3Rd Row Seat vehicles..which Ones Are Good or Bad?

My dad is on his 2nd Dodge Caravan. He go the first in 1993ish. He loves them and hasn't had many issues with either one. My sister had his first one but has since run it into the ground. .
I drive a GMC Savana full size conversion van. I love my van but they are huge, gas guzzlers and a real pain to park sometimes. On the flipside I can walk standing up inside the van. And there is enough room between the children so they don't bother each other.

I just recently traded in my 2002 Chevy Venture. I honestly don't know what the overall track record is on that car, but I loved mine and got a lot of good use out of it. It was only in the shop for typical maintenance, never any problems. I know a lot of people who love their Honda Odysseys if you can find a used one in your price range.

Good luck,
K.

I feel like if I could have my best/all around favorite vehicle I would get a 2002 Chevy Venture Warner Brothers Edition. It has a built in DVD player and the surround sound stereo system. It has 3 individual seats in the middle row and a full 3 seat bench in the back that folds down and makes room for bikes, groceries, etc....We would travel and take out one of the middle seats and out an ice chest in it's place. One of the seats has an intergrated car seat that is easy to use and pretty comfortable.

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I am sending you a link to a 2000 that is for sale because it has a picture about 5 down that shows the seats I am talking about. Ours was newer but the seats made the biggest difference. it is seating for 8 instead of 7.

http://chico.reachoo.com/ads/88746421
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This one has 2 pages of reviews so be sure and click on the number on the bottom.

http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?makeid=9&mode...
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Anyway, since I need a car that has seating for 8 that is super comfortable the next vehicle I buy is going to be a Suburban.

We have a Ford Expedition (with the biggest V8 it came with) and have been really happy with it. No major issues with it at all. We have had ours since 2002 (it is a 2003 model year). We think we will buy another one if/when we have the resources to buy a new car. The only thing we'd change is getting captain seats in the 2nd row rather than a bench seat, to make it easier to get to the third row. If you end up hauling kids AND gear and use the third row, then there is not much space for luggage etc in the back, so you'd be looking at an Excursion in that case.

We have a GMC Yukon XL, and we love it. Forget looking through a dealership, though, because they don't usually carry the third row seating option. You'd have to pay extra for it. Look onling at websites like autotrader.com That's where we got ours, and we paid around $8,000.00 for ir. Granted, my husband had to drive to I think Massachusettes to get it, but it was worth it. Good luck in your search!

I have a Toyota Sequoia. It's very roomy, much bigger than the Tahoe's we looked at. I know Toyota's have gotten a lot of bad press lately, but you could probably get a steal on one because of it!

I have a 2005 Chevy Suburban and it is the best!

We love our MDX- we bought it used.

We love our 2004 Dodge Durango. It can seat up to 8. I suggest you check one out to see if its what you're looking for.

I am a minivan fan. Why suffer?

I have a Tahoe. I love it. It is so roomy inside.

I'd recommend comparing the vehicles you're interested in online through sites such as NADA, Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds or even via a subscription to Consumer Reports. The first 3 are free.

I'd be very careful looking into data from the highway safety institute on crash testing. We have a Honda Pilot (not available until 2003) which has a great rating for a 3rd row (along with the Acura MDX and the Ford Freestyle/Taurus X). With the exception of the Pilot, you're likely to find either of the others for less than $10K because of how recently they've been available.

The BEST place to buy a new car to know it's safe is CarMax. They won't put a car on the lot that they wouldn't drive themselves. I have a 2008 Taurus that was a comapny car and had been in 3 accidents (none my fault and none major - mostly paint work). They will buy it but will sell it at auction for parts instead of putting it on a lot.

Hope that helps and good luck!

We love our 2008 Acura MDX, it seats 7 and has plenty of room in all rows. I can sit in the 3rd row and not have my knees jammed into the seat in front of me. We bought it used, our first used car in MANY years. You can find a used one at pretty good deal. You will probably have to spend more than 10k but it is a solid SUV.