Trading in for a used SUV

I hate mini-vans with a passion with every molecule of my being.
Shut up and buy one.

2 things
-You need more crap for one kid and a day trip than 10 adults for a week.
-traveling cargo - you house will fit in one

You can't beat a mini-van for either one of these ...... besides ...... more kids= need more room.

We currently drive a Chevy Trailblazer mid-size suv. I think it's bigger than what you're looking at and great with our kids (2) grown ....... when they small, no way.

Matt
 
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Mini vans are like fanny packs...

Useful? Yes, very much so, but that doesn’t mean you should be caught sporting it. :lol:


When I see a dude driving a mini van, I fully expect him to get out wearing a fanny pack and sandals with white socks. I’m usually disappointed but i find myself looking every time. :D
 
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Put a rear facing car seat in behind driver seat. Do you fit in it then. If you go to beach you'll be packing cooler, umbrella, pack-n-play etc......
our jeep commander was barley big enough for these types of trips with one kid. I'm a big guy and like my seat all the way back, do you. If you can fit comfortably with a second car seat in the back, then you can probably make the rest work with a receiver carrier or a rack carrier on top. I got a Tahoe this spring and it's generous on legroom and storage space. If we have a third, I'll have to get a suburban or it'll be minivan time.


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WARRIORWELDING said:
Easiest way.....Enterprise. Rent something for an excursion. Then send it back and try something else.
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THIS!!!

If you skim over everything else, stop and read this again!

After we had our first child, and had made several trips to Illinois (where my wife was from) and the beach in our Nissan Altima. We started to feel a little cramped taking EVERYTHING parents of a single child take with them. This was not only OUR first, but the first grandbaby, and first GREAT grandbaby to her grandmother in Illinois, so we packed everything on trips :rolleyes:

I got fed up and decided to RENT a dodge caravan (this was back in the late 90's) for a trip to Illinois. I was shocked!

After that trip we ended up pregnant with my daughter, and before she was born I had traded the Altima for a chevy venture. That helped with the trips, but honestly it was having that second child and realizing how little you actually CAN survive on away from home that helped us make a transition from minivan to SUV (plus my wife was having a mid-life crisis and refused to identify as a "minivan soccer mom" :rolleyes:)

I personally don't HATE a minivan. They serve a very practical purpose. We just learned that we didn't HAVE to have one to survive.
 
I don't hate on anyone who drives a mini van, I just don't like them personally and the wife doesn't like them either. Never has.
I love our Mazda 3 and its almost paid for but the problem is, we have to put the car seat in the middle of the back seat because you would have to scoot either the drive seat/passenger seat too far forward for anyone to even get in. So even with the car seat in the middle, its still uncomfortable for my wife and I to be in it. We have tried smaller car seats, but still have to have it in the middle.

We are not sure if we are going to have another kid at this point, but its a possibility.

My 2017 Jeep Cherokee is honestly the perfect size for us and I can fit all of our chit in there no problem and still have room to boot, but the wife is tired of getting in and out of the Mazda trying to get her and I feel its only going to get worse as she gets heavier.

I don't think we need a suburban or Tahoe, but I do think something like a Ford Edge or something similar in size would be perfect and would give us the room we need/want without going overboard.
 
shawn said:
and they're ugly to boot
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Agreed on your other points...we still plan on only using it as a 4 person vehicle and oldest being able to do their own thing by kid 3 was our logic as well.

But cmon...you can’t honestly say you think the burb looks better...it’s a shoebox with headlights.

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If the current car is nearly paid for, I’d suffer thru for a while and rent something for trips or take your GC.
 
UTfball68 said:
But cmon...you can’t honestly say you think the burb looks better...it’s a shoebox with headlights.
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From the side profile, if you cover up the headlights and taillights, I bet most people can't tell them apart. But the front ends on the Fords are fugly. Tail lights, too. The previous body style Chevy was better (interior and exterior, IMHO), but the Fords have been ugly for a while. The Navigator is ridiculous. It looks like a Bentley knock-off from 2003.
 
Go straight to the Suburban, Yukon XL or long wheelbase Expedition. Sequoia Should be considered too. The van is practical but IMO limited because most dont have the AWD option. Snow...carolinas...meltdown. Don't be that person.
 
shawn said:
The previous body style Chevy was better (interior and exterior, IMHO).
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I was wondering if I was the only one who thought that.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
I don't hate on anyone who drives a mini van, I just don't like them personally and the wife doesn't like them either. Never has.
I love our Mazda 3 and its almost paid for but the problem is, we have to put the car seat in the middle of the back seat because you would have to scoot either the drive seat/passenger seat too far forward for anyone to even get in. So even with the car seat in the middle, its still uncomfortable for my wife and I to be in it. We have tried smaller car seats, but still have to have it in the middle.

We are not sure if we are going to have another kid at this point, but its a possibility.

My 2017 Jeep Cherokee is honestly the perfect size for us and I can fit all of our chit in there no problem and still have room to boot, but the wife is tired of getting in and out of the Mazda trying to get her and I feel its only going to get worse as she gets heavier.

I don't think we need a suburban or Tahoe, but I do think something like a Ford Edge or something similar in size would be perfect and would give us the room we need/want without going overboard.
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Just another thought.
Especially if its nearly paid for. What about swapping cars? If the wife is primarily handling the baby, why dont you drive the mazda and let her drive the Jeep the next few months?
 
Ron said:
Just another thought.
Especially if its nearly paid for. What about swapping cars? If the wife is primarily handling the baby, why dont you drive the mazda and let her drive the Jeep the next few months?
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Well my Jeep is already used more for the very reasons posted above and we both pick her up equally, so that wouldn't do anything but switch the irritation.

