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Goodbye to "Our Odyssey" RIP

3K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Offroad Minivan 
#1 · (Edited)
It is with sad news that I announce the departure of our beloved 2000 Honda Odyssey who passed at the age of 16. She joined our family shortly after the birth of our first daughter in September of 2000. Since that time it has carried our son home from the hospital in 2003. From there, it has taken us on countless trips, soccer and lacrosse games, swim and cross country meets. It has hauled U-Haul trailers, building materials, bags of mulch and countless groceries in stride.

At 193,823 miles, she was begging to show her age. Some dings and scrapes told the story of a life as a family hauler. Some rust was beginning to form around the rear wheels from safely delivering the family through salted snowy roads. She burned a little oil and some of it was being lost through a leaky main seal. However, the original transmission still performed (surprisingly) like a champ. A leaky power steering hose was just replaced last Wednesday. Surgery was being planned to replace an aging and rattling suspension and catalytic converter as well as giving the back end an upgrade to disc brakes over the upcoming weeks. The rust was to be taken care of as well in hopes that the van would carry on and make it well past 200,000 miles.

An ironic twist of fate has changed our plans for the van. The baby girl that we bought the van for grew up and received her drivers license this week. On one of her inaugural solo trips, she managed to run up a curb while making a right hand turn. Unfortunately, the brake became the accelerator and, in a test of physics, it was van versus tree. The tree, while a little scarred, won the battle. Upon impact, both air bags deployed and the left front frame crumpled about 4 to 6 inches to absorb the impact. In the end the van continued to perform its job as it sacrificed itself to protect that little baby girl it had dutifully carried the last 16 years. While emotionally upset, our daughter walked away without any physical damage.

While we are disappointed that we will not be able to see the odometer roll past 200,000 we will be moving on and parting with the van. Unfortunately, the cost and time to repair the damage plus the other needed maintenance far exceeds the market value of the van. So with a heavy heart it is time to move on.

Farewell "Our Odyssey."

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#5 ·
Thanks. Yes, the van served us well. We certainly got our money out of it, despite having to pay sticker due to crazy demand at the time. The good news also is that no one or other car was hurt. Also, due to my high deductible and low van value, it won't be reported and affect my or my daughters insurance.

Once we get a replacement, I'll post a thread in the for sale section to part it out before sending to the boneyard. Hopefully the van can live on in spirit and keep another Odyssey going!
 
#7 ·
Glad your family is okay. Thanks for sharing those memories.

OF
 
#8 ·
How long will you be parting it out? If you have time, you can make a bundle on selling the parts. I have first dib on the transmission range switch (PRNDL) if yours is working perfectly. If you are going to start dismantling th eengine, I want the contraption which includes the thermostat housing.
 
#9 ·
Glad your daughter is okay after the crash.

Funny how these older vans have much more sentimental and practical value than the blue book value.

Do you see another minivan in your future?

Dave
 
#11 ·
Our '00 was picked up with the main intention of becoming the test mule for a 16yo driver as yours had recently become, since both other cars have manual transmissions. I hope this is not a harbinger for us, especially since I may be interested in a good many parts of your driver's door, and I hope that kind of luck does not follow the parts.

Good to hear that the mistake wasn't in any way long-lasting on the human cargo.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all of the thoughts.

Right now, we're trying to decide on a replacement vehicle. We're leaning towards another Odyssey ('11-14) since we're not quite out of the mini-van stage with our kids. Plus, we use it quite a bit to haul things to a from the home improvement stores. I'm a bit nervous as it seems quality reports have gone a bit south on the newer vans whereas ours has been pretty rock solid. The alternatives are moving to a used CRV or Lexus RX if we think we skip the 3rd row.

@Sontakke & @thaxman I'll keep you in mind for the parts. Need to deal with the newer car first though.
 
#14 ·
The Odyssey is a safe car. For the 2011 model year, there were 0 driver fatalities in the Odyssey. My wife totalled our 2004 and walked away. Her driving skills is one reason I bought her a 2010 Odyssey. She is not allowed to drive my pride and joy, 1987 Jeep Cherokee that I've owned since 11/86. The Cherokee is not safe compared to the newer vehicles. Heck, I don't even know if my shoulder belt will lock up.
 
#17 ·
Not necessarily, I have 2 boys and a girl. The youngest is 20, none of them has been in an accident that was more than a fender bender and none their fault. Not counting the occasional snowbank hitting. They all learned on the Ody before moving to an old Civic to really learn alone. Low power car with high maneuverability, less anxiety for them on a 500 dollar car. Plus many hours practicing on snow covered parking lots with dad.
 
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