Toss good money after bad?

[wincrasher]

I had a Corolla once. It wasn't a decent car until I got some good tires on it - then it wasn't half bad to drive around.

I'm a big lover of the Hyundais. I was biased too until I got my Sonata. I got a friend of mine to buy one. And another friend has had 3 Kias. She just got their little SUV and loves it.

I pickup up a new Genesis a few months ago. It's an amazing car and $20k less than an equivalent BMW.

Sounds like you need a family car and a fun car. Let him get something sporty that will make him happy and you get a van or a wagon to make you happy. That Toyota Versa looks cool and could fit the bill as you've described it.

[simpletron]

if your hushand has suggested buying the toyota matrix or the nissian versa hatchback(not sedan), I would suggest you check these out in person before you write it off as a subcompacts. they are both classified as mid-size, which is two steps up from subcompact and the same size as the camry. also because they are hatchbacks, you can fold one back seat down to create a lot of space for dogs and a stroller while having a carseat in the other back seat.

toyota matrix volumes
passenger - 94
luggage - 19.8
total - 113.8

toyota camry volumes
passenger - 101.4
luggage - 14.5
total - 116.9

all numbers are ft^3

I own a honda fit, which is the same style as these two car but slightly smaller. if a carseat will fit in the back seat, which I think it would, then both of these cars would work very well for you from the sound of things.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I do not want to buy two cars. We don't have the money for it. We can buy 1 new car period. The corolla runs great and should be fine as a commuter car and spare car.

The other car will be the family car.

Why should the baby and I make all the sacrifices? When does my DH have to make a sacrifice? Does he get to have his way all the time and without regards to our baby, dogs, and future kids?

If that's the case, and it's the family car, why should we get the same size car as we have now?

I'm willing to wait on a minivan until we have 2 kids, then feel it's more appropriate. So why not get a small step up to a 4 dr sedan and then in 3-5 years we get a minivan?

The other thing I'm waiting for is to see if we're having twins. That would be awesome, and it would force the issue in possibly another direction. And yes they run in my DH's family both sides.

[zetta]

This is definitely something to be settled between you and your DH -- although FWIW I agree 100% with you. Mom should get the new car and Dad should drive the Corolla, and make a plan for when to replace it with something he likes. Men often don't make that shift to putting the needs of the family first until months after the baby arrives. Maybe you should start the discussion from the point of "What should I drive the baby around in?" Is it more important to him to drive a "fun" car or for the baby to ride in a car with the latest side airbags, etc.?

By the way, from what I've read fraternal twins are inherited on the maternal side only (inherited tendency for the woman to release two eggs), and they haven't found any genetic link for having identical twins.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Darn, I thought identical twins was genetic?

A couple friends, including DH's best friend, said to let the baby come, and see how my DH changes. That he's being a dumb ass right now and refusing to acknowledge our life changing.

So instead just wait him out.

[FrugalFish]

You sound frustrated. It sounds like your DH is being a little selfish at the moment. When my DH use to do anything like that, I'd pull out the Mr. Spock quote about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one...

Have you tried to fit a rear facing child seat in your corolla? Especially when babies are little, those seats have to recline a little more and they take up a lot of room front to back. Installing a car seat gave my DH pause for thought- he was really frustrated with the room it took in our small car. The front seat had to be all the way forward for better than a year, until DD was big enough to face forward. We were not in the market for a car at that time, but had we been, the car seat issue would have had significant bearing on what we decided to do.

Goodness, if you do end up having twins, or another kid sooner than later, and one of you is taller than 5ft, it might not be possible to fit everyone into a smaller car. Definitely not the dogs. Even in our doable situation, I felt like I spent the first year sitting against the windshield and did not like it one bit. If we traveled much, it would have been a no go. DH is only average in height and he could not fit in the seat when it was as far forward as need be to accommodate the seat behind.

If you're in the market to buy your next car, I think it's very reasonable for the coming baby to be a major factor in deciding what to purchase. DH needs to get over himself and accept that he may have to drive an unfun car for a couple of years- hopefully he won't care once he sees that little face.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Thanks, I think I may have to play the spock quote sooner rather than later.

We'd previously decided that we would wait until the baby came to make a decision. It was too intangible, too many risks that we could possibly not have a baby due to many reasons.

It's still hard to argue because I'm not having a normal pregnancy. I'm not sick, no weight gain, my pants are finally getting tight, and I still haven't felt movement at 5 months. I know this is wearing on my mental psyche and my DH's. It doesn't quite feel real yet to either of us, so it's hard for us to even buy anything for the baby. Used stuff okay, but something new from the store?

