need to buy car, need advice

[seedling]

Hi all,

We had a 98 Escort Wagon that finally died last week and we need to replace it. It was my husband's commuter car. His commute is across town, about 11 miles, but about 20 minutes due to lights/traffic. We have a Venture mini-van that I use for hauling the kids. That said, our replacement car does need to be able to fit three kiddos in the back seat...it doesn't have to be spacious, but three shoulder harnesses are a must. It also needs to last us at least 10 years...we don't care so much about looks and we tend to drive our cars till they die. And we have a limited budget...we'll definitely go used with this purchase. We have about $5K we can pay out of pocket and can finance about $5K thru our bank's "green car loan" program if we can settle on a car with a combined 28mpg or better. We'd like to not spend more than that b/c we can really only handle a small car payment. So, here is what we are thinking we are looking for and I am hoping you guys can guide me to a car that would be a good fit:

Honda or Toyota (for reliability, I'm really tired of our domestic cars and their issues)
Around 10K in price
Three shoulder harnesses in back seat for seating for three kids (8, 5, and infant).
On/off feature for passenger airbag
28 mpg or better
My husband would like a hatchback design, but I think 4 doors is a must.


We've been looking on line at Toyota's Yaris and Honda's Fit. Can our kids fit in a 4 door version of those? And if you have one (or know someone who does) do you like it? We don't care about bells and whistles, but it must be reliable.

Thanks!

[Satori]

No real advice, I'm considering the Yaris myself for us but waiting to see if we get the money were hoping for before I go check one out in person.

[zacharysmom]

iam scared of toyotas right now due to the gas pedal issues they are reporting.

[MyTwoAs]

TBH, the Yaris and the Fit are tiny. I don't think more than two car/booster seats can fit. Even if one child is out of a seat, I think it would be a very tight squeeze. I'd look one size up, the Civic or Corolla. I'd definitely check to make sure the vehicle isn't on the Toyota recall list, though. Not all Toyotas are because they have different suppliers, parts, etc. If the Corolla is on the list, then I'd look at a Civic. I think the Civic would meet the fuel efficiency guidelines you've listed.

Good luck!

[xmysticprincessx]

Since you're in NC, check out the state surplus auctions:
https://www.ncstatesurplus.com/SSP-S...iddisplay.aspx

Most of the cars on there are higher mileage (100K+), but they have been well cared for and have lots of heavy duty parts so they're built to last. My mom had a car that she got from there when it was 4 years old, and she had 265k on it 7 years later when it was totaled in a car accident (the airbags went off, so that was too expensive for the insurance company to want to fix).

You can see the previously awarded bids to get an idea of what the vehicles have gone for. Oh, and if you bid, only bid on the stuff that has been former state property vs drug seizure property. (Those cars, nobody really knows the history of them.) You can go to the different lots where the cars are located and look at them before placing a bid.

Also, like a pp said, get something bigger than a Yaris or a Fit. With 3 kids, that back seat is going to get tight in the next 10 years. We have a Saturn Ion, and its a very tight squeeze when I sit in between the kids' car seats in back. I know that we would not be able to fit another car seat between those two. (Maybe we just have kinda wide car seats? They're Graco or Evenflo, forgot which.)

[claddaghmom]

Um, that's almost exactly the position DH and I were in a couple weeks ago. I wanted a Honda Fit, and we even considered the Kia Soul b/c it comes w/ that warranty.

We ended up w/ a 2008 Aveo5 for $6400 after trading in our non-running clunker.

The Aveo was not my first choice but when you're on a budget and a timeline... *shrug*

Anyways, city driving is getting 26mpg right now. Three kids can definitely go across in it...we are doing 2 carseats.

Complaints: domestic, no side curtain airbags, small cargo capacity

[seedling]

Thanks so much for all the input.

Since I last posted, I have done a rough draft of my taxes and it looks like we are going to get back a lot more money than I thought. That means we can actually afford to look at something a little bigger. I appreciate the comments about the three kids in the back. After the last couple days of being snowed in and lots of internet research as a result, I think we are really leaning towards a honda (I've really cooled on the Yaris ... it has gotten not so great reviews), and the civic might just be it. At first we were thinking that a newer low mileage civic might be out of our price range, but now I think we can swing it.

I think our next step is to actually go to a few dealers and try out the back seats. We have a wonderful family friend who works at a Honda place and we are going to contact him to keep an eye out for a good deal for us.

In light of the extra money, we are leaning towards a newer used car at this point. We really want to just invest in something that is going to last us at least 10 years, hopefully 15 or more.

Thank you ladies for the cash envelope system, meal planning, and all the other frugal ideas that are now so integral to our family's life. If it weren't for 3 years of really frugal living, saving, and paying off debt, we wouldn't be able to weather this car situation without going into serious debt resulting in me having to go back to work. We're still not where I'd like us to be, but we are in so much better shape than we were the last time we had to replace a car.

[FloridaBorn]

The newer Toyotas have just as many problems as current domestic models, IMO.

I have a 1996 Toyota RAV4 with almost 300,000 miles on it! Buy an older model Toyota for reliability... something like a camry or 4Runner.

I think new cars are a huge waste of money. Get something a few years older and affordable.

[dachshund mom]

You might want to look at a Pontiac Vibe. They're the same as the Toyota Matrix, but way lower price. They're even made at the same plant. Under the hood, things say Toyota. My '05 has 120k and has never needed a repair.

Not the roomiest back seat, but you could try it.

eta don't get an '09 - it's in the Toyota recall.
http://autos.aol.com/article/pontiac-vibe-recall

[prairiebird]

I know you said you didn't want to do domestic, but we were in the same situation spring and ended up getting a 4 door Ford Focus. DH loves that thing and we can fit three boosters (well, two boosters and a turned around car seat) in the back seat with leg room. It was two years old with 36K on it already when we picked it up, but he commutes about 65 miles one way to work and we've had no difficulties so far with it. The trunk is huge too.

So I don't know if that helps, but we love the little thing and it was under 10K on the lot. ( We had a 96 Neon previously, so that's what we were used to).

[SuzyLee]

The matrix/vibe is about the same width as the civic and corolla. It is built on the Corolla frame. And it would satisfy your H's desire for a hatchback.

We bought a base model (I am talking hand crank windows!) Matrix for around 15K and sold it last year for ~11K with only 10,000 miles as DH had started taking the bus to work so we didn't need 2 cars.

[BethSLP]

someone at work just bought a new car and she saved a bundle. apparently, she found some guy who used to work at a car dealership for 20+ years to come along. she paid him $200 and he negotiated a living crap out of them. it saved her thousands. she found him from word of mouth. I don't know if there are similar guys all over or not, but its a pretty good business idea IMO. maybe there is someone out there in your area doing the same thing???

XOXO
B