[SaabKen]

Hi all,

After a few months of kicking and screaming, I've finally surrendered to the idea of buying a minivan for the household, as 2nd car. Was really fightin' to get the '08 Highlander Hybrid. But missus just wouldn't budge, countering the 3rd row is too difficult for ingress/egress and with limited placement options for a child carseat, coupled with elderly grandparents to ferry, the minivan would be the inevitable solution and my fate.

Resistance is futile. The Odyssey shall ..... assimilate D

We'll be looking for a 1-3 yr-old EX-L or Touring in the next 4-6 weeks. DVD and leather are musts, Navi nice to have.

Cheers

 

[skinny2]

Good choice and smart to give her what she wants. We just shopped everything and the Highlander is a great vehicle...but horrible cargo space with the 3rd row up. Good luck getting a bag of groceries back there.

Happy wife...happy life.

 

[UmmGooD]

We just bought an '08 Touring model and it is awesome! I am already in love with it. You won't be disappointed. I think the problem for us will be getting rid of a van now when the kids are older. It is so convenient.

 

[pvkveeru]

Recently I took 2005 Ody Touring with 64400 miles, it's very good and I love it.

 

[Kenwood]

Just got a 2007 touring navi and love it so far. Luckily for me the van was recently CORRECTLY Depaxed by the PO. I was leaning towards exl nav-res because of the PAX system ..that is untill I came across this one. D

 

[SaabKen]

Thanks guys. Good to know there's a "support" group here

I'm a Saab fanatic, btw, as you can see by my handle. V. active on the Saab forums and in real-life Saab communities. Too bad Saab didn't make a minivan, or re-badge a GM one (there's a dark joke in there somewhere).

So the PAX tires are bad ? As in too expensive ? I read somewhere in Car & Driver long ago about it, something about it being an odd size that only Honda dealers carry. True ?

 

[wktjr]

Thanks guys. Good to know there's a "support" group here

I'm a Saab fanatic, btw, as you can see by my handle. V. active on the Saab forums and in real-life Saab communities. Too bad Saab didn't make a minivan, or re-badge a GM one (there's a dark joke in there somewhere).

So the PAX tires are bad ? As in too expensive ? I read somewhere in Car & Driver long ago about it, something about it being an odd size that only Honda dealers carry. True ?

You want to stay away PAX, non-standard size, cost etc. Search the forums, you'll find most of the answers to any question you have.

 

[fusionrx]

As you know from Saabcentral. I sold my 99 9-5 after it broke down for the fianl time, surrendered to the Ody-Borg, and picked up and 07 EX with 41k Miles. No leather, no navi, no DVD.

 

[fusionrx]

PAX are very expensive to replace ~1500 USD for a set of 4 if I recall correctly. Read the Sticky on Depaxing the right way.

 

[SaabKen]

Did some more research. Luckily Canadian-market Odys never came with PAX tires/wheels

 

[fusionrx]

Lucky for you

Any color preference? Silver pearl here, Baltic blue is NICE as well.

 

[SaabKen]

Lucky for you

Any color preference? Silver pearl here, Baltic blue is NICE as well.

Yeah the light blue (whatever it's called) is a real looker. But the dark blue one is good too, like my Midnight Blue 9000

Anything is fine, just not gold. Not into gold-colored anything ..... well, 'cept maybe gold itself D

 

[wktjr]

Did some more research. Luckily Canadian-market Odys never came with PAX tires/wheels

I saw that on the other thread, interesting. I was also interested in a late model touring, 08-10, but price and wanting to avoid the 3rd gen issues made me commit to a 2011. I still think the 3rd gen Tourings are one of the best looking vans out there.

 

[SaabKen]

I was also interested in a late model touring, 08-10, but price and wanting to avoid the 3rd gen issues made me commit to a 2011.

While at the Honda dealer today, I took some time to sit inside the '11. Man is it ever WIDE inside. Too bad I'm not a fan of the side profile design (door track, door handles) and to a minor extent the new front fascia. But the rear fascia is well done, better than the '08-'10 IMO. Although I actually prefer the cleaner tidier lines of the Gen-2, believe it or not.

 

[fusionrx]

The one thing that doesn't measure up is the sound system. Coming from the Saab's HK and Pioneer setups (which relatively speaking are really quite good), this was about my only let down in the Honda.

Fine for right now, but when time and $$ permit, I'll move to a better aftermarket system.

 

[fusionrx]

Yeah I go back on forth on the '11 design. For me, the car is actually smaller in the drivers side seating area.

When I sat in one I found that the center console intrudes more into the seating area. For someone my size (6'9", 280lbs), I need every inch I can get. I simply fit better in the 3rd gen units.

 

[dvpatel]

Yeah the light blue (whatever it's called) is a real looker. But the dark blue one is good too, like my Midnight Blue 9000

Honda has had trouble with the dark blue spanning both the 2nd and 3rd gen. Honda only recalled I believe upto 2005 models but I remember folks having trouble beyond the 2005 model year. Perhaps you can look it up on here. I would stay away from the Bali blues to prevent flaking blues later on down the line.

