OT- car shopping

[la79al]

Well, we are sort of starting to car shop. The problem is we have no idea what to be looking at. DH has two kids already so sometimes there is 2 of us and sometimes there is 4. We (well, some of us) are hoping for a baby sometime next year. I guess the safest bet would be to get a vehicle that can seat 5 but at the same time would be practical for me and one other (DH or 1 kid) to drive around town. Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[ndgqccmiller]

We just went through this. Except I wanted a suburban and my husband wanted something smaller and more efficant. I was driving a honda accord. Great car, great gas mileage, held up awesome. I finally gave up on the SUV when I saw a friend of mine fill hers up 95.00. No way, I thought. Well now I have a Kia minivan EX loaded. We do love it with the 5 of us. But my husband is getting a suburban within the next. He drives s lot less then I do. The minivan really is not big enough for. With ball gear, backpacks, friends and strollers. We need more room. So after all this rambling, I would definitly think about the minivan or something like the pilot or highlander w/ the third seat. The explorer also comes w/ the third row. I did the accord w/ 3 kids, way to squished! Hope this helps.

 

[emma'smom]

We're checking out the Honda CRV tomorrow as our second car (have a minivan)...hoping to finally trade in the old Nissan.....and that CRV is very cute!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I agree that you can not go wrong with the Honda. We have a Honda civic and it has been the best investment we have ever made. We are looking at a new car in the next year or two (DS will turn 16 and gets the Civic), and we will go honda. We can not agree yet if it will be the van or one of thier SUVs.

What I do encourage you is to do LOTS of homework. BEfore we bought both of our cars, We not only knew exactly what we wanted but what we should have to pay for it . We had visited lots of car lots after hours first, then went to lots to test drive. He did extensive internet research and knew what he was willing to pay. It took four hours to negotiate the Honda deal but he got exactly what he wanted for the price he was willing to pay. DH got up twice to walk out when the guy called him back to "rethink" the offer.

Have fun looking and then be smart buying.

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

Since we've been married (nearly 5 years ago), we've purchased 3 new cars, all Hondas. We LOVE our Hondas. First we bought a CRV and loved it! It was a great SUV. Not too big. It would fit 5. Next we bought an Accord. DH is still driving it. Great on gas, not too big but it's comfortable.

In February, we bought a 2007 Odyssey and I LOVE it! There are only 3 in our family but I love having the space. It's not great on gas, but the comfort makes up for it. I love having the luxury that the Odyssey provides. It's definitely worth the money we spent on it. It would definitely fit a family of 5 comfortably with room to spare.

 

[TheDizMom]

I recommend doing a little research on line and at dealerships and then decided what you are going to get. Since you don't really have any idea what you want yet it's really hard to give you any recommendations . Decide if you want foreign or domestic and start your research from there. Then decide on a price range you are comfortable with because if you are working with a lower range it definitely cuts out a lot of SUV's and some car makers. After that decide what you need your car to do for you and what options are important, both safety and the fun kind, and of course ultimately how much room you want it to have . You have to figure it is something you will have for a few years and if kids are on your agenda then you will need something to carry at least 5 if not 6, especially if you tend to keep your cars for a long time and want more then one child of your own. I have a Grand Caravan Special Edition that is loaded, including a DVD player and I love it ! It's not as bad gas wise as an SUV, about $45 to fill up, but I don't tend to have to drive to far from home so I only fill up every 2 weeks or so . I also like the Ford Freestyle it's like an SUV and seats up to 6, but doesn't use the gas so much. I tend to buy domestic because my DH is in the car business and has worked for Ford, Dodge and now Ford again, but I have also always had good luck with them . I have had a lot of them over the years and never had any major problems, except with the one I bought used , after that I have refused to buy anything used! Good luck with your search and the baby making .

 

[taylorsmommy05]

I just went through this... HATE car shopping!! Last Feb the new 07 Tahoes came out... and I HAD to have it... I thought it would be a great car for kids... BOY That is the BIGGEST truck with ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM INSIDE! They redesigned this truck and didn't put in a flat third row... DUMB DUMB DUMB!
Also the 100 dollar fillups are NO FUN!
So last week we traded it in for minivan. So far I LOVE the ODYSSEY! Can't say enough about it! It actually has more room in it than our TAHOE did! CRAZY!!! I have always driven SUVs... but I am so glad to have gotten over the "minivan" thing... cause its GREAT!! DD likes that she can get into her seat by herself too!!
Good luck!! Let us know what you end up getting!!

 

[mom2aredhead]

I work for 1 of the "BIG 3" automakers from Detroit, but would probably drive a Honda Odyssey if I didn't. (although I am getting a layoff package later this year, so I don't feel too bad saying that out loud!)

Vans in general are much more convenient than SUV's - easier to drive, park, get in and out with the sliding doors, and the seats are configured much better, for kids, especially if there's a baby in the future. They also have a much smoother ride since they're not built on a truck platform. Also, Toyota makes an AWD van if you needed AWD as an option because of the weather.

 

[shelly3girls]

I think to really answer this question we need to know a couple things.

Do you want a 5 seater car or somthing that will hold the kid's friends also?
Are the older kids in car seats?

