is this car worth buying? wish I could buy newer

[D&L's-mommy]

sorry, this is going to be long, I"m frustrated.
we are a 1 car family, always have been, but with the kids getting older and schedules getting busier we're finding we really "need" 2 cars. DS is being taken to school by MIL and it's costing us $80-120 a month in gas, and his school is only 6 miles away (her van is a gas hog), and next year his new school will be 12 miles away, so I can only imagine what that will cost in gas (bus ride now is 1hr, next year will be 1hr 20min, each way, not happening).DD will be starting kindergarten, not to mention DH has to work all day then we have to do all our "running around" in the evening,so he doesn't get a break.
We have a 2004 malibu that we love, we've had it for 7 years with no problems, but have put nearly $5000 into it in the last 6 months or so.
Anyway, DH was approved for a car loan, but our budget is tight (I"m a SAHM), so we'd really not like to spend more than we have too. He found a nice 2002 chevy cavalier, 51,000 miles, for $5800. The monthly payment would only be about $110-120, which we can do, and still be able to put food on the table.
That's what we pay MIL just in gas money to take DS to school, so even though we have to consider gas, and car insurance it may be worth it. DH has worked on these Cavaliers his whole life and can take it apart and put it back together blindfolded, so that helps with maintenance costs.
I just wish we could afford something newer, with better safety features and less risk of things going wrong.
I was in a wreck in a 2002 cavalier, a friend was driving, lost control of the car, crossed both lanes of traffic going the same way, crossed the grass highway divider, both lanes of oncoming traffic, hit another car, and then slammed front end first into a ditch. we walked away with not even a bruise. So that helps me feel a little better about it
I have 2 kids, I would move their seats to the cavalier, we have a vivo and nauti, and I have my niece 3 days a week, so I need to be able to do 3 across. Is it possible in this car with my current seats? I can get a narrow convertible for my niece, but still don't think 3 will fit with the nauti. I don't know. Should I just get a second set of seats for this car?
I just don't know. What are your thoughts on this car? Do you think it's worth getting another car vs. continuing to pay MIL to drive DS?

 

[TXDani]

Can you take your current car (Malibu?) and have your husband drive the Cavalier to work? That's what my family would do. Person with the kids always gets the safer/nicer/better vehicle.

 

[Brianna]

I personally would never drive a Cavalier again. The side impact crash ratings are terrible- 1 star for the front seats and 2 for the back. I did drive my Cavalier for probably 5 years, but only because I didn't have another choice. I wouldn't think you'd get as lucky in a 2nd crash in another Cavalier.

For *me* it would be worth the cost of reimbursing MIL to drive her own vehicle. I can't say what the best choice is for your family.

 

[jjordan]

I don't know whether or not the price on the car is a good deal. It sounds sort of high to me, but I might be really wrong about that! I also don't know what area of the country you're in - but if you're in a place that gets snow/ice, then the drawback to older cars (even with low miles) is that they might have had lots of road salt exposure over the years, which can be a source of issues in the not-too-distant future.

The nautilus is a difficult seat for 3 across, but it may be possible. I just don't know. You could try a separate post in another forum about that issue if you don't get answers on that here.

When your dd goes to kindergarten, I assume she is at a different school than ds? If you didn't get another car, would mil be driving both kids, and would the cost increase from what you're paying her now?

Other options (which I'm sure you've thought of, but I'll mention them just in case) would be dh carpooling to work, or you driving him so that you have the use of the car during the day. You could consider having your kids ride the bus either to or from school to cut those costs in half. I realize that the time on the bus seems terrible, but really, kids sometimes like riding the bus. I know that when I was growing up, the bus ride home was close to an hour and I usually managed to get most of my homework done by the time I got home. So I wouldn't rule out some bus-riding. Another bus alternative could be carpooling with another family who lives nearby. If they're already driving their own kid(s), then they probably would not mind taking yours, and would charge you less $ than your mil for gas.

Another consideration is that you might be able to find a job for yourself once your dd is in kindergarten, which might make a 2nd car more of a necessity - but also might help you to save up to replace one of your vehicles with something nicer sooner rather than later. If you had a plan to save $ for a nicer used car within a year or two, you might feel better about getting a less expensive car now.

Good luck with your decision! It would be so much easier if money grew on trees.

 

[D&L's-mommy]

I've thought about driving the malibu and DH taking the cavalier for work. Right now I could take DH to work and pick him up, he goes to work at the same time as DS goes to school and they are only a few blocks apart. But next year this won't work as DS's school is 20 minutes the other way. DD will be taking the bus school, but there's no way DS can car pool, he's in a specialized classroom and no one in his class lives near us, and next year it will be worst. I've thought about having him take the bus, it's actually a 12 or 15 passenger van, and at least then he'd have a seat belt and a booster seat (as opposed to DD who will be on a regular bus with no belt of anything, which scares the crap out of me). He may do ok on the ride for school, but I feel bad making him sit in the van so long, he has a lot of health problems and he has a lengthy medical procedure to do every morning so he's already going through that, then school wears him out, I just hate to make his day any harder than it needs to be, but this is me assuming a long ride each way would be harder on him. Plus with all his doctors appointments MIL needs to be able to drive us (she won't let anyone borrow her van), so it's costing me $30 in gas everytime he needs to go to the doctor (it's 45 minutes away) I just don't know, I don't even know if I'd be saving a significant amount by driving a car that far as opposed to her driving her van. We have no plans for me to go to work anytime soon, it's just not feasible in our situation. If we buy this car we would be keeping both of them for several more years. I personally would rather work on saving up some money and then in a year get a newer (2011-2012) vehicle, but it's stressful trying to get everything done within a budget and not losing your mind, of course I think this is the case for everyone. DH thinks I'm just holding out so I can drive a newer nicer car, but I hate to put $6k into a piece of crap when I could be applied to a better vehicle

 

[D&L's-mommy]

oh, and DH will be getting a raise in his salary in July, so at that point we could afford a larger car payment. I mean, $6000 for this car now or $13000-$14000 for a 2010-2011 impala or malibu In like August or September. What do you think makes the most sense? We are the type to keep a car as long as it is safe, we don't trade them in after a few years

 

[bubbaray]

I would wait until the summer and get a bigger and newer vehicle. GL!

