Used Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna?

[Fanqi Meng]

My wife and I are planning to buy a used mini-van because we are expecting a child. Our budget is no more than $10,000. After doing some research, we are going to make a decision between Odyssey and Sienna. At this budget, it is probably about 10-year old with approximately 120k miles. Does anyone have experience with both or either vehicle at that age? We care about reliability and maintenance cost the most.

Thank you guys in advance!

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[Josh G]

I have a 99 sienna and it’s been great. At 155K now. I have only done the timing belt as a regular maintenance thing. I just recently had to do a radiator too, but all radiators tend to die around 120-150K. No other problems except some jerk who worked on it before I owned it cross threaded the axle nut and just drove it down with an impact so obviously I had to fix that. It literally still runs perfectly smooth…engine, tranny, everything.

IMHO I think very highly of both Toyota and Honda. I feel they are both great makes. Budget wise I think an Odyssey is going to cost you more.

[Chip]

It all started with my folks – they bought an Odyssey in 2005 – new. They sold it to my brother, who is still driving it. There have been no major drivetrain issues with their van. The only things they’ve had that were of significant cost were: The GPS unit went out for some unknown reason – $800+ for repair at the dealer (I wouldn’t have spent the $$, but they’ve had a lifetime to save their money for things such as that!) 🙂 The other thing was the locking mechanism on one of the sliding doors was malfunctioning – out of warranty repair @ the dealer – I don’t remember the cost.
Other than that – regular oil changes & typical maintenance items – great vehicle. The most expensive regular maintenance cost would be the timing belt – that’s a rather laborious job and is necessary to do PROACTIVELY to prevent total engine failure. It will usually run about $800 (I think?)

I bought a 2004 Nissan Quest about 2 years ago…it had 193,000 miles when I bought it (!) – but it ran great and I paid cash for it. The only thing with the Quest: The timing chain guide (notorious) has partially broken, causing a rather annoying “clicking” while the motor is running. Some other typical issues have arisen, but it’s to be expected for a vehicle of this age & mileage. Nothing major though….YET.

This year (about 2 months ago), we bought a 2008 Odyssey with 135k miles. It was in exceptional shape and had all maintenance records – and even had both key fobs (A clear sign the owner took care of their vehicle, to me anyway). It’s not had any issues at all, but I’m saving up for that timing belt replacement.

All in all, do your homework, ask the right questions, watch the video on buying a used car (eric the car guy’s video), and perform some simple checks such as smelling the transmission fluid.
If you can find an Odyssey with all maintenance records and all indications point to good care, you should NOT feel bad for spending a little more for that particular van, as opposed to one you know nothing about.

Hope that helps!

[Fanqi Meng]

Thank you!

[Author]

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