger vans in cubic feet. The only reason I
did not like this van aside from the fact that it wasn't attractive is that the
second row passenger seating does not fold into the floor. You have to take it
out and store it. I won't buy a van anymore that requires me to store seats
because of a bad experience with the 3 bench seats from my Express van
(involves cat pee).
Caravan (not grand) - forget it, small engine and too short.
Town & Country Van - average in ranking from the car experts. This van has
changed it's Trims a number of times over the years so makes it difficult to
shop for it as you never know what you are looking at and what you are getting.
Comes in a 3.3 & 3.8 liter engine. Comes in two lengths. Is basically the
same as the Grand Caravan.
Grand Caravan (my winner) - average in ranking from the car experts but high
consumer ratings. Comes in SE or SXT. I would not recommend the SE which is
hit and miss with the options has the smaller engine and comes in a shorter
wheel base. The SXT comes with 3.8 L engine and stow n go seating standard.
You get a lot for the price but it doesn't have the resale value of the Honda
or Toyota. The stow -n-go seating is slick...takes a few seconds to flip the
seats into the floor, and when they are not down you can use the compartments
that hold them for storage. Not the most powerful engine, One concern - a
few emailed me to say that the van would hold 500 (40X27X30?)crates side by
side, but in the newer model (2005,2006,2007), no way will this fit those size
crates. The back of this van measures 49" across. I had to measure every one
of my 36X24X30 crates until I found two that would fit and that was only
because one of them was 23" wide. I fit two more crates
with side doors behind the drive and passenger seats. It's tight but four
crates will fit. Rebates on this van are around $3,000 to $6,000 right now so a
good time to buy new. I bought a used 2007 with leather seats & more options
than I was looking for for $19000.
Hope that helps for all those looking.
Cindy
Cindy
www.cinosamgsd.com
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