Vehicle Suggestions?

[nharkey85]

I'll stick this here to see what everyone else thinks.....

wife and I currently own
2005 Chevy Tahoe just shy of 160K, straight body, mechanically sound, just a few electrical gremlins. interior's not bad but not the best. Title in hand. Over the last 12 months this truck turned barely 6K miles as I have a company vehicle that i drive home daily.

2010 Scion xB just shy of 70K. still as good as new, just needs cleaning. lack about 6 months having it paid for as well. Wife drives 80-100 round trip 4-5 times a week.

Situation:
I have a 7 yr old (from previous marriage) in a booster seat (bottom only). He's only with us every other weekend.
We have a 14 month old in a rear facing seat, and are expecting again due some time early summer 2015.

The xB just wont hold all 3 kids comfortably, nor allow easy access to whichever child is in the middle until we can turn the 14month old around. It would still be VERY tight. the tahoe shouldn't be too bad once the older little one is forward facing.

I'm at the point with the tahoe that, even though I like it and have enjoyed it, I don't want to sit on it until it dies on me. I'd like to trade it off while it still has "some" value. i have the kind of luck that if i pass something up and hope for the best, soon there after everything goes wrong.....

Chevy/GMC/Toyota is all I've ever owned. if I'm trading the tahoe for something i need the biggest i can get but on a strict budget. gas mileage is not a concern. however, if the scion goes, then it would have to be something just big enough but still get good mileage. I've already spied a 2011 silverado, and a 2012 f150 within budget.

so, post up your opinions. which gets traded in and what to look for as its replacement. also pics of how you cram multiple kids in your ride would be cool too

[Johnnysplits]

Hmmm...trade the tahoe, scion, wife and kids for a '15 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and a hot girlfriend!! Ok I'll stop fantasizing now. Maybe it's time for a minivan lol. They seem to be good for when you have kids.

[Tossedman]

Yup, time for a van. Can't beat it with kids.

[Mike Flea]

trade the '05 Tahoe in for a newer model, like a lease vehicle, something with, lets say, no more than 30,000miles on it, and still has factory warranty.

[Habanero]

I had a mazda5 smaller than a mini van but seats 6 people.

[Dad,Canyoufix?]

Sequoia or Durango. Go to a dealer , take the car seats and booster, and you will see why.

I will not suggest a minivan in protest of its very existence. Put those sliding doors on a SUV.
As for those that say " with a minivan my kids can get in and out on there own." I and many before me had no problems sliding, jumping, falling out of a truck/SUV. To each his own though.

I do not however protest the full size vans, those relics are cool as hell. Maybe its the memories of riding in the back of my grandfathers carpenter van(I know it was unsafe) that make me fond of them.

I do agree the crossovers are junk. Lifted hatchbacks IMO.

[blackfox93]

May be out of Budget but I just bought a Loaded up 2014 Silverado LT Z71 4x4 Crew Cab in October and I AM IN LOVE..... and that is coming from a Ford man at heart.... (Notice my Username is Blackfox93... 93 Fox body Mustang...) I bought a left over 14 and got a SMOKING deal on it. Ford couldnt even come close on price on an F150 that wasnt near as nice as my Chevy it was almost $7000 difference. They have alot of good deals going on left over models right now I had over $8000 in rebates +$14500 for my trade in on my deal. GM really has stepped there game up on these trucks. Im averaging 20mpg in a Crew Cab 4x4 which is insane and plus this thing has power like you wouldnt believe... It will leave my Brothers Hemi in the dust and one of my Co workers has an Ecoboost and he tries almost everyday leaving work at the redlight in front of work and cant do nothing with it.

[nharkey85]

Originally Posted by Johnnysplits

hellcat

think it would just be cheaper to buy the Hellcat. Would definitely have to 'force' a minivan on the wife

Originally Posted by Tossedman

minivan

yea i knew the common response would be a van but i dont feel old enough for a van

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

newer model

this would actually be a happy medium, except locally a decent low mileage late model is out of budget even with a trade

Originally Posted by Habanero

mx5

meh....minivan, but leads me to cx-5 and cx-9. Nice suggestion. Found a 2011 cx9 with 33k miles under $20k

Originally Posted by Dad,Canyoufix?

Sequoia or durango

If a sequoia could be located that fit budget id be into that. Not much for dodge/chyrstler/etc

Originally Posted by blackfox93

2014 silverado

definitely my biggest wish, but new is cpmpletely out no matter how well the discounts roll. Plus my trade value isnt near that high. I have been able to locate multiple silverados/sierras at the top end of budget with reasonable miles. Actually just found one here in town (2102 sierra sle crew cab 2wd with 11500 on the odometer. Under $30k

EDIT: Mentioned the CX-9 to the wife, she seems to like whatever she looked up online, even seems like the color of the used one i found was one of the colors she like. plus with the deal i found we should be able to get into it fairly low cost

[gsrcivic]

Getting a minivan sounds like ur best option....the honda odesseys are awesome for a van....and like all hondas can be easily made into a sleeper with a turbo has enough power to get u around with that many kids.....or get a hellcat and file for divorce.....no seriouly minivan or a excursion with the 7.3 powerstorke in it

[sdmf]

Mazda cx5/7/9 are pretty quality if i remember. I believe one of those models also has the direct injection 2.3 turbo like in the mazdaspeed3.

[BigSki]

What are you overall needs? Do you want to keep a SUV type of vehicle? How about one of those cross over type of people movers?

[BJoe]

I'd avoid most crossovers for the same reason as Dad,canyoufixit? Would minivans, their existance! I like vans and minivans for this purpose, my folks had a couple of big Chevys whe I was growing up and currently have a '06 Town and Country. No way some crossover or small proper SUV can compare to a good van in day to day family use.

[nharkey85]

i really need to subscribe to my own threads.......

i think for now we are going to put this on the back burner. i bid on a job (same company, higher title, higher pay, but no more company vehicle at home), so we wait and see the outcome of this before we make an automotive move.

Personally I'm a little lost in what I want. I kind of want to get back to a truck as thats all i've ever owned until the tahoe, but i like the convenience of an SUV for rainy day grocery shopping. truck obviously would have to have a tonneau or shell added, no objections to either, but thats added cost. SUV, however, brings in the need for a trailer for larger items and dirty outdoor junk.

[yotapower07]

What about a wrangler unlimited? A little lacking on interior room but not terrible I guess. The reason I bring it up is because there's a local dealer selling brand new rubicons for just over $30k. That's with a hard top power windows and automatic trans. A soft top manual trans sport model is like $23k. This dealer is located near seattle though.

[nharkey85]

Oh believe me i was looking at an unlimited before this extra mouth to feed came about.

Probably help if i could kick this toy truck habit ive got.....

[nharkey85]

Well we ended up buying a 2012 Mazda CX9. 42k on the odometer for right at $20k

[nharkey85]