Auto advice for large families

[BonBon]

OK, so last weekend I picked MIL's dog up from the animal hospital and she proceeded to crap all over ME, my clothes, shoes, and ground into the FABRIC seats of my car!!!!! :thud: I've got it almost all cleaned up, but DH won't sit there and neither will I. (The back is okay, and most of the driver's seat was protected by me) ::

I hate to be...whiny? superficial? I dunno, but the car is truly ruined for me now. I was planning on driving it into the ground and it's already got over 100K miles. I wanted to wait to see how large our family was until I bought another car. So...my question is, what is a great car for a family of 6? I've been thinking about the suburban with 2nd row captain seats like Sally recommended. But it's so...BIG. Any suggestions? I used to think that I would die before I got a minivan , but it's actually looking like a better option in terms of ease of use. Is there such a thing as an SUV with easily accessible 3rd row seats, say with sliding doors?

*sigh*

That sucks. I don't have good advice about family cars, but have you checked into professional car detailers to clean up the interior of your car? Around here, about $120 gets the interior, exterior, and engine detailed. And perhaps MIL would like to help out considering it was her FIDO who did the deed?

One word of caution, drive carefully after getting the car detailed. After my first and only "full detail," which was a Christmas gift from my in-laws, I got T-Boned at 40 MPH (other driver ran a red light light as I made a protected green arrow turn). The car is still in the shop -- today marks the sixth full week.

Heck, even if you do get rid of your car, you'll need to address the interior canine effluvia issue before trading or selling it.

Good luck. Since we've had so many in-laws threads these days, I'll be nosey and ask if MIL stepped up to the plate?

[DCJenn]

Our car insurance (less the deductible) paid for the dog vomit clean-up that we had to deal with...another thought.

You know I am anti-large vehicle, but my friend bought the Volkswagon Passat wagon and they LOVE it. It fits car seats and kid stuff with no problem, looks good and still gets relatively decent mileage.
(and I plan on stuffing my kid and his stuff in the MINI so he'll probably grow up and want nothing but an extra cab, long bed pick-up- just to spite me.)

Jenn

I second Kevin's suggestion for a detail.

We are in a sort of similar situation. Eric inherited his dad's Toyota Landcruiser. After the break-in and subsequent window replacement, I drove the car for a few days to take care of that stuff. I had the pleasure of filling up the car and realizing that it gets maybe 10 miles to the gallon. So, the car is as good as gone. Actually, there are other reasons we want to sell it. One reason is that it is a huge PITA to find a parking space in the hospital parking lot. Then there is a whole host of reasons related to his sister...but I'll spare you.

It does have the third row seating. If you use it every once in while it is fine. I think it would be a pain on a regular basis (ditto for any 3rd row seat in a SUV that isn't easily accessible).

After we figure out what we can get for it, we'll figure out what we will replace it with. Right now I think we will get either another Volvo wagon or a mini-van. I want to easily be able to transport another child (either a 3rd for us or a friend of Bryn's). The minivan idea use to make me.... :: . But there are a lot of nice things about them too. I think we would like to get a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. Or a Volvo wagon but I'm not sure which model. I love my 850 and am content to keep driving it into the ground. It has 140K miles so that could be sooner than later, I guess, but you'd never know looking at it. The Passat wagons are really nice too. No matter what, we will instantly double our gas mileage and stretch our gas dollar a lot further!

[mommax3]

Lots of good ideas here! I really liked the Honda Odyssey when we were looking four years ago, but they were next to impossible to find used and I refuse to buy a brand new car.

I just have a couple of thoughts.....if you truly plan to drive whatever you get into the ground, you need to think about the eventual size of your kids, and also if you plan to take many road trips. DH and I are both tall, and not the skinny kind of tall, either. Our boys have the potential to be really big guys. My NINE year old weighs over 100 pounds and is well over 5 ft. tall. So the Suburban has been great for us in terms of room for everybody and their "stuff", especially on our long road trips, which we make 3 to 4 times a year. Another thought is this....the Yukon XL, which looks just like a Suburban, has an option where all four wheels turn, which gives it the turning radius of an Accord. My in-laws have this model and it is really great. The only struggle I have had with the size of my Suburban is parking (and that is only occasional) but with that option, I wouldn't have that trouble.

I don't have a good handle on the mileage we get but I am fairly certain that we get better than 10mpg. We don't have the four wheel drive model of Suburban, we have the lighter-weight one.

Let us know what you decide! We bought our Suburban used, not quite four years ago, with 27K miles on it. We are about to turn over 100K. I will have to see what our lives are like for a couple of years in Indiana before I decide what I want next time......I don't think we will be making road trips to and from TX quite so often, so that will change things!

Sally

I have driven a Yukon and was surprised by how nice it was to drive, specifically the turning with the power and overall feel being not quite as impressive. I'm not sure if it had the 4 wheel turn thing or not but it didn't feel as big as it is to drive. I easily navigated parking spaces, drive throughs, etc while running errands for a friend. I was in the suburbs and city driving might be a different story.
The Landcruiser has an amazing turning radius as well. It is a very nice car to drive and comfortable. It's not sporty by any means but it doesn't have that sluggish big SUV feel to it either that I've noticed when driving some of the bigger cars.

Sally -- I was surprised by how bad the Landcruiser mileage was! Granted it was mostly city driving....but yeesh. I am paying almost $2 to drive 10 miles! My neighbors Suburban is around 8-10 mpg. But it sounds like hers is older than yours and you've got all those wide open spaces, right?

