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cars?
anyone want to plug their/a car?
We're in the market to replace my coupe for something more kid friends (probably towards the end of this year). Right now its a toss up between a Camry, Town & Country, Sienna and Outback. I don't really want to spend more than $20k, MAYBE $25k (so am opened to low mileage used since we're only putting on 12k/yr or so now). The major requirements are good gas mileage (a drawback for the minivans, though somehow it bugs me less on the AWD Outback), enough backseat space to easily RF 2 carseats + seat a person, and room in the trunk for the double BOB (I am not 100% sure the Camry can fit it but am going to try someday in my dad's car).
As a sidebar, we saw someone w/ a single Bob in the mall Sat and that thing seems so small. Its only a bit bigger (longer) than my double umbrella stroller. These girls have screwed up my perspective.
Re: cars?
I have a Civic, which has been great for just me (though some snowy days I wish I had AWD). DH has a Mazda 3 hatch and we've fit a ton of stuff in that seemingly small car.
One day I want to upgrade to a small SUV or crossover. I want something with 4WD/AWD but something bigger than a sedan. I really like the look of the new Outbacks. It is more SUV-like now without being as big as the SUVs and crossovers (like the Ford Edge or Toyota Venza, both of which I like the look of).
DH said he saw a Pacifica on the road recently and liked it. I think Heather may have one?
Last September I traded in my 2-door Stratus for a 2008 Mercury Mariner (same thing and as Escape). LOVE it!
It had 26K miles and I bought it for 14,999
It is so easy to get the car seat in and out of, lots of room (the back seat easily fits the carseat and 2 adults, so I would imagine that 2 carseats and an adult would work too - though I would have to check if you can put a carseat in the middle spot), lots of storage, comfortable, smooth ride, minimal blind spots. I average 24-27 MPG in the city and 25-29 on the highway (depending on weather conditions). It is FWD and with ABS and traction control ... handles GREAT in the snow and high winds.
I love my Traverse. Plenty of cargo space when the 3rd row is folded down, it's AWD, and gets ok to decent gas mileage. But it's probably out of your price range.
I think the Subaru Tribeca's look nice also. We also have a 2005 Suzuki XL-7. Plenty of cargo space again, and two car seats will fit RF, but not sure if you'd get an extra person in the backseat.
Jules that sounds like a good deal. Amazingly low mileage too. Looks like they're not made anymore but I'll add it to the list of cars to look into if we go used. The carseats will stay outboard, so the middle isn't an issue at all. Sometimes one of us sits between the babies (if they need to be fed, etc).
I'm torn about another small SUV. The new Subaru Forester is quite a bit bigger than ours (2002 - so the middle seat probably wouldn't be as tight as it is in ours, though I would prefer an Outback) for the right price, but I'm not sure we NEED another non-sedan. We will get another one for sure when we replace the Forester in a few years (It only has 135k on it, and we did a TON of work on it last summer).
ETA: The Civic doesn't have enough cargo space. I need to actually look at the trunk of an Accord though. I tend to find Honda a bit overpriced though - I paid less for my fully loaded Acura RSX than I would have paid for the exact same car with a Honda label (which is weird since it is Honda's line) as a Accord Coupe.
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If you are hoping to shop new, then with your price range you could look at the escape too - you are right, the mariner isn't made anymore... the last year was 2011. They are the exact same as the Escape (minus the trim package) so you don't have to worry about finding parts to fix it if needed though. I would have gone for the 2009 for the Sync System, but couldn't find any that were priced right in my area.
I lucked out with the price / mileage! Most 2008's had 35-40K and most 2009's had 25-30K. So I jumped when I saw the mileage on this one, it was a little more basic than I wanted, but the price was right on.
Another to peak at would be the Equinox. I test drove one and really loved it. Especially because you could move the entire bench seat forward to gain more storage room in the back. There weren't too many used ones available when I was shopping so hence the Mariner / Escape route.
A sedan option would be a Ford Fusion. My sister got one last year. The trunk space is very nice and it has a nice backseat. She loves her MPG, thinking she gets 30something.
She was debating between the Fusion, Escape and Flex. Fusion had more whitsels for smaller price tag.
I have a Fusion and really like it, but I don't think it would be quite as big as you want. A lot of the Ford and Mercury cars are the same body, but Mercury tend to be priced higher.
My take on the Escape is different than Jules'. At my old job, we have an Escape Hybrid for the agency car and I hated driving it. It was all over the place on the interstate if it was windy and the gas pedal was super touchy. I also felt like I had more blind spots in it.
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I'm going to vote to steer you away from one Jules suggested (the Chevy Equinox). I loved everything about my car... until the engine blew 3 times. We were told by the head mechanic at our dealer it isn't an uncommon problem with them. It was 3 years old and had about 65K on it. (Yes we drive a ton!)
One I'm going to look into getting is a Volkswagon Jetta Sport Wagon TDI. We test drove one this summer and I really liked it. It was roomy, handled great had lots of bells and whistles and with the diesel engine had amazing gas milage. Like 45-50mpg. Just another one to add to your list to look at.
