finally found a decent car to buy!

[kokopelli]

patience paid off- found a 1995 Honda Odyssey with 99,200 miles on it- one owner bought by an old lady new, always garage kept and dealer serviced. I got all the paperwork with it including the original purchase papers and every receipt for everything done to it, including all new tires recently and all required maintenance. She died last month and it was sold from her estate.
The car is pristine. I wasn't looking for a mini-van, but I couldn't pass it up.

Here she is in all the 90's glory of 'Azure Blue-Green Pearl'.

p.s.- Honda classified this as a '4 door wagon' instead of a mini-van. It makes me feel a little better...

[jackalo626]

The passenger doors open on a hinge and don't slide so I say it's not a mini van either. Hondas are great.

[SNL]

I drove an 06 odyssey once. Really liked it. I think it had slide doors tho...but i love slider doors.

Yup.....never pass up pristine!

[Marcus]

There was an article in Grassroots Motorsports where they autocrossed a Jaguar xke and a Porsche 356 versus a Honda Odyssey minivan(sorry "wagon"). The Honda won. It was entertaining if nothing else.

[burn360]

mini vans are the black hawks of the streets

[Dave1965]

Except some of the honda odysseys had transmission problems

[kokopelli]

Except some of the honda odysseys had transmission problems

99-up were called 'glass tranny' Hondas. My in-laws had one, an '02 or 03 I believe and had 5 transmission replacements under warranty, which put them into the Lemon zone and Honda had to extend a lifetime warranty on the tranny after that for them. All Hondas from 99 for the Accord and 00 for the Civic through 05 or 06 I think had crap trannys.

Mine is the 1st Gen Odyssey. I've been researching everything I can on these and it seems that it is widely held that they are the most reliable longest lasting Honda ever made.

[Dave1965]

I have an 05 honda accord
but 220k miles

[Niceguy]

I have a 95 civic with 209k on it. It had less than 150k Jan 2012 when I moved to where I live now though.

[nemo]

patience paid off- found a 1995 Honda Odyssey with 99,200 miles on it- one owner bought by an old lady new, always garage kept and dealer serviced. I got all the paperwork with it including the original purchase papers and every receipt for everything done to it, including all new tires recently and all required maintenance. She died last month and it was sold from her estate.
The car is pristine. I wasn't looking for a mini-van, but I couldn't pass it up.

Here she is in all the 90's glory of 'Azure Blue-Green Pearl'.

p.s.- Honda classified this as a '4 door wagon' instead of a mini-van. It makes me feel a little better...

I don't care about stories or service records, I refuse to pay HIGH USED retail prices just because its a Honda or Toyota. It's still a HIGH mileage used car.

[Toddstang]

Built in partnership with Mercury/Ford

[jackalo626]

patience paid off- found a 1995 Honda Odyssey with 99,200 miles on it- one owner bought by an old lady new, always garage kept and dealer serviced. I got all the paperwork with it including the original purchase papers and every receipt for everything done to it, including all new tires recently and all required maintenance. She died last month and it was sold from her estate.
The car is pristine. I wasn't looking for a mini-van, but I couldn't pass it up.

Here she is in all the 90's glory of 'Azure Blue-Green Pearl'.

p.s.- Honda classified this as a '4 door wagon' instead of a mini-van. It makes me feel a little better...

I don't care about stories or service records, I refuse to pay HIGH USED retail prices just because its a Honda or Toyota. It's still a HIGH mileage used car.

He didn't pay a "high used" price for it and it being a Honda or Toyota makes it more valuable when it gets higher mileage than other brands because they actually have life left in them vs some of the other brands that I call disposable because they aren't worth fixing.

[nemo]

Sorry, I just don't buy into that bullshit. Your mileage may vary, check local listings. That's just my opinion.

[jackalo626]

Sorry, I just don't buy into that bullshit. Your mileage may vary, check local listings. That's just my opinion.

Bullshit? How many 300,000 mile cavalier or neons do you see on the road and how many civics are there? No bullshit here just reality. Once again he said he got a deal which is the opposite of what you keep saying about not paying too much. You seem to have a preconceived notion that he paid a lot because its a Honda which is the opposite of what he said.

