3 row vehicles 2000ish up

littleangelfire

Well-known member
Cheap! I like my car. DH likes his car. And our payments aren't bad, $350 total for both. But we need something with more seating. I figured we'd get a Mazda5 when the time came, but the time is sooner than we planned and not only do we have no money to speak of (and no equity in my car or his), but also I think a 7 seater is a better idea than a 6. We'd fill a 6 right now as is on the weekends. It doesn't have to be a forever car, we hope circumstances will change soon, but in case we have it longer term having at least 1 extra seat seems smart. In trying to shop I'm going batty b/c of course a new car is out of the question and apparently models change whether they have third row as an options or not?! We looked at and really like Mitsubishi Outlander and thought we were set until I got online to look at older ones and realized it didn't always seat 7, and when it first did the third row was a joke that popped out of the floor, can't have car seats installed on it, and only made for someone 5'3" or shorter!

I thought Ford Escape had 3 rows, but the first several I'm seeing on eBay don't.

So help. I owe $8,000 on my Versa, it's only worth about $6,000, so we'll be upside down which sucks, and means our price range is $6,000. We'd like to get decent gas mileage. No Suburban for us. We really don't like minivans, but if we must, whatever. :( Since we don't always need the extra seats every single ride, smaller third row isn't a big deal.

So, any knowledgeable crossover/mini-SUV peeps on here can tell me what cars had 3 rows around 2003 (though we'd go older if it was perfect for us) and we're not against newer, just assuming people won't sell their 2008+ vehicle for $6,000 lol I am so used to imports I hate the idea of not having one, but I don't think they have anything that fits our needs and our budget. My beloved Honda has jacksquat. Nissan and Toyota cost too much, I think. HElp?
 
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carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I know you said you weren't crazy about minivans, but they really are your best chance at getting the seating you need at the price you can afford.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
I know you said you weren't crazy about minivans, but they really are your best chance at getting the seating you need at the price you can afford.

Ugh. So didn't want to hear that. I feel like such a nerd. lol And I only have TWO kids, for pete's sake. But every other weekend we have 3 kids, and it's likely within the month we'll have an extra kid staying here full time, so some weekends there'll be 4 kids plus the two of us and the possibility that I'll get pregnant in the next couple years. Do most older vans stink on gas mileage?
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jjordan

Moderator
I know you said you weren't crazy about minivans, but they really are your best chance at getting the seating you need at the price you can afford.

:yeahthat: This times 1000. You could probably do a 2006 or newer Kia Sedona (IIHS best bet for safety) in your price range.
 

tl01

New member
:yeahthat: This times 1000. You could probably do a 2006 or newer Kia Sedona (IIHS best bet for safety) in your price range.

I was going to suggest the same thing. I would get a minivan for sure... The kia will be the most economical option.
 

DawgDad

New member
Ugh. So didn't want to hear that. I feel like such a nerd. lol And I only have TWO kids, for pete's sake. But every other weekend we have 3 kids, and it's likely within the month we'll have an extra kid staying here full time, so some weekends there'll be 4 kids plus the two of us and the possibility that I'll get pregnant in the next couple years. Do most older vans stink on gas mileage?
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No...they are usually much better than the older SUVs that would meet your seating requirement needs. Kia Sedona is not a bad choice that will meet your need.

In the end, a car is just a tool to meet your needs. ;)
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
How are you money wise on dh's car? Have any equity in it? Have more equity than the 2K negative on yours? More negative equity? If you're underwater on yours by 2K, would that drop your budget to 4K, since you'll still have to pay back the 8K out of a sale of 6K?

Other than financials- I'd look into a 2006 sedona or newer if you can find one in your price range. Gas mileage should be better than an older suv. We looked at a sedona when we bought our van and if my coveted 8 pass sienna hadn't been sitting right next to it, we would have seriously considered the sedona. It drove really nicely and fit our seats well.
 

T4K

Well-known member
How long do you think you could hold on to your current situation? Do you guys drive all together all the time? It would probably be cheaper in the long run to take two cars some places.

When you say your versa is worth $6k, where is that figure coming from? I've only had one vehicle that I received at or more than KBB. Every single trade in I've had was under KBB.

My concern is that you are going to end up with a vehicle that needs a lot of work and you will be max spent and not able to fix it and then what good is it?

I would really try and get more equity into your versa and make this situation work for a bit if you are as worried about money as I *think* you are.

