How did your car needs/wants change in the 7 years after your first infant?

MoonRocket

New member
So, I have 1 nearly 8 mo old (RFing in a Radian XTSL.) DH and I are not sure if we're done with one, but max would have one more (okay, can't rule out multiples, but they don't run in my family.)

I'm thinking of buying a new to me car, but I have no idea as my baby ages how my car needs may change. (Carpooling etc.)

So, I'd love to hear how your car needs/ wants changed during the ~7 years after your first was an infant (I chose 7 b/c I usually keep my cars about that long.)

Thanks!
 
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Peony

Member
Loaded question for me! Our needs have changed so much in the last 7 years, but we do have 3 children. My oldest is 7, we do frequently car pool, and have for a few years now. I always keep one spot in the car for an extra kid. It just seems that I often pick up an extra from school or dance or I will take a friend for DD2 out with us for an outing. Another time, that family will pick up my kid for me saving me a trip somewhere. I know some families that never take extra kids but we and everyone we know, do it often
.

Are sports in your future? In 7 years your kid may not be into anything or playing something every weekend. We are a winter sports family so that plays into my car choice because all winter I spend driving back and forth from resorts. Or an active family? Biking, running, etc... any need to load up the car with those things on a routine basis. Or maybe you live near a city and need to be able to get into small parking places.


If it were me that wanted to get one car and keep it for an extended amount of time then I might look at ones that have potential for expansion but in a smaller footprint. Like a crossover or a wagon maybe. You would have 3 seating options in the back, 2 kids and room for an extra but then enough room in the rear for gear of whatever nature life takes you in the next 7 years! Good luck choosing.
 

lorismurph

Senior Community Member
We have changed a TON. I now have 4 kids and my van is pretty squished already. I don't carpool but if absolutely necessary, I could re-arrange everyone to fit one extra kid.

I don't trust others to transport my kid properly and so I just don't carpool.

That's me.
 

DahliaRW

New member
I would get something that at least has the option of a 3rd row, even if you don't use it yet. It'll be nice if you have 2 kiddos to have room to take along friends or to carpool.

Personally, with 3 kids I think a van is a must. So if there is any likelihood, that's what I'd get. With 2 and occassional friends I'd look at something like a Mazda5 or Mazda CX-9 or another SUV type vehicle with a third row.
 

natysr

New member
What does your DH drive?

IMO, I find it environmentally irresponsible to own a car that is bigger than what a family needs.

Several factors impact those needs. Number of people in the family, climate (if it snows alot and you need 4 wheel drive etc.), towing needs etc.

We have 2 kids and don't plan on having any more.

We have one sedan (Honda Civic Hybrid) and one suv (Nissan Pathfinder).

We need one vehicle to be able to tow a trailer for DH's business.

I guess then my answer is that our needs have not changed.

Before we had any kids, we had a Honda Civic and a Nissan Pathfinder. When each of those cars were totaled in accidents, we replaced them with the same things.

My eldest is going into 1st grade. If it turns out that we need to carpool, then I will just buy some radians in order to fit 3 across the backseat. Carseats are alot cheaper than a new car.
 

MoonRocket

New member
Thanks for your feedback!
I forgot to mention that we often travel with a Labrador retriever, so I am planning on a wagon or a small/mid size SUV. (I am looking at grate/ crate solutions as well to keep her separated in the back.)

DH has a BMX330xi

We live in a snowy climate, so I prefer AWD/ 4WD.

We have a 3/4 ton pick up as well with an extended cab. If we need to transport a lot of stuff we can use that - we just don't like to drive it on a daily basis since it's a diesel and both DH and I only commute like 4 miles each way. It is used for towing and weekend camping trips mostly. It is DH's baby.

I am really considering a Ford Edge, but wondering if I will regret not having a 3rd row later.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Well, it's been about 6 1/2 since I had my first. Our needs for HER haven't really changed, and we're in the same car we got when she was a baby and our first car was totalled. It's been a good car for us-- able to haul a lot of stuff, including strollers, etc. in the trunk, able to handle extended rear-facing car seats, etc. But, we're about to have our fourth so we now HAVE to get a bigger vehicle. ;) Also, we homeschool so we don't carpool, but it might be nice to have a friend along when they get older-- which probably needs in another 2-3 years we'll need a significantly larger vehicle than a minivan. But I don't know how much our situation would be like yours... ;)
 

salsa2

New member
My alltime favorite car for snow is the Outback. I drove one to/from Colorado high country for several seasons and NEVER EVER even slipped on ice/snow. Other cars (SUVs and 4wd incl.) would be sliding all over and in the ditch on side of the road and I'd just be moving right along in the Outback. It's the all wheel drive and the profile that make it so great.
 

