Buying a larger vehicle. To mini or not to mini.
I would love to have more kiddos. Hubby Haus is all for more kiddos, as long as we are debt-free (read this original post). I’ve got all the cloth diapers I need, the clothes (well, if I have a girl in the future, she’s going to be wearing a lot of blue), and the baby stuff. The only thing I don’t have is a car that fits more than two car seats. I drive the boys in a Toyota Camry and, although our Toyota Tundra could squeeze three little dudes in the back seat, Haus stopped letting me drive it once Bubba referred to it as “Mommy’s truck”.
Since we are within a month of debt-free-ness (didn’t happen in June because Haus surprised me with a new laptop), we’ve had more than a few discussions about another vehicle. Here are our requirements:
- Seating for at least 5 normal sized peeps, preferably seating for 7 (normal means my 6’5″ hubby could somewhat fit in the back row)
- All-Wheel-Drive or at least 4-Wheel-Drive
- Leather seating (2 boys, one dog, enough said)
- Around 60, 000 miles or less
- We’d prefer a Toyota as we love our mechanic and have been faithful Toyota owners for ten years
- We’re paying cash… haven’t made a car payment in years
I researched All-Wheel-Drive vehicles, and the only one Toyota makes that we can afford is the Sienna. The Swagger Wagon. I told myself a long time ago that I would never buy a minivan, but then I watched this:
And I realized that instead of making a prideful decision, the mini is within our price range, meets all of our needs, and serves our last requirement, fits our kids and their friends. Sure, I’d really love a Sequoia, but we can’t afford that right now. Besides, the Sienna videos are stinking hilarious.
I guess I’d love to hear your opinion. Do you own a minivan? Are you totally against minivans? Why?
Oh, and, no, I’m not pregnant. Just preparing.
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Bringing Up Boys
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buying a bigger vehicle, buying a minivan, new car, no car payments, swagger wagon
Themocracy
Dude, we just got a Sienna a month ago and it is AWESOME!!! I cannot tell you enough amazing things about this car. We bought used, 2009, and it felt brand new. I recommend one power sliding door, again awesome. Even when all the seats are up, there is still TONS of space in the back to put gear, etc. Also, we were able to find an 8 seater which is great if you have an extra person, but for regular outings we just keep the eighth seat in the closet. That 8th seat, btw, fits in the second row middle so that when/if you have a new babe that little one is right by you AND that seat moves up extra close so you can reach the little one. AMAZING. I did a post asking people about their thoughts on cars a while back so I’ll look up the link and show you. In the comments you can see other feedback. Anyway, Sienna rocks!!
Here is a link to my post about which car to buy. http://justmotheringthrough.com/2010/01/20/sell-me-your-car/
I’m a die-hard Suby fan myself, although I’ve read that despite their size they’re awkward for carseats. Not an issue for us obviously… but I didn’t know the Swagger Wagon came in AWD, that’s awesome! Sounds like a great fit for you guys.
We have a Honda Odyssey and you know Mike & Lorrie have a Sienna. . . . I think both are great. We bought the Honda because it happened to be the one we found that was used, in great condition and in our budget. The only thing I wish it had that some Sienna’s have is an 8th seat. Even though we are done with kids, having the extra seating would be so helpful for lots of reasons. Mark & I were very anti mini-van up until the day we bought one. . . . we love them now (Mark too). You cannot beat them for price, size, gas mileage, etc. So, yes you look like a ‘soccer mom’, but totally worth it to haul kids, dogs, and stuff. And yes leather is a REQUIREMENT! So much easier to clean. . . . people think I am snotty when I say I will always drive a vehicle with leather, but it is purely to save me my sanity from all the dog hair, juice spills, and other various food and bodily fluids that end up on seats!! Okay, so this comment got a little long, but to sum it up. . . get the mini-van, you won’t regret it. Oh and congrats on being almost debt free!!!
Thanks for the info, ladies. We looked at Subarus because of the AWD factor (Haus drove a Legacy that we loved), but weren’t impressed with their 7-seaters. I have two friends that drive Odysseys and I think if we weren’t such die-hard Toyota owners, we would buy one. Looks like I’m going to be a future Sienna owner… now to save, save, save for it.
We considered the Sienna because we wanted a 4WD and that’s the only minivan that has it. However, you can only get 4WD with 7 seats, not 8, which was our requirement. So we went with the Honda Pilot.
And cheers to no car payments! We haven’t had one in years either.
Good to know, Deborah. Are you always climbing over the 2nd row to get to the third seat? One of the things I worried about with the Sequoia.
Hi, I like your blog! I am also a traditional National Guard mom
CPT myself! Anyway, I had the Dodge Caravan, HATED it. I got it when I got off of active duty as I was pregnant, and wanted the whole “mom” experience. Well, it was too “vanny” for me. But, that was the older model, the newer model is much, much better. Traded in my Caravan for a GMC Acadia, 7 seater, and love it. There is a split in the middle of the seat so you can walk back, or you can also get the middle seat as a bench and have it fit 8, but that didn’t work for me because I had two in car seats and you can’t fold a middle seat over to access the back, if the middle seat has car seats!!
Jennifer- Thanks for the comment. The mini is growing on me every day. So fun to meet a fellow Natl Guard mama too!