We have 3 kids, one in a car seat and two in boosters. A car is out of the question. There is almost no way to get the three car seats in the back of a car. Add to that, that we almost always have a friend along and an SUV or minivan is a necessity. Minivans are nice and get decent mileage. The Toyota has a tremendous amount of storage space.

We have a Honda Pilot and Ford Expedition. With 3 kids the Pilot is nice for everyday but if we need all three seats then there is almost no storage space. With the third row folded flat we have tons of space. It costs me around $40 to fill the tank. I beieve the Honda has the best gas mileage for the class. I think that with 3 kids a CRV would be out of the question. We definitely would not have enough space.

The Expedition is awesome. The mileage is horrible but DH drives less than 5 miles to work so it really isn't an issue. The space is amazing and the 5 of us are really comfortable in it even when we drive 7 hours to go on vacation.

Good luck!

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We just bought a new car yesterday. We knew we wanted a minivan, as we have 2 kids in carseats, and we wanted room to carpool with other kids in boosters, plus have lots of cargo room.

We looked at the Sienna and the Odyssey, and liked them both well enough. Then we saw the Hyundai Entourage, which scores very high in safety, features and comfort. We were able to get a top of the line, souped up Entourage with all the bells and whistles for less money than the other vans - with fewer features. We have rear DVD with 2 wireless headphones, front seat warmers, memory seats, leather, 6 disc DVD, rear motion sensors, all sorts of goodies. We are very happy with our new purchase!

 

[brandylouwho]

Just my 2 cents worth...but many (most) of my friends who have more than 1 kid also own a minivan. They seem very practical and spacious.

We don't drive a minivan, I think my husband thinks he is "too cool" to drive one. So, when it came time to purchase a family truckster, we narrowed it down to a Volvo XC70 or a Ford Freestyle. (Used Volvo or New loaded Ford, hmm...) The Freestyle won out, mainly due to price and a more usuable 3rd row seat (which we rarely use, so I am not sure why we thought that was so important). I am very happy with it. I think the gas mileage could be better, but we have plenty of room for 2 kids in car seats, our 100 + lb dog, baby gear and luggage (along with us parents). We can even fit grandma and grandpa in there on occassion (with a 2nd row bench seat it seats 7).

Just today my husband pointed out a Ford Edge to me...he thinks he might like one of those next.
We'll see...Funny how he thinks he gets to pick out the car that I drive the most. Oh, and you may have noticed that we tend to buy Fords, DH used to sell them and we still tend to gravitate towards them. Our other car is a Ford Fusion-which I LOVE, but does not fit 2 car seats and a dog so comfortably. They fit, but it is crowded.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We bought a Yukon XL Denali back in January and love it. Three seats and still plenty of storage. We got all the goodies in it including a place to plug and dock my Ipod into the dashboard-sometimes the little things mean so much! LOL! I really had wanted to like a minivan in the worst way, but for me, I just could not find one that I liked the feel of when driving. I was never a fan of their looks, but figured if I could find one I was comfy with, I could forego the looks for the functionality and lower cost. Didn't happen for us.

We looked at some of the regular SUV's, but it seemed that most of the ones that offered a 3rd seat were not very comfy. I equate comfy with me being able to get in that third seat myself and sitting there comfortably (most I had to duck down because there was not as much headroom (or leg room). Good for little kids, but not teens.

We also checked out custom vans and while we liked them a lot, we now have DN living with us and he is only 1, and the custom vans did not allow quick access to getting a child that is in a car seat in/out of the vehicle (nor did they offer the ability to reach behind you and hand the baby a bottle or pacifier while driving). So we nixed the custom van idea.

We are not hard on our cars and we don't put a lot of mileage on our family car, so when we happned upon the Yukon, we knew we found the one for us. Filling the tank is not such a pleasant experience ($$), but we maybe do that every 3-4 weeks. DH still has his car and I still have mine. We only use the Yukon when we are all going out together at night or on the weekends. I guess you just have to find what works for your family and what will meet your needs. I personally hate car shopping and even worse, I leave the haggling to DH. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[QueenGoblin]

Definately spend sometime on a site like Edmunds because you can compare different models/options and also research the true market value for the car so when you walk into the dealership you know exactly what you want and what a fair price is for it.

Feel obligated to do a plug for Subaru since Honda (my other fav) is getting most of the attention. We have a Forester and I love it. It is a bit higher off the ground than a regular car, but it is still small enough to park and load easily. It also does not guzzle gas despite the fact that it is all-wheel-drive. Which brings me to the fact that I have never had trouble with this car in icy/rainy or snowy weather. It has also been totally reliable. I've had it since 03 and haven't had to so much as change a lightbulb on it. Normal maintenance (changed tires, oil, brakes, annual service), but it has needed nothing else. It is one of the safest cars out there according to both the government and insurance institute tests. Subaru seems to be a pretty reliable brand. My mom had one that ran forever and she finally turned it in on a new version of the same car. The only reason it might not be the best is if you think you will have three carseats or boosters across the backseat because it is just a standard bench rear seat. That is the only reason we might have to turn ours in on something bigger (and I will cry sad tears on that day). But we would probably go for the Odyssey when that day comes. It is SWEET!