We are fairly certain my 2016 EcoDiesel with 180k is done for, or at least at a point where we're not willing to sink additional money into it. Just waiting for confirmation. Not looking good when it dies cruising down the interstate and there's oil spewing, and it was already in need of over 2k in repairs and maintenance that we were about to do.

Our needs have changed greatly since the Ram so Kia Carnival is very likely to be the next vehicle. Fortunately we have a backup beater so we're not in a rush and can wait for the right deal. Does Kia historically run deals worth waiting for during the holidays? Would be looking at SX or SX prestige, and willing to travel nationally for purchase. Have found a few dealers nationally running about 10% off MSRP as a month of November Black Friday.

And I guess separately, what the hell do I do with the EcoDiesel? Never had a non-running vehicle to get rid of...

LS swap?

AlphaBean said:

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And I guess separately, what the hell do I do with the EcoDiesel? Never had a non-running vehicle to get rid of...

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I sold my non-running (engine was fine but transmission was fubar) 2012 Jeep Compass to a wrecking yard for scrap. The local Jeep dealer told me a new transmission would cost $12,000 and couldn't get one in country until November 2020 (this was pre-Covid).

This was in December 2019 when I was leaving Australia and I just needed one less thing to deal with during my move back to the USA. The wrecking yard gave me $500 and towed it away "for free". Hopefully here in the USA and not under time constraints, you'll have better luck.

Hooray, we finally got a minivan buyer!

No clue on incentives, or where you are located, but I have heard positive things about Fort Bend Kia in Rosenberg.

Is there any reason why you are only looking at the Kia Carnival? I bought a 2021 Honda Odyssey new and we have driven it 65k miles and have had 0 problems. The interior room in the Honda is awesome, and I'm not sure about your family, but my son just turned 15 and is a big dude, and he fits comfortably in the third row and actually prefers to ride back there on long road trips. We've easily picked up him and three of his friends and had no issues with space. I trust the reliability of Hondas more than Kia. That's just my unsolicited two cents.

HollywoodBQ said:

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AlphaBean said:

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And I guess separately, what the hell do I do with the EcoDiesel? Never had a non-running vehicle to get rid of...

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I sold my non-running (engine was fine but transmission was fubar) 2012 Jeep Compass to a wrecking yard for scrap. The local Jeep dealer told me a new transmission would cost $12,000 and couldn't get one in country until November 2020 (this was pre-Covid).

This was in December 2019 when I was leaving Australia and I just needed one less thing to deal with during my move back to the USA. The wrecking yard gave me $500 and towed it away "for free". Hopefully here in the USA and not under time constraints, you'll have better luck.

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I was surprised to receive an offer of $1500 for essentially this. I was thinking we'd be lucky to get 500. Waiting on a few other offers but all things considered I'd be happy with this. I am not allowing myself to think about how much we would have gotten had we traded it in just a couple weeks ago when we briefly entertained the idea...

Shumba said:

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Is there any reason why you are only looking at the Kia Carnival? I bought a 2021 Honda Odyssey new and we have driven it 65k miles and have had 0 problems. The interior room in the Honda is awesome, and I'm not sure about your family, but my son just turned 15 and is a big dude, and he fits comfortably in the third row and actually prefers to ride back there on long road trips. We've easily picked up him and three of his friends and had no issues with space. I trust the reliability of Hondas more than Kia. That's just my unsolicited two cents.

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The honest answer? My pride. :P The Carnival is the only minivan I will consider. I want a diesel Tahoe. I'm a truck gal at heart. Our beater is my 2007 Ho. But a 20k+ price difference and this stage of life with 2 in rear facing car seats makes the Tahoe (or any 3 row SUV) impractical. Not only does the Odyssey look like a minivan, it doesn't have ceiling air vents for the rear facing babes. The oldest already regularly complained about being hot in the back of the Ram even with its floor vents. The Carnival works for us now and long term as they grow.

2022 Carnival owner here and it's been great for our family so far with almost 50k on it. Love the space, mpg is pretty good, and can't belong doors. Bought ours from Jeff Belzer Kia in Minnesota during the pandemic when most dealers in Texas were trying to charge $6k over MSRP and they were $3k under. I flew into Minneapolis (have family there) and drove it home. Their pricing is no-haggle and very straightforward even listed right on the website

Also, there's a hybrid version now which is intriguing but the reviews are not as good as the V6 so you might not like that if coming from a truck or larger SUV

neutics said:

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2022 Carnival owner here and it's been great for our family so far with almost 50k on it. Love the space, mpg is pretty good, and can't beat sliding doors. Bought ours from Jeff Belzer Kia in Minnesota during the pandemic when most dealers in Texas were trying to charge $6k over MSRP and they were $3k under. I flew into Minneapolis (have family there) and drove it home. Their pricing is no-haggle and very straightforward even listed right on the website

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2024 Carnival owner here, we love it. Our first minivan, and I hate that we waited so long. Bought completely through email/text/phone from Classic Kia in Beaumont; they delivered to CS for free and we signed the paperwork in my kitchen.

Accepted an offer of 3325 for the truck. Covers taxes and registration on the new one so major win!

First thing I thought of when I saw the thread title.

We had an Odyssey for 16 years and 242k miles. My son and me laughed like crazy during the whole Odyssey sequence in that movie.

Not familiar with Kia, although my brother in law has a Hyundai