WYYD: Minivan help

[SpaceGal]

I know it's yet another minivan question but I just have to ask because I'm not sure and I'm hoping others will have experience and advice in this situation.

I currently drive an '05 Vibe. It works for our family of four. DS #1 who is 3yo rides in his FF Britax Wizard and our DS #2 rides in his RF Britax Boulevard. With the way the car seats are I can't really move the seat back so only I can comfortably drive the Vibe...DH complains that the seat is too close for him. In my trunk, I keep my PP P3 and that's a big chunk of trunk space gone. The big thing about the Vibe is that it's paid off which is nice...not having to worry about a car payment.

I took my car in last week and was told my brakes are 80% worn down and need replacing and what not...all normal maintenance. So all together it's about $350 for all that. On top of this every year in addition to the usual oil changes I have to spend $200 to have my snow tires swapped. At this point, DH finds swapping the tires to be a royal pain in the butt and it is...and with the brakes needing replacement he thinks it's time to consider a minivan and trade in my car instead of getting the brakes done.

So now we're going back and forth on thinking about this minivan issue. We are thinking of having another child if possible say in a year or two. Come September I will be taking DS #1 and our neighbor's son to preschool and will have to drop DS #2 with my neighbor while I cart both boys to school. Other reason a minivan would be convenient is when family visits not all that often but say 3 weeks out of the year...the poor person has to squeeze between the two car seats in the back. We're leaning towards getting a new one since a 1 or 2 year old minivan isn't a whole lot of savings (we are thinking about a Sienna or Odyssey). If I get a new one, I'll probably drive it into the ground figuring that say it last 8-9 years...the kids will be older and I won't need a minivan anymore. Hopefully 8-9 years isn't too optimistic for a Honda or Toyota...but from what I hear they are great.

Would you wait on getting a minivan since you can avoid a car payment? Or would you get the minivan for convenience?

Can any of the minivan hold three car seats across? I have three Britaxes...Wizard, Boulevard, and a Roundabout (which currently sits in DH's car). Assuming we have three those are the three seats that I will have in the minivan.

Are there any other crossover SUVs I should consider instead of a minivan?

Is dealing with car dealers over the internet much better than in person?

Any other car ideas or suggestions for the 2 then 3 kid car dilemma? Is the minivan all there is to consider? We're not super rich but are figuring about $30K for a new vehicle.

Oh and for those with minivans in snow country how does the regular FWD do in the snow?? Or do you feel you need AWD? I heard minivans are awful in the snow and with hills.

Sorry so long but thank you in advance for your help and advice and sharing your experiences.

[pastrygirl]

I don't have a minivan, but am coveting a new car! ;) So, I've done some research.

Snow country: winter tires are a MUST! Even if you don't get AWD. I need AWD plus winter tires because I have a hellacious driveway. If not for this driveway, I could get away with FWD plus winter tires.

Minivan vs. others: I've been looking at crossovers, since I need AWD. I really want to check out the GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook/Buick Enclave/future Chevy Traverse (all sister cars); Dodge Journey; Ford Taurus-X (was the Freestyle). Those seem to be the top crossovers for people who want a minivan alternative. If I didn't need AWD, I'd also look at the Mazda5, which has sliding doors like a minivan. It's a mini minvan! I'm afraid of the Toyota Sienna with AWD because it comes with runflat tires, which haven't gotten the best reviews. I'd also still need winter tires, which means I'd have no room for a spare.

I have an '01 that is starting to need more and more repairs and wish my husband would give me the green light for a new(er) car!

[newmomto1]

I know it's yet another minivan question but I just have to ask because I'm not sure and I'm hoping others will have experience and advice in this situation.

I currently drive an '05 Vibe. It works for our family of four. DS #1 who is 3yo rides in his FF Britax Wizard and our DS #2 rides in his RF Britax Boulevard. With the way the car seats are I can't really move the seat back so only I can comfortably drive the Vibe...DH complains that the seat is too close for him. In my trunk, I keep my PP P3 and that's a big chunk of trunk space gone. The big thing about the Vibe is that it's paid off which is nice...not having to worry about a car payment.

I took my car in last week and was told my brakes are 80% worn down and need replacing and what not...all normal maintenance. So all together it's about $350 for all that. On top of this every year in addition to the usual oil changes I have to spend $200 to have my snow tires swapped. At this point, DH finds swapping the tires to be a royal pain in the butt and it is...and with the brakes needing replacement he thinks it's time to consider a minivan and trade in my car instead of getting the brakes done.

So now we're going back and forth on thinking about this minivan issue. We are thinking of having another child if possible say in a year or two. Come September I will be taking DS #1 and our neighbor's son to preschool and will have to drop DS #2 with my neighbor while I cart both boys to school. Other reason a minivan would be convenient is when family visits not all that often but say 3 weeks out of the year...the poor person has to squeeze between the two car seats in the back. We're leaning towards getting a new one since a 1 or 2 year old minivan isn't a whole lot of savings (we are thinking about a Sienna or Odyssey). If I get a new one, I'll probably drive it into the ground figuring that say it last 8-9 years...the kids will be older and I won't need a minivan anymore. Hopefully 8-9 years isn't too optimistic for a Honda or Toyota...but from what I hear they are great.

Would you wait on getting a minivan since you can avoid a car payment? Or would you get the minivan for convenience?