That being said, a minivan is going to be the most economical.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
How long do you think you could hold on to your current situation? Do you guys drive all together all the time? It would probably be cheaper in the long run to take two cars some places.

When you say your versa is worth $6k, where is that figure coming from? I've only had one vehicle that I received at or more than KBB. Every single trade in I've had was under KBB.

My concern is that you are going to end up with a vehicle that needs a lot of work and you will be max spent and not able to fix it and then what good is it?

I would really try and get more equity into your versa and make this situation work for a bit if you are as worried about money as I *think* you are.

That being said, a minivan is going to be the most economical.

I haven't looked at equity on dh yet but I suspect it's worse because we've only had it since December. Could we make do? Depends how you look at it. We go everywhere together when dh isn't at work. And on the weekend to pick up stepson it's an hour away. Dh family is an hour away. The other thing is our credit will take a dive very soon due to some medical bills. Now is when it needs to happen. It sucks to do it now but likely won't even be possible later. And my car has depreciated way faster than I would've thought! They're going for under.$6k in my area. We found an Outlander that's been in an accident that we could do, but it's a 2012, I'm not sure it's 7 seater or not
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
If the accident was bad enough to bring a 2012 SUV down to $6K or under, I'd worry about frame damage and airbag deployment. Is this a salvage title? Was the car written off as totalled? If so, you may not be able to insure it and lenders require full coverage insurance.

You are currently underwater on two cars and trying to get financing for a new vehicle? This strikes me as perhaps not the best idea. If you are even able to get financed, you will start off thousands of dollars underwater.
 

T4K

Well-known member
If that's what they are going for then trade in will be worse. If you can sell it private sale, you will probably do better (as long as you can front the cash to pay the car note).
 

sunnydayz

New member
Yes, I would pay off your current car and then put the monthly payment aside in savings until you could buy a new car outright. Your credit won't matter if you're paying cash.

Rolling negative equity is almost always a bad decision, especially when you're rolling it into a used car that is being financed.

We take two cars nearly everywhere, and one of ours is an 8 seater Ody. We always have one kid going to practice here and another across town. It's the norm in our house. You could always rent a larger vehicle for vacations.
 

T4K

Well-known member
And on the rental note, rental vehicles on weekends at off-airport locations are usually CHEAP.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
If that's what they are going for then trade in will be worse. If you can sell it private sale, you will probably do better (as long as you can front the cash to pay the car note).

Private sale was initially the idea, I'm naive to how that works, though, private sale woudl obviously be less than what we owe, so can we just keep on paying it then? Or is that a problem b/c we would no longer have the vehicle? Yes, I realize this sounds like a stupid question. :eek: We have to finish paying our note one way or the other, not sure if it matters to the bank whether we physially have the car or not. If we trade it in they'll roll it to the next one, but it's still for the old car, but I guess that way they get to take the new car if it's not paid. So I can understand why we can't sell it with a note. TAlking circles around myself.

Yes, I would pay off your current car and then put the monthly payment aside in savings until you could buy a new car outright. Your credit won't matter if you're paying cash.

Rolling negative equity is almost always a bad decision, especially when you're rolling it into a used car that is being financed.

We take two cars nearly everywhere, and one of ours is an 8 seater Ody. We always have one kid going to practice here and another across town. It's the norm in our house. You could always rent a larger vehicle for vacations.

Paying either car off first is not an option. Cars won't be paid off for 5 more years, and will be worth next to nothing by then, esp DH, it has high miles, it's how we got it less expensive. I do realize and agree it's a bad decision, but there isn't an awesome decision here, only which is the lesser of a few evils. We HAVE to have more seating. Driving a few hours every weekend taking 2 cars is more 'evil' we think, for both gas money reasons and wear tear on 2 vehicles instead of one. We've even talked about selling both cars and then just having one car since I workfrom home. I really hate this idea, but if it's what works we'll do it. I'd be stranded here every day, though, and there's a couple days a week I'd have to take DH to work so I coudl have the car for DS1's activities and my teaching schedule. Gah, that doesn't even work. DH doesn't get off until right during my teaching hours. Sorry for the detour as I thkn aloud. I've never traded a car in this soon, b/c I didn't want to be upside down. I hate the idea of it. But I hate more shelling out $$$ in gas constantly and having to drive everywhere separately. We don't take vacations, well, we went to Omaha Zoo, but we didn't stay the night even, drove 3 hours there, 3 hours back.

