Used car advice?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

MM should i not consider american? I just looked up honda and toyota as asked before.

[disneysteve]

Not much maybe 5-7k miles a year. I plan on reselling the car in 2-3 years and getting a minivan. Just right now the minivan is looking unaffordable and I'm really hesitant to leap into a minivan. I'm not ready to transition from super tiny car to minivan. I plan on kid #3 in 2014, I will need a minivan at that point as my oldest will be 4.

2002 Honda Odyssey 70.5k miles, $7000

I'd say this is the winner. You need the minivan anyway. Why buy a car now only to replace it in 2 years?

We have a 2000 Toyota Sienna with 150,000 miles. Heck, I might consider a 2002 with only 70,000 miles at that price .

If you do look at sedans, make sure you can get 2 car seats into them. I have a 1998 Camry and DD's car seat only fit properly in the center position, making it impossible to have 2 seats in there.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Seems wasteful to get a minivan now when I don't need to spend extra on the gas with just two kids. Also it seems like a huge jump from a corolla to a minivan. I could in theory fit two car seats with in my car (i'm sure lots of people do it) but my DH refuses to consider it because it doesn't have latch or side airbags and newer safety features. He'd honestly prefer something 2005 or newer.

I just wonder if it's worth investing in a toyota or honda versus and american or european car? Also why in 2-3 years? I forsee us buying a much newer minivan in 2-3 years (1 year old or brand new) when have more time to save up and have settled into a final home.

Ideally I think we should switch cars but my DH loves his car so I won't do it. It's a marriage thing not a financial thing. Plus I have a sort of attachment right now to my car. It's weird, but it really is like letting go of the "old" me. My first and only car, and it seems almost wasteful to dispose of a car that is barely broken in and absolutely nothing wrong other than size and age.

Although I probably will be gifting it to a family member.

[disneysteve]

LAL - I think you are mixing non-financial issues with the financial question, which is fine but alters the answers. From a financial point of view, I'd go with the Odyssey. It has low mileage for its age and is a great vehicle. You could easily get another 6-8 years out of that van. If, however, you are looking for more up to date safety features, then age is more of an issue and the 2002 wouldn't meet your requirements.

Personally, I hate car shopping so I aim to keep my car as long as possible. I wouldn't want to buy now only to replace in 2-3 years.

[sandrark]

I would have no qualms owning a 10 year old Honda or Toyota. I'd also add Subaru to the list. Mine ran for 10 years, 126K miles, and only two small repairs in those years...

A Subaru wagon could probably handle three car seats, cheaper on gas than a minivan, and more fun to drive.

Let us know what you get when you decide!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

3 across a subaru outback 2010 doesn't fit, tried it already. That's what we have for my DH's car. Mostly it's american full size sedans that do and I need different car seats too. The extra inch or two is what you need to fit three radians across the back or two radians and a bucket. Even then it's not easy and your kid in the middle has to cooperate.

I figure minivan in 2-3 years because we'll know if we are going to have number 4, three is a yes, but at that point the fourth definitely won't fit in any sedan. Unless you want to stick a 5 year old in the front seat.

I was hoping MM would weigh in on whether she prefers domestic or foreign cars and which to buy at the 7 to 10 year point.

DS, I'd like something with better safety features than what I currently have. Side airbags would be nice, latch, and ABS. Things that more or less came standard even with compact cars after 2000 I believe. How do you know 10 year old Honda Odyssey will last even 5 more years even with low miles? Isn't the 2002 at the peak breakdown years? If it were say a 2009 Odessey I'd say another 10 years easy, but I wonder if a 10 year old minivan is waiting for problems to happen? Versus say a 3 or 5 year old model? But maybe I'm biased, and others who have bought and sold cars like crazy can weigh in.

I only have owned my car and love having no problems and knowing every detail about it.

[disneysteve]

How do you know 10 year old Honda Odyssey will last even 5 more years even with low miles?

You don't know for sure, but a Honda or Toyota should be good for 150K easy so if this one has 70K, it still has plenty of life left in it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

But a lot of repairs come from just the age of the car too like struts and brakes and stuff right?

[seen]

But a lot of repairs come from just the age of the car too like struts and brakes and stuff right?

Over time minor things will fail yes, but many of these things depend on how the previous owner treated and maintained the vehicle. suspension/struts will be more of how hard/heavy the vehicle was driven, but higher miles is a much larger factor than age on that point. Plus, if it's a car you're only keeping for a few years your struts/suspension likely won't be an issue.

Brakes? Your list of 2008 vehicles are in the same boat, they might need to be changed as well since higher miles is definitely the bigger factor than age here. Service records should tell you what minor things need to be changed, such as your coolant, oil, tranny fluid, brake fluid, spark plugs, etc. Once a vehicle hits the 100k+ range, it will be due for more expensive maintenance such as the water pump and timing belt.

The one thing (and anyone please step in if I'm missing something or am wrong about this) I would say is an issue with age are electronic components. Things like power windows, sound systems, etc. tend to degrade over time. I would call this more of a general issue however, and it'll be obvious when you inspect the vehicle for yourself.

The reason many here including myself would recommend Honda/Toyota is because although other manufacturers have stepped up their game in recent years quality-wise in order to compete, these 2 companies in particular have had an extremely long history of quality control. A mechanic friend of mine calls the Corolla the AK47 of cars (reference being that AK47's never jam). They just work, plain and simple.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I agree about the corolla comment

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So many conflicting idea about higher mileage/newer cars or lower miles in older cars. So I am mostly trying to consider craigslist so I don't have to go far and I can have it looked at by a mechanic. Wish I could filter more

2003 Toyota Camry LE 77k miles asking $8600
2003 Nissan Altima S 80k miles asking $7500
2005 Sentra 38k miles asking $8900
2007 Sentra 58k miles asking $9500
2006 Altima 63k miles asking $9600
2004 Hyundai Sonata 72k miles asking $6500
2006 Corolla 75k miles asking $8995

Any of these work? How high a mileage should I look at?

[seen]

I think you need to do some test driving. There was nothing really wrong with your first list either per se, but your options are all over the place.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I hate test driving and would just rather narrow it down before looking at it. I hate this whole car shopping ordeal. Shopping by price is a lot harder than just picking a car and buying it new.

[TheMom]

With 3 kids in a sedan, it's tough when they start moving to boosters. Buckling a booster is really hard with another seat crammed in. We had 3 in a Malibu for quite a while and when my oldest moved to a booster, it was really hard. I had to slide the seat out a bit, have him get in, I'd buckle him, and then slide him back into the car . With Radians, you can push that off for a while, and we did until age 7, but it still comes.

My point of all that, is that a minivan might be needed even without a 4th. I don't know your kids' ages of course, so it might be a long while until one is in a booster.

[disneysteve]

If you will only keep the car for a couple of years, I'd be shopping on price more than anything else so the 04 Sonata would be the winner on that list. I wouldn't sink any more money than I had to into a car I had no intention of keeping.