Should I buy a van?

We just paid off my 2005 Toyota Camry and have 2 girls ages 4 and 2. While I like my Camry, I have never been comfortable with it's safety. It has great ratings for the driver and passenger, but only 3 stars on the side ratings...where the girls ride. The last four years I convinced myself that their Britax carseats kept them safe. But, more and more I am finding myself envisioning how much easier life would be with sliding doors and more room when we travel and how much safer they would be. We plan on having a 3rd but probably not for another year so we don't really "need" a van now.

Part of the reason I'm on the fence is because dh was recently unemployed. That set us back and we got into cc debt which we previously did not have. He's got an awesome job now so we really can afford the car payment, but we could pay down debt instead.

Are there mom's of two with van's out there? Does a van really make things easier in comparison to a sedan or does it seem like your driving around with unsused space and paying for more gas?

Are there some of you who bought cars and took on a car payment for safety reasons?

TIA...would love help deciding.

My mom only had two kids and drove a minivan for convenience reasons.

DW was militantly against minivans, until we rented one and she saw how convenient it was. That was when we only had 1 kid too. We're now looking into getting one, altho maybe not for a year or so.

That said, if you've got credit card debt, unless the interest rate is super low, I'd hold off and pay down the cc debt first. Nothing really wrong with your car.

If I were you I would look at a Mazda 5 -
It has great safety ratings, captains chairs in the second row, and a third row that folds flat. It is, as some call it, a "mini mini-van" as it isn't much larger than most mid-size sedans, but the interior space is utilized better, it also has the sliding doors on both sides that make putting little ones in seats easy. It comes with a 4 cylinder engine so fuel economy is still very very good.

I had looked at one before I got my Forester and really would have chosen it over the Forester had the lease offer been better. I know there are several folks on here with them.

Depending on the condition and mileage on your Camry you can still get a decent amount of money for it on trade, if you found a 1 or 2 year old pre-owned Mazda 5 you wouldn't have to take out much of a loan on it.

We have both a Camry (03) and a van (Caravan, 02). We bought the van just before kiddo #3. I prefer driving the Camry, to be honest, but I do find the van convenient with the kids (probably would find it similar with 2 vs 3 kids, since my eldest is 9 and buckles himself into his booster in the back). I'm not as anti-minivan as I was in the past.

That being said, I'd pay down the CC debt first. There is nothing wrong with your current vehicle, and it makes sense to make your financial situation more stable before taking on an additional payment.

we bought a van when planning to have our 2nd child. i love my automatic doors and don't regret it one bit.

Thank you ladies! I've been eyeing Siennas but just discovered the Mazda 5. I've only owned Toyota's and can't believe the price difference!! I've never liked driving large vehicles and while I felt okay test driving the Sienna, I can't help but think the 5 would feel better overall and still have enough room inside. Still just researching.

We actually just bought a van last Thursday, and we only have one kid...although we do frequently have family with us. I went from a Durango to the van (a Honda Odyssey) and I can honestly say that I love it. I had a hard time imagining myself driving a minivan, but now that I have it, I love it!! We also have a Grand Prix, and I much prefer loading my ds in the van than in the car.

With all that said, it would be great to be out of credit card debt completely. You will just have to decide how much of a hit you are taking with the credit cards.

if you are going to have a 3rd within the lif of a vehicle, sure, it makes sense to gety a van..in a year,after you've paid down some debt. i woudl consider the mazda5, which is a small, more fuel efficient, 6-seater model, if oyu worry about gas mileage.

I test drove the Mazda 5 09 today and just loved it! It felt small and compact and easy to get around in. A lot better than the Sienna in this regard. So glad I looked at this forum because I didn't know such a car existed. The truth is that minivans seem to big for me and SUV's just not practical. I decided against buying one now and waiting until I'm at least pregnant since I don't need it now. Also I was disappointed that the 09 didn't have VSC and I'm not looking into buying a new model.

Since there is no cargo room I was wondering about a rack on top with one of those boxes. I remember reading something here about this causing the car to be top heavy and not safe possibly?

2sweetgirls said:

Since there is no cargo room I was wondering about a rack on top with one of those boxes. I remember reading something here about this causing the car to be top heavy and not safe possibly?

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Just go slower in turns. Not that big a deal. Makes you more top heavy, so in rain/snow, just keep it in mind.

It also increases wind resistance which lowers gas mileage. Something else to consider. If you don't need the 3rd row, it has a pretty large amount of cargo room.