We knew it was comming but I had hoped it would last another few months. It has been leaking oil like mad and making a noise like the pistons hitting the top. Well last night I was taking the kids to church and it died. We were waiting to turn left and I had to keep giving it gas or it tried to die. Then when we were nearing the church it just stopped running. I pushed in the clutch and we coasted into a parking space at the church. A friend drove us home and DHs boss rented him a truck for the week. We have to move at the end of next month and are struggling to get a deposit together for the new place. We will have to burrow money from DHs dad now.

Here is my problem.... DH wants a truck, I think we should get an SUV with extra seats. We have 3 kids and, although a truck would be nice, it wouldn't help if we have any friends over. If we get a SUV with a 3rd row we can have extra seats for 2 more kids.

We also have to decided what manifacture to go with. We can get a 25% discount on any Ford or we can get a Chevy at dealer cost (it pays to have friends). I am thinking a Chevy would be a better buy but I have no idea about cars.

What do you drive? Do you like it?

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TLJ ~ Where opinions are encouraged, not deleted

You laugh at me because I am different,
I laugh at you because you are all the same.

Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open.

I like no car payments!!!

But if you can't do that I would go with the cheapest, most reliable way to get the family around...we have a SUV and I love it but, if your worried about COST of GAS, an SUV is not the way to go. I would try a Minivan, not the coolest to drive around as a guy (for your DH) but,they are very nice and roomy. Safety is usually great with any mini-van. Have you guys thought of that?

Is a truck going to be enough room for 3 kids?
Even an SUV w/out the 3rd row isn't enough room for 3 growing kids.

I think an SUV with 3rd row or a Minivan would be the way to go. Trucks are great to have for hauling things but how often do you really need to do that?


I have a Dodge Durango w/ 3rd row. I love it. It drives like a truck and has tons of room. The back seats fold up so it's easy to get to the 3rd row.


Fordvehicles.com lets you compare vehicles so that would be a good place to start. It'll show you the Ford and Chevy equals and you can compare all the differences.


Good Luck!

That is really hard to beat when you can buy a car at dealers cost. I would find similar models and compare the two...One may have better features you like better .My 1992 Honda we paid $200.00 over dealers cost & my 2006 honda I paid under dealers cost a new owner took over the dealership and he was clearing out the inventory

Funny thing we was not in the market for a new car..I wanted to wait and pay cash ...Dh wanted to save half and then buy a new car. My father called and told me about his local honda dealer.(out of state) The sale was ending the next day so we had to jump on it..We called our local honda dealer to see if they could match the Fla dealer. He couldn't even come close to it...... the closest he came was 1500 more than the fla dealer.

My Father flew his plane down to pick up Dh so he could buy the car & drive it back... When Dh got there they had about 3 colors to choose from..We pick the color we wanted I really don't care for the black seats but for what I paid for the car..If I total it today I will still make money on it My only regret is I bought a LX not the EX . I didn't think I would want the leather heat control seats.....I was looking at the price difference between the two

So I would give the features a great deal of thought..The good thing about your deal you have time to wait and really think it over.

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Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

Honda and Toyota (not sure if any others?) REALLY hold their depreciation value well. They might cost a tad bit more in the beginning then many American made cars but, it's really worth it. We totalled our 6-month old Toyota RAV4 (not big enough for a family of 5) and walked away with FULL settlement on the price paid. They also hold their value really well for resale.

We paid for a month of Consumer Reports online ($5) before buying our latest car. It is so worth it to do research as to the integrity of vehicles. Test driving does not tell all!

I always think that those are things to consider when buying anything. Cars are never an 'investment' because of depreciation, but the less that they do so, the better.

We are members of AAA. They have a car-buying service that you might want to look into. They really save you a lot of headaches. Costco has a car-buying service too.... Road, Travel, and Financial Services - AAA and Costco.com


JMTCW!

I am in the same boat. We have been looking for about a month now. I do like the smaller SUV's because they are sooo much better on gas. I also have 3 children and need the room. I have looked at the Ford Escape and the Honda CRV. Now I don't know whether to get new and have a note or get one second hand and pay cash. I am waiting for the perfect deal to fall in my hands. Too bad Target doesn't sell cars -- I would just wait for one of their fabulous sales. HA! Anyway, good luck!

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Proverbs 31
dran1168@sbcglobal.net

With three kids, I wouldn't get a truck. We have four kids, so it's nice for us having two cars that can fit all the kids "just in case." Sounds like $$ is a bit tight for you right now-my Expedition stinks on gas mileage! If you can get a really good deal on a Chevy, we have rented an Uplander twice and really liked it-looks like a cross btwn a mini van and an SUV and held 7ppl I think. The gas mileage was pretty good on it too-the rental pretty much paid for itself in what we save in gas on our trips.

