Vehicle advice

purplemama

New member
After an accident totaled his "01 Accord, we got a '03 Accord for DH. We were crunched for time when we bought it, we need to be a 2 vehicle household.
DH loved his '01 Accord, we tried really hard to find another but it was impossible, finding the '03 was hard enough. Every older accord sold within days of being at a dealership.
The quality of the '03 is NOTHING like the '01 was. The gas mileage really sucks too. DH hates it. And when the snow came last week we discovered that what looked like good tires with plenty of tread left were in fact horrible tires. This car is very difficult to drive in the snow. It doesn't steer, doesn't stop, doesn't take off well at all. It's really really bad. I would think it's just the tires but I really don't know. Not too keen on spending $500+ on decent tires only to discover the car still drives like crap in the snow.
DH wants to buy an older small SUV or AWD type vehicle for around $2000ish. And use that for winter and the accord for non-snow weather. I really don't want 3 vehicles but he does.
He drives 30 miles each way to work every day on a rural freeway. In the winter it's usually quite bad.
I'm just really not sure what to do. DS1 is 16 but we won't let him take drivers training due to legal and substance abuse issues. I know with a 3rd car around that will be something he will harp on non-stop even after he moves out. I really just don't want to hear it. But it would come in handy if one vehicle is in the shop to have that 3rd one around for something to drive.
 
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jjordan

Moderator
I don't know about your area, but around here, AWD vehicles come at a premium, so you might have trouble finding something decent for $2000-ish. If I were you I'd probably try selling the Accord and spending the additional money on an AWD vehicle (maybe a Subaru or something similar).

I'm not sure if that helps! Good luck!
 

kaysmom

New member
I don't know about your area, but around here, AWD vehicles come at a premium, so you might have trouble finding something decent for $2000-ish. If I were you I'd probably try selling the Accord and spending the additional money on an AWD vehicle (maybe a Subaru or something similar).

I'm not sure if that helps! Good luck!

Living in MN it's the same here, AWD vehicles are going to be more than you want to spend I have the feeling. If the Accord isn't getting great mileage I would also be inclined to sell it and get a smaller vehicle with AWD for all year round.
Also don't forget the added cost of car insurance if you do add a 3rd car. We are a 4 car family (a collector car, a pickup with a plow, a daily work driver with just liability for DH and my Denali) and our monthly payment is more that I would like it to be!!
 

aept

New member
I don't know about your area, but around here, AWD vehicles come at a premium, so you might have trouble finding something decent for $2000-ish. If I were you I'd probably try selling the Accord and spending the additional money on an AWD vehicle (maybe a Subaru or something similar). I'm not sure if that helps! Good luck!

I'm with this idea, or just buying some snow tires. They made a huge difference on our Prius and Corolla.
I would not want the third vehicle around because of your teen and for added insurance cost reasons.
 

purplemama

New member
We had a long talk about it last night. We still owe his parents quite a bit on the money they loaned us to buy our van 3 years ago so to buy a 3rd vehicle wouldn't be right, we should pay them off first.
We might try to find something after his bonus comes, then sell the '03 accord to pay for it.
For now the best thing to do is get tires but with winter coming early this year and the memory of last years really bad winter still fresh in everyone's minds, nowhere has winter tires. All seasons will have to do for now, I just hope we can get something that works.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
So you have all-seasons on it now? That's why it drives like crap in the snow LOL! If you really can't get winter tires, I would make the best of it for now. Look at the cost-benefit of selling the Accord and getting something more fuel efficient. As in, how much $$ would it cost on top of selling the Accord, and how long would it take to recoup that money through fuel savings. As long as the current vehicle isn't a money pit in terms of repairs, it might make more sense to buy good quality, possibly used, winter tires and get another couple years out of it while paying back his parents. Tires make a huge difference.

Another benefit to waiting a couple years is that your "new" vehicle could potentially have 3 headrests in the back. VW & Subaru have had them forever. Toyota is around 05, Honda, Hyundai, Kia around 07 - 08. Ford around 09. Depending a bit on model, of course. I've been looking at Elantras.

Sorry if this is being nosy, but do you have a payment plan for paying his parents? Or is it just whenever you're able? If it's whenever you're able, would it bother them to see you using his bonus to upgrade his vehicle while you still owe them?
 

purplemama

New member
So you have all-seasons on it now? That's why it drives like crap in the snow LOL! If you really can't get winter tires, I would make the best of it for now. Look at the cost-benefit of selling the Accord and getting something more fuel efficient. As in, how much $$ would it cost on top of selling the Accord, and how long would it take to recoup that money through fuel savings. As long as the current vehicle isn't a money pit in terms of repairs, it might make more sense to buy good quality, possibly used, winter tires and get another couple years out of it while paying back his parents. Tires make a huge difference.

Another benefit to waiting a couple years is that your "new" vehicle could potentially have 3 headrests in the back. VW & Subaru have had them forever. Toyota is around 05, Honda, Hyundai, Kia around 07 - 08. Ford around 09. Depending a bit on model, of course. I've been looking at Elantras.

Sorry if this is being nosy, but do you have a payment plan for paying his parents? Or is it just whenever you're able? If it's whenever you're able, would it bother them to see you using his bonus to upgrade his vehicle while you still owe them?

I've always had all seasons on my cars and never had a problem as long as they were decent tires. I had really bald tires on my van last year and it drove better than this car. It's really odd, I've never driven or ridden in a car that drives this badly in snow.

We were paying them when we were able and now have started paying some every month. I have no clue whether it would bother them or not, DH refuses to talk to them about it.

I'm going to look at his tires tonight and call a tire place tomorrow, I can't get him to do anything about it, he's being weird about this whole thing. I think he's missing his old car, hating the *new* one and being depressed about the whole situation.
 

Suzibeck

Active member
We have all season tires too, I'm sure winter tires would be better, a friend just got them for the first time and loves them, but I have zero storage for off season tires. I do think they would help your dh from what I've heard though.

We had 3 cars when we first married. It was a pain. We always put one car on storage insurance to save money so we couldn't just drive it if one of the others broke down. The fair weather car was a money pit as well so I was happy to see it go. We actually went from 3 to 1 car when R was born, that was a lifetime ago.
 

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