Baby Makes 8!! What to drive??

[TNKBELL]

Hi everyone!! I really need some budget friendly suggestions on what kind of vehicles are out there that can seat 8. I don't want to buy anything new. This was quite a little surprise and changes our plans in regards to our vehicle situation. Currently we have a Nissan Quest which seats 7 and it is a 96 and paid off, Dh's car just bit the dust and we were planning on replacing that with a cheap car to just get him back and forth to work. But now we will give Dh the van and look for a vehicle for 8. I know I saw a thread about vehicles that seat 8 somewhere but I couldn't find it when I did a search and most of the vehicles listed were new. As far as how much we can spend, we can have about 6000.00 saved up and possibly afford a small car payment on top of that. Now, I sincerly hope it's not twins!!!

Thanks so much!!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

It depends how many of yours need to be in carseats. Our Honda minivan seats 8 but with 4 carseats in it there is no place for another one and if you are an adult sitting btween the carseats your butt has to be the size of a grapefruit to fit comfortably. We love this van though. I think you might need a real van- not a mini. Congrats!!!! There is nothing like a baby.

 

[Aleebama]

We have a Nissan Armada which seats 8. Any of the larger SUV's with a bench seat in the middle should. Now MPG on an Armada vs. a Quest may take a little getting used to! Have you thought about a used Armada, Suburban or and Expedition for when the WHOLE family travels together? You should be able to find something affordable since the say the auto market is going to be "soft" in 2008. Hopefully?
Congratulations!

PS...I agree with the above poster about the grapefruit butt in the above mentioned vehicles. Sounds like some major test driving (sitting) is in order!!!!!!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I'm not sure if this thread will help but here's one:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1680878

And
Congratulations
on your new addition!

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

1st off congrats. We were surprised with twins scheduled to arrive in 5 weeks so we(my dh in a panic) bought an Escalade not budget friendly but a Suburban used can be. It is wonderful. So much space. Other than that I'd say an Odyssey or Sienna.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Some of the Toyota Siennas seat 8 (I think the LE and CE models), and the middle seat in the second row slides forward so you can better reach your infant while you are driving. The Sienna was redesigned in 2004 and is basically still the same model today. I don't know if the earlier versions sat 8, though. Edmunds lists the dealer asking price for a 2004 CE as about $14,000.

I have had a 1999, 2004 and now a 2008 Sienna. I have loved them all!

Congratulations!

 

[Hoogy]

We had a Chevy Venture (it was a 2002 and the Pontiac Montana should be the same) that seated 8....3 bucket seats in the middle row (all individually removable) and a bench in the far back. It was great and I miss it! Gotta love SURPRISES! Congrats!

 

[Jenna45]

I have an 02 Expedetion EXT it seats 8. The value on it is nada compared to what I paid, but it is a solid car, I agree with the other posters that you will probably need an SUV and a larger model at that, but with todays gas prices the prices are generally lower on them

My dad owns several used car dealerships and says most people are trading down, this should work to your advantage

Congrats on your new baby or babies , you will have your own basketball team soon

Good Luck

 

[Jennifer823]

I agree that you will probably need a regular van - it would probably be less expensive than a Suburban or something similar, and you'll have plenty of space. I grew up in a family of 7, and we frequently had other kids my mom had to taxi around also - we had a 12 passenger van. My parents bought it used.

Even if you buy a vehicle with a capacity for 8 - you will have NO ROOM if you go on a car trip. We're at that situation now ourselves - family of 6 with a 2001 Dodge Durango (seating for 7) but there is no room for anything else if we go anywhere together.

 

[pyrxtc]

I vote for the Chevy venture too. i ahve the 8 passenger and it works great for me. I ahve had 4 booster seats and a car seat in there and also fit my DD wiht no problems. (All in the back seats) I love the removable seats and the fold-down back seat for storage. The gas mileage on them is pretty good and I have had no problems wiht mine yet. I have an "04".

