Car Buying Dilemma

[jgmklmhem]

Ok here is our situation. We just recently found out DW is pregnant with child #3 (a somewhat unexpected surprise but a welcome one). We are going to need to upgrade our vehicle situation to a mini-van due to this development. Is it just me or do all of the safety seat requirements almost force people in to these bigger vehicles. I mean we could probably fit all three seats in back of our bigger car but it would not be comfy. Right now we have a 2002 Camry with 45000 miles on it and about 4500$ left to pay. We also just financed a 2006 Honda Civic about 6 months ago. It obviously has a lot more to be paid on it. I am just wondering what people who might be in the know think about trading in either. I obviously have more equity in the Camry, but it is the bigger car and would be better to keep around squeezing everyone in if the need arises. Trading the Camry would also most likely put us in the position of having 2 car payments for the next 5 years. Trading the Civic in gets us really nothing in value but it allows us to only have one payment (that would defiantely be smaller than the 2 payments combined if we traded in the Camry) and also gets rid of the smaller car that I am not sure all 5 of us could easily fit in to. Does anyone have any insight in to this dilemma? Especially trading in a car that is only 6 months old.

 

[Christine]

Well, I think the practical thing is to keep the Camry but it is probably not great financially. I think that if you trade in or sell a car you've only had for 6 months--well, you're probably going to get screwed. As well as Toyotas and Hondas hold their value, at this point the depreciation is higher than the value.

So, do you really think you will need two cars that can both hold 5 people? How often would that situation come up? You could keep the Honda and if you all ever had to go out, it would always be in the van.

But then there's the car payment issue. Uuugghhh. I'd probably just eat the financial loss and hang on to the Camry.

 

[golfgal]

We upgraded to a minivan when the twins came along. We had a Toyota Corolla at the time. We kept the Toyota as a second car and we could put 3 car seats in the back of that, although it was tight and not ideal.

Perhaps the car dealership you got your Civic at will give you a good deal to trade the Civic for a van. I know some dealerships around here will have occasional sales that they will pay off your current loan if you buy a new car from them. You might pay a bit more for that car but at least you won't have 3 payments. You could also probably sell the Civic for close to what you paid for it if you sell it on your own, maybe taking a $1000-2000 hit.

 

[jgmklmhem]

It just seems to be a no win situation. I don't think we would necessarily need to have 2 cars to hold 5 people, I was just throwing out options...it would be nice though for the just in cases of life. Having said that having 2 payments would be a bear.

 

[DVC Sadie]

I would trade in the Camry before the mileage goes over 50,000 miles. For some reason the 50,000 miles is a gauge and you can get more money for it on a trade. If I was in your situation I would also choose a mini van or SUV just for the added room. Remember its not the just the car seats its also diaper bags, strollers and all of the baby "stuff". Good Luck and Congratulations.

 

[rt2dz]

Get rid of the car (yes, I know this will sound odd) that has more equity in it. Think finicially. If it isn't working well, when you're down to no car payments, get another one that holds 5.

We have a Durango (the family car--I'm just not a mini-van mama) and a PT Cruiser. When all 3 kids are involved--the Durango goes (or stays) with them. If it is one parent with one or no kids, it's the PT Cruiser. If it is one parent and two children, then it depends--I take the Durango since it's technically my car & DH will take the Cruiser since that is really his car.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Private Sale will get you more for either car than a trade in, the dealer isnt going to take a car in for the same or less than he can sell it for. So you would do better selling the car on your own.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

As nice as it is to have 2 vehicles that the whole family will fit in, you need to decide if you will really be carrying the whole family in the car on a regular basis. If not, I would consider keeping the smaller car, buying the minivan and selling the Camry on your own. Dealers are known for giving a terrible trade in. They would have given us thousands less on our trade-in van than the blue book value and the dealer even suggested that we sell it on our own. We ended up keeping it and letting our college DD have our car, so we are now a 2 mini-van family, at least for a few years.

When we had our 4th child 6 years ago we were in a situation that we couldn't even fit the whole family in our car, but we decided to just keep it and deal with it. Our older kids were old enough to stay home by themselves if we had to bring the van to the shop, etc, so it's not as if we ever HAD to all fit in the car, anyway. It wasn't worth it to us to buy a vehicle that we would have to all fit in.

BTW, we just bought a Honda Odyssey and LOVE it.

 

[jgmklmhem]

BTW, we just bought a Honda Odyssey and LOVE it.

Right now we are considering either the Honda Odyssey or the Toyota Sienna. Those two just have the greatest appeal to me. I am also not opposed to getting a 2005 or 2004 used one as well.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Right now we are considering either the Honda Odyssey or the Toyota Sienna. Those two just have the greatest appeal to me. I am also not opposed to getting a 2005 or 2004 used one as well.

We wanted the souped up model with the DVD and navigation and 8 passenger, so the Odyssey was what worked. Even my 15yo son says it's cool and not like a mini-van. For sure a non-mom mini van, if there can be such a thing! Coming from a teen boy that says a lot.