 

[nataliem257]

I dot think I could drive a cavalier-- not to scare you but my husband, his 2 kids, and his ex wife had a terrible front collision in 1 ( drunk driver crossed the median going 80), it crumbled like a tin can. Grant it it was a bad wreck, but my husband had multiple internal surgeries and several broken bones, he was in the hospital for months. His wife was in a coma for a long time as well. Might not have been the cars fault, but afterwards you couldn't tell it was a car it crumpled so bad. On an unrelated note, Shelby was 15 months and forward facing, suffered a crushed c1 and c2 from the forward facing whiplash. Nathan who was 2 months RF didn't have a scratch

 

[D&L's-mommy]

thank you everyone! I was about ready to tell DH "go ahead" but I shared with him your concerns about the poor crash test results and injuries sustained in wrecks, and he said we need something safer. I think when you're 16 and buy a car you just don't think about safety ratings as much as you do when you have kids!
We figured out or budget now and what it will look like after DH's raise (we know how much it will be), and we plan to pay off some debt (we got while DH was out of work for a month, and while DS was in the hospital), it's not much, but we'd rather not have it. So anyway, by August we will be able to afford around $250 a month plus have money for maintenance/gas/insurance. We should be able to get something significantly better then, right? It's been 7 years since we bought a car, I'm guessing things have changed
I feel much better about this plan (even though DH wants a truck ). I'm glad I asked you guys now, rather than say we bought it and then hear about the issues.
Watch for me in August to ask about vehicle recommendations....

 

[D&L's-mommy]

I dot think I could drive a cavalier-- not to scare you but my husband, his 2 kids, and his ex wife had a terrible front collision in 1 ( drunk driver crossed the median going 80), it crumbled like a tin can. Grant it it was a bad wreck, but my husband had multiple internal surgeries and several broken bones, he was in the hospital for months. His wife was in a coma for a long time as well. Might not have been the cars fault, but afterwards you couldn't tell it was a car it crumpled so bad. On an unrelated note, Shelby was 15 months and forward facing, suffered a crushed c1 and c2 from the forward facing whiplash. Nathan who was 2 months RF didn't have a scratch

thank you for sharing this. this makes me think of the wreck I was in. It's a miracle we walked away.
And this is why I plan to erf my niece, I'm aiming for 4 years! I'm actually "threatening" my 8yo to reharness and my 4yo to re-rf, lol, they're too big for any US seats, but its' nice to think about

 

[nataliem257]

They were luckier than it sounds, even though the vertebrae were crushed, the spinal cord remained in tact. Arkansas children's hospital performed a surgery that was at the time experimental on a baby that young where they took out a rib to rebuild her vertebral column. She's 10 now and does gymnastics my oldest is FF at 4 1/2, but very petite I've been toying with the idea of flipping her radian back just to see what she would do. My youngest is 9 months and will be backwards much longer than my first daughter now that I know better

 

[D&L's-mommy]

They were luckier than it sounds, even though the vertebrae were crushed, the spinal cord remained in tact. Arkansas children's hospital performed a surgery that was at the time experimental on a baby that young where they took out a rib to rebuild her vertebral column. She's 10 now and does gymnastics my oldest is FF at 4 1/2, but very petite I've been toying with the idea of flipping her radian back just to see what she would do. My youngest is 9 months and will be backwards much longer than my first daughter now that I know better

wow! very scary. I turned my kids at 14months and 10 months! WAY too early, but the pediatrician said that's what to do, and I used to be one of those people that thought the dr knew best, so I did it. I'm so thankful we were never in a wreck! Now I know better and will RF DN much longer

 

[stephpook]

I'm glad you decided not to buy it. My husband had a Cavalier for 5 or 6 years when we were dating/first married. We didn't know about the lousy side impact ratings until several years after he bought it. Luckily he was never in an accident while driving it and it was a pretty good car otherwise. Unfortunately, he used to work with a girl who also drove a Cavalier, and who wasn't so lucky. I'm pretty sure he went to her funeral. I was never quite comfortable in his car after that happened - especially since we lived in the DC Metro area at the time. Honestly, I was relieved when we finally traded it in.

 

[D&L's-mommy]

I'm glad you decided not to buy it. My husband had a Cavalier for 5 or 6 years when we were dating/first married. We didn't know about the lousy side impact ratings until several years after he bought it. Luckily he was never in an accident while driving it and it was a pretty good car otherwise. Unfortunately, he used to work with a girl who also drove a Cavalier, and who wasn't so lucky. I'm pretty sure he went to her funeral. I was never quite comfortable in his car after that happened - especially since we lived in the DC Metro area at the time. Honestly, I was relieved when we finally traded it in.