Help me pick a vehicle?

P1ally · Jul 19, 2011

In a few months, we'll be selling two of our vehicles to buy one. We'll have around 14k to spend, but we'll consider financing also. Currently I'm a nanny, and I'd love to be for a long time, but I'm not sure if I will or not, and if I'll have the need to transport kids. I only have one kiddo of my own, and I work 2-3 days a week.

Ideally I want the convenience and space of a van, but with awesome MPG. Right now I'm getting 32mpg+ highway in my car, and 20mpg highway in my SUV. Blegh. I feel stuck on the numbers- I'm afraid 25mpg highway isn't good enough, but IDK.

I want SPACE. I've been driving a chevy malibu for 3 years, and I've bashed my head on the door frame more times than I can count. DISLIKE. I was also just given a BMW X5, which is nice and tall, but cramped for the kids, and gets horrible mpg.

I feel like I've looked at everything under the sun, and I keep coming back to an odyssey, newer nissan quest, highlander, saturn vue, or a mazda 5.

(Side note on the mazda 5, I love it for one kid, but not so much for 3.. I want cargo room.. *sigh*)

So what do I do? Buy a mini van even though I only have one kid, and deal with the crap mpg? Buy a 5 passenger SUV and deal with the suck factor? (I Reeeeeallly want sliding doors) Or what?

mkmama · Jul 19, 2011

I can't picture the Chevy Malibu in my mind right now so not sure what size it is...but what about a larger car, like the Impala? Great for 1 kid, can easily get 3-across w/ most seats, and the trunk...well, lets just say I can get more in that trunk than I can in any mini-van (with the possible exception of my new Sienna).

We travel 16+ hours regularly, and on long trips we take the car over the mini-van even though we have 3 kids...because I can pack all our luggage in the trunk and not have stuff sitting around the kids, whereas in the van stuff is crammed everywhere.

MPG isnt too bad on the Impala either...my 2004 averages 23 mpg city/28-32 mpg highway.

P1ally · Jul 19, 2011

mkmama said:
I can't picture the Chevy Malibu in my mind right now so not sure what size it is...but what about a larger car, like the Impala? Great for 1 kid, can easily get 3-across w/ most seats, and the trunk...well, lets just say I can get more in that trunk than I can in any mini-van (with the possible exception of my new Sienna).

We travel 16+ hours regularly, and on long trips we take the car over the mini-van even though we have 3 kids...because I can pack all our luggage in the trunk and not have stuff sitting around the kids, whereas in the van stuff is crammed everywhere.

MPG isnt too bad on the Impala either...my 2004 averages 23 mpg city/28-32 mpg highway.

We originally looked at impalas, but settled on a malibu. I really want something taller that I won't smack my big head on

Pixels · Jul 19, 2011

MPG isn't actually as big of a deal as most people think it is, compared to the price difference of the vehicle to get a higher mpg. Over 100,000 miles (what I consider to be expected life of a vehicle), 25 mpg is 4,000 gallons. 30 mpg is 3,333 gallons. 667 gallons difference, which if you call it an average $4/gallon, is $2,667. So if you can get a 25 mpg vehicle (that you are otherwise happy with) for $3,000 less than a 30 mpg vehicle, you are coming out ahead by buying the vehicle with lower mileage.

mama d · Jul 25, 2011

Pixels said:
MPG isn't actually as big of a deal as most people think it is, compared to the price difference of the vehicle to get a higher mpg. Over 100,000 miles (what I consider to be expected life of a vehicle), 25 mpg is 4,000 gallons. 30 mpg is 3,333 gallons. 667 gallons difference, which if you call it an average $4/gallon, is $2,667. So if you can get a 25 mpg vehicle (that you are otherwise happy with) for $3,000 less than a 30 mpg vehicle, you are coming out ahead by buying the vehicle with lower mileage.

Hmmmm, interesting food for thought.

