Need a car to fit 3 carseats :-D

Hey all -
So we currently have an '85 VW Jetta which works great for our one DD. She RFs behind the passenger seat in a Marathon. However, I will be taking care of a cousin's baby (3 months old) starting in April who will be in a Graco Snugride and RFing as well. I'm 5'10" with long legs, so you can see where this may be a problem as the seat would have to be fairly far forward. DD is almost 6 months old and a big girl, she definitely will not fit in the TF without the top being on, as she weighed 20 lbs at her 4 month appt, and has to be at or more than 22 lbs. right now. I can deal with the lack of room in the short term, but we need a new car. We also will be TTC in the next year or so, and so I need a car that will fit at least 2 seats RFing, if not 3. DD may be too heavy to RF sooner than I would like - or her growth may slow a bit. Not sure yet! It definitely needs to have room for 3 car seats in the back though, and 4 doors. Anything else is a bonus.

Spam me! We love VWs but short of the Routan which we cannot afford, I don't think we can work with it. I would have loved a Passat or Jetta wagon or a Passat GLX though. DH says no on the minivan or an SUV, but honestly, I really don't care. I'd rather an SUV (on the smaller side, please!) over a minivan though.

Our budget is under 7k if possible, but bear in mind, we will have some time to save, so if there is something that will work but may be a tidge more expensive, that's fine. I'm really good at finding good deals and negotiating.

Thanks!!

Are you wanting new new or new to you (I assume new to you based on your budget)? If you are going used, how old are you willing to go? And what other features are you looking for?

If you haven't thought of it yet, I would definitely look for lap-shoulder belts in all seating positions and headrests or at least high seatbacks as well. Since you are currently driving an 85 that tells me that you keep your cars for a while. Think about the future passengers you will have (older children and perhaps teenagers) as well as the infants you will have in the nearer term.

New to us is more what I was looking for - mid-90s or newer is fine by us. We've just always had VWs so I'm not sure what else is out there, ya know? We don't keep our cars for years and years - we just like that era of VWs. Before kids, we had anywhere from 2 up to 7 VWs from 1985-1989. My husband used to show his car and works on all of our cars so it keeps it cheap. However, we now need more room :-D

Sorry, I'm not much help. I don't know tons about the different cars available. I do know that the Accord back seat is supposed to be huge for a sedan, and Honda is a good brand. My brother just replaced his 91 Civic with a manual tranny that taught 3 people how to drive a stick, and he never had a problem with the tranny or clutch. Really when he replaced it, it was more because of the body rusting away after living in Buffalo NY for 11 years (salt on the roads in the winter) and then moving to the ocean (salt spray) in FL for 5 more years. Oh and now I drive a 2002 Civic and love it too, never had a problem with it other than when the stupid idiot rammed into my properly parked car.

Anyway, I'd take some seats and play with them before you purchase. Even if they're not the seats you have in the future with the kids, it would be nice to know that you can get 3-across with at least some combination of seats. I'd try a few different combos (3 RFing, 2 RFing 1 FFing, 1 RFing 2 FFing, 3 FFing) because seats can fit differently front and back.

My experience is mostly with older vehicles, but some of the easiest cars I've fit 3 across in (with tall parents) are the Dodge Intrepid, Ford Taurus & Chevy Malibu.

I'd have to agree with the large 90s American sedans. The 93-97 Intrepid, Concorde, and Vision with the 3.3L engine are reliable, roomy, and cheap to buy and operate. $1500-$2500 will buy one in good shape, and mint condition ones can be had for not much more.

I'm old-school, currently DDg a '76 Gran Torino sedan. I just like bench seats, rear drive, column shift, and pushrods.

How about the Mazda Protege 5 hatch? We will need to fit 2 RFing convertibles and a Snugride - I looked in the 3 across thread and it only shows it with all FFing. Anyone know anything about 3 RFing? I don't mind getting Radians.

The problem with the RN RFing is that it is such a tall shell, and the recline angle is pretty much fixed. You can adjust it a little bit based on how you compress the seat cushion as you are installing it, but not much. The sedans that I've tried it in, all had to be center installs so the top of the RN could come up between and over the two front seats. I was able to get it RFing driver's side in my dad's F350 SuperDuty truck (full back seat) without moving his seat, but it was touching at the top. He's about 5'8" and I think has the seat slightly reclined, but not much.

You could do (try) Sceneras RFing, they are pretty narrow I believe. Then switch to RNs FFing.

i have an '02 accord EX V6 and i can fit radian in the middle FF with 2 marathons FF or snugride on either side. i haven't tried the radian RF in the middle. i would think you could do middle and passenger side on the back RF and the one behind the driver's seat would have to be FF since you're so tall. the accords are pretty roomy and mine has been pretty good to me until now. something in my starter just died (1st major repair since i bought it new, not including maintenance stuff) and i have driven it a lot! i just looked up on kbb.com the price of 02 accord DX V4 with 160k miles and it's about 6k, which will fit your budget. and my 02 accord is LATCH compatible. the trunk is pretty roomy too.

i just found an 02 accord EX V6 locally with 77kmi for 6900. http://usedcars.kbb.com/fyc_b/vdp.j...RP&sort_type=priceASC&address=92602&cardist=4

good luck