To get a new car or not? (Update in post #13!)

I actually did get a new car (2014 Honda Accord EX) back in December, trading in my 2013 Sorento because of this: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=259269

Since then, I have found even more complaints for the same thing on the NHTSA web site so I am glad to be rid of it for that reason, however I do miss my Sorento for its room, sitting up higher, and the cargo space. The Accord is nice, don't get me wrong, but I just don't love it. We tried to find another compact to mid-size SUV when we were trading the Sorento, but just couldn't find one that we really liked that was within our budget. DH really likes the Accord and constantly tells me that but meanwhile I miss having an SUV. It would make more sense for DH to drive the Accord because of the excellent gas mileage it gets (I average about 28 mpg in it) because his work commute is twice as far as mine. He drives a 2007 Toyota Tundra. I hate driving it. It's huge, I hate backing it up because I can't tell how much room I have behind me, it has a V-8 engine that is too powerful for me, and it is just a PIA to get into my parking garage at work because of how high it sits up so there is no way I can just swap vehicles with DH.

We are considering trading the truck (assuming DH can part with it!) and giving a second look at some of the compact SUV's like the CR-V and the Nissan Rogue. There really is no reason to keep the truck because we no longer have a boat, which is why we had a truck in the first place. It's so huge it won't fit in the garage at home and it is a gas guzzler. The biggest pro though - it is paid for.

If we did get a new car in the $25k and under range, the payments would be very doable (under $250 a month) because we'd have the truck to trade in. But it is nice just having ONE car payment right now but unfortunately, it's for a car that I just don't love.

So, WWYD? I just can't decide! And what SUV would you look at?

Toyota Highlander? i just got a new '13 on a great clearance deal a couple of weeks ago due to the remodel of the body for '14.


I have driven my dh's Tundra and agree too big! Compared to having owned & driven a Yukon, Grand Cherokee and Sienna, the Highlander is the perfect size and drives so nicely. It has to be one of my favorite vehicles I have ever owned
(my other two favs were my Accord & Civic .

Re: To get a new car or not?

That's funny, because I had a 2003 Highlander that I traded to buy the Sorento! I loved my Highlander when I did have it though. Maybe I will look at the 2013's. We didn't before because they were more than we wanted to spend. I thought the 2014's were nice, but then I read on here about the issue of no passenger in the center if they are next to a car seat on the passenger side!

Re: To get a new car or not?

I think it's a total guess.

I went from a corolla to a RAV4 just over a year ago. Some days I think 'how will I ever go back to driving a car?' and other days, I really miss my corolla. I really loved that car. Like really loved that car. I do really like driving my RAV, and its actually been my dream car for a long time, I *need* a lot of features that the SUV provides over a car, but the corolla will always have a place in my heart, haha.

I think though that my biggest wistfulness for my corolla comes from the gas mileage, so if I wasn't as worried about the enormous chunk of money I spend in gas each month, I wouldn't even give second thought to owning an SUV-- I love being up higher, the flexibility to haul 'stuff' (although the corolla's trunk was awesome for what it was), etc.

If you can trade in the tundra, your husband has a more reasonable commuting car (though I do love the tundra!), it would definitely be worth looking at another smallerish SUV.

Re: To get a new car or not?

Personally, I wouldn't. I'm a minimalist in this regard, though. We have 1 car. I never want a second car if we can avoid it. Once the kids are out of car seats, I'd like to downsize to a smaller care than our SUV. We had a Forester for years & I miss how compact it was in comparison to the Tribeca. We got rid of it because it was miserable with 2 car seat in it. If we could get a Prius (or other high-efficiency car) with awesome AWD for our snow/ice/weather, I'd do that. I just hate big cars. My first car was a minivan & I've been trying to go smaller ever since

Any interest in a lease? You could cut your payments in half and re-evaluate in a few years. If you get a decent lease deal it nearly equals the depreciation of buying a vehicle.

Re: To get a new car or not?