 

[jgmklmhem]

How are the Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Grand Caravan? I hear they don't necessarily hold their resale value as much as the Toyota and Honda but the Stow and Go 2nd and 3rd row seating seems to be a big selling point with my wife.

 

[Christine]

How are the Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Grand Caravan? I hear they don't necessarily hold their resale value as much as the Toyota and Honda but the Stow and Go 2nd and 3rd row seating seems to be a big selling point with my wife.

My friend had a Caravan for 18 months and she traded it for a Sienna. There was nothing really wrong with the Caravan, she just never liked it.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Also, think realistically at the not so distant future. Your 5 y.o. won't really need a booster seat too much longer. I don't know your kids' sizes, but I have a 70 lb 7 yo son and he hasn't used a booster in a long time. CHeck your state requirements because for many, it's 5 yo for a booster seat. If you child is no longer in a booster, you could probably squeeze everyone in the smaller car if need be. Not on a regular basis, but if necessary.

We have a Mazda MPV which I love but they are no longer making. It drives more like a car than the other minivans and isn't as bulky to maneuver. My DH has an Inifiniti sedan that we CAN squeeze the 3 kids into if we have to...but then they are too close to each other and they fight!

Have you checked out the "crossover" vehicles like the Pacifica? ALso the Honda Pilot has 3 rows of seats.

Good luck.

 

[Beth76]

I have two boys. My younger son is almost two and I'm pretty sure he's NEVER been in my husband's car. If we all go out as a family, we take my car. The thing is, his car seat is kind of a pain to move, so we just leave it in my car. Sof he has to go somewhere, he goes in my car.

Even last week, I took my older son (in DH's car) to Chuck E Cheese and left the baby home with DH. After about an hour, DH had an appointment and brought the baby to me (in my car). He then took his car with him and left me my car.

If you've followed all of that, I recommend getting rid of the Camry. The chances that you'll ALL need to ride in the second car are slim and you can almost always work around it.

BTW, Congratulations!!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How are the Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Grand Caravan? I

Really watch the repair costs. We've had a variety of vehicles, including a Voyager (Caravan sibling) and a Pontiac Montana. We have had so many repairs on the domestic vehicles, especially the vans. Yes, you pay more for the imports, but we rarely had any repairs when we had our Corolla.

Our Odyssey has the rear fold and go seating (whatever it's called in the Odyssey). It doesn't have the middle fold and go, but I can't imagine that there would ever be a reason to need it and didn't even know it was offered in a van. If we have to carry something big we can take the middle seats out, but I don't think we've ever done that in the Montana. We're using those seats for the kids, afterall. The fold and go is nice in the "way back" seats and even nicer is the "well" in the trunk area. The groceries now do not end up in the front of the van like sometimes happened in the Montana. Not sure what the Sienna has.

 

[DisneyBaby!]

We love our Grand Voyager, it got the 5 of us (3c under 5) to Disney and back, no problem. My sister has an Odessey, which is very nice but it seems smaller inside. I don't buy cars based on what the resale value is, I would never sell a car privately, it seems like too much of a hassle and we tend to be brand loyal so the value after 4-5 years is not that big of a difference.

We love the stow-n-go seating, we filled the well under the middle row with all of the snacks we used on the trip. The space behind the 3rd row was never higher that the seatback, and that was with the pack and play, stroller, blankets. The stow and go is great for hauling things and I love the flip, flip, flip and there is a completely flat floor all the way to the front seat, and even flat inbetween the front seats. We use it for hauling doors, a sofa to another sister, the grill from lowes. We did not see the value in spending money on the DVD, we bought a portable one with a 9" screen and it hangs from the middle row.

 

[jgmklmhem]

I think we finally have made the decision to get rid of the Camry. One it has more miles on it and is older. Two it really had more equity in it. Three some on here and others elsewhere have made me realize we really don't "need" 2 cars to handle the whole family.

The reason I mentioned the Chrysler and Dodge were that they are running the 0% interest and no payments until October deal right now.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I agree with Disneybaby. We have the Dodge Grand Caravan with the stow and go seating. We even have the power lift gate in the back. The stow and go is just amazing and with 3 kids seriously look into getting that power lift in the back of the van. My DH has arthritis so the power doors were important to him. But I've got to tell you, when you have a full shopping cart and kids holding on, etc. Just push-push and the doors are open. I get so lazy sometimes that I can't believe that the driver's door won't open automatically. Good luck with everything and congratulations on the new addition.

 

[FINFAN]

I just wanted to congratulate you on the new baby....and to mention that the first thing I though of was 5 airline tix for a trip now...and to get a vehicle roomy enough for road trips! We are a family of 4, but I know if we were 1 more we would most likely always drive places.


Pam

 

[DisneyBaby!]

Go for the Chrysler products. Good price, Great deal on financing now. So far we have had no problems with our van, you can have problems with any car. Car and Driver just did a long term test of an Acura (made by Honda) and their biggest gripe was all of the problems that they had with the car, the unscheduled stops to the repair shop, and they have a great reputaion for reliability. Don't worry, they are not like the K kars of the 80's (but how did I love that Lebaron convertable)