3 row vehicles 2000ish up

bubbaray

New member
Why do you need to drive 6? You, DH, DS1, DS2, SDS. That's 5 right?

Given your prior posts about $ (assuming things haven't changed) I really encourage you to make do until the cars are paid off.
 
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amandaj553

New member
I drive a 2004 Highlander... mine doesn't have it, but I know third row seating was an option during this body style (2001 - 2007? guessing here). You would just need to check each one. FWIW, I'm not sure that 3rd row has tethers or not... so you may have to put RF or boosters there, or opt for no tether, which isn't as safe. With the right seats though, you can fit 3 across in the main middle row. I must warn you though, gas mileage is bad... like 15 miles/gallon. Mine currently has 135,000 miles and going... only problem I've had is with the window motors and A/C (which is an electrical problem).
 

sunnydayz

New member
If you're going to do it (and give Dave Ramsey a stroke, lol ) then I would go into it with a few assumptions:

1. You will drive this car until it is paid off; due to credit issues and negative equity. Take that into consideration when looking at mileage and the state of a vehicle. You will have this a minimum of five years. Also, consider how big your kids will be in 5 years. A small child who fits in the 3rd row now, might not in that length of time. Crawl into the 3rd row and see how an adult size person might fit.

2. Your interest rate might prevent this from happening. Rolling a considerable amount negative equity into a used vehicle may amount to a terrible interest rate that would result in sky high payments.

3. I would really only consider a 2006+ Kia Sedona or Hyundai Entourage (Sedona clone) or an earlier model Toyota Sienna. (The early Odysseys have transmission issues). These would provide the greatest capacity, reliability, value and gas savings.


Good luck!
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Forgive me for continuing to brainstorm other options, but after listening to Dave Ramsey for a while, yeah. Buying a new car with 2 upside down makes me twitchy ;).

How do SS's pick-ups go? Is there a reason you all have to go get him? I know when I was growing up, my dad often came to get us by himself due to step-mom's work schedule or just because she had things to do, and then we spent all weekend together. It seems to me that it would make the most sense for DH to go get his son and bring him to your house, then yall decide what to do. If you all go somewhere and need 2 cars, fine, but you could choose more local things.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
Why do you need to drive 6? You, DH, DS1, DS2, SDS. That's 5 right?

Given your prior posts about $ (assuming things haven't changed) I really encourage you to make do until the cars are paid off.

Another child is probably moving in with us. CHild, teen, but child.

I drive a 2004 Highlander... mine doesn't have it, but I know third row seating was an option during this body style (2001 - 2007? guessing here). You would just need to check each one. FWIW, I'm not sure that 3rd row has tethers or not... so you may have to put RF or boosters there, or opt for no tether, which isn't as safe. With the right seats though, you can fit 3 across in the main middle row. I must warn you though, gas mileage is bad... like 15 miles/gallon. Mine currently has 135,000 miles and going... only problem I've had is with the window motors and A/C (which is an electrical problem).

Thank you, this is the kind of info I was hoping for on specific models. That gas mileage is scary, in that case it may be cheaper to drive 2 fairly economical vehicles, I don't know. I didn't realize it was so bad on those.

If you're going to do it (and give Dave Ramsey a stroke, lol ) then I would go into it with a few assumptions:

1. You will drive this car until it is paid off; due to credit issues and negative equity. Take that into consideration when looking at mileage and the state of a vehicle. You will have this a minimum of five years. Also, consider how big your kids will be in 5 years. A small child who fits in the 3rd row now, might not in that length of time. Crawl into the 3rd row and see how an adult size person might fit.

2. Your interest rate might prevent this from happening. Rolling a considerable amount negative equity into a used vehicle may amount to a terrible interest rate that would result in sky high payments.

3. I would really only consider a 2006+ Kia Sedona or Hyundai Entourage (Sedona clone) or an earlier model Toyota Sienna. (The early Odysseys have transmission issues). These would provide the greatest capacity, reliability, value and gas savings.


Good luck!