 

[wktjr]

While at the Honda dealer today, I took some time to sit inside the '11. Man is it ever WIDE inside. Too bad I'm not a fan of the side profile design (door track, door handles) and to a minor extent the new front fascia. But the rear fascia is well done, better than the '08-'10 IMO. Although I actually prefer the cleaner tidier lines of the Gen-2, believe it or not.

Yes, the styling can be polarizing, lot's of folks hate it or love it. I like it for it's "uniqueness". And, yes, the door track is too noticeable, you'd think they could at least come up with design that avoided such a large gap. I think the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gens all look good from behind, but I'll leave it at that. I loved my '02, ran great, stuck like glue but I thought it was a ticking bomb, if the tranny went or any other major repair, I'd have to spend a ton of money for van that was only worth $4500-$5000.

When I was researching, I found a '08 EX-L with RES and NAV, it's the only one I found with that combo. It was red, 34000 miles and the dealer wanted $27,000. Also the dealer posted some hi-res photo's, it looked incredible. But, I don't need RES or NAV (for some of the reasons other have stated in other posts) but if bought used, I wanted all the bells and whistles. In the end, I ended up spending the same amount for a 2011 (with trade). Will the 4 gen have their own issues, most likely, and I went against my own credo of buying in the first year of production, but when I would list out the reasons "not to buy" vs. "buy now", the later kept winning, so I did.

The one thing that doesn't measure up is the sound system. Coming from the Saab's HK and Pioneer setups (which relatively speaking are really quite good), this was about my only let down in the Honda.

Fine for right now, but when time and $$ permit, I'll move to a better aftermarket system.

I agree, the sound system doesn't overwhelm me, but my audiophile days are long behind me, so it's good enough for me and my wife could care less.

Yeah I go back on forth on the '11 design. For me, the car is actually smaller in the drivers side seating area.

When I sat in one I found that the center console intrudes more into the seating area. For someone my size (6'9", 280lbs), I need every inch I can get. I simply fit better in the 3rd gen units.

Wow, that's something most people wouldn't even think of.

 

[melvinh]

Just traded in the 08 for 11. Surprised how much value the Odyssey is holding. Bought 08 for 36000. Trade in for about 25000. Both are Touring model. I know I can get about 28000 at least if sell it myself, but then, I have to pay tax to buy off from lease and etc... It will be only in hundreds difference. I figure that after warraty, if a major repair hit us, it can be in thousands. So, we took the bite and get the 11 Touring.

We still try to adjust from 08 to 11. For some areas, I actually think 08 Odyssey is better design. For example, the first row center console that folds down. Overall, I think 2011 is major improvement on luxury side over convenient side.

As far as sound system, 08 Touring system is fine but not great. 11 Touring system great. Much better design sound system.

Yes, the styling can be polarizing, lot's of folks hate it or love it. I like it for it's "uniqueness". And, yes, the door track is too noticeable, you'd think they could at least come up with design that avoided such a large gap. I think the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gens all look good from behind, but I'll leave it at that. I loved my '02, ran great, stuck like glue but I thought it was a ticking bomb, if the tranny went or any other major repair, I'd have to spend a ton of money for van that was only worth $4500-$5000.

When I was researching, I found a '08 EX-L with RES and NAV, it's the only one I found with that combo. It was red, 34000 miles and the dealer wanted $27,000. Also the dealer posted some hi-res photo's, it looked incredible. But, I don't need RES or NAV (for some of the reasons other have stated in other posts) but if bought used, I wanted all the bells and whistles. In the end, I ended up spending the same amount for a 2011 (with trade). Will the 4 gen have their own issues, most likely, and I went against my own credo of buying in the first year of production, but when I would list out the reasons "not to buy" vs. "buy now", the later kept winning, so I did.



I agree, the sound system doesn't overwhelm me, but my audiophile days are long behind me, so it's good enough for me and my wife could care less.



Wow, that's something most people wouldn't even think of.

 

[wktjr]

Just traded in the 08 for 11. Surprised how much value the Odyssey is holding. Bought 08 for 36000. Trade in for about 25000. Both are Touring model. I know I can get about 28000 at least if sell it myself, but then, I have to pay tax to buy off from lease and etc... It will be only in hundreds difference. I figure that after warraty, if a major repair hit us, it can be in thousands. So, we took the bite and get the 11 Touring.

My dealer gave me $6000 for my '02, which is 25% over what everyone else was hinting at. That was more to seal the deal, not because used ody's are holding their value better. As I mentioned to the dealers I was negotiating with, trade-in value is just a number and this just proved it. But, I did go with a high volume dealer and they can afford to make better deals.

Fortunately, (or not, depending on you point of view) my wife is not a car person. She's a "turn the key, put it in "D" " driver. As long as the A/C, heat and radio work, she's fine. I could of made the commitment to a Touring but paying for the bling would have been a waste of money for me since my wife wouldn't use it. If it was my daily driver, things would be different.

Enjoy your van.