 

[grlpwrd]

I agree that you will probably need a regular van - it would probably be less expensive than a Suburban or something similar, and you'll have plenty of space. I grew up in a family of 7, and we frequently had other kids my mom had to taxi around also - we had a 12 passenger van. My parents bought it used.

Even if you buy a vehicle with a capacity for 8 - you will have NO ROOM if you go on a car trip. We're at that situation now ourselves - family of 6 with a 2001 Dodge Durango (seating for 7) but there is no room for anything else if we go anywhere together.

This is us to a T. Family of 7 who wanted lots of room for just us, our kid's friends, and room for our road trip stuff. We bought a full sized van off of ebay of all places. (lol)

A SUV with room for 8 still felt like a sardine can for us. Kids carseats do take up space, plus they grow and then have friends. Not comfy on road trips either - even with a cartop carrier it was little space to put our stuff. (We had a Chevy Astro van prior which fit 8, but have since taken it back to the Seattle area to store at our rental home for our use because we go back often.)

I also use my full sized van for my homebased businesses. I also have an older cargo van which I use to haul stuff (plus it has a double tank) or as an extra car and we also have a Landcruiser which my dh drives.

Congrats, TNKBELL! I would have another one right now if I could, but I am too busy with attending school part time, my businesses, the kids, and trying to afford living right now. (lol)Take care!

 

[chris1gill]

We have a Chevy Venture that seats 8, it has the optional middle seat in the middle row... we love the vehicle.... it's book value isn't that high anymore, I think it's 5 years old...

 

[NMW]

Another vote for the 8 passenger Toyota Sienna. Regular vans and really large SUV's are killers to fill up with gas. My Toyota Sienna gets awesome gas mileage and 8 fit very comfortably.

 

[stm61]

we have an '04 Expedition, 3 bench seats, it seats 9. We've done 2 car seats/booster seats on each of the 2 rear seats, and a 3rd child in the other seat. It has shoulder/lap belts on all but the front middle seat. Before this we had a minivan. Much more leg room in the Expedition, but we gave up the behind-the-last-seat storage area. It works for us because 2 of my kids are teens, so one can jump in front if dh isn't with us. The gas mileage is not so good, but the extra space and less fighting makes it worth it for us.

 

[TNKBELL]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions, Dh and I are just both so overwhelmed and didn't even know what to start looking at!! Thanks also for the link to other thread..that was the one I was looking for!!!

You are all great!!!

 

[DawnM]

We have a Sequioa that seats 8. I think most vans can be ordered in an 8 passenger model, even if the ones on the showroom floor only seat 7. That is what we were told when we were considering vans.

I know you aren't looking for new though. We did buy our Sequoia new, but we plan to drive it into the ground, so it will be a good deal in the long run. We bought a 3 year old van many years ago and the thing gave us nothing buy problems. We decided we wanted to be the only drivers and really know what kind of maintainance the thing had had.

Dawn

 

[kimmikayb]

How about something like this:

http://idm.carsoup.com/used/detail....cleTypeID=15&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=

Congratulations!!

 

[TNKBELL]

How about something like this:

http://idm.carsoup.com/used/detail....cleTypeID=15&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=

Congratulations!!

Cool! Thanks!!

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

I have no car advice, but Congratulations!!!

 

[Anne34]

If I were to recommend something I would say a Suburban. We have one that seats 8 people. There are two rows for 3 and 2 seats in the front. Not only are the seats wide enough for a couple car seats, but there is plenty of storage room in the back for strollers, groceries, etc. I find mini vans too small -- once you get all the people in, there's no room for anything else!!!

We get 14 city and 17/18 highway in our Suburban -- not too much different from some minivans. Try looking at used ones -- its probably the best deal. It is a well built car -- mine has 99, 200 miles on it and is a 2002. The only thing we have had to replace is the fuel pump and that was only 300 miles ago!! Never had a problem with either suburban we've had.