MoonRocket

New member
My alltime favorite car for snow is the Outback. I drove one to/from Colorado high country for several seasons and NEVER EVER even slipped on ice/snow. Other cars (SUVs and 4wd incl.) would be sliding all over and in the ditch on side of the road and I'd just be moving right along in the Outback. It's the all wheel drive and the profile that make it so great.

I have an 05 outback that I am getting rid of. Google 05 Outback Ghostwalking. There is suspicion something they did in the suspension re-design doesn't mix well with a loaded car and ice. I was a total subaru fan and we've had others before. The car is awesome until we load it down for the weekend and hit ice. I thought it was something wrong with my particular car until I started digging.

ETA- people say you can fix it by altering the alignment- but I got to the point where I wouldn't drive it in the snow with my baby. I just don't trust it at all.
 

maddysmomma

New member
lol. My needs have changed in just the 2 1/2 years my son has been on this planet. I had a 2002 Mustang when I got pregnant. >.< No way were we fitting a carseat comfortably in there so it had to go. I went to a 2002 Ford Explorer and HATED the way the seats fit. It eventually had a ton of mechanical issues and we got rid of it...enter the 2006 Dodge Charger, wonderful with my son RFing in his marathon & a single stroller in the trunk. Enter darling daughter.. Charger fit the seats perfectly, however storage & stroller space was an issue. So in came the 2007 Chevy Equinox... which we're keeping, no more kids(I hope). lol.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
In the past 7 years we've been through a LOT of cars ;) But granted we would buy from the dealer auction, drive for a few months, and then resell. We had a Jeep Grand CHerokee when DD2 came along and decided it was too small, and bought a van. Well then a year later we moved to Alaska and were kicking ourselves for not keeping the 4X4. We just traded the van in on a BMW X5 and love it. We're back to a 5-passenger with 3 kids, and we're fine with it. We plan on fostering next year and we'll replace DH's current van with a new Sienna in January, so we have one vehicle that we can all fit in and another to commute in.
 

TexasMama

New member
When we got married we had a Ford Explorer and a mid sized sedan. When my first baby was 3 months old, I got sick of the back strain in lifiting his car seat way up (the Explorer) to install and remove or way down (the Sedan.) So I went with a minivan even THEN...lol..

Turns out it was a good choice. Now we have a ton of kids (never saw that one coming...lol....) and car pool and host guests a lot.

The flexibility of more passenger seating (and cargo room when we have needed it) has been good for us.

And the safety stats on minivans also appeal to me.

So I may be a dork, but a happy one. :)
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Crashes, increasing wariness from said crashes, and changing family size and family transportation needs influenced the evolution of our cars.

Our primary car at DD1's birth was a compact 2000 Saturn SC1 coupe. The SC1 was in a frontal/side swiping crash before DD1 was born. We eventually replaced the SC1 when DD1 was a toddler with a 2003 Saturn Vue to have 5 passenger seating and side curtain airbags (the SC1 is a 4-seater, 2+2 coupe with a small and less than carseat friendly back seat). We were in a crash in the Vue and had it repaired just before finding out baby #2 was on the way, coinciding with the need to transport grandparents around more regularly. We traded the Vue for an '05 8-passenger Sienna before DD2 was born to have maximum seating flexibility and retain usable cargo space.

Our secondary car was a '97 Saturn SW1 compact wagon at the time of DD1's birth, which was replaced with a mid-sized '02 Saturn L100 sedan shortly after DD1's arrival to have side curtain airbags and more room for us and additional passengers. The L100 turned out to have less than stellar IIHS side impact crash test scores, although we fortunately walked away unscathed from being t-boned in it. T-boned twice a few months apart, no less. :eek: We semi-joked about being unofficial Saturn crash test dummies. :eek: We eventually replaced the Saturn L100 with an '08 Scion xB, and have been crash free for almost 6 years now, whew.
 

christineka

New member
When dd1 was born we had a honda wagon. Then bought a decent vehicle- a honda civic. When she was 7 years old, our fifth child was born. Between her and the others we had to buy bigger and bigger vehicles. We don't carpool because we don't have room.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
We've had four new cars in the past seven years, and three of those have been in the past two years. :eek:

We bought a Honda Pilot just before DS was born six years ago.

I used that until a couple years ago when I got a Prius. DS was going to be an only child, so why not? (At that point DH took the Pilot as his car--before that he had a company car.)

Then a few months later I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant with DD. We tried to make it work with the Prius, but it was just too small. (People DO do it, it just didn't work for us.)

So we got a Honda Odyssey that was supposed to last us for many years to come. And it would have, except that we've decided to sell our house and travel the country in a trailer, and the Odyssey wouldn't work for that. So we traded it in for a one-ton pickup.

DH currently drives the pickup and I have the Pilot again, until we're ready to sell it.

In all honesty, I love the Pilot. Have nothing but good things to say about it. At the same time, the Odyssey was great because of the sliding doors. I think either of those are great options for pretty much any family.
 

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