New car

Hey all

I am having to search for a new car. After my van was stolen last month and recovered with 2 of my car seats missing and a few other issues(completely totaled ignition and drivers seat taken apart) I decided to just settle with insurance and purchase a new(to me) used car.

Since I have 3 in car seats and a small budget I am having trouble finding a car that fits my budget AND my kids.

I have a
5yo DS 39" and 36lb he was FF in a Evenflo Maestro harnessed.- I am replacing his stolen seat with a new maestro

3.5yo DD 36" and 28lb FF in a Safety 1st Complete Air 65- This seat was stolen as well and since she gets horribly car sick within minutes of driving when RF I don't need a RF seat for her just a harnessed FF seat.

22mo old DS 31" and 28lb RF in an Evenflo Tribute 5- I thought this seat had a RF limit of 35lb but it does not so I will be replacing this seat with something else.


Now for the questions- How do you determine how big a back seat is on a car without seeing it in person. I do not have the luxary of going to look at a ton of cars and testing seats out in them(I don't have replacement seats yet anyways. Right now they are using 2 coscos the tribute5), so the cars I do go and look at I have to have an idea that the seats I end up purchasing will all fit into it.

I see hip room measurements for car back seats-Is this what I want to be looking at and comparing it with the Width measurement on the carseats? Is the width the same across the back of the car seats as it is when RF the seat? I am not turning YDS until I absolutely have to, so FF him is not going to happen.

I also cannot afford even 1 Radian let alone 2-3 Radians.

:/ Car shopping sucks

TIA

I dont know your whole situation but you might try looking at a Ford Taurus? The 2000 - to 2006 model from what I have reviewed said that it is very 3 car seat friendly. Plus its a budget friendly car as well.

I own a 2000 ford Taurus, so I am VERY familier with the size and while it is VERY car seat friendly I have a Taurus sitting in front of my aunts house dead. Every one I have seen listed has had the same issues mine did at the beginning(leaky engine, water pump issues, a/c dead etc etc etc). So I am not going with those. They are pieces of crap reliability wise(hence the cheap resale value).

The Dodge stratus and Intrepid look similer in size..

Maybe I should just look at the hip room measurments for the Taurus and base my search off that, I do NOT want to get another minivan.

I believe the Pontiac Grand Prix has a large back seat too, as well as the Chevy Impala.

You say you have 2 of them riding in Cosco seats- do the older children still fit in these seats? To fit by height, the harness straps must come from at or above their shoulders and the tips of their ears must be below the top of the shell.

The Evenflo Tribute 5 does have a 35 pound rear facing limit, unless you are in Canada.

TigerLily said:

I own a 2000 ford Taurus, so I am VERY familier with the size and while it is VERY car seat friendly I have a Taurus sitting in front of my aunts house dead. Every one I have seen listed has had the same issues mine did at the beginning(leaky engine, water pump issues, a/c dead etc etc etc). So I am not going with those. They are pieces of crap reliability wise(hence the cheap resale value).

The Dodge stratus and Intrepid look similer in size..

Maybe I should just look at the hip room measurments for the Taurus and base my search off that, I do NOT want to get another minivan.

Click to expand...

I would stay away from dodge if possible. Both that I had had radiator problems.

TigerLily said:

I own a 2000 ford Taurus, so I am VERY familier with the size and while it is VERY car seat friendly I have a Taurus sitting in front of my aunts house dead. Every one I have seen listed has had the same issues mine did at the beginning(leaky engine, water pump issues, a/c dead etc etc etc). So I am not going with those. They are pieces of crap reliability wise(hence the cheap resale value).

The Dodge stratus and Intrepid look similer in size..

Maybe I should just look at the hip room measurments for the Taurus and base my search off that, I do NOT want to get another minivan.

Click to expand...

Stay far far away from dodge. My engine went out at 140k. After Google I realized its happened to majority of other intrepids also. Plus its big but the belt stalks are a pita!

I've been looking at impalas.