But I like where your head is at, because I would love to keep it after its paid for as a good gas getter.
 
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All Im saying is 'This, too, shall pass'

It makes zero sense to get into a 5 year loan when she will be out of a rear facing car seat in what, 10 months?
Again, if Momma just wants a Mom-mobile SUV. Aint nothing wrong with that. Buy her one. Just dont lie to yourself 'We had no choice'
 
Ron said:
All Im saying is 'This, too, shall pass'

It makes zero sense to get into a 5 year loan when she will be out of a rear facing car seat in what, 10 months?
Again, if Momma just wants a Mom-mobile SUV. Aint nothing wrong with that. Buy her one. Just dont lie to yourself 'We had no choice'
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@trailhugger DD'd a TJ with two kids under 3yo while pregnant with #3.
 
CasterTroy said:
but honestly it was having that second child and realizing how little you actually CAN survive on away from home that helped us make a transition from minivan to SUV
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My wife still hasn't figured this out. The month before our first was born (2014) we sold her 2009 Venza and paid cash for a 2005 Yukon XL (and had enough left over that I bought myself something). Now with 2, 2yr and 4yr, she jokes about needing a bigger vehicle. We often have grandparents or other family with us though, so the xl is nice.

Even with all the stuff we carry, theres still room to change diapers behind the 3rd seat.
 
@Ron is dead on. This phase will be over before you know it. Then you get to turn that seat around. And then before you know it, the kid is in a better seat without that base and takes up even less space.

If she just simply wants a bigger ride, right on. But imagine not having that payment! How nice will that be? I’d seriously consider sticking it out. At least wait another year, see how you like having a paid for car and the freed up money. Then decide if you really “need” to get into another car that comes with a payment.

But I understand, and admit that I am very one sided when it comes to payments. Some people don’t mind them, but I like not having them and not being a slave to make X amount of money to cover the bills.
 
When my first one was born we had an 08 accord. Was a great car and we had it until after my 2nd was born. As luck would have it, a moron t-boned the car right after it was paid off. We picked up our durango then, as my wife was also babysitting and it was easier to fit a 3rd seat. We will likely go back to a car of some type before long, but a 70lb dog with the kids makes a sedan more of a challenge for much of a trip.

We looked at vans when we got the durango. the ability to tow a little, and get similar fuel mileage, is what outweighed it for us.

As others have said, the mid-sized SUVs are basically just sedans that sit a little taller, and have less usable trunk space.

josh m said:
Put a rear facing car seat in behind driver seat. Do you fit in it then. If you go to beach you'll be packing cooler, umbrella, pack-n-play etc......
our jeep commander was barley big enough for these types of trips with one kid. I'm a big guy and like my seat all the way back, do you. If you can fit comfortably with a second car seat in the back, then you can probably make the rest work with a receiver carrier or a rack carrier on top. I got a Tahoe this spring and it's generous on legroom and storage space. If we have a third, I'll have to get a suburban or it'll be minivan time.


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This x100. If you can fit a rear facing seat behind the driver seat, you can fit an adult back there.

77GreenMachine said:
If the current car is nearly paid for, I’d suffer thru for a while and rent something for trips or take your GC.
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X2

Ron said:
All Im saying is 'This, too, shall pass'

It makes zero sense to get into a 5 year loan when she will be out of a rear facing car seat in what, 10 months?
Again, if Momma just wants a Mom-mobile SUV. Aint nothing wrong with that. Buy her one. Just dont lie to yourself 'We had no choice'
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its closer to 2yrs before your supposed to turn them around.... but you can switch from a carrier to a fixed seat much sooner, which gets you a little more room.
 
77GreenMachine said:
@Ron is dead on. This phase will be over before you know it. Then you get to turn that seat around. And then before you know it, the kid is in a better seat without that base and takes up even less space.

If she just simply wants a bigger ride, right on. But imagine not having that payment! How nice will that be? I’d seriously consider sticking it out. At least wait another year, see how you like having a paid for car and the freed up money. Then decide if you really “need” to get into another car that comes with a payment.

But I understand, and admit that I am very one sided when it comes to payments. Some people don’t mind them, but I like not having them and not being a slave to make X amount of money to cover the bills.
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Yeah, this is what I am pushing for, but I know as soon as that sucker is paid off, she is going to want to trade it in for something nicer... I am going to try to talk her into hanging onto it and maybe look at trying to search for a smaller car seat to gain us a couple more inches of clearance.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Yeah, this is what I am pushing for, but I know as soon as that sucker is paid off, she is going to want to trade it in for something nicer... I am going to try to talk her into hanging onto it and maybe look at trying to search for a smaller car seat to gain us a couple more inches of clearance.
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I know the carrier is convenient, esp when they are newborns.... but consider looking at a fixed rear facing seat, or maybe just leaving the carrier in the car, most of the time. I found that it was much easier getting just the kid out, vs wiggling the whole carrier out the door.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
I know the carrier is convenient, esp when they are newborns.... but consider looking at a fixed rear facing seat, or maybe just leaving the carrier in the car, most of the time. I found that it was much easier getting just the kid out, vs wiggling the whole carrier out the door.
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Bingo.
Keep in mind the kid will only be in a cradle style carrier a little while. Not long until they want to walk on their own.
And that also means, climbing into the car on their own.
Aaaaand THAT is when you learn the meaning of patience, b/c it will take 10 minutes to get in and out of the car.
every.
single.
time.
 
rockcity said:
Just let the kids ride in the back seat without belts or a car seat like we all did when we were younger. We turned out mostly OK...
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Says the guy with a giant orange nose.
 
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