Saying goodbye, it's a sad day...

You've got another 10-15 hp over my '02 Odyssey. I love the thing! It handles great for such a large vehicle and you'll be amazed at how much it can carry just behind the rear seats. You even have the power to blast past lots of "fast" cars.



You may want to check out www.odyclub.com - a site devoted to our beloved minivans.
 
KevinA thanks for the heads up on the Odyclub forum. I actually already had a chance to visit and take a peek at it already - good information. We're really diggin the Odyssey so far!
 
Like Spoiledman said, it takes a responsible man to do the right thing when it comes to a family vehicle. You chose a great minivan.

I do, however, still have to listen to my folks whine about having to give up the GTO when I was born. At least you will always have great memories of the Porsche since you probably have not had to deal with any problems with it. (not that they are prone to many)
 
Maybe I missed it, but if you have an 05' Explorer why sell the P-car and pick up an Odyssey? I had an 03' Mercury Mountaineer Premier Edition and loved it. Drove great for still being based on a real truck frame, and was 2wd with the 4.6 V8 and 3.73 gears. Had true duals, headers, intake, tuner etc. Was pretty damn quick and got great mileage for a V8.
 
I had to suck it up because my wife can't drive a manual and you can only get 1 car seat into a Porsche. When my wife would take off with her car, i.e. the Explorer, and leave me home with the kids, I would essentially be stuck - I couldn't take both kids out with me.



So instead of go for a high performance sedan, which I did think of by the way, i.e. Audi S4 Avant, BMW 545i, Audi A6 (whitejavas500 - not much of a Merc fan myself), I feel like I did the fiscally and family responsible thing and got the Odyssey.



I don't regret it at all. Just another chapter in my life and the opportunities for another 'fun' car will be there again. Who knows maybe in the next 1.5 - 2 years we'll dump the Explorer and get back into a proper German automobile.
 
Let us know how you like the Odyssey once you have some miles on it.



And yeah, it's not like you can never buy another vehicle or anything ;)
 
We will be taking our first road trip on Monday, i.e. Metro Detroit to Virginia Beach. Trip should be about 750 miles one way so I'll get a real feel for it after 1500 miles on it. I'll definitely be sure to post about our first big road trip with the 2 kiddies.



Had Venture Shield installed as well (I've had xpel, invinca shield, and stongard on all of my other vehicles as well). Good installation but don't like how the lower bumper was 2 pieces vs. 1 piece. Oh well, at least I got it on before the road trip.



I'll be going through a full detail this weekend to get ready for the road trip. I think I'm going to go back to Zaino for this one for now. Paint is in good condition but I'll clay and run Sonus Paintwork Cleanser with my PC on it prior to Z2 app.
 
Good idea on the Zaino. I use KSG on the MPV just for the durability, no point in redoing minvans on a regular basis, it's a pretty big job (but then you're used to doing the SUV, huh?).



Oh, and just a :xyxthumbs for doing, as you put it, "the fiscally and family responsible thing".
 
Hey man, you did the right thing. You saved your wifes back and on a road trip, you will be happy with the ride and the room, as will the kids. As you said, you can always pick up another German car down the road.



By the way, did you get the DVD option? For long road trips, I highly recommend it. And your sealant plan is the perfect option.



Last point, went to a Pre-Indy 500 race party last year, lots of celebs, valet parking, the whole thing. We took some friends who were in town and drove our Odyssey. Pulled in and saw Jags, Bentleys, Merc, Lexus, etc. Valet parked us, we went in and met a bunch of ESPN people by the bar, and spent the evening talking sports. When we left, my wife had lost our Valet ticket. The Valet told us we would have to wait while they went out and looked. I told him, "I will bet you all the money in my pocket, and max out a credit card, that I have the only minivan here." He said<"OH, YOU drive the minivan." Two minutes later, my van pulled up. The Valet said, Hey that's pretty nice." Some one yelled out, "Hey, nice van." My wife replied, "Yeah and we can watch Sponge Bob on the way home!"



Trust me, the van works out.
 
OH NO! Don't get rid of your 996 for a "VAN-GINA" :p Find a more clreative way to obtain the darn thing so you can keep your "P" car, that's unless you had a problem with RMS.



After finally getting my new 997 C2S in from spec (wait was killer) it's everything I've always wanted in a serious sports car.



Oh yea, the term "VAN-GINA" comes down to the same... You open the door and kids pop out!