And on the rental note, rental vehicles on weekends at off-airport locations are usually CHEAP.

Last I checked it was over $20 each weekend, I'd rather that money be going towards a vehicle that works for us rather than having nothing to show for it at the end of each weekend. Granted, it's an option, and I appreciate you saying it as I wouldn't have thought of it.

Salvage title is hard to insure, so not sure that'll work either.

But is anyone able to answer my intended question of what older model SUV/crossovers had 3 rows from 2002ish thru 2008? Because I don't even know where to start. I've always driven imports, but the domestics have more of those it seems. But I can't tell whic models do or don't. I know the big ones, but not the smaller ones. Ford EScape? Explorer? Any thoughts on the Chrysler Pacifica? I so wish Honda CRV had a 3rd row. That woudl be our answer.

I do understand all that you are saying, and please trust that it's being taken into consideration. This has just kind of been thrown at us and we'll officially be not fitting int our cars by October ish. I have a friend that buys cars at auctions, she'll keep an eye out for me, and another friend that works at CarMax, he has access to heavily discounted cars on their back lot that they don't consider for the main lot, he'll watch out for us, too. And we have a few friends who are willing to help with some mechanical work and body work, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Thank you for your help.

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carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Private sale was initially the idea, I'm naive to how that works, though, private sale woudl obviously be less than what we owe, so can we just keep on paying it then? Or is that a problem b/c we would no longer have the vehicle? Yes, I realize this sounds like a stupid question. :eek: We have to finish paying our note one way or the other, not sure if it matters to the bank whether we physially have the car or not. If we trade it in they'll roll it to the next one, but it's still for the old car, but I guess that way they get to take the new car if it's not paid. So I can understand why we can't sell it with a note. TAlking circles around myself.

Nobody will buy a car she can't title, and you can't transfer title with a lien on the vehicle. You can't sell the car privately unless it is paid off and the title is clear.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
Nobody will buy a car she can't title, and you can't transfer title with a lien on the vehicle. You can't sell the car privately unless it is paid off and the title is clear.

OK, thank you, I knew it sounded kind of funny to me to be able to do it but couldn't quite figure out why. So someone could get approved for a loan but they're not going to do that b/c we owe more than it's worth and would still need cash. So it's possible we may have to take cash going to some other bills for a couple months to see if we can pay it down to what it's worth. I'm seeing a couple priced higher than what KBB said, I dont' know. So it's that or we're strictly looking at a dealership who can finance and roll over what we owe. Which sucks, b/c it lowers our price range and makes the upside down part more. Ugh. But at least the KBB trade-in versus private party value wasn't too different, it was less than $1,000 different.

Such a mess.
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littleangelfire

Well-known member
You can search autotrader.com and select "third row seats" as an option.

Thank you, autotrader is where we found the wrecked one, so not sure how I missed this option! Of course, we've since realized the year we were looking at has the flimsy child-sized pop=up 3rd row that can't be used for car seats, AND can't fit anyone over 5'3". Why on earth bother putting a 3rd row in it at all!?
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sirrahn

Active member
Such a mess.

It is unfortunately. Of all the options for another vehicle presented here, the only one that might even make a tiny bit of sense is selling both of them and going to an older minivan. You'll have to trade since you don't have the cash to pay off the loans so as others said you can't sell outright which would give you more money.

You can definitely trade two for one...we did that when the boys were small and money was tight, but we owned both our cars outright so although we didn't get much, it was better than nothing. I'm really afraid you'll get screwed by a dealer trying to do that with 2 upside down cars:(. The only real option I'm afraid is to just keep driving the two cars you have when needed. GL!
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
It is unfortunately. Of all the options for another vehicle presented here, the only one that might even make a tiny bit of sense is selling both of them and going to an older minivan. You'll have to trade since you don't have the cash to pay off the loans so as others said you can't sell outright which would give you more money.

You can definitely trade two for one...we did that when the boys were small and money was tight, but we owned both our cars outright so although we didn't get much, it was better than nothing. I'm really afraid you'll get screwed by a dealer trying to do that with 2 upside down cars:(. The only real option I'm afraid is to just keep driving the two cars you have when needed. GL!

We've kind of screwed ourselves into a corner, not sure dealer will do worse.
 

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