You know we have and love the CRV, but I know you guys don't love it as you've test driven it. Also, before we owned it I thought the trunk was bigger, but honestly I almost feel like I had more room in my Saab trunk. or even my Mazda3. The snap n go takes up the entire truck and I I have to strategically place groceries around it. That said, I love the car, how it drives, and all that. I didn't anticipate having to move the passenger seat so far forward to accommodate Ada's seat - I am nervous about having two kids in there b/c I have long legs and really can not move the driver's seat up to fit a car seat on that side...
Anyway, what I was going to say is that friends of ours have a Venza and LOVE it. And I have always loved Mazdas so I would say check out the Mazda3 hatchback or the CX-something (not the 9, is it the 7? the smaller one, the 9 is like lexus rsx sized, but they have a mid-sized crossover that is nice too). But you can't usually get good deals on these cars used.
What about the Forrester? The new one is bigger and looks nice. You could probably get one coming off a lease or something.
We have a 2006 CR-V and love it. This was the last year before the re-designed it and personally I hate the new design b/c it seems like alot of cargo space was lost but I think it is just the design.
We have taken that to our gold prospecting trip several times and it held everything for a week's worth of stuff.
This is great info Heather. I kind of think we'll end up with a Camry, but having had the Subaru, I really see the appeal of the space.
I love the Siennas; they're just to expensive to get the options on. But of course, you get what you pay for with the T&C, I'm sure. I've driven them both several times as rentals, and the Sienna does handle a little better, but I love the stow-and-go on the T&C. That said, whatever we get we'll run to the ground (I already feel guilty for knowing I'm going to get rid of my coupe long before it's lifespan is over...) so maybe it'll make sense to spend a little more.
Claire that's interesting about the CRV - I felt it had more trunk space than the Rav4 (I can't recall why I didn't like it to be honest). Our snap and go doesn't take up much room at all in the Forester. There's so much space back there. The new ones have a deeper back seat too - my issue right now is we're riding in the dashboard to accommodate the car seats, but we had a loaner a while ago and they fit MUCH better. I do prefer the Outback because the middle seat is full sized, but that isn't really a dealbreaker for me.
I haven't looked at Mazda since I bought my car in 2004, but the cargo and gas issues Jules mentioned are issues for me. I need to look at the Venzas though. I do love Toyota.
Thanks for all the feedback. We're not even looking to buy until this fall, but I'm trying to get all the ducks in a line now so when we have the cash we can hunt down the right car (esp if we go used). Pesky daycare. We're saving pretty aggressively since I don't want to finance more than we can pay off in a year, but we'd be able to afford a lot more without it (or with one kid, not that I want to trade a kid in, lol). I secretly really want an MDX, but that just isn't in the cards at all.
I currently drive a Chrysler 200. I LOVE it. It's a really great midsize car, gets great gas mileage and is in general the nicest car I've ever had.
That said, next spring (or sooner, if we can), we're going to buy a Town&Country. I think that having a van with sliding side doors will be SO much easier with all the stuff that comes with a baby. We have A's car (a PT Cruiser) to trade in, plus my dad's Chrysler discount, so that may sway us to buy it sooner. We'll see. Then I'll get the van and A will take the 200.
A+S | Met 8/24/06 | Married 9/27/08
Started TTC 12/2008 | dx PCOS 5/2009
6 failed clomid/femara/TI cycles, 1 failed clomid/ovidrel/IUI cycle
Successful Cycle: 5/12/11 - 1000mg Metformin + 100mg Clomid(late response) + TI = BFP
? 2/13/12 - We proudly welcomed our daughter, Hadley Teresa! ?
? Lots of Luck to all of 3T/IF ?
I drove a Kia minivan rental about a year ago and it was awful. It was like driving around a box of plastic, only it had the pickup of a tractor trailer.
I might check out Hyundai's Tuscon and the other one, but to be totally honest, I'm a bit of a snob and don't really want a bottom of the market car...
LOL at the Kia comment.
Hyundai's are actually pretty good cars. I loved my old Elantra. My parents bought it off their auto mechanic who's wife was upgrading to another new Elantra. I didn't have it too long, so I don't know much about the frequency of repairs vs other brands, but they are a huge step up from Kia. I would definitely check Hyundai out; I think you get pretty good bang for your buck with them. But I totally understand your concern about making sure you get something reliable with the two little ones.
We test drove a few Hyundai's last year when we were thinking of trading in my car. They are really nice and pretty roomy inside and in the trunk. I only test drove the Elantra and the one below that but they both had a lot of options already in the cars that a lot of cars don't have without having to pay for.
The Elantra was a good size and we would have gotten that one had we decided to trade. I had kids in mind when I was shopping for a car. I knew we would eventually have another and then there's Suri and her long legs. She fit great as does an adult. Yes, I even tested the back seat!
I can't say how a car seat would fit but it seemed like there was plenty of room without the front seats having to be sat straight up.
I was hesitant about Hyundai because I had always heard bad things about them in the past but after tons of research I found out that they have come pretty far from the days when they were crappy cars. The gas mileage is amazing on those things and the new styles are really nice. If we ever trade one of our vehicles we will likely go with one of those.
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