Vehicle Shopping advice

[throwittoblythe]

We just went through this ourselves. We have one kiddo and are considering a second. I have a car for a daily driver and my wife stays home. We tried four vehicles: ford escape, Mazda CX-5, Mazda CX-9, and Nissan Murano (all used).

We ultimately went with the cx9. The other vehicles were nice but just too small. My wife really liked the murano but it was too expensive for what you got. We found a 2014 cx9 at carmax with 30k miles. We like it so far. I just loaded it up with supplies for my first spring project and easily fit 8ft boards in the back. The three rows of seats would easily fit 3 car seats.

 

[Cybirdy]

Do you drive with the kids often? And do you have your own car seats for your car, or do you switch them out? I would also look at the smallest car seats (width-wise). Your oldest can be in a high back booster and there used to be a cheap (but highly recommended) car seat that was not as wide as most. Then you would need the base for the infant carrier. Trying to find the most compact car seats may help as well. Google "three carseats across" if you are looking to get them all in the same row. You will find that even in large vehicles you may not be able to fit three seats in one row depending on what you have.

As for vehicles, I don't have much advice. We have 4 kids and a van, and hubby's vehicle is Chevy Malibu. Aside from once in awhile throwing a booster in there for older kids, we have never needed/used car seats in his vehicle. We are now down to one booster and one car seat, and in a pinch we can do two boosters if needed.

 

[brianhos]

If you plan on keeping it a while, you should look for something with a 3rd row.

 

[iowa_wildcat]

usedcarguy is being nice and telling it like it is. I spent 23 years selling cars and witnessed often what he talks about. Dads buy a SUV because they cannot handle the stigma of driving a total family vehicle. Within a short time they regret their decision but are too proud to admit it to anyone but their car guy. Nothing is more comfortable,has more usable room, and gets better mileage than a minivan. There is a reason why all the car dealerships use minivans as their shuttle vehicle.

 

[capitalcityguy]

Just get another minivan. There is ZERO practical advantage in buying an SUV….ZERO…..doing so is simply done because you don’t want another minivan. It is an emotional decision.

SUV’s are extremely popular because we tend to be emotional, not practical, car buyers. Demand for SUVs are very high right now.

This means SUVs vs minivan tend to be higher priced and offer fewer reasons for a dealer to discount. Also besides paying more on the onset, compared to minivans, SUVs:

* tend to depreciate faster
* have higher insurance rates
* have higher maintenance costs

(waiting for someone to come in with the one-day-every-3-year- snow storm story that makes SUVs far superior).

Disclosure: we only have one kid, so we did ended up going with a compact SUV for our family. From a practical standpoint, it does fit better in our 2-stall garage and secondly, we simply don’t need that much room. That said, I would have gone with a comparable sized sedan and gotten the same amount of room and saved a couple thousand dollars, but I got vetoed from the wife because “she likes to sit up higher”. (again…emotional reasoning….but at some point a guy has to simply cut his losses and live to fight another day.)

Also, congrats on paying cash for your cars! I feel pretty certain had we financed our last purchase, we would have gone with the much performed Nissan Murano but because we’d saved for a car purchase and were intent on writing a check (painful!) , we ended up with the Nissan Rogue and in the end saved $10K plus.

 

[NATEizKING]

Hijacking, I need a minivan.

Looking at used under 100k miles that is of newest model (ie. Odyssey 2011+, Caravan 2008+).

What are must have features?

 

[Tre4ISU]

Thanks for all the help. I think I either want a larger Sedan or a Crossover of some sort. It's daunting to see all the makes/models out there. I typically like to buy something a year or two old with low mileage. I don't like buying brand new for whatever reason.

Keep in mind I'm not a Ford person but I really like the Edge when I have driven them a couple times. I also have been a fan of the Acadia. That thing is a tank.

 

[3TrueFans]

If you already have 1 minivan your life cannot get worse by getting a second, you've reached peak of the shame spectrum in terms of vehicles already.

 

[mj4cy]

Hijacking, I need a minivan.

Looking at used under 100k miles that is of newest model (ie. Odyssey 2011+, Caravan 2008+).

What are must have features?

We have the 2011 Odyssey and got it practically brand new in 2013 (2600 miles).

Besides having a "van" we love it. I don't know which version we have at the top of my head but features we like are the backup camrea, USB port, and it can memorize up to 18 CDs to for music. We put in a DVD player separately and the kids use it all the time. Makes road trips easy.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

3 kids under 6? You don't need another minivan. You need a get-away car.

 

[3TrueFans]

3 kids under 6? You don't need another minivan. You need a get-away car.

Pull out game not strong.

 

[CycloneErik]

Hijacking, I need a minivan.

Looking at used under 100k miles that is of newest model (ie. Odyssey 2011+, Caravan 2008+).

What are must have features?

Tires and brakes.

 

[cycopath25]

THIS!!!!!

 

[3TrueFans]

Tires and brakes.

In that order? Or does it matter? Need to know, about to sign papers.

 

[CycloneErik]

In that order? Or does it matter? Need to know, about to sign papers.

Yes. Brakes don't matter without tires.

 

[mj4cy]

3 kids under 6? You don't need another minivan. You need a get-away car.

I know people that have a couple then wait a few years before the third. I want to be done with the baby phase so the sooner the better. My wife and I do a good job of making sure other gets out. But yes, I do have a nice collection of whiskey to get me through at home. And by nice I just mean cheap.

 

[3TrueFans]

Yes. Brakes don't matter without tires.

This is why I come to CF. Wouldn't I have looked the fool if I had bought the one with brakes but no tires.

 

[0u812]

huge fan of suburbans. Hard to beat for versatility (can tow, haul, transport, etc) and used ones are fairly reasonbly priced. I have a 2000 1500 4x4, and my gf has a 2002 Yukon XL 1500 4x4, and they are both extremely handy with kids, dogs, firewood, towing quads/dirtbikes, etc....

 

[iowastatefan1929]

Any advice on what van to get? been looking at 2016 dodge caravan because my mechanic recommended that is the "least electronically ran van". I see those are discontinued and now they are pacificas which my mechanic said not to get. He also said it is crazy the prices Honda and Toyota are charging for these vans. The problem with the electronics is they will all probably die before the engine.

 

[cydline2cydline]

A little shopping advice, buy the car you like the most and on the way home stop by the Iowa Men's clinic.