The two cars that are tops on my list right now are the Highlander and the Tribeca. DH has a 2003 Forester that we bought new. It's still going strong. It's the older model that is way too small in the backseat, but the newer ones have more space. He's replacing it in the next year but wants a sedan or hatchback. When my van (06 Sienna, bought new in Jan 07) gets replaced, I'd consider a forester or outback but I really want the seating capacity of a 3rd row. We have others with us often enough to need that. I am hoping the Tribeca gets better ratings for safety and reliability by the time I need it, or I'll be going with the highlander. Probably 3 years away so it's got time. My FIL has an outback and LOVES it. I drove it a couple of months ago and it was nice. I think it's a 2011. Probably similar to what you've had in the past with cargo area. Subarus in general have such good safety and reliability ratings.

FYI - 2014 is the last model year for the Tribeca. They are discontinuing it. They may be developing something better, but the dealer doesn't have any info on that yet.

Re: To get a new car or not?

SuzaBanana said:

FYI - 2014 is the last model year for the Tribeca. They are discontinuing it. They may be developing something better, but the dealer doesn't have any info on that yet.

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Didn't know that. Interesting. Thx.

Re: To get a new car or not?

You probably know this but the 2014 Rogue is also all new. Might be some good deals on 2013s if you like the last version. Do you like the Forester?

Re: To get a new car or not?

I do like the new Rogue so that might be a possibility. My friend has one, either a 2012 or 2013 and it's the second one she's had and she really likes it. I will just have to go out and take a look at them. As for the Forester, I haven't really looked at them much at all, so I might have to add it to my list.

My friend has a 2013 VW Tiguan .... It's super nice! She loves it! It's powerful, decent gas mileage & it drives like a dream! I wish I could convince DH to trade my journey in on one lol

Well, I didn't think DH would be willing to part with his Tundra but he was the one who went to the Honda dealership after work this past Friday to look at the CR-V then asked me to come down there to drive it. He really liked it as well and before I knew it, we ended up with one! It all works out because DH will now drive the Accord which is going to be so much better because the gas mileage it gets is amazing, especially compared to the Tundra. He drives 44 miles to work round trip every day. Anyway, I love it. It took a second look for me to feel that way! I wasn't feeling it when we looked at it 3 months ago and ended up with the Accord.

I got the Mountain Air Metallic color which is a blue-green. Oh, and the best thing is now being able to fit both cars in the garage and I can drive both cars! When we had the Tundra, I hated driving it!

Yay congrats!!

Just as a side note, we still need a truck from time to time after trading ours in. We use Home Depot truck rental and it's very affordable.

msg221 said:

I actually did get a new car (2014 Honda Accord EX) back in December, trading in my 2013 Sorento because of this: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=259269

Since then, I have found even more complaints for the same thing on the NHTSA web site so I am glad to be rid of it for that reason...

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What is the problem with it? I don't have access to the thread you linked, and the Kia Sorento is one on my list to possibly look at. Thanks!

T4K said:

Yay congrats!!

Just as a side note, we still need a truck from time to time after trading ours in. We use Home Depot truck rental and it's very affordable.

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Thanks! That is funny, because DH and I just mentioned that yesterday! He said he wouldn't miss the truck other than being able to use it to haul stuff now and again or having it come in handy when buying something large, like furniture. But those times aren't all that often and we mentioned renting a Home Depot truck! The upside now is nobody will ask us to help them move anymore!

Funny I found this thread today. I can't believe you got another new car! Congrats.

We were at the Toyota dealer getting my Prius serviced and DH got a call to trade it in. Ha ha. So we met with them and they offered us $15,000 for my $30,000 car, 2.5 years old and 34,500 miles. It seems ludicrous to me! I thought Toyota Pruis was high up there on retaining value.

I really miss my SUV. It's been a little tough in the Prius this winter! Many scary drives home from work at midnight. So while we waited we looked at the Rav4 which DH really wants. I like it but why oh why do they have that stupid seat belt in the back? So we looked at the Highlander and it's just such a beast to me. I can't see myself driving it. We looked at the Venza which we almost bought when we got the Prius. I liked the Prius V, but it has the big plastic hinges in the back seat. I can't decide what to do so probably we'll do nothing.