Can any of the minivan hold three car seats across? I have three Britaxes...Wizard, Boulevard, and a Roundabout (which currently sits in DH's car). Assuming we have three those are the three seats that I will have in the minivan.

Are there any other crossover SUVs I should consider instead of a minivan?

Is dealing with car dealers over the internet much better than in person?

Any other car ideas or suggestions for the 2 then 3 kid car dilemma? Is the minivan all there is to consider? We're not super rich but are figuring about $30K for a new vehicle.

Oh and for those with minivans in snow country how does the regular FWD do in the snow?? Or do you feel you need AWD? I heard minivans are awful in the snow and with hills.

Sorry so long but thank you in advance for your help and advice and sharing your experiences.


I have a 2007 Honda Odyssey that I LOVE.
I am a Honda person..this is my 4th Honda.
That said, the only I DON'T like...it really does not handle well in the snow. I had a CRV before this & I felt much more secure driving it when it was slick out.
I am not able to fit 3 full size carseats in the 2nd row.
I removed the middle seat. I have a Britax Marathon in each of the back seats (2nd row).
If I have a 3rd child in the car, I use a booster in one of the 3rd row seats.
HTH a little!
Good luck!

[KBecks]

$600 of repairs vs. a car payment, I'd suck it up and do the $600 of repairs.

As for the carpooling, I don't know it's worth buying a new car just to be able to do that. Can you make other arragements?


We have a minivan and a car payment, and minivans are great. So if you go that route, I don't blame you. But I'd really consider if now is the time you need a van or if you can hold out longer. I'd also look at your budget, and make sure you can swing the payments and additional debt.

If you feel you can handle it no problem, then go for it. I drive an 07 Odyssey. I've driven it in winter without issues. All the new minivans are pretty nice. Do your homework and have fun!

[birdie75]

I drive a Pacifica (company car) the 2 row of seats version. There is also a version with 3 rows of seats including captains chairs in the second row. So far I really like it although my first choice would have been a Ford Edge or Mazda C7 (they are the same car) but I am an account manager selling to Chrysler so I need to drive a Chrysler. If you really want 3 rows of seats the Ford Taurus X crossover is a good choice (same car as the mazda C9).

That said the latest quality results have Ford tying Toyota on initial quality so you may get better pricing on a Ford given the marketplace.

As far as the Pacifica they discontinued production about 2 months ago of that platform but there are still some at dealers and you might get a bargain. I got mine in November.

[Piglet]

I don't think I would buy the minivan just yet. We only bought one once we were PG with #3 and knew that we couldn't comfortably fit all the carseats into our Santa Fe. DH suggested that we start "paying ourselves" a car payment every month so that by the time we needed the new car desperately we would have a nice sum of money saved for it. It felt like we were on the verge of buying a new car, which satisfied my new car fever (I equate this to TTC - you get the baby fever, you start trying and you are in a new mental state). By the time you need the van, there will be new technology and new models out that might fit your needs even better. There are already more cross-overs on the market that can seat 6+ but are not minivans (Mazda 5 and Kia Rondo come to mind).

As for the winter driving, we have a FWD Sienna with traction control, stability control and ABS and we didn't put winter tires on it this past year. We get a ton of snow (in Canada) and I have never felt like I needed anything more. We did buy some fantastic all-season tires for our other car which have been reviewed to be as close to winter tires as possible, for all seasons, and we did that so that we would avoid the trouble of swapping the tires. The brand is Nokian and they are well reviewed all-around:

http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_wr.aspx?season=winter
http://www.canadiandriver.com/winter/tires/nokian.htm

[caheinz]

The 8-seat Toyota Sienna comes with latch all the way across the second row. The only problem is that to get to the back row, you have to fold down one of the seats. But -- if you only plan to seat more than the kids for 3 weeks a year, it might still work....

Our tentative plan, now that we know we're adding two at once later this year, is to get one of these and put all three seats in the middle most of the time, and then just fold down the back row to have more room for cargo and stuff. (Of course, we've "known" for all of 4-5 days, and gone shopping for the van exactly once at one place so far, so the plan may yet change!)

This year (2008), it looks like only the LE has 8 seats. But as recently as last year (2007), there were 8-seat XLE's and CE's as well. Our local dealer has some 8-seat XLE's that we're thinking about, but I think they have them priced a little high (we haven't tried to talk them down yet). But the additional features are tempting...

[Piglet]

We have the LE-8 and hae always had the kids in the middle row. It is great because it lets you have a full trunk of things and everyone still has a good sized seat.

[KrisM]

I don't have a mini-van or plans to buy one, but I did want to comment on the carseats.

You have 3 seats now, but by the time you have a third child "in a year or two", one or more of those may be expired or getting close to expiring. So, if you consider that other, narrower carseats may fit better for 3-across, you might be in the market for new ones anyway. Britax seats expire 6 years from the date of manufacture.

I drive a Malibu and don't plan on a minivan for 3 or so more years. I figure owning it for about 10 years, which puts DS at 17 or so. I figure the prime years when I'll want it are yet to come. When we get together with DS's friends, they're all in harnessed seats so all parents just drive them. But, by age 7 or so, they'll be in boosters and able to go places with us and I'll want the extra seats.

I just got new front brakes on my car and a new set of tires - cost $600 total. I have also had to buy a new carseat for DS and might need one for DD, too. But, even spending $600 on carseats and $600 a year on maintenence is much less than a minivan car payment! So, we're waiting.