[kokopelli]

Well I paid $3,500 for it, and it needs absolutely nothing done to it. I have the receipts from Swope where she took it proving every recommended service done to it- oil changes, coolant, tranny and even brake fluid flushes. .and most importantly timing belt and water pump change with all new belts, seals and hoses.
Take a look at the used car market for under 5k and there is nothing under 100,000 miles that isn't junk or has a rebuilt title plus being junk.
NADA value for a 'good' 95 Odyssey was more than I paid and this one is two grades higher at 'excellent' and shows 4,000 private sale, and over 5,000 at a stealership.

[Niceguy]

I would say that was a damn good purchase Koko! Don't listen to Nemo, he drives a Chrysler minivan with a "Cowboys butts drive me nuts!" bumper sticker... haha

[Frailer]

...Take a look at the used car market for under 5k and there is nothing under 100,000 miles that isn't junk or has a rebuilt title plus being junk...

Truth.

Last month I was shopping for a car to replace my daughter's Corolla that a kid backed his jacked-up F250 into (thankfully, she wasn't in it at the time). My original budget was $7K, but I ended up paying $8500. Reliable, reasonably-priced cars with relatively low mileage are rarer now than I've ever seen them.

I think you did well. But it *is* a minivan.

[nemo]

Not nocking the deal or the purchase. Just the blanket statement "it's a ________ and even though its got XXX,XXX mile on it and looks and smells like a hungry bear was trapped inside for a week KBB says that it is worth this much". Same as as someone trying to sell a gun that the rifling is shot out and has cracked grips and fires most of the time if its oiled right. Just saying that just because its a ________ , it's not a pile of gold.

[bigelowe]

...Take a look at the used car market for under 5k and there is nothing under 100,000 miles that isn't junk or has a rebuilt title plus being junk...

Truth.

Last month I was shopping for a car to replace my daughter's Corolla that a kid backed his jacked-up F250 into (thankfully, she wasn't in it at the time). My original budget was $7K, but I ended up paying $8500. Reliable, reasonably-priced cars with relatively low mileage are rarer now than I've ever seen them.

I think you did well. But it *is* a minivan.

This^^^^^
I have been looking for 2 monthz for a "nice" SUV for my son to start driving. It almost turned into an obsession, craigslist, autotrader and cars.com websites 2-3 times a day . Forget anything under $7k . Im not sure if its better to buy junk Nd work on it everyweekend or pay more and pray he doesnt beat tje hell out of it or wreck it.

[jackalo626]

...Take a look at the used car market for under 5k and there is nothing under 100,000 miles that isn't junk or has a rebuilt title plus being junk...

Truth.

Last month I was shopping for a car to replace my daughter's Corolla that a kid backed his jacked-up F250 into (thankfully, she wasn't in it at the time). My original budget was $7K, but I ended up paying $8500. Reliable, reasonably-priced cars with relatively low mileage are rarer now than I've ever seen them.

I think you did well. But it *is* a minivan.

Not a minivan by definition but you have the right to call it the incorrect name all day if it makes you feel better.

[Niceguy]

We can all thank the "cash for clunkers" bullshit for the pitiful used car market... It has KILLED the auto parts market, salvage yards, used car sales market, repair shops and even the dealer parts market. Also as anyone in the used car market can attest, it has really hurt that market as well...

[bigelowe]

We can all thank the "cash for clunkers" bullshit for the pitiful used car market... It has KILLED the auto parts market, salvage yards, used car sales market, repair shops and even the dealer parts market. Also as anyone in the used car market can attest, it has really hurt that market as well...

That is exactly what I have been telling everyone. thanks again obamy

[Dave1965]

Yes I know a guy who ran a local used car lot that said it put him out of business.

[Winner]

We can all thank the "cash for clunkers" bullshit for the pitiful used car market... It has KILLED the auto parts market, salvage yards, used car sales market, repair shops and even the dealer parts market. Also as anyone in the used car market can attest, it has really hurt that market as well...

And people's thinking that if it's not NEW it is JUNK! Besides, how many people are able to do any of their own repair work anymore? New car warranties are 7-10 years and scrap prices have been high with the metal going to China. How many county fairs don't have demolition derbies anymore , because there aren't any junk cars to be found.

[JustShootIt]

A lot of factors account for the used car market value. I'll agree that cash for clunkers was a big contributor, however, junk prices shooting thru the roof a few years ago, along with the simple fact that people are keeping cars longer also play a huge role.