Regards,

Deanski
 
I have friends who love their van and they have a Grand Cherokee too. They want to get rid of the GC becasue it doesnt have enough room for them and 2 kids? I dont get it?



Im glad you are happy with your choice, but I feel your pain. I recently had to sell my M3 because my wife had to have a new house and we hadnt sold our old house yet. ITs looking like it may be a while before I have another M in the driveway. Hopefully in a few years you can get into another P-car.
 
SamIam - As a former Hoosier, I used to live in Fishers, I had a chance to go to the F1 party a couple of years ago myself. I know exactly what you are talking about, I was driving a BMW 330i at that time and my friend was in his 996. We rolled up and there were Astons, Ferraris, Bentleys, and Lambos in front of the building but wouldn't you know it, no mini-vans parked in the front.



Deanski- Yes, I pulled the trigger on the Van-Gina. And yes, I was lucky (can you sense the sarcasm) enough to have my car go in for 3 RMS problems, almost 1 year apart on each one. I love your choice in the 997 C2S, I read your thread when you were taking delivery. I know exactly how you felt when you took delivery. It's unlike anything when you first take her for a drive knowing she's yours!



Well here's an update on our Odyssey. We took our first road trip this past week, a 13 hour road trip from Metro Detroit to Virginia Beach, VA. Just before the trip I had Invisible Patterns (clear bra) installed for the road trip. Also applied an initial coat of Z2 just prior to the trip.



The Verdict: The Odyssey was awesome for the trip. I'm looking forward to more in the future! Comfortable ride, DVD kept the kids quiet, and the Navigation system got us there in 1 piece. We stopped about 6 times on the way down and on the way back up but I thought we made really good time in both instances. We ended up averaging about 26 MPG with 4 adults, 2 kiddies, and the A/C on the whole way down. I could've squeezed 500 miles out of the 21 gallon tank easily so I'm pretty happy with the gas mileage. The comforts of the van were indispensable, i.e. power sliding doors, power liftgate, rear climate control, easy seat configuration, etc. And the ride was silky smooth, when there wasn't potholes obviously.



I am so happy with this decision on the van and so is the Misses. I know it's not the Macho thing to do trading the P-car in for a van but I don't regret it one bit. :bigups
 
you should be able to get 2 car seats in the 996? There are plenty of threads on car seats over at rennlist regarding the appropriate ones for 911s.
 
Glad to hear you're happy with it and that you're sure you did the right thing :xyxthumbs



There are some vehicles that just do some jobs better than anything else will; good for you, buying the right one for the job at hand.
 
As one who is at the tail end of a 2003 Honda Odyssey lease, with 3 kids, a dog, and (yes) a wife, I must say that they are great for the family. However, I must (in good fun) disagree with anyone who says a minivan of any type rocks! IMHO, there is absolutely nothing less cool than pulling up at a stoplight in a minivan. It could be the nicest, most fully loaded minivan on the planet, but the outside just says "mini...van". :chuckle: Our kids are 8, 6, and 4. Our lease expires in November. I am pretty confident we will just lease a new Odyssey. Ooooh, what excitement... :sadpace: . That having been said, I commend you on your responsible trade. Good job.
 
Speaking of Oddysseys, on our last trip to the Greenbrier (I-64 through WVA), a new-looking Oddyssey was keeping up with the S8 quite well. I gotta say that I was impressed, though I suspect its driver was really working at it and I wondered how his passengers felt about the whole thing. I leave pretty large safety margins when I'm driving fast, and he was able to stay right behind me until we got to areas where I suspect he was running out of brakes. We weren't pulling any big numbers, but at no-jail-time speeds that thing was doing really well for a minivan and was passing the other traffic like it was standing still.
 
Accumulator, you're going to have to drive one. My 2000 is the least powerful of the "larger" Odysseys. 2002's and up get 5 speed auto's and 240hp through '04. 05's and up get ~250hp along with the 5 speed auto. We simply couldn't keep pace with an '05 or '06 Touring on the highway without really pushing our van. It's not race car but it's not a bore to drive either.
 
Heh heh, trouble with driving one is that I might want to *own* one. Spending 30K to trade the MPV would be a bit much since I only use it to haul the dogs to/from the park ;) And the Oddyssey *is* a lot bigger...that MPV is big enough when it comes time to wash it using my methods!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top