I need some serious car buying advice ...

[Bigtime2112]

oh - and congrats

[Shelly1]

Trevor, first of all....CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!

As the parent of two children and the former owner of a minivan (Chrysler T & C), I will tell you to go either way.

It is all on personal preference. I can tell you that you will not believe how convenient a minivan is on ALL levels. Also, they drive and ride very smooth. Gas mileage is good as well. Storage for carrying all baby items in tow is wonderful. However, it is a minivan...........

I currently have a 2006 Altima and with the two kids, it is roomy, drives great and gets wonderful gas mileage. Plus, it is pearl white, smoked windows and a T-Rex mesh chrome grill. So, even though it is a "family" car, it is still pretty sporty and fun to drive. Honestly, I think you will be crammed into a Corolla. If you opt to get rid of your car, you might want to move up to a mid size like the Altima, Accord or Camry.

Edit: With two kids, you will want both your cars to be "kid" friendly.

[B3NN3TT]

Mazda5 FTW. The only minivan I would ever consider.

Or if the Caravan R/T concept ever made it out...

[FastCougar]

Thanks for the input eveyone ... after much deliberation, the wife and I have decided to upsize my commuter car. Problem lies in the fact that the most I can get for the Corolla is probably $8K and I don't want to spend more than $10K out of pocket, so brand new is most likely out of the question. Doing this allows us more flexibility within the family as she can take the car when I'm not commuting and save gas that way and the truck will only be driven one day a week and possibly on weekends.

I definitely need to step up a size class though as I get complaints from commuting co-workers and getting my son in/out now is hard enough ... a rear facing baby seat will be much harder as the front passenger will have their knees in their chest. So, the contenders are most likely the following:

Camry
Accord
Altima

thanks everyone for the input!

[FastCougar]

Originally Posted by B3NN3TT

Mazda5 FTW. The only minivan I would ever consider.

Or if the Caravan R/T concept ever made it out...

Funny you would suggest the Mazda5 ... it's a completely different approach to the minivan ... light and efficient vs. roomy & capable. It weighs in 1,000 lbs. lighter than it's Dodge counterpart, but it also get 22 in the city and 28 on the highway thanks to an underpowered 2.3L 4 cylinder that Ford is putting in everything these days. That fact that it couldn't tow would be a huge no in it's corner and thus why it wasn't considered.

[Shelly1]

Originally Posted by FastCougar

Camry
Accord
Altima

w00t! My suggestions

Trevor, my car is a 2006 and I paid $16K for it with 19K miles on it. The great thing about the Accord and Altima, is you can still get some aftermarket parts for them, to make them a little more stylish and not spend a ton of money. Both cars handle well for mid size cars too.

Here are a couple of pics of my car the day I drove it off the lot. This is before the windows got tinted. I get about 35 mpg on the highway in it.

[pgtatx]

Have you thoght about any of the crossover vehicles like the Highlander/Rav 4, Pilot/CRV, etc...

They may not offer you 30mpg, but they are usually good for the low-mid 20's, and many could be had for under 20k also with good mileage.

I'm not sure how the wintry months are by you, but the awd option isn't bad...

Also, why not look into some of the Subaru Vehicles... They have the best crash test ratings... the standard motor isn'tthe most powerful vehicle out there, but they have a good amount of room inside (ie/ Legacy, Forrester, outback, etc), and should last you for a long time without much cost.

[shoult]

Originally Posted by Shelly1

w00t! My suggestions

Trevor, my car is a 2006 and I paid $16K for it with 19K miles on it. The great thing about the Accord and Altima, is you can still get some aftermarket parts for them, to make them a little more stylish and not spend a ton of money. Both cars handle well for mid size cars too.

Here are a couple of pics of my car the day I drove it off the lot. This is before the windows got tinted. I get about 35 mpg on the highway in it.

For a mid-size commuter car the Camry or the Altima are good choices. If you're looking for a 4cyl then I'd go with the Altima. It has a slightly larger 4 cyl engine then the Camry and has a few more ponies (for the same years). When I was looking for cars I found way more 4cyl Altimas then 4Cyl Camries which also made the average price of the 2.5L Altima cheaper then the Camry. Either one would be a good vehicle though.

[FastCougar]

I was wavering on this decision, but the more I think about it, the more me having an automatic makes more sense. If anything happens to either vehicle, the wife won't be affected either way. I would love to get her into a more fuel efficient vehicle that's safer, but we would still be left with the Corolla. What happens when the new vehicle has problems ... she can't get around until I fix it because she won't drive stick.

Since the car will be my replacement and not hers, we have a lot of time before anything needs to be purchased, so I'm keeping my eye on eBay and local used lots

[bensenvill]

one word

1989 Dodge Caravan SE Turbo


solves all your problems.