I really appreciate giving an answer despite disagreeing with it, and it makes me nervous thinking of it, too. I guess my other issue for bunking a van is during the workday, it's just me and 2 kids and my car is fine. Although,I don't even drive that much and usually don't roam too far. It seems all that space is then wasted on us, which is why I was trying to find a small SUV thinking the seats would be there when we needed them, but that it would be a smaller vehicle overall. My son is 10 and huge, so yeah, I get the small seat part. stepson is and small, and baby is on the road to being small. We will sit in any backseat though and gauge size for ourselves, too. I hadn't ever even heard of the Entourage. And yeah, interest and rolling it and all that may not be doable. And then I guess we're stuck and we won'g hardly go anywhere, or pawn off one kid to a grandparent when we go places. :(

Forgive me for continuing to brainstorm other options, but after listening to Dave Ramsey for a while, yeah. Buying a new car with 2 upside down makes me twitchy ;).

How do SS's pick-ups go? Is there a reason you all have to go get him? I know when I was growing up, my dad often came to get us by himself due to step-mom's work schedule or just because she had things to do, and then we spent all weekend together. It seems to me that it would make the most sense for DH to go get his son and bring him to your house, then yall decide what to do. If you all go somewhere and need 2 cars, fine, but you could choose more local things.

I know. Money stresses me out immensely. I've never purposely made such a seemingly wonky financial decision. But it is what it is. Some of DH family is in the same area as his son an hour away, we go see them while we're there. They just changed DH's schedule, but until now he's been on 10 hour shifts, so gone 12 hours, If we all stay behind we don't see him before he goes to bed. And yes, I realize it won't kill us. And yes, I realize we may put more of a premium on it than others, but we do. We generally all go. Not always. DS1 hates riding that far, so if he's able he'll beg off to go to my mom's or step-dad's. But I can't count on that for every trip. And we don't really go 'do' anything, lol, we go visit family b/c other than gas it's free,and currently the gas for one car is cheaper than, say, paying a fee to get in somewhere, or a movie or something. So we go visit family.

I appreciate the model ideas. We may not have to act as fast as I'm thining, which is good, but it would take years before we're not upside down on my car, or not even till it's paid off, perhaps, at the rate of depreciation. I paid $12,000 2 1/2 years ago. Now all of a sudden it's worth HALF THAT!? That's insane. I should've stuck with Honda. :rolleyes: DH car might be closer to being worth what we owe. I'll check it out.

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littleangelfire

Well-known member
I would be considering something like this. But you will have to see hoe much negative equity they will let you roll into the new car. I searched the state where I believe you are... But this one came up... Don't know how far it is....

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sa...ds=15&firstRecord=1&zip=64101&searchType=used

Wow, the gas mileage on that is impressive to me! Well, the HWY mileage anyways. I do a lot of in-town driving, but it's near the house anyway.
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lgenne

New member
I would definitely keep an open mind about a minivan. When I was in high school, money was tight. There were 5 licensed drivers in the house, all adult sized, plus one more tween/teen. My dad took his sedan to work every day. Back then, minivans weren't really a thing; we had a monstrous full size conversion van. We certainly didn't have the option for a 3rd vehicle.

My dad was self employed, often working long hours, weekends, evenings, you name it. So guess which vehicle was around for errands, dropping siblings off at work, etc.? I pretty much learned to drive on that thing. We made it work.

Today's options are obviously better than the conversion van, in just about every measurable way: price, gas mileage, safety, comfort. I'm no expert on the specifics of your financial situation, but aside from the actual volume of space taken up by a minivan, there's not much logical argument in favor of a new-to-you small SUV over a minivan. And the physical space only matters if you do a lot of tight parallel parking or have a really tiny garage or something.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
I would definitely keep an open mind about a minivan. When I was in high school, money was tight. There were 5 licensed drivers in the house, all adult sized, plus one more tween/teen. My dad took his sedan to work every day. Back then, minivans weren't really a thing; we had a monstrous full size conversion van. We certainly didn't have the option for a 3rd vehicle.

My dad was self employed, often working long hours, weekends, evenings, you name it. So guess which vehicle was around for errands, dropping siblings off at work, etc.? I pretty much learned to drive on that thing. We made it work.

Today's options are obviously better than the conversion van, in just about every measurable way: price, gas mileage, safety, comfort. I'm no expert on the specifics of your financial situation, but aside from the actual volume of space taken up by a minivan, there's not much logical argument in favor of a new-to-you small SUV over a minivan. And the physical space only matters if you do a lot of tight parallel parking or have a really tiny garage or something.

Thank you. Truthfully I also held out some hope we could find an suv with a manual shift, that's definitely not happening with a van but it likely wouldn't with an suv either. I'm so used to driving a compact car!
 

lgenne

New member
Thank you. Truthfully I also held out some hope we could find an suv with a manual shift, that's definitely not happening with a van but it likely wouldn't with an suv either. I'm so used to driving a compact car!

