Thoughts and opinions on family haulers

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Well good news my fiance is pregnant. Very excited!! Bad news is all our current cars only have 5 seats and we will officially be a family of 6.
So I still owe on the dart but I'm considering paying it off by early next year and then selling it out right and using that cash to buy a vehicle. The dart has 10,000 roughly owed on it. Kbb says it's worth that but I know other dart owners are only getting 6-7500 on trade in.
So I have it up for sale but it'll be hard to sell with a loan on it. So the realistic ideas are pay it down enough for it to be a wash and trade so I don't have any negative equity./ And then finance roughly a 10,000 vehicle and put 3-5,00/ down. To keep the payment low.
Or option 2 would be pay it off and then sell it and use whatever it sells for to buy another vehicle with no payment. So roughly 7-8000 probably.
What do you guys think about these plans and what vehicles would you look at ? A truck sounds nice but I know they are stupid expensive.
 
IMO, not a good plan. I think buying some reliable family hauler for a long term and taking loan is better. You will have 6 most dearest people in it, so I would not go cheap, and good family haulers are not cheap.
Do you take road trips? Are you going to take road trips?
And congratulations!
 
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Congratulations- I don't know how you do it. One child was enough for us, and we stayed out of Minivan [censored].
 
Originally Posted by E150GT
Congrats on the baby. I don't know how you do it. I have one.

Then you must have figured it out at least once.
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I used to be a mechanic as well so I don't mind not having a 30,000 vehicle. I can work on and maintain my vehicles so if an issue does arise with something I can handle that. My 14 dart hasn't been any more reliable than my 09 vw rabbit or my 02 Saturn sc2. I would hop in either one and go anywhere in them. I'd take a tool box of some sort but I do that in any car I have ever owned.
 
Of course you should get a minivan, unless driving in a lot of snow is truly one of your requirements. Don't listen to the girly men who think there's something wrong with them - a real man can assess his requirements and make the choice about what best meets them, and in your case that's a minivan
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A quick search on Auto Trader shows that there are many Dodge/Chrysler vans in the 2014-2016 timeframe, 66k-95k mileage, in the $11k-13k price range. Pretty reasonable.

jeff
 
Sounds like a mini van, possibly well used, is the way to go for you. I'd probably get a Pacifica if I had more kids than can fit in our Regal TourX.
 
Originally Posted by greenjp
Of course you should get a minivan, unless driving in a lot of snow is truly one of your requirements. Don't listen to the girly men who think there's something wrong with them - a real man can assess his requirements and make the choice about what best meets them, and in your case that's a minivan
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They have nice power when they have a V6. I drove a mid 2000s Caravan and was surprised at the torque and ability to smoke the tires. I know modern Caravans are more powerful than that one.
 
Congrats on the new addition...

I have 2 teens, boy and girl. My daughter's a little thing but my son is 6ft 260lbs and plays football at just 15 and I'm about 6ft 200. I chauffeur him and his buddies around at times to paintball fields and games..all are 6footer + and 250'ish pounders.

I had to get a minivan. I bought the long wheelbase Kia Sedona that seat's 6 adults comfortably. 2 upfront, 2 cpts chairs and a 3rd row stow and go bench - which is nice. Got good power with the V6 & enough oomph to tow a small load, and was tops in it's class for IIHS ratings. And the insurance was decent too... even now that it's paid for I pay about $700/yr for comp coverage.

What I like is I can take the Capt seats out easily and stow the bench and put a full size air mattress in the back or sheets of plywood.. no problem. We take it camping every year with tons of room for all our cra$...‚... plus I have the roof rack for extra stowing room using a bag up top.

Here's me shilling for Kia..I would absolutely recommend at least looking at a Sedona. (and it has a nice long warranty period and my local Kia dealership offers lifetime powertrain warranty if you have them do your scheduled maintenance)
 
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Can't beat a mini van for a family hauler. I had a series of 4 of them during prime kid years and loved them. I know they aren't popular right now, but, perhaps that means you can pick one up cheap. Car-like ride, decent acceleration and fuel economy, easy to get kids in and out, TONS of space for soccer team trips, building supplies or moving your kid into a dorm. Highly recommended. They may not look cool, but, they sure are useful.
 
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I'll say this. I have a $388 a month payment on the Mazda. I hate that payment. I cant wait until it's gone. 15 more months and then I'll drive a beater for a long time. Actually I hope to keep my Mazda nice and clean for the foreseeable future. I like it.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Toyota Sienna.


Ah yes... all the terrible perceived build quality of a Dodge sold at a huge markup because of "Toyota reliability."

Congratulations on the baby!

We love our 2018 Grand Caravan. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, TONS AND TONS AND TONS of storage space. The center console has 3 HUGE storage compartments, the doors have storage spots, the ceiling thing has a ton of storage space (and lights up which is kind of cool), and if you're not using the Stow n' Go there's even storage in the floor. Cruises down the highway like it's on a cloud, even with the "performance" suspension
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Congrats on the new baby.

We have six butts to seat, as well, and our Buick Enclave has served us adequately for 173K miles. The tranny had to be replaced under warranty, but other than that it's been fine. I preferred a minivan, but my wife doesn't like them.

It's been long since paid for and is still plugging along. I'd buy other one without hesitation.
 
Another vote for a minivan here. We had one for a few years and it was great for family trips and running errands. Even towed my fishing boat with it occasionally. Lots of room and decent gas mileage too. Plus you can typically find a much better deal on a minivan than you can a comparable 3 row SUV. I'd look for a Kia Sedona if I were in the market for a minivan.
 
Will you actually be driving all 6 of you around at the same time?

I'd get a 2011+ Grand Caravan. Their value tanks quickly so you can get a good deal on a used one. Lots of power, probably faster than your Dart.
 
Id finance a 4-5 year minivan with low miles instead, and not a Dodge. Unless its new and ur ditching it before 100k miles...(i know someone who has sworn by them but they ditch them before 100k) check engine lights on, interior trim falling apart...to each their own
 
The vehicle is worth what it's worth, regardless of what you owe. You will get more to sell it outright than to trade it, so use NADA and KBB to determine its street value and list it with your preferred method of putting it out to public view.

As for a replacement vehicle, sounds like you need either a minivan or full-sized van to be able to haul that many bodies on a regular basis. You could easily go with a Suburban or similar vehicle, but if price and mileage are of concern, then a gas-guzzler isn't going to be your best option.
 
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