No way. We can't even bring ourselves to buy a new blanket or clothes. We put down a toy we really wanted because we feel like we're jinxing ourselves.

And the carseat fits in the Corolla, but it's tight, hence the need for a bigger car for sure. But since we haven't bought the seat, or know what we're buying, my DH feels we should just pick a car. I can't blame him, but then we can't settle on type of seat yet because we're still trying to wrap our heads around the baby yet.

It goes against all logic. You should be feeling moving, having morning sickness, being tired, getting fat, showing a belly, slowing down, etc. I haven't done that so it feels like a normal fall. It's surreal.

[KTP]

Then then there are safety features. Airbags are great, but cars are proven to be safer in accidents than SUV's and minivans. I love my Honda Odyssey for it's utility, but I know that my Hyundai sedan would be much safer in an accident.

Trucks are far safer than cars though. Every accident between truck vs car you hear about the truck driver escaped with minor cuts and the car driver is dead or critical condition.

I guess there is something to be said about having a huge chunk of iron and metal between you and the other car.

Now semi trucks, there is your safe vehicle. They can smash through anything and get out unscathed. A bit hard to park in the city though...

[wincrasher]

That is not true.

Studies have shown that vehicles with disparate bumper heights, the higher usually being a truck or SUV, the higher bumpered vehicle will cause more damage to the lower car.

In all the other scenarios, the SUVs, vans and trucks folded up rather easily. The newer models now have bars in the doors and such to protect the occupants in side impacts. Cars have much better side protection and are required to have better roll-over protection too. Their low center of gravities also make them less likely to roll as well - which is a big killer.

[autoxer]

I made my DH the offer of driving the corolla and I get the baby mobile. Trust me I want a minivan. He made a HUGE face when I suggested a minivan. Said no.

Said no to driving my corolla because it's not FUN. He wants to like what he drives.

So I keep digging my heels in and refusing to buy a newer stupid car that I think is dumb because he refuses to buy a car I think is practical.

And yep, we have two dogs. I'd be happy with a Toyota Camry actually, I think a full size sedan would be perfect compromise. NOT an SUV or minivan, but the perfect step up to a minivan.

And he won't do Kias or Hyundais. He's very biased and he doesn't really want an American car either, not that I can blame him after our experiences.

I guess I have a lot in common with your husband, because I don't like driving my wife's corolla. I also don't like minivans, or kias. And I certainly won't spend lots of money on a car that I don't like.

I don't see the problem with the Toyota Matrix. It has just as many seats as the corolla or the camry, but a lot more cargo volume than either one. The Camry may be 2" wider and 17" longer, but that doesn't make it any more practical than a Matrix. The Matrix also has more headroom than the Camry. The only thing the Camry has more of is rear hip room.
Toyota Side-by-Side Comparison

Have you gone to a dealer to sit in one to see how 'subcompact' it actually is?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yep, and I like 4 the bigger back seat. More space is lovely. I prefer a minivan but I'll wait on that.

[zetta]

It's still hard to argue because I'm not having a normal pregnancy. I'm not sick, no weight gain, my pants are finally getting tight, and I still haven't felt movement at 5 months. I know this is wearing on my mental psyche and my DH's. It doesn't quite feel real yet to either of us, so it's hard for us to even buy anything for the baby. Used stuff okay, but something new from the store?

You're about 20 weeks? Hang in there -- you should be having an ultrasound soon, and seeing that baby on the screen will make a big difference. It's not that unusual to not have morning sickness (I didn't even with twins), and if the placenta has an anterior attachment it's quite common not to feel movement yet. With our first we didn't buy a thing until an ultrasound at 22 weeks showed everything to be ok.

If you go to Babies R Us, they might let you try some of their floor models in your car just to get an idea of the fit.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Got my u/s on Friday, it's a GIRL! Excited.

Anterior placenta and tilted uterus means the baby isn't likely to show or move until another 4 weeks.

[simpletron]

Have you thought about a mazda 5? someone at my office recently got one and it looks like a minivan trying to be a car or a car trying to be minivan. it is much bigger than car but also much smaller than a full-size minivan. it has seats for six but doesn't really have the necessary cargo room for six. it looks a lot like a hatchback, but has sliding doors like a van. it is a weird car from my point of view, but seems to be the car that would be a compromise between your wants and his.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I believe we'll be looking soon because today we got a free infant car seat and stroller combo from a coworker. Well I'll get it at the end of the month.

At that time, we'll have the real deal to try in every car/hatch/van we try. We can see truck size. We can see what we really need/want.