Used Cars: Question 3

Question
QUESTION: Not sure if this will help, but I forgot to mention the following :
-I really love my car and wouldn't sell if it weren't for the fact that I need a van for the kids.  However, if you think I should just keep it,  I'll suck it up and try to deal with a smaller car.
-The car is in excellent condition.
- I would greatly appreciate it if you could possibly provide names of any vans that I should purchase with the money I get from selling my car. Buying actually makes me nervous so I'll try to read up on it ahead of time.  
Thanks again.
Serenity

ANSWER: Hi Serenity,

Personally I would scrap the van idea and get an SUV if you really couldn't make the Yaris work.

Toyota Hilanders are pretty hot right now, so are Honda CRV's, Ford Escapes (especially the Hybrid), Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse and the most under appreciated SUV's on the market today .... any of the Buick's.

Minivans are all fairly good except for the Ford offerings. I put my own mother into a Chrysler Town and Country, avoid Chevrolet's in the van department and don't let anyone convince you that the Japanese make better minivans ...and don't allow yourself to pay too much of a premium if you do decide on one. The truth of the matter is this: Most of the cars being built today will give you 200k miles ...all you have to do is change the oil and properly maintain the vehicle.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So from my understanding from your first reply,is that folks in the northeast will be willing to pay me around $8,000 On Craigslist?  
And my understanding on the second reply is that it might be better off staying with the yaris, however if I want bigger I should just get am SUV? So my next question would be this:
Are most vans smaller than SUVs? I really like how many seats the van has to offer.  I also like the trunk space, etc. I  would only be interested in buying it used however.  Folks are saying the Odyssey had transmission issues. And that the Sienna had engine problems. I really know nothing about cars! Thanks for your input,  I really appreciate your time.
Serenity

Answer
That is essentially correct however the main point I was trying to make was in order to buy a different car the smartest possible way you need to sell your trade in yourself and put the extra 2-3k into your pocket and not the dealers. The dealer has 3 big sticks he can use to beat you with:

1) You have a trade he can beat down and take in for less than its actual cash value
2) You show up needing financing with nothing already worked out with your credit union for the dealers options to compete with -
3) The price of the car

All three of these can be extremely effective in creating gross profit for the dealer.

2) I was just thinking that being up in the cold northeast portion of the US that a 4x4 might be a safer and better buy for you and your children than a front wheel drive minivan ...although they don't do poorly on snow and rain.

3) You can get SUV's that will seat as many people as a minivan.

4) The reason I put my mother into a Chrysler T and C van was specifically because the Odyssey STILL has tranny issues (16 years of bad transmissions with no end in sight) and the Sienna has problems with the engine losing power and the tranny doing a funky downshift thing.

5) You can buy a whole lot of used SUV or Chrysler minivan for 8k.

My advice: God drive a few around this weekend ...drive a couple of minivans..drive a Ford Explorer and a Tahoe and maybe a crossover type of rig and see which one you like the best. Then report back and lets see where that takes us.

Keep em coming