True. :) I went through an "I need a manual transmission!" phase myself, but when it comes down to situations like this, I think back to that conversion van, complete with non-optional CB radio. It wasn't ideal by any stretch, but nothing was, so we went with what was manageable. I'm trying to remember why you need a 7th seat? You might be able to find a manual transmission Mazda 5 (6 seater) in your price range.

ETA: ah, I see in your original post that you mostly just think it would be a good idea to have that extra seat in case you need it. I suppose that's true, but then again if you can make the 5 work with your needs 99% of the time, it sounds like it might make you happiest.
 

jjordan

Moderator
FYI, the Hyundai Entourage is the twin to the Kia Sedona. I think the base model of the Entourage has more extras than the base model of the Sedona, but they're essentially the same car with two different names.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
How about a Mazda MPV? Smaller than traditional minivans but still offers 7 seats. Price is low enough that you could pay off your current vehicle without rolling it into this one.

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sa...featureCodes=&premiumFeatureCodes=&keywords=&

You did good-that's not too far from us, and it looks pretty good, though I haven't seen the gas mileage yet. I didn't realize the MPV was smaller than other vans.

True. :) I went through an "I need a manual transmission!" phase myself, but when it comes down to situations like this, I think back to that conversion van, complete with non-optional CB radio. It wasn't ideal by any stretch, but nothing was, so we went with what was manageable. I'm trying to remember why you need a 7th seat? You might be able to find a manual transmission Mazda 5 (6 seater) in your price range.

ETA: ah, I see in your original post that you mostly just think it would be a good idea to have that extra seat in case you need it. I suppose that's true, but then again if you can make the 5 work with your needs 99% of the time, it sounds like it might make you happiest.

I've always driven a manual shift. Driving an automatic drives me batty. But I knew it would come at some point, having a family in the US means driving an automatic vehicle :( THere's 4 of us here full time right this minute, another coming soon we think (teen), and stepson here every other weekend, so that's , and then always the possibliity that I will get pregnant again necessitating a 7th seat. We feel it's better to deal with that now rather than scramble again.

FYI, the Hyundai Entourage is the twin to the Kia Sedona. I think the base model of the Entourage has more extras than the base model of the Sedona, but they're essentially the same car with two different names.

Thank you, I didn't realize this.

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carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I agree that if you get a new-to-you vehicle, it should be a 7-seater. However, this may not be the best time to get a new vehicle. If you do get pregnant, you'll have nine months to make arrangements. If you are planning on getting pregnant soon (or not planning on NOT getting pregnant), pay down one of the vehicles as fast as you can so you can trade it. For now, make do and pay down.
 

T4K

Well-known member
I agree that if you get a new-to-you vehicle, it should be a 7-seater. However, this may not be the best time to get a new vehicle. If you do get pregnant, you'll have nine months to make arrangements. If you are planning on getting pregnant soon (or not planning on NOT getting pregnant), pay down one of the vehicles as fast as you can so you can trade it. For now, make do and pay down.

I agree.

I've been in a situation where I had to roll negative equity into a loan (on a dependable new car with warranty and maintenance plan). There was no other option due to divorce. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to finances. I quickly got out of the situation. I would have a hard time doing what you are talking about without any indication that finances will improve and with a car of unknown history (without any money for repairs/maintenance).
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
I agree that if you get a new-to-you vehicle, it should be a 7-seater. However, this may not be the best time to get a new vehicle. If you do get pregnant, you'll have nine months to make arrangements. If you are planning on getting pregnant soon (or not planning on NOT getting pregnant), pay down one of the vehicles as fast as you can so you can trade it. For now, make do and pay down.

The second, not planning on not getting pregnant. It's definitely not the best time, but we are afraid to wait. Our credit is about to tank and then we'll get an even worse deal. My car is depreciating at too fast a rate to make us break even any time in the next few years. It is true we'd have 9 months to figure it out if I get pregnant again, but we already full if/when the teen gets here. We have a little breathing room on that one right now it turns out, but we're going to keep looking. Car payment interest rates go up steeply when your credit isn't great, if you can get approved at all, which could make waiting just as expensive. It's kind of a nowin, though we are taking actions that will get us out of th emoney pit, but it's going to take a few years, not months. I pay a little extra each month just by rounding up the payment to the next $10, but that's nothing that's making an impact, I'm sure. There isn't any more to pay it down with.

