The minivan was imported here by Pacific Coast Auto. Here is a detailed video they made at the dock.
Then, in July 2016, it was sold by a Las Vegan for $7300. It ended up in Washington state and was sold at the last auction for $6000.
Why did I stop at $3500? The biggest issue was registration. Although the van was more than 25 years old, I could not register it in California. Under state smog rules, the van had to be a make and model sold here at the time it was new. Though it is essentially a Previa, it is still nevertheless an Estima. The Estima was never sold here. I could not register it legitimately.
A minor issue that may have become a bigger issue is the placement of the steering wheel and sliding door. If this was going to be a family hauler, a steering wheel on the other side would have made passing unsafe. In addition, loading and unloading the Golden Boy(tm) on the opposite side of the van-- where he would be exposed to traffic if we parked it on the street-- would also be inconvenient/hazardous.
Hence, no Estima.
Postscript: It looks more and more likely that we're getting the i3. I just have not had the time to sign up for an extended two-day test drive.