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00clone

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cyhiphopp said:
If I were you I'd look at the crossovers and small SUVs out there. Drive as many as you can and figure out what you want and what you need to have. Compare the price points figure out what's worth the price. You can easily have 2 kids in most crossovers and small SUVs. Then when it comes time for kid #3 you can upgrade to a larger SUV or give in and get a mini-van (yuck).
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th
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00clone

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toyotas-swagger-wagon.jpg


That's actually our exact van. Well...I can't tell if it's an LE, or an XLE, but I'm thinking it's an AWD LE like ours based on the wheels.
 
cyhiphopp

cyhiphopp

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00clone said:
toyotas-swagger-wagon.jpg


That's actually our exact van. Well...I can't tell if it's an LE, or an XLE, but I'm thinking it's an AWD LE like ours based on the wheels.
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I'm not a full on hater. If/when I have 3 kids I will probably give in and buy a MiniVan. I'll probably keep my hybrid for driving to work and let Sammy drive the van to her school though.
 
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00clone

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cyhiphopp said:
I'm not a full on hater. If/when I have 3 kids I will probably give in and buy a MiniVan. I'll probably keep my hybrid for driving to work and let Sammy drive the van to her school though.
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Oh, I know, but I had to find a post to bring in that ridiculous...yet ridiculously funny "Swagger wagon" ad campaign.
 
cyrocksmypants

cyrocksmypants

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00clone said:
Not necessarily, considering your situation.

First, you have house stuff coming up, and the ability to haul things is nice at times. I've hauled several pieces of furniture in our van.

Second, although you don't have kids, you are planning them.

Third, to your point of not having kids yet....from your posts, you keep vehicles for a LONG time relative to most people, and that's not a bad thing at all, but it is not the norm. So, yes, you could hold off on it, but if you think you might have to trade up before you normally would because of running out of space, it's not that bad of an idea.

For us, we were DINKs with a large dog, and we liked hiking. We had a "OMG my first NEW car" Nissan Altima that I borrowed money on and the depreciation/interest (even though it was a really low rate at that time) was costing us a lot. We buckled down and got it paid off, but went on a long trip. Dog in back seat and he took up the whole back seat when sleeping. Stuff on the back seat floor and trunk. Drove so long with that much weight in the trunk behind the rear wheels that we pretty much burned off the tire tread in that 4000 mile trip. As well, an Altima isn't the best vehicle for getting to a lot of hiking trails.

Realized we could use a bigger vehicle if we were going to take long trips and start having kids, and some ground clearance would be nice if we were going to keep hiking. Bought a Highlander used with cash from selling the Altima and had first kid. Stopped hiking 'cause it's hard to hike with an infant and a dog, but went on a long trip and infant's stuff filled the back of the thing and dog/kid took up the second row.

Used market was high, new market low after the cash for clunkers thing so we traded the highlander for a new Sienna. I said I'd never buy a new vehicle after the Altima thing, but we paid cash, and with vans....they get a lot of miles and a lot of wear very quickly and Toyotas/Hondas don't depreciate that much, so you're saving like 10% on a 3 year old vehicle with like 60K miles and a bunch of stains....or you're saving even less for a nicer one.

So now, we have a 2011 Sienna with about 40K miles, and a 2005 Ford pieceofshit (I mean Focus) with 120K that just drives me back and forth to work.

As for the anti-minivan crowd...that's mostly ego and the social stigma...and I don't buy into it. My vehicle is not a sign of my status, my ego, or my anything...it's a form of transportation. The ego purchasers are exactly what the car companies want. The ego buyers is the whole reason "model years" were invented. Pre-War cars didn't even have a model year, but marketers for the car companies realized that if you put a year on it, you can make money selling them a new one before it's used up by playing on people's fragile egos and the need to feel 'adequate' by having a new enough vehicle.

I read a good article on this recently....titled "Parents, just buy the damn minivan":

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/parents-just-buy-the-damn-minivan-1597502940

While I won't say that buying a CUV is wrong...the other thing is look at the body shape and layout....oftentimes the CUV is really just a minivan with larger wheels, *slightly* more ground clearance, and hinged doors instead of sliding doors. And from experience....until my kids are middle school or higher....eff hinged doors...they're a pain to pull an infant out of in tight spots, and when kids are old enough to get them in and out, until they're strong enough to really handle a hinged door, you gotta worry about being 'that guy' who lets his kid ka-wang the door into the next car and give a big old ding.
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Plus they're much more safe for the kids when DH is slamming into parked cars every other day from the slightest bit of snow.
 
cowgirl836

cowgirl836

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we do keep cars a long time, which is why I was thinking that when we replace my car down the road, it would make sense then to get a mini-van. Life going as planned (ha) the end of the Altima's life likely coincides with about the time we have a third kid. I don't have too much against minivans.....we would do that before we'd get a full-size SUV for sure. I just didn't want to own one before we even have kids, ha.

The other thing is price - I'm seeing quite a few lower mileage Rogues in the $17-22k price range. The Sienna, which would probably be my minivan choice after seeing how great it was for former boss......are in the $26-30k range. So if we're looking at doing this (hopefully, please last til then DH's pos car) next year, that's a decent chunk of change. And like you 00, I would prefer not to finance. I like hiphop's train of thought.

I'm definitely not a hater, just trying to hold off on the money/gas mileage thing and probably a bit of coolness. Though we all know I'm far from cool.
 
