Looking at getting a new car!

[sneakymom]

BTDT with 2 car payments. And I had no job. And it stank.

We had no choice. The little station wagon we had bought a year and a half into our marriage was having engine issues. And we needed something bigger- we had 2 kids- 2 carseats and the long trips we did as a family were a pain.

It was 2000, and we got a minivan (Chevy Venture). I know they don't make those anymore, but I have to admit, gas hog and all it was a pretty nice car to haul small kids around in.

A year and a half ago it needed $3000 worth of work (water pump died, I didn't catch it in time and it wound up needing valve gasket covers). Ugh. Yeah- we did pay it, Actually I call it the "teen mobile" since my almost 18 year old child drives it to school/ music etc. Not exactly a high-schooler's dream vehicle, but it's a tank and if she gets into a serious accident the car's going to be more hurt than she is.

For me I got a 2010 Ford Focus. It's really small. But most of the time it's just me (or me and dh or me and the kid that can't drive for another year).

We buy new b/c we drive cars into the ground. In the 21 years of marrige, we've gone through 4 new cars, and 2 of them we drove for over 120,000 miles. The van was new and currently has almost 125,000 miles on it. Now with a teenager driving it (who has this wonderful habit of driving over curbs

) I'm hoping that it will last at least until we get her settled in college next year

Cheryl

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Originally Posted by Ducman69

I'd look for any deals on a low mileage diesel VW Jetta Sportwagon. My sister's has a roofrack that's just used for this giant supplemental aerodynamic suitcase so they have massive capacity for long trips, but it will do bikes or kayaks or whatever.

42mpg is hard to beat, even with diesel being a bit more expensive, and diesel powertrains are dead reliable and should easily give you 200K miles of service.

Its the interior capacity of your average SUV, it just doesn't have the ground clearance. Still, most SUVs don't even see a blade of grass and aren't exactly fording rivers, and so the really tall stance just makes them top heavy and handle poorly.

Thanks I'm looking those up online now. The nearest Subaru dealership is also a VW dealership so that might work well anyway to check out. DH's car that we are trading in used to get 41mpg on the highway. It's a big help!

I finally got to talk to my Dad about it. He said he was always told February is the best month to buy a car.

 

[subconsciousme]

My brother just bought a Kia Soul. I drove it quickly and had a question on the manufacturers warranty....

Is it REALLY 100k miles? That's not the impression I'm getting online. He said he could be pay $7 more a month and extend it to bumper to bumper for 100k miles. So he did.

But his doesn't have a spare tire?

Huh?

 

[ducman69]

Originally Posted by CatMom2Wires

If you are doing those long distance trips to see family, would be A LOT cheaper just to purchase a few large items--pack n play, umbrella strollers, high chairs and leave them with your family members!!!!

Garage sales are great for finding bargain gear!

That's what we did. We got some handmedowns from my brother's kids that are now too old, and picked up the rest cheap on craigslist since its just temporary use stuff.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Well we did it! We got a 2011 Outback literally off the showroom floor. We got it down to just about the price we wanted (taxes and tags and stuff put it back up) but it seemed like the best one for us that will last our family a while. I feel good about the purchase. The first payment isn't till the end of November. So that does help. We still may pay the other car off early. But not yet.

It's deffinitely bigger than I'm used to driving. It's going to take some getting used to! I might be parking a little far back for a few weeks! But then I usually aim to park next to or near the cart returns because it's easier and safer with my DD. On second thought I might not be parking next to one...but still that usually puts me somewhere with some space around me to park.