Looking for a recommendation. We are thinking of buying a used car/suv for my wife who would drive it for two years and then it would transition to my daughter who is now 14. After my daughter drives it for two years, hopefully without incident, it would go to my son who is currently 12.
Wife is typical mom/triathlete with bikes, gear, running around all the time with kids, etc. This would be her primary car for the next two years.
We probably need 4 wheel drive - snowy and hilly in CO and 4 doors is a must.
Safe and not too small. Daughter needs to drive interstate to get to swimming.
Possibly son would be pulling a small trailer trailer when he starts driving.
Would prefer something with a little pep, maybe a V6, over great gas mileage.
Wife would probably average 12k per year in miles so if we bought used, I’m thinking something around 25k in current miles so it would be around 50k by the time my daughter is driving and less than 75k by the time son gets it.
Thinking something like a RAV, Jeep Wrangler, Escape. CRV, Explorer. As for budget and wanting something around 25,000 to 30,000 miles, I’m thinking I’m going to have to spend around $25,000 to $30,000.
Don’t puss around, just get a Suburban. We went through 2 of them in the kid years. I actually miss the thing. There is no substitute and you will thank me later.
We were in a similar situation and I got a program car from Acura, TSX wagon. I absolutely LOVE this car and I will keep it until the wheels fall off. They don’t make them anymore, but I think they are coming out with new ones in 2016?
I can get all 3 kids in there no problem, although now that my 14 year old is the same size as my 6’3" husband it is a tight fit for all 5 of us in there.
Wife would probably average 12k per year in miles so if we bought used, I’m thinking something around 25k in current miles so it would be around 50k by the time my daughter is driving and less than 75k by the time son gets it.
Thinking something like a RAV, Jeep Wrangler, Escape. CRV, Explorer. As for budget and wanting something around 25,000 to 30,000 miles, I’m thinking I’m going to have to spend around $25,000 to $30,000.
I have an '07 RAV with a V6. Plenty of engine for that small of a car and would check all your boxes. It is rated to tow 3,000 lbs, but with the car body, I don’t know if I would want to pull around that much.
Why would you get a used car with so little miles on it. Maybe things are different where you live, but something like that around here (someone had a 2 year lease) wouldn’t be much less than getting a new one off the lot. If you are going to pay $25,000, don’t buy someone else’s problem. I’ll give you an exception for the RAV since you can’t get a new V6 anymore, but as a general rule of thumb either look for older cars are get a new one.
A thought for you: why give your kids a newer (4 y/o) car? They’ll beat it up. Perhaps not intentionally, but by having the car around the places kids go, it will get thumped on.
Buy your wife the new car she wants now, then get an 8-10 y/o semi-beater for the kids.
A thought for you: why give your kids a newer (4 y/o) car? They’ll beat it up. Perhaps not intentionally, but by having the car around the places kids go, it will get thumped on.
Buy your wife the new car she wants now, then get an 8-10 y/o semi-beater for the kids.
That’s the dilemma. Currently have a 10 year old Expedition that we want to get rid of. Buy the wife a new care now, $45,000 or buy one now that costs a lot less, drive it for two years and then give it to kids and then she gets a new car in two years. Pay now or pay later. I hate the cost of new cars and we have always bought new cars, pay cash and drive them till they are almost dead. The Expedition is an 03 with 115k and today I had to spend $500 on some parts. I’ll pay for oil, tires and battery but once it starts needing crap and its only worth a couple of thousand, I’m done.
All I want is a good safe dependable car for my kids - thinking Toyota or Honda. I’ve always had Fords - F150, Expedition, Explore but now I have a Toyota truck and I’ll probably never go back to a Ford.
That’s the dilemma. Currently have a 10 year old Expedition that we want to get rid of. Buy the wife a new care now, $45,000 or buy one now that costs a lot less, drive it for two years and then give it to kids and then she gets a new car in two years. Pay now or pay later. I hate the cost of new cars and we have always bought new cars, pay cash and drive them till they are almost dead. The Expedition is an 03 with 115k and today I had to spend $500 on some parts. I’ll pay for oil, tires and battery but once it starts needing crap and its only worth a couple of thousand, I’m done.
Never understood this, A new car will have $300 or $400 per month car payment. So if you have to put $500 every 3 months in the old one (which you really wont do). 115k miles is a spring chicken in any new car. Cars today hit $200,000 without much effort.
We bought my daughter a used '08 CRV. I think I live in a similar area as you (DougCo) and it has been a perfect choice. She drives that thing to swim practice at 4am in the snow, no problem.
For your budget, you could afford a new one. Good used ones are pretty hard to find. We ended up paying a little more than we wanted (still under $20k), and it had about 70k miles. It was in perfect condition, though, and it will last her until she can buy her own car.
A thought for you: why give your kids a newer (4 y/o) car? They’ll beat it up. Perhaps not intentionally, but by having the car around the places kids go, it will get thumped on.
Buy your wife the new car she wants now, then get an 8-10 y/o semi-beater for the kids.
That’s the dilemma. Currently have a 10 year old Expedition that we want to get rid of. Buy the wife a new care now, $45,000 or buy one now that costs a lot less, drive it for two years and then give it to kids and then she gets a new car in two years. Pay now or pay later. I hate the cost of new cars and we have always bought new cars, pay cash and drive them till they are almost dead. The Expedition is an 03 with 115k and today I had to spend $500 on some parts. I’ll pay for oil, tires and battery but once it starts needing crap and its only worth a couple of thousand, I’m done.
All I want is a good safe dependable car for my kids - thinking Toyota or Honda. I’ve always had Fords - F150, Expedition, Explore but now I have a Toyota truck and I’ll probably never go back to a Ford.
Keep the Expedition for the kids if it mechanically sound, even if you have to store it. Keep the kids away from the new iron, they’ll unintentionally kill it. Lose the old Ford, it’s no biggie to the pocket book, lose that 2 y/o car now that’s a different story.
While not in your situation, our family has a CRV (08) and Outback (12), both could fit the bill. Safe, roomy enough, all wheel drive, and super reliable. I could see us keeping the subaru for a long long time and with a hitch on the back you might be good to go. All depends on the true size of car you want, or mileage, any bigger than those and I agree the Pilot or Highlander are great options.
Most of the small & midsized stuff is great.
Today, here are more good ones than duds. From lil ones (Escape, Rogue, CrV, Forester, Equinox, Santa Fe) to mid-size ones, most should work well.
Many SUVs can be bought for 50% of original price just 4-5 years old/60k. For that price you can put $3-5K of work in over 8-10 years and you still save.
(But if you can afford new, great).
Anyone know of real duds from last 5 years? Our Hyundai Veracruz is super comfy but almost falls in thet category when it comes to minor problems (Santa Fes are better).
Can’t imagine spending $25-30k on a car then handing it over to a 16 year old driver in 2 years. That is a lot of money to spend on a car that is going to get trashed by a teenager. The other thing to consider is insurance costs, a car that is worth more and needs full coverage is going to cost a lot more with a new driver than an old beater with just liability insurance on it.
If I have kids I am not buying them a car, they can save their money and buy their own car. I bought my first car and because I had to save for years to get it I took religious care of that car. Bi-weekly washing, parked in the back 40, etc. Sure it was a beater, but it was my beater and I worked hard to get that $2k car. Kids who get nice cars bought for them tend to trash them.
Buy your wife a nice car and keep the expedition for the kids or buy them a $5k beater when they start to drive. Or better yet make them pitch in for a beater when the time comes.