I was thinking that a used Odyssey might be hard to come by and I doubt we'll be able to get enough out of the Landcruiser for a new one. At least Honda and Toyota cars hold their value exceptionally well.

Dagny, I'll make you a good deal on a used Landcruiser. (j/k, I would not sell this car to anyone I know!)

[Rapunzel]

We have had a Toyota Sienna for the last few years and absolutely love it. It gets good mileage, is easy to handle (especially important for a mini-van or other larger vehicle), and seems to be of lasting quality. I've had no problems manuevering it through the narrow, pot-holed, crazy-cab-driver streets of Boston (and, ditto for our lengthy stay in D.C. recently). Parking isn't a problem either - it seems relatively compact for the interior room.

I think after this next kiddo (when our family hits the "7" mark) we'll be shopping for a bigger vehicle - such as the nine-passenger "suburbans" on the market. My husband is intent that we upgrade to a built-in navigation system and DVD system as well. This is going to be one expensive vehicle whatever we end up with in a year or so....

Jennifer

[Sheherezade]

We love our Honda Odyssey. We got it two years ago used. It's a 2000 model fully loaded. We got an amazing deal--17K. We found it online and bought it 1 hour outside Boston. It gets around 27 mpg and seats 7. It has the fold down seat in the rear and removable captain chairs in the middle row. We have no complaints. It was a major upgrade from our '89 Honda Prelude with 150 K. It got sprayed by a skunk family that had nested beneath it in our Boston parking lot ......so I know what position you are in
We got over the minivan thing fast---it is a great family car. I do have to share my one car buying tip--we showed up about 20 minutes before closing at the dealership with a cashier's check for 17 K. They wanted 18.5 (and that was a great deal), but they didn't even haggle. They just took the check, signed the papers and closed up for the night. It was very low stress. Good luck with your car shopping!!!

[Sheherezade]

I think we found the car listing on Edmunds.com---a great car resource. You should check that out. Also, we just got the latest Consumer Report issue in the mail; its the annual car listings. If you don't get the magazine, it might be worth picking up at the newstand or in the library.

We have a VW passat wagon and I love it. I don't know about fitting a family of 6 into it, though. Maybe the Taureg??

I, too, am VERY opposed to minivans, but then I find myself drooling over the commercial w/the in-floor storage compartments.

If I knew at 18 what would make me happy at 32 I would have ended it then.

[Cumberland]

I have the Passat Wagon too and love it. I hear it can fit three car seats across but have never tried it. If that is actually true it would be one squished car. I just read on consumer reports that the Tourag got horrible ratings. It sure is cute though.

I have a friend that just got a used Mercdes wagon that has two jump seats in the way back. So it seats 7. They got it used for relatively cheap considering it is a mercedes. I hear the top of the line volvo has third row seating too.

I hear the top of the line volvo has third row seating too.

I think it is the Volvo SUV. But like many of the mid-size SUVs touting third row seating, it is a PITA to get to and use on a regular basis.

[BonBon]

Argh! I wrote out a reply yesterday and lost the d@mn thing. (I have a horrible habit of hitting just the right key on this laptop )

Kevin, nope. :disappointed: I didn't expect her to clean it, and I certainly didn't expect her to pay for it as we help support her, but an offer would have been appreciated!! Sorry about your car - have you gotten it back yet? What's taking so long? :|

I'm going to get it detailed sometime next week. There is no way for me to get it out of the crevices without removing the seats. Bleh.

I've checked out the 3rd row seating in SUVs and it looks like a PITA. Why can't there be a cool-looking SUV that has sliding doors like a minivan? Is it THAT difficult? I am going to look into Sally's suggestion of a Suburban with the captains seats. I have been checking out the minivans - thanks for all the suggestions! It looks like that may be our only option as I don't want the kids to be squished like sardines.

I, too, am VERY opposed to minivans, but then I find myself drooling over the commercial w/the in-floor storage compartments.

If I knew at 18 what would make me happy at 32 I would have ended it then.

I love those compartments too! Those are the ones that store the seats in there, right? That would be one thing to sway to a minivan. I love to pick up lots of gardening stuff and it's a pain in the butt to haul it in my car. LMAO @ your 18 comment. I was just saying the other day that "who would have ever thought that I would get excited about a vacuum cleaner???" (I bought a Dyson and boy, do I love that thing!)

Angie, thanks for the tip, I'll check them out. Also going to cruise ebay, see what they have.

Nellie, it is the volvo SUV. I've heard great things about that car, but again, it's that inaccessible 3rd row seating.

Thanks for all the advice!

I've checked out the 3rd row seating in SUVs and it looks like a PITA.

And in a lot of the cases the third row really cuts into cargo space so there is no way you could have 8 people and their stuff.

Again, if it was just an every once in a while sort of thing, it would be so bad but for a lot of those you have to be a contortionist to easily get in and out of the seats. And the floor height tends to be higher (on the cruiser and Explorer) so your knees are above your elbows -- and I am not that tall!!).

Where, oh where, is that 7 or 8 passenger lots of cargo sports car I am dreaming of? Really, I am dreaming of the VW microbus but it doesn't look like that is happening any time soon.

The one with the compartments that I was talking about is actaully just extra STORAGE for all the kids stuff. They can open it & get their crap!

I would KILL for a Dyson (and I'm only exaggerating slightly). Ahhhh - when we make attending money.