I'll tell him we should look at the CRV!

cookie123 said:

Funny I found this thread today. I can't believe you got another new car! Congrats.

We were at the Toyota dealer getting my Prius serviced and DH got a call to trade it in. Ha ha. So we met with them and they offered us $15,000 for my $30,000 car, 2.5 years old and 34,500 miles. It seems ludicrous to me! I thought Toyota Pruis was high up there on retaining value.

I really miss my SUV. It's been a little tough in the Prius this winter! Many scary drives home from work at midnight. So while we waited we looked at the Rav4 which DH really wants. I like it but why oh why do they have that stupid seat belt in the back? So we looked at the Highlander and it's just such a beast to me. I can't see myself driving it. We looked at the Venza which we almost bought when we got the Prius. I liked the Prius V, but it has the big plastic hinges in the back seat. I can't decide what to do so probably we'll do nothing.

I'll tell him we should look at the CRV!

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I drove the Accord for 3 months and I just missed my SUV so much: sitting up higher and the cargo room were the two biggest things for me. It wasn't like I was complaining about it every day or anything, but DH knew I missed it and at the same time, he kept saying "take good care of MY Accord" (he really likes it!) so I jokingly said "then you drive it and get me my SUV!" I did mention whether we really needed his Tundra anymore but wasn't expecting him to want to get rid of it. We originally got it to haul our boat, but we sold that last October. Then there was the issue that I could not drive it. Well, I CAN, but I hated it because it was so huge and hard for me to back up without feeling I was going to hit somebody/something, it sat up so high and is so wide that I had a hard time getting it through the gates of my employee parking garage, parking it was a nightmare, and it had this V-8 engine that was just way too much for me! Because of all that, DH was the only one driving it and it was expensive on gas because he was only getting 17 mpg and he has a 44 mile round trip to work every day! Anyway, I was ready to just suck it up and drive the Accord. He was the one who stopped by the Honda dealer on his way home from work last Friday, then called me to drive up there so I could test drive it! I really wasn't up to it, but I went anyway. Two hours after I got there, I was driving the CR-V home! So now DH will be driving the Accord which gets even better gas mileage than the CR-V, so he's happy. He said he doesn't think he will miss his truck at all. I even told him while we were at the dealer that he didn't have to do it because if he was going to have regrets later for trading the truck in, I didn't want to be blamed! But he said he was fine. Maybe he was just thinking that if I was happy, all would be good, as in "happy wife, happy life!"

Anyway, I really do like it and yay, there are rigid belt stalks so buckling in car seats should be much easier!!! Funny thing is I didn't notice till I went to install car seats but I am so happy about that!

We have owned a lot of Toyotas in the past (Celica, 4-Runner, Camry, Highlander) but DH just isn't thrilled with them as of late so we didn't even look. Well, the Highlander looks nice, but out of our price range now plus bigger, like you said. I haven't even seen the new RAV-4 in person, but what I've seen online it looks nice. But what is the "stupid seat belt" issue?

We also went with the CR-V (the EX model) because of the safety ratings and the resale value. Our insurance only went up $8 more a month, so not bad.

I've convinced DH we should look at one! We're going to go do it when ever he gets ready. Yes, my DH is always advising people "Happy Wife, Happy Life!" Our men are very smart I guess!

Rav has overlapping seat belts in back. The middle shoulder belt comes from the roof and has to be latched into a little dealie that is literally in the middle of the driver's side person's back. Someone can't ride there and in the middle at the same time.

cookie123 said:

I've convinced DH we should look at one! We're going to go do it when ever he gets ready. Yes, my DH is always advising people "Happy Wife, Happy Life!" Our men are very smart I guess!

Rav has overlapping seat belts in back. The middle shoulder belt comes from the roof and has to be latched into a little dealie that is literally in the middle of the driver's side person's back. Someone can't ride there and in the middle at the same time.

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Uh oh. The CR-V also had the center belt coming from the roof, but I don't know where the buckle is that it buckles into! I will go look now since I was just on my way out for a late lunch! I will take a pic of it and post it so you can see. I hope it doesn't overlap like the Rav-4!