I agree.

I've been in a situation where I had to roll negative equity into a loan (on a dependable new car with warranty and maintenance plan). There was no other option due to divorce. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to finances. I quickly got out of the situation. I would have a hard time doing what you are talking about without any indication that finances will improve and with a car of unknown history (without any money for repairs/maintenance).

THe unknown history always gets me, but it's a risk of buying used. We'll be stuck with a dealer only since he can trade-in and roll over the old loan to the new. I HATE paying for something we won't even own naymore. But with a dealer can come a warranty, depending on the dealer. There's no maintenance repair money now, well, we're doing oil changes but not much else, thankfully nothing has really been needed.

Looking at the van link Dillipop gave as well as some MDX at dealers. They're older, 2003 2004, but I'm much more comfortable with an older import than some other brands that I feel get more unreliable with age.

Is that wood look crud really popular>!? I thought it went out with the 80s? Apparently I just haven't ever looked at these bigger family vehicles. Blech. It's been in almost every one.
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stephpook

New member
I would also suggest a minivan. It'll give you the growing space you need - both in terms of number of kids and size. The optional third row in most of the smaller SUV's I've seen is a joke. Not only is the legroom nonexistent, but when the third row is in use, cargo space is nonexistent. And the gas mileage in a minivan should be at least a little bit better, although probably not much. A friend of mine just bought a minivan (after swearing she never would) and refers to it as her "mini" because she still doesn't like the van designation. Minivans sometimes get a bad rap, but they really are effective for what they do.

I would also urge you to reconsider the "one car family" option. We did it for a year a couple years ago and while it was sometimes hard working everything out (I had to get rides from friends to and from some places, drive my husband to work so I could have the car, or sometimes just not go), but it did work and ended up not being as hard as I thought it would be. It still might not be an option for you guys after reconsideration, but I think it's worth a second look - especially when compared to the short and long-term pros and cons of your other options.

And I would seriously also getting a quote from Carmax for the car(s) you're looking to sell. Underwater loan aside, they typically give good prices for cars (at least they do out here) and although it's probably not applicable in your situation, you can sell them your car even if you're not buying one from them (which I assume you already know if you have a friend who works there). My parents just bought a new Highlander and traded in their Sienna. Carmax quoted them $2-$3000 more for the Sienna than the other dealerships they talked to, but they were able to get at least one (if not more) of the other dealerships to agree to match the higher written quote. Now obviously there are a lot of factors in play here - the Sienna was immaculate and low-mileage and they were buying a new car which likely has a lot more play in the sale price than an older used car, but it still may be worth looking into. My parents still ended up buying the car from Carmax, but I'm sure you get my point.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
So we found a dealer that's offering a good trade-in value for my car $5,500, and has a vehicle that at first seems perfect. But if it's so perfect why aren't I seein more about it? I PM'd Unityco becuase she has one. It's a 2010 Kia Rondo, has a third row, seats 7 total. DH and I each sat in middle row and 3rd row, yes, there could be more room, but it's not bad, honestly, similar to the Mazda5 I've been in. Very very little cargo area when third row is in use, but it does have a roof rack. Not even sure how to use those, though, lol. We wll break even as far as payment goes. It has 50k miles and full warranty left as well as powertrain warranty left. We are getting further money off the car becuase it just came in and was getting taped off to go in the paint boothand get some scratches covered. We said don't paint it, so they'll take some money off. My husband's work will let him bring in the bumper and paint it, and they have the computer to match it so that doesn't bother me.

It's an automatic. How i hate that! But whatever. There really wasn't much else. It's very tough to find something that is priced low enough it will keep our payment and yet be worth enough they'll loan us the money. This fits that bill. We're afraid to pass it up because others we won't get that money off for lack of paint job. And the longer we wait the more likely our credit is going to take some hits when those medical bills go to collection. Although I'm sitting here realizing that thing really having 7 people in it would feel crowded, lol, but peopl erealy do put 6 people in a Mazda5, too, and that's not any different. Any way you look at it we're squished when all together, in our current car there's 3 squished in the backseat. But this seems a preferable option to keep gas mileage down during the days when it's just me and 2 kids, but still have the ability to transport us all as needed. Not sure how we'd fare cross country or anything, lol, but the option would be there.
 

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