The wife and I have been thinking of trading in the TCH for a minivan for our growing family. The current gas prices changed our minds, since I have a daily 100 mile r/t commute, and we figured the hybrid was the best for my commute. However, a thread on another website made me interested in finding out the current value of my 07TCH with 50k miles, so I took a look at Autotrader.com this morning. There are several 07 TCH's with over 30k miles on them, base models (no leather, no NAV, and no moonroof) which are listed for $33k+!!! Now of course those cars might never sell at that asking price, but I wouldn't have even imagined that they would be listed for that much. With all the upgrades I've put into my car (see my signature), if I could sell it for the mid-to-high 20's, then I would strongly have to consider it and getting the minivan that my family really needs. I paid $24.5k (after the tax credit) so I would be making a small profit plus I got two years usage of the car, plus two years of gas savings from the Cadillac that I traded out of. Based on the threads about wait lists for TCH, and 6-8 week delivery times from the factory, it looks like everyone is trying to get into a hybrid or a compact car. I guess it's just like the stock market... buy low and sell high!

 

Well.........having owned my 2007 TCH for almost a year now, it's good to know i bought one way before they became such a hot comodity. It's a great car and was when i bought it and gas was only $2.50-$3.00 a gal and is even more in demand now that gas is way over $4/gal. I had been looking at hybrids for over a year before i bought one. I waited about 4 weeks for mine after finding one. I have been happy with it..........and it's also paid for now. That's even better!!

 

Unless you will have more than three children soon or three children in car seats (which make it challenging to fit them in the rear seats), you should hold off on minivanning.

I have both a minivan and a TCH and find that I rarely really need the van. It sits kind of idle these days (it is a gas guzzling Sienna)

 

I have worse... two child seats and a large golden retriever. And the new double-stroller we just got doesn't fit in the half-trunk of the TCH, I think it might have trouble fitting in the full trunk of a regular Camry. So I think a minivan is inevitable in my short-term future...

 

What about the Highlander hybrid?

 

I know what you're saying. I can barely get a regular full size single stroller in and I never even thought about trying to get the double (inline) stroller in as I just knew it wouldn't fit. I have to kids and a Boxer. The car seats fit great in the back seat.

We have a Ford Freestar. We got it right before our first son was born. My wife like the minivans more than a SUV. If we were to get another one I think it would be the Sienna. I know that minivans are being phased out by many manufacturers but I wish they would make a hybrid version.

 

I would second the motion for a Hilander Hybrid. Plenty of room for people, pets and packing as well as relatively good mileage (for an SUV) and still has towing capacity.

 

Wow, I checked out some of the listings on Autotrader.com and was blown away. It's hard to believe cars are actually selling at such a premium over "book value". Makes me glad I bought a new car replacement cost rider on my insurance policy. If my car is totalled out, my insurance will pay the cost to replace with a new car. That way I don't have to haggle over what "fair market value" is, and have to worry about whether I can buy a used TCH for what the insurance company will pay.

 

i found mine at a toyota dealer used with 6k miles on it. actually very please with what i paid. The prices are getting really high and i will say that was one of the reasons that helped me make the decision, the resale on it will likely be pretty good when I look at the Chevy Volt in a few years (maybe)

 

Toyota makes a hybrid minivan for the Japanese market so it's only a matter of time 'til it hits U.S.