Talk to me about your cars

[BabbyO]

DH and I realize that we are going to be in the market for a car in 2011. We have very differing theories on what we should get and which car we should replace. I'd love to hear you people's input...especially moms who understand the need for functionality.

That said, DH REFUSES to get a minivan at this point. He says, "next car."

Here's our situation...please add your two cents:

Existing cars: 1) 2004 Subaru Forester w/approx 130,000 miles paid off ~ 18 mo ago. (2) 2006 Toyota corolla w/approx 96,000 miles, paid off ~3 mo ago.

Children:
1 DS - 18 mo
TTC #2
Will probably only have 2, but maybe a 3rd in the future.

Commuting:
I drive the corolla 70+ miles every day to work, picking up DS on the way home.
DH takes DS to sitter every morning then returns home to work. It is about 12 mi round trip. He occasionally picks up DS in the evening.

DH would like to replace the corolla, give me the Forester and get an Outback (slightly larger than the forester, but still only 5 seats). His arguments are that the forester is larger than the corolla and it handles better in the snow. (We live in southern WI).

I think that it makes sense to replace the Forester since it is older, has more miles, and has worse fuel economy. Additionally, it is harder to find car seats that fit well in the Forester. I think that we should bite the bullet and get a larger family vehicle (minivan or 7 seat SUV) that can accommodate not only our growing family, but in the future the friends that our kids will eventually want to come over an play. I think that although the corolla doesn't handle the best in the snow, I'm used to how it handles and the fuel economy for the 8-9 mo that we don't have snow is worth it. I feel like purchasing an Outback or similar small SUV is just putting us in exactly the same position we are already in....two vehicles that barely fit our family. I think it makes more sense to have one commuter vehicle and one family vehicle.

Ok, let me know what your thoughts are...and recommendations for a new car!

[azazela]

I don't have time to type out a long response right now but I agree with having one commuter vehicle and one family vehicle. I have a short commute to work and do the majority of the kid driving, so I drive our family vehicle during the week. It is the 2011 Buick Enclave that we got in September. It is awesome with two kids in carseats! I love having captain chairs in the second row with access to the third row for any additional adult we may have with us. We couldn't do this in any other car/SUV we've had. For the commuter car, my husband drives the Toyota Matrix and it works great for his longer commute. On weekends/trips we drive the Enclave. HTH! Definitely check out the Buick Enclave / Chevy Traverse / GMC Acadia. It is great as a non-minivan family car for two kids but would of course work for three kids as well.

[AnnieW625]

My DH was anti mini van so we compromised and got a Honda Pilot. I also think we got a better deal on my Pilot vs. had we been looking for a pretty fully loaded Odyssey. At this point I don't think you need a mini van either, now if you get pregnant with twins then I think you are stuck, but for now a mid size SUV or slightly larger Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon, or Toyota Sequioa are the way to go.

We have an 01 Corolla with 137K miles on it, and a 2006 Honda Pilot with 84K on it. The Corolla is a tight fit since both DH and I are tallish (6'0", and 5'6"), and we have an infant in the infant seat. We have the passenger front seat in the car most of the way up, and the infant seat goes behind that, we have DD1 in a Britax Frontier behind the driver's side. We have only ever been in one trip in the car with all four of us since DD2 was born in May, and it was tight. Your Corolla has more leg room than ours does so you shouldn't have that problem if you are somewhat tall and have two children in rear facing seats.

Our Pilot has plenty of legroom for everything and if we had a third (but we are done) has room for another larger carseat, we'd have to get a narrow Radian seat or a super narrow belted booster for the middle seat, but overall it's a good car for three kids. When we travel for weekends we have a 80lb black lab, two suitcases, a pack n play, and a single Maclaren and it all fits.

If I were in your shoes I would sell the Forrester. As much as I loved my 1988 Subaru GL Wagon it started giving me issues right around 130K, and the engine heads cracked not too long after that. The car was just 10 yrs. old. If you have a good Subaru dealer mechanic or an independent Subaru mechanic then maybe you can think about keeping it, but in all honesty I think you would be better keeping the Corolla for another couple of years, and get a newer car that will work in case you have 3 kids. You are right if you get another small wagon or small SUV you will be in the same boat again in a couple of years if you decide to have a 3rd child.