My husband drives a pontiac aztec and he so wanted a truck (smaller like a gmc sonoma) and I talked him into the suv because at the time we were thinking about having a family. We paid cash for it...got it right off lease saved a boatload of money. Two days after we drove it off the lot, I found out I was pregnant. It has front wheel drive and the seats are a breeze to remove if we need the cargo room. It's actually bigger on the inside than a jeep grand cherokee when you take the seats out! I guess now theres an option for third row seats and it's "cousin" the buick rendevous has a third row of seat option as well! We love our little suv...it gets hella good gas mileage too! About 20 mpg in town and 25 on the highway. About the same as my chevy impala.
We plan on trading my impala in on an uplander though. There are great deals to be had around the last quarter of the year! I think we are going to buy a dealer program car. We have driven all three types of the uplander and the only difference is the options. They all drive relatively the same. The 06s have the option for a bigger V6 engine but the 07s come standard with the bigger V6 engines.

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I am NOT an SUV gal. I drive a Dodge Magnum. It has mostly mercedes parts so that's why it runs so well LOL I only have two two kids though. We used to have a Honda Odessey Minivan (the only minivan I would ever own again!) but we actually wanted to make it so we DIDN'T have room for the extra people. I was becoming a taxi to family, friends, etc and I wanted it to stop. It did and I LOVE my car. I think a minivan would better suit your needs but I wouldn't recommend a ford or chevy one Tough choice but nice you are going to get a great deal!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

We bought a minivan (Mercury Villager) in 1994 after we had our second child. I still am driving it today. Although DH does not drive it often, I love it and am SOOOOO glad we bought it. It seats 7 and if we are going someplace fun and both the kids want to take a friend, we always have the room. Take out one of the seats and it is great for when we go camping. Mileage is good....
And like I said, here it is 13 years later (next month) and I am still driving it.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I like honda and toyota as well, they hold their value so much better than chevy or ford. Toyota doesnt really have many deals but I Honda has good deals all the time. I also like the new mazda cx-9 (it has 3rd row) its really nice looking and I LOVE my Nissan Pathfinder (but the gas mileage could break the bank I get 210 miles to a 18 gallon tank ) But I LOVE IT ANYWAY. I cant imagine not having the 3rd row with my 3 kids.

I am a Ford person. I just replaced a 1999 Escort with a 2007 Escape. That would be too small for you guys most likely but an Explorer or something would be good. I love my Escape.

And I can tell you what saved me thosands of dollars. I thought I would only be able to afford a sedan so I got the Consumer Reports paper on the Ford Fusion 2006 and I called every Ford dealer within 100 miles. The paper I had said tell the dealer your rock bottom price and work your way up from there. I did just that. They tried to tell me it would cost way above the maximum price for my trim package than the report said to pay. So I kept calling dealers until I got one nearby. I told him I really wanted an Escape and he gave me a price in the price range on the report for the Fusion!

So by using my noggin and the report I got a really good deal. And I stood firm in the showroom until I got my desired interest rate too.

Go with the Ford and get the Consumer Report paper on the vehicle you want. I think it was around $12 or $15 and it saved me thousands! I wish I had it last time I bought a car. I know I will next time.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

We've had our Mercury Villager (same as Nissan Quest) since 2001 and it runs and runs ... Our kids are 17 and 20 (no need to haul them anymore!) so we took the back seats out and with a tarp down I haul almost everything (it's become a truck!)

I don't know about other manufacturers, however, 07 is the last year for GM minivans. The new thing is called a crossover.

Beware of American made Katrina cars... Especially if used. Not sure if most have now been depleted from the market but this has been a concern for the last couple of years.

I would recommed if you buy used car from a dealer or private seller run a car fax on it. You can get unlimited for $24 for one month.I spent $100 doing this trying to find DD a car. It will tell you if the car has been flooded ,salvage, has liens or wrecks that have been reported.

Don't be fooled by people giving out the vin number freely.... check to make sure it matches the car.. One guy had the vin number listed incorrectly in the paper. We called asking for the number he missed ...he told us for the last year he has been trying to get a "Salvage Title" on the car.. He told us he should have the title soon .

My dd & I had lots of fights while searching for a used car -- from rebuilt engines, current liens & serval owners..One car look really good... but it went thru owners like crazy ---1 month, 3 months 7 months, 1 year & etc.

It took us one year to find her a good used car in her price range... we finally broke down and gave her the extra money ---with new tires tags and insurance we're out $1400 --We are making her pay back some of the money.

Ds is next in line for a car ....he will be pretty easy he kept his bargin with us..will be matching the money he has now saved..But the little stinker is debating if he wants a new car or a used car. OUCH!

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Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.