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safeinthecar · Jul 25, 2011

Pixels said:
MPG isn't actually as big of a deal as most people think it is, compared to the price difference of the vehicle to get a higher mpg. Over 100,000 miles (what I consider to be expected life of a vehicle), 25 mpg is 4,000 gallons. 30 mpg is 3,333 gallons. 667 gallons difference, which if you call it an average $4/gallon, is $2,667. So if you can get a 25 mpg vehicle (that you are otherwise happy with) for $3,000 less than a 30 mpg vehicle, you are coming out ahead by buying the vehicle with lower mileage.

That's very interesting, and I'll be keeping it in mind since we're looking for a van ourselves. One question though, why are you saying 100,000 miles is the expected life of a vehicle? I have 108,000 on DHs 05 Corolla ( I say *I* have because I'm responsible for about 80,000 of those miles) and I'm just now looking at replacing the original brake pads (I promise I'm not driving around on bad brakes. It's a stick and I am very good at downshifting). The Suburban is sitting at 250,000.

Pixels · Jul 25, 2011

I said that's what I consider the life of the vehicle, because IME it's somewhere around that point where vehicle reliability goes downhill, so it's usually around that point that I expect to replace the vehicle. DH's car is currently about 120K and we're just waiting for the proverbial last straw.

If you expect to keep your vehicle longer, or you think my gas price isn't a good guesstimate, rerun the calculations with your own numbers. If you are buying used remember to estimate the number of miles you will drive, not total for the vehicle.

The formula is vehicles miles times price per gallon divided by MPG, or vehicle kilometers tiles price per liter divided by Km/L for our Canadian friends.

safeinthecar · Jul 25, 2011

Pixels said:
DH's car is currently about 120K and we're just waiting for the proverbial last straw.

Wow, I just can't imagine. I put 100,000 miles on a car in less than 5 years.

tl01 · Jul 25, 2011

I hope my brand new van is reliable for at least 100k miles. I financed it for 5 years and got a 6 year 120k warranty. I plan to drive at least 100k in 5 years.

Pixels · Jul 25, 2011

safeinthecar said:
Wow, I just can't imagine. I put 100,000 miles on a car in less than 5 years.

His is 12 years old and showing its age. It's not just about how many miles a car has, it's also about how many years. Many parts of a car will die due to age.

safeinthecar · Jul 25, 2011

Pixels said:
His is 12 years old and showing its age. It's not just about how many miles a car has, it's also about how many years. Many parts of a car will die due to age.

Maybe it is a difference of philosophy. I don't consider a dead part on an older car to = a dead car unless multiple expensive parts have failed. I've had multiple parts wear out in the Suburban in the past 4 years, but none of them have been over $50 to fix. Of course, not having to pay a mechanic helps too,

An Aurora · Jul 25, 2011

I too can't imagine a car only getting 100k miles. To me that's barely broken in.

Posted by a robot and susceptible to unrelated and potentially inappropriate AutoCorrects.

rxmommy · Jul 25, 2011

An Aurora said:
I too can't imagine a car only getting 100k miles. To me that's barely broken in.

Posted by a robot and susceptible to unrelated and potentially inappropriate AutoCorrects.

That's what my DH says! LOL. We bought my Odyssey with 105K. One owner, my coworker, well cared for. DH is looking at a different work truck with at least 250K miles - the odometer has stopped working the guy says.

It's all in the vehicle and how it's cared for.

mama d · Jul 25, 2011

I had a hand me down 1991 Jeep Cherokee from my older brother in college and I again handed it to my younger brother when I got married. When I GAVE it to him it had 200,000 miles on it. That was 9 years ago and I just saw him driving it this Saturday.

He is a mechanic but really hasn't had to do much of anything besides regular maintenance on it.

ETA: My poor Explorer is over 100,000 and you wouldn't know it. I could probably keep it another 5 years but I really want a new Durango or MDX.

Help me pick a vehicle?

P1ally

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