FWIW, I would recommend looking at a Honda Pilot EX-L (it's the one with the 3rd row--we don't use it much, but it has two tether spots for car seats, and might be helpful if you are going to have drive for field trips or carpools) used. I personally prefer the 2005 to 2008 models to the newer 2009 to current models (less blind spots, don't like the placement of the gear shift on the new ones---silly, I know) and the price on the prior models might be a little cheaper since the price of the car was cheaper to start with than the newer models.

Good luck, and hope this helps.

ETA: When we bought our Pilot we were replacing a 1996 Honda Accord Coupe. If we had another 4 door car we most likely would've waited to replace it until we had DD2 as it most likely would've had just about 200K on it. I do agree with the others that not having car payments is great, but if you are spending more money on repairing the older car and want something more reliable then it makes sense to get a newer more reliable car sooner than later.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I wouldn't buy any new cars in your situation. Sounds like for the number of people, age of your cars, type of cars that imo you don't need to do anything. Enjoy not having car payments! It's wonderful! we hap no car payment for 7 years and recently bought a new car. I despise having to pay for something that we already had. Sure, our 11yo (going on 12!) requires some TLC and a slightly expensive repair/ year but it's still only the equivalent to 2 car payments to fix it!

I also am pretty anti-large car though unless the need is truly there. Thinking about TTC #2 and not knowing how long that will take means, to me, that you should be getting a car tho fit 2 kids and not a minivan. We lived perfectly fine in our Civic for a good long time. When ds2 was born it became more of a challenge in that we couldn't take any extra bodies anywhere. But, it always worked out ok.

I personally just think you should wait till the need is truly there for a new car.

We bought a Mazda 5 this year. Now, it is a nice car for 2 kids and can hold more people if necessary. They call it a mini-minivan. It is the same length as my Civic. It's nice because it can either have a good size trunk or a 3rd row of seats. It's also very well priced.

Stick with what you have and just let it play out for a while. When something $$ comes up with one of the cars then reevaluate. Pocket the savings now.

Beth

[BabbyO]

We looked at the Traverse and Acadia at the car show last year. DH drove both afterward and hated them both.

I think he is just stuck on getting another Subaru, but we both don't like the Tribeca at all.

Ugg...why won't he be logical about this?

[artvandalay]

I think your hubby just really wants an Outback, and I don't blame him! We love ours. It is awesome. If you live in an area that gets snow, the 4 wheel drive kicks butt

I wouldn't go the minivan route unless I had 3 kids.

The Subaru Outback was our "family car" until #3 baby came along. Then I got a Toyota Sienna (love it) and my husband got the Outback all to himself to be his commuter car, which (I suspect) was his plan all along. He loves driving that thing. With two kids we found the Outback plenty roomy.

Our neighbors have two Subaru's and just about everyone we know that has them love them.

[codex57]

The Outback may be a bigger car on the outside, but inside (where it counts), it's almost the exact same size. Like 0.2 of an inch difference in rear legroom and 1 cubic foot of cargo space difference. That's nothing.

A minivan will blow any SUV (short of something the size of a Suburban) out of the water in terms of interior space. Seriously, it's not even funny or close.

That said, only the Sienna has AWD. If you must get a SUV, I still prefer the GM crossovers that azazela mentioned. Those are the closest to a minivan you can get. Longer on the outside, but close enough on the inside that it doesn't seem like a complete waste of money.

Still, if it were me, I'd wait until the 2nd kid comes along. Then look into getting a new car.

[JoyNChrist]

As someone who dealt with secondary infertility, then had #2 turn into #2 and #3, I recommend waiting to see how TTC turns out before you start making plans based on future family size.

Seriously, if you don't NEED another vehicle right now (as in, you're not walking everywhere), I'd wait a bit and see how your family works out.

[egoldber]

Seriously, if you don't NEED another vehicle right now (as in, you're not walking everywhere), I'd wait a bit and see how your family works out.

[indigo99]

I agree with PP that you should probably put off buying a new one for now. When you do buy one, commuter vehicle and a family vehicle is the best way to go. That's what we're doing with DH's mustang and my CRV (he actually don't do a LOT of driving so we have a family vehicle and "his" vehicle).