Few different ?s would you..

Do this? (I don't know where to put this since I have a few different questions)

Currently I have a Chrysler Pacifica, we owe about $10k on it still but it is only worth $6.5k.

I would like to get a van so we have more room. There is pretty much no storage space with all the seats up and every seat occupied with car seats.
I saw an 02' Town and Country on craigslist (from a local dealership) for $3,995.
That means if I trade in my car for $6.5k we would still owe $3.5k and just add the cost of the T&C which is less than what we owe now for the Pacifica, right?
I'm not great at math, so I could be doing this wrong, but hopefully not.
The T&C has over 100k miles on it while my car has 85k, so I didn't know if that would be a good trade out or not.
I have not ran this across DH yet either since I don't know if it is a good idea or not. I wanted some feedback first before I went over it with him since he gets really annoyed when I come up with ideas like this. He thinks having barely any space and not being able to get the kids out easily is no biggie and I should just deal with it.

I don't know much about the T&C except that it is bigger than what I have and seems to be what we need. Am I right, is it a good van? I don't want to get something that isn't going to work.
So should I switch or just deal with what I have?

Another (not related) question.
I'm trying to find a GN for my friend (the one I sent the Maestro to.) I'm trying to get one as cheap as possibly so DH doesn't get annoyed with it. My friend is sending me the money for 2 Maestros, so she will have paid $80 towards the Nautilus and I would be paying the difference really. I will also have to pay shipping, so free shipping would be great. So far the cheapest I can find is $130.
I'm thinking I might have messed up sending her the Maestro since when I called to see if she got it she was saying her DD weighed 46 lbs and not the 43 that she told me before I sent it. So now I don't know how long that seat is actually going to last her and she probably would not check to make sure her DD has outgrown it by weight so would keep using it. I wanted to get her the GN since she would have more time before it was outgrown. Is $130 the cheapest I'm going to find?

Another thing, not a question, but more of woohoo! lol
I got all three boys RF now since I got another CA. So I'm proud of myself for that lol.

One more thing, sorry this is getting long. I am registered for the CPST course next month and I am worried that I don't know enough to pass. What all do I need to know? Is there anything I can study?
I normally would study before a test or something, but I really don't know what to look for with this. I'm getting kind of nervous since this is probably the only chance I have to take this. I didn't see another course in this state at least until after December.

I would definitely not trade the car. I would make extra payments until you are no longer upside-down before even considering a trade.

And on that note, I would not spend money for seats for someone else. I would tell her that your recommendation for the Maestro may no longer apply since the child is 46# instead of 43# and let her decide what she can afford to do.

No way would I trade the car...and certainly not for one w/more miles than what my current car has on it (esp on a Chrysler...he, he...I have an older T&C, and I would never buy another one.).

Get a roof top carrier for it for when you travel--that'll give you more space.

GL!

henrietta

I wouldn't trade either. How has the Pacifica been mechanically for you? Does it have issues? If it is a good running vehicle without any known problems, no way would I take a huge financial hit for a vehicle that I know nothing about and could end up spending tons of money on repairs.

You would also probably have a hard time finding a bank that would finance an '02 T & C for $7.5k.

Thanks everyone!
So I suppose it would not even be necessary to bring this up to DH. I will just keep my car.

There are a couple issues with my car but no one can seem to figure them out. The oil light is always on even after I get it changed, my tire sensor thing is always saying I have low or high tires even when they have just been adjusted, and my gas gauge is always fluctuating and I never know if it is correct on if I need more gas or not. I have been completely on empty according to the gauge and go try to fill up only to have it be full after a few gallons (not enough that it would have needed a complete fill up.)

I also had to replace the battery. Other than those things there have been no major things that needed to be fixed. No one has found any leaks or anything like that and none of the major parts have messed up.

We do have a car topper thing for long trips. It's just a hassle to have to figure out where to put all the groceries or to have to take out car seats and such if we need to buy something like a vacuum cleaner.

The problem with my friend is she wouldn't have the slightest idea what to get for her DD. She has absolutely zero (zip, zilch nada!) knowledge about car seats. When I called to make sure she got the Maestro, I asked if she read the manual and she said no because she "has installed enough seats to know what to do." Yet she didn't even know what the belt path was, what a top slot was, what the harness is called or the difference between a harness and an adult seat belt.
It is actually pretty frustrating to talk to her about it because I have to explain things like that and since we are only able to talk on the phone and she has no internet access and no way to take pictures of her DD in the seat and send them to me, I can't tell if she has problems with it or not. I told her to take it to a fire station to get it checked, but I don't know if she will. I gave her the number to Safe Kids, but I don't know if she ever called and I don't know if she went to her health dept either.

She was telling me she had the other car seat, a Century something or another, installed with bungy cords. I have no idea how, but I told her to absolutely do not put her child in that seat and she got defensive with me.
Sorry for ranting about that :/

I just really don't want something bad to happen to her DD, but I don't know how to explain to my friend how to do what she needs to do to make sure her DD is safe. I was hoping that getting her the seats and trying to tell her how to put them in would help.
It's also hard to talk to her about this stuff because her mother just passed away and she doesn't want to deal with added stress because of the car seat stuff, so I guess she just wants to go on like she was before I said something about it to her. Except for me getting the seats. She's all for that part of it.

I wouldn't trade either. I would make the current car work. We have owned several caravans and voyagers. Our 1st voyager had a tranny issue at 150,000 or 2nd was on its 2nd tranny when we got it. It made it to 230,000.

Dh has only sold 2 vehicles even that he owned more then he got. And that was only like $500, never $3000. And with what some of our friends drive and I am sure your to, I would be thankful for a nice car that runs and doesn't have major problems. Dh buys about 3-4 cars a year, drives them and then sells them.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids

Sounds like your friend is pretty much beyond help. Buying a nautilus at this point would just be a waste of money, because she wouldn't use it correctly. If you're not using a seat correctly then it doesn't really matter what seat it is.

As for your question about the CPST class, you will be so far ahead of the average class member just from hanging around here. You could probably take the test cold and pass, or at least be very close to passing. But regardless, they will TEACH you what you need to know, give you a book, and then the written tests are all open book. You'll be fine.

You can't afford to trade your car right now - keep it and try and make extra payments.

You can only do so much for people. If your friend doesn't want to do what's best for her child and a carseat - that's her choice (a very poor one though). No way would I be sending her seats.