CyArob

CyArob

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Apr 22, 2011
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cowgirl836 said:
we do keep cars a long time, which is why I was thinking that when we replace my car down the road, it would make sense then to get a mini-van. Life going as planned (ha) the end of the Altima's life likely coincides with about the time we have a third kid. I don't have too much against minivans.....we would do that before we'd get a full-size SUV for sure. I just didn't want to own one before we even have kids, ha.

The other thing is price - I'm seeing quite a few lower mileage Rogues in the $17-22k price range. The Sienna, which would probably be my minivan choice after seeing how great it was for former boss......are in the $26-30k range. So if we're looking at doing this (hopefully, please last til then DH's pos car) next year, that's a decent chunk of change. And like you 00, I would prefer not to finance. I like hiphop's train of thought.

I'm definitely not a hater, just trying to hold off on the money/gas mileage thing and probably a bit of coolness. Though we all know I'm far from cool.
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You plan way too much.
 
CloneinWDSM

CloneinWDSM

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cowgirl836 said:
we do keep cars a long time, which is why I was thinking that when we replace my car down the road, it would make sense then to get a mini-van. Life going as planned (ha) the end of the Altima's life likely coincides with about the time we have a third kid. I don't have too much against minivans.....we would do that before we'd get a full-size SUV for sure. I just didn't want to own one before we even have kids, ha.

The other thing is price - I'm seeing quite a few lower mileage Rogues in the $17-22k price range. The Sienna, which would probably be my minivan choice after seeing how great it was for former boss......are in the $26-30k range. So if we're looking at doing this (hopefully, please last til then DH's pos car) next year, that's a decent chunk of change. And like you 00, I would prefer not to finance. I like hiphop's train of thought.

I'm definitely not a hater, just trying to hold off on the money/gas mileage thing and probably a bit of coolness. Though we all know I'm far from cool.
Click to expand...

I'm sitting here not knowing what I'm eating for lunch and cowgirl already has her 3rd kid planned that coincided when they need to buy a minivan.
 
ImJustKCClone

ImJustKCClone

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cowgirl836 said:
We're going to have to buy a vehicle in the next twelve months and plan to keep it for 8-10 years. Seems reasonable to figure out what we'll need.
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Four doors. IDC if they're sliding or hinged or gull-wing, IDC if it's not going to be the primary. If you have EVER tried to get a modern car seat into the back seat of a two-door car, you will understand. I took care of a granddaughter when her sister was a preemie in the NICU, and I was still driving Baby, my '82 Datsun 280ZX. The "X" means that it had a back seat...a small child could fit sideways in it, but that's about it. After finally getting the car seat locked into the back seat, I ended up installing 13-month-old Claire in it via the hatchback - couldn't see the freakin' buckles from the door or the front seat. Car seats were far less complicated when my boys were babies...and you could still put them in the front seat! ;)
 
Cybirdy

Cybirdy

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Sep 10, 2009
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The first thing to do is have your hubby test drive a minivan. If he is tall, he may/may not like it depending on how he is comfortable driving. My sister's husband who is 6'4 or more and built like an offensive lineman is not comfortable in a minivan. My hubby has no issues at 6'.

Secondly, who cares what you drive and if you do or do not have kids? There is no ID check when you get out at Target or the grocery store. "OMG, did you see that woman driving a minivan? She didn't even have any kids in there!" Unless you have Hawkeye licencse plates, I don't even notice what people are driving.

Full disclosure--I drove an SUV with the first baby and have had a minivan the past 9 years since the second was about 6mo old. And as long as I have kids in carseats I will drive a minivan. Automatic sliding doors are awesome, as is a back auto lift gate. Hubby has no issue driving it, he usualy takes it to run errands on the weekend or if he is taking our oldest to sports. Beyond sad that right now both of my auto doors have crapped out, expected more from Toyota. Not dropping $800 to fix both at the moment.

We only have one vehicle that fits all the kids, but we never had to deal with daycare drop off or anything.
 
cowgirl836

cowgirl836

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ImJustKCClone said:
Four doors. IDC if they're sliding or hinged or gull-wing, IDC if it's not going to be the primary. If you have EVER tried to get a modern car seat into the back seat of a two-door car, you will understand. I took care of a granddaughter when her sister was a preemie in the NICU, and I was still driving Baby, my '82 Datsun 280ZX. The "X" means that it had a back seat...a small child could fit sideways in it, but that's about it. After finally getting the car seat locked into the back seat, I ended up installing 13-month-old Claire in it via the hatchback - couldn't see the freakin' buckles from the door or the front seat. Car seats were far less complicated when my boys were babies...and you could still put them in the front seat! ;)
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heck no on a two door. Heck. No. Did that for four years already.
 
cowgirl836

cowgirl836

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Cybirdy said:
The first thing to do is have your hubby test drive a minivan. If he is tall, he may/may not like it depending on how he is comfortable driving. My sister's husband who is 6'4 or more and built like an offensive lineman is not comfortable in a minivan. My hubby has no issues at 6'.

Secondly, who cares what you drive and if you do or do not have kids? There is no ID check when you get out at Target or the grocery store. "OMG, did you see that woman driving a minivan? She didn't even have any kids in there!" Unless you have Hawkeye licencse plates, I don't even notice what people are driving.
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My point to DH is that I don't think we have a need in the next 3-5 years that can't be met by a smaller, cheaper, more efficient vehicle.
 
cowgirl836

cowgirl836

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the next time I feel the need to dispel misinformation being spread by someone knowing nothing about what they speak of, remember to never get into arguments with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
 
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