Car recs

[SoonerTexan]

Time to buy a new car for various reasons. We need something that will fit 6 people and last until attending hood, prob 6 years from now min. So something 2 years old or newer. Our budget is about 20k max.

We are thinking a mid size SUV or crossover that has a 3rd row. It will be small but it only needs to be big enough to toss a few munchkins in te back.

So far the Kia sorento fits the bill. Any experience with Kia here? The warranty intrigues me. Honda, Toyota, etc are going to be out of our budget. Hyundai and domestics prob are options.

Help.

[v-girl]

Check CarMax. That's where we bought Annabelle. And she was a year old and $20K. Seats 7. Drives like a dream. Your baby likes her.

[diggitydot]

I absolutely looooove my Kia. I have a Rondo (EX-V6 with the leather package and 3rd row seats) and have had a hard time finding another newer car that I like more. I will probably upgrade to a Sorento when the time comes.

The warranty absolutely rocks. I've never had a problem with the dealership covering things under warranty.

[SuzySunshine]

When we bought my Hyundai in med school we went back and forth between that and the Kia over and over and over again. I think both the Hyundais and the Kias are great cars with great warranties. Had my Hyundai for 8 years and never had a single issue with it. I think their Veracruz is the step up from the Santa Fe I had but I'm sure it or the Kia would be a great car for you.

I do agree about checking CarMax, you may be able to find one that is only a year or two old and the warranty should still be in effect.

[diggitydot]

We bought a 1 yr old lease return with 20K miles. We've had it for 5 years and have just almost hit the 60K mark where the warranty expires. We love it so much that when DH needed a car, we bought him a Forte.

[migirl]

I drive a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, we got the optional third-row seats which has come in super-useful when driving other people's kids around! I can fit my three kiddos (all still in car seats) comfortably across the second row, and then there's easily room for two more in the third row. I haven't had any repair issues at all (knock wood). I love it, it's a great car.

[SoonerTexan]

Ooo I like this feedback!

I'll check out the Rondo and Hyundais.

I'm willing to look at Carmax if they have something good, but I don't like their no negotiating policy.

[ladymoreta]

Try test driving a minivan... I know, I know, it's just not cool, but for wanting to seat that many eventually, with carseats and boosters, I think it will be much easier to fit everyone in a minivan than an SUV. We're going with Britax convertible ones: rear-to-forward for DD and forward-to-booster for DS, and those suckers are BIG!

[v-girl]

You can take my T&C for a spin if you want to.

[SoonerTexan]

We might find a minivan in our price range, but it is going to have more miles and be older. I know they don't have bad gas mileage, but I want to go as low as possible driving 60-80 miles a day. And then there is the insurance costs. And our current garage is awfully small. It would e nice, but the universe is not spelling out minivan in our future right now

[spotty_dog]

Our Kia Sedona gets about 24 mpg. Looks like you can get a 2010 for around $15K. (Our 2009 with 30-something thousand miles cost us $17K in 2011.) Our garage is narrow but the van does fit. Don't SUVs usually cost more to insure than minivans?

We had two 5-year-olds, a 4-year-old, and a 3-year-old for most of last week. We fit three convertible car seats (forward facing) and a booster with no problems, everybody was able to get in and out with ease. I always thought I'd be a station wagon or *maybe* SUV mom but at this point I couldn't imagine giving up the convenience...

[diggitydot]

Read about all of them on Edmunds.com. They really have the best scoop on pros and cons of most vehicles.

[Vanquisher]

I'd really, really consider a minivan if I were you. They'll get better or similar mileage to an SUV, and the cargo space cannot be beat. I love my Highlander, but often miss my T&C too. I think you could get a nice minivan in your price range.

[SoonerTexan]

I guess it's stupid to turn my nose at a Kia minivan but not an SUV. We will look at them all.

So over this. We just spent the last 3 hours in Austin trying to get the car to cool only to discover it needs more damn work. We gave up and are on our way home with no AC. We bought a portable spritzer fan for N but she keeps trying to grab it. Luckily it is doable on the highway now that the sun is going down. Get the memo Texas, it's freakin Autumn!!!

And thus my car will go back to the shop tomorrow. I can't take DHs car because he insists he needs his parking decal and he starts a new rotation tomorrow, so we are going to drop him off and pick him up because I refuse to drive with N alone in the back seat of a hot car.

[diggitydot]

I don't know what it is about the Kia minivan, but I'm not sold on it. I've test driven a TON of Kia vehicles and I truly do not like their van. Keep in mind that I'm not a minivan fan, anyway, but I kept an open mind when we were last car shopping. We even almost bought the VW minivan. I just don't like how the Sedona drives.