Could you ever own a minivan?

I was 8 when my parents bought their first minivan. It was awesome because it gave my brother and I our own bench seat so we didn't have to breathe each other's air.

They got the second when the first one wore out, about 7 years later. Then my brother and I both went off to college (it was great for moving). Two years later they gave that minivan to my brother (who had loads of fun with it living at the frat house ... it is great for tailgate parties) and got the Ford Ranger my dad had always wanted.

And you know what? They had that truck for 16 months. Traded it in for another minivan, their third. Now my parents are the senior citizens driving the pimped-out, Stow & Go, Town & Country.

 

It would probably make him happy.

 

Wow, after reading this thread, I hope other parents don't judge me for NOT having a minivan!

 

This is a pretty funny thread because if you're in your 30's, married, and expecting your first child, you've just become a member of Club Suburbia no matter what you drive. You are beyond being hip or cool.

Never owned a minivan but I think two Taurus wagons would qualify.

Up here, if you have more than one kid, you probably own a mini-van for a very practical reason: finding room for three sets of hockey equipment.

 

Yeah, but it's kind of scary and disorienting (while being wildly exciting at the same time).

I don't know that we should be required to surrender our entire identities once we have children. Lot of pressure to do that, I know. I never expected the dymanics of suburban parenthood to be so sociologically and psychologically loaded ... good thing I've read all of Tom Perrotta's novels as training.

 

I was a nanny for 3 with my 4runner, and it did the job just fine. However, I've driven other people's minivans before, and I think it would be much easier. They are more comfortable too. For just one or two kids, I'll stick with my mid-size, but beyond that, I'd probably go for a minivan.

 

Honda Odyssey. Seats seven or eight. Cup holders out the wazzoo. Tons of storage, including some hidden ones. DVD player. Extra lighter outlets for your many toys. Extra inputs so you can hook a video player into the entertainment system. Separate speakers for rear and front. So the little one can listen on the headphones in back to the movie and you can have music up front. Electric doors. I cannot stress enough the value of electric doors, because when you have children you don't get extra arms, but you need them. And the car is lower to the ground than an SUV. (See note about kid, shit in your arms, kid unable to get into SUV unaided)
My husband has a mid-size SUV... trust me when I say the space in that is in no way the same as a space in a minivan. Plus, it's much more comfortable to ride in a van because there's tons more leg space front and back.
The only thing that sucks is gas mileage and backing up.

 

We're on our fourth Dodge/Chrysler minivan since 1996. No vehicle has ever served its purposes better for us.

 

You're not. But you'd better be willing to pick your spots.

If you want sports on the TV 24/7, you don't have to give in to Sprout.

If you're a foodie, you don't have to give in to boxed macaroni and cheese.

And if you're a gearhead, you don't have to give in to minivans.

But you need to decide what is truly essential to your non-parent identity. If it's not driving a minivan, fine (though your description of what you're driving now doesn't make you sound like a gearhead). Stake your ground there. Just don't ask your friends with minivans to shlep stuff for you.

 

I have a relative who I am quite certain would give his kids up for adoption before he drove a minivan. I wish I were kidding.

 

Waylon, my friend, this right here says it all. In our family, the Odyssey is perfect. Only one kid, but that kid had friends, and played not one but two travel sports, soccer and softball. You haven't lived until you put a whole teams worth of gear and several team members in one car, had plenty of room for all of them and, with the help of the DVD player, kept them all quiet for a four hour trip to a tournament.

That kid is grown now, but I still drive the same Odyessy, which has 220 thousand miles on it. I am currently replacing the transmission, which while expensive, should get me at least another 100k. Other than that expense, the car has cost me very little and everything else in it still works great.

When the time comes to replace it, I can easily see me getting another one.

Dude, you're a dad now, anything you can do to make your life easier...you should do.

 

Yeah, it also helps you resist temptation. 'Cause none of the hotties are going to wink at you at the stoplight or anything.