Honda Car Forum

Our car is on its last legs and it would cost more than it's valued at to get it fixed. Plus we have our third baby on the way and need a bigger car anyways. Can anyone recommend a good minivan? We want it to be safe, I don't really care what it looks like as long as it's not going to be a never ending money pit of repairs. We found a 2000 Honda Odyssey with 50,000 miles on it (all local, never been in an accident) at a dealership going for about $10,000 USD. Is that a good deal? Supposedly Honda's are the best, but I've heard bad things about transmission problems in the second generation. Any advice would help, particularly from people who have actually owned minivans.

i think 10000 is alot for a 2000 honda mini van, search for more deals i think you could find a better dealits not worth 10000 for a 2000 honda odyssey, search website like craiglisthonda and toyota is the best

I was surprised to see that the Odyssey only gets fair ratings (65 out of 100) for reliability. Apparently, the automatic transmissions have been problematic and expensive to fix. I owned a Toyota Previa minivan for a few years and it ran great. Check the Consumer Guide online reports before you make a purchase. Good luck.

Honda's only had transmission problems in their 1998-2001 Honda Accords where there was a recall and Honda fixed everyones transmissions for free.Ever since that happened, everyone thinks that all Honda's around that age have transmission problems, but that is not true.The Honda Odyssee has won Car&Driver Magazines 10 best list almost every year for the past 10 years. It is a great car. It will last at least 300,000 miles. You probably will not need to replace transmission until after 150,000 miles.We have had minivans and we know people who have the Honda Odyssee. We now have a Honda Accord and Toyota Rav4.

If the Honda Odyssey you are looking at is the EX trim, then that is what the going price is around for the Kelly Blue Book value. However, if its the LX trim, then that price is a bit expensive. Honda Odysseys are pretty good, but I have also heard of fairly large problems with their transmissions for that era.We owned a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan SE and it was very good. When we first got it, we were looking for a Odyssey but they were too expensive at the time. So, we instead got a used 1999 (we bought it in 2000) Dodge Grand Caravan SE thinking the transmission would go out at 60k miles. However, we had almost no problems at all with the car. The only problem we encountered was the car's computer malfunctioning under warranty and also the brakes were a bit soft at around 80k (mostly because we forgot about a brake service and also because the brakes were kind of worn down). Otherwise, no other problems, no transmission problems. We put on 115,000 miles on it and then sold it as we wanted a new car. Very comfortable car as well.I'd reccomend that you get a 2001 or newer Dodge Grand Caravan SXT as someone in my extended family has one. It has updates not on our previous 1999 version. It is a bit more comfortable and quieter, so definitely check that out. They are cheaper than the Odyssey as well. However, there are a few bad ones out there, so make sure to check the Grand Caravans out by a mechanic before buying (really should do this with any used car you are interested in). This minivan is one of the safer ones as well.Other good choices are the Toyota Sienna (someone also in my extended-family has one as well, no real problems) and Mazda MPV. Try to stay away from the Ford family of minivans because they have widely known transmission failure problems as well as a well known problem with the axles in which they will rust out and ultimately crack into two pieces. The GM minivans of this era (1998-2004 Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana, Oldsmobile Silhouette) are good as well, however, they have pretty nasty safety ratings. In the test, the dummy's leg cracked in half for the frontal impact test in the front drivers seat. The passenger seat for the frontal test was also bad as well. Good minivans mechanically, but not good safety-wise.Good luck finding your minivan!

a 2000 Honda Odyessy for $10,000 is a rip off. kbb.com values a 2000 Odyessy EX with every single option that was availible for that year at $9,400 in perfect condition or $8,900 in good condition like 95% of used cars are. So yes thats too much to pay. Its a very reliable van but make sure you dont get ripped off.