Car depreciation

[jIM_Ohio]

Jim- While I agree that there are other circumstances involved, is it worth the additonal cost? Keep in mind your gas costs will go up to use a Pilot for 20kmiles/year, just to need additional seats on occasion.

My DH and I each drive our cars 20-25k miles/year. We keep one SUV and sedan. It makes no sense to pay the higher gas costs on both cars. If seating is an issue, drive 2 cars for the once in awhile it might be necessary.

Just a thought

Fitting groceries in an accord with 2 car seats and a stroller is tough
fitting same groceries on floor of backseat of ridgeline works if we buy a moderate amount of groceries.

So even for groceries, something done 2X per month, it it a good thing to have a bigger car than the accord.

I agree the additional cost of gas for driving 2 cars to a restaurant is cheaper than having payments on a bigger vehicle- but there is still the stigma that we needed 2 cars, and that is tough to quantify numbers wise.

thx for input.

[disneysteve]

Fitting groceries in an accord with 2 car seats and a stroller is tough

Heck, I don't know how we would have managed with one child if we didn't have our minivan. We often go out with my mom and cousin, at least a couple of times per month, so that is 5 people. When it also included one car seat and a stroller, my Camry wasn't an option. Even now, we still use the van when the 5 of us go out and cramming 3 adults in the back of a Camry is pretty uncomfortable if you are going any distance, especially for the person in the middle who gets to ride on the hump.

[jpg7n16]

Fitting groceries in an accord with 2 car seats and a stroller is tough
fitting same groceries on floor of backseat of ridgeline works if we buy a moderate amount of groceries.

So even for groceries, something done 2X per month, it it a good thing to have a bigger car than the accord.

My Accord is very roomy, and has lots of trunk space

[tripods68]

I can't imagine driving my old Acura RSX, hauling my two kids Glad we upgraded to a Honda Odyssey years ago which is now free and clear. I don't envy people who drive that much and eventually have to upgrade or replace their cars once every few years (no disrepecting you Jim just thinkin out loud ). Glad that my wife and I don't commute that much either, about 10K per year.

Have you thought about upgrading to a Hybrid SUV?

[jIM_Ohio]

My Accord is very roomy, and has lots of trunk space

"lots" is relative

I have twin boys which need a decent size stroller. Plus wife kept her work supplies (handouts) in the vehicle (we live 50 minutes from her office and he clients could be 50 miles in either of 2 other directions, so she keeps things for work in trunk).

When my boys were in pumpkin seats, forget it- we could not even take them out in the accord (between the huge stroller and lack of room to transport items back home).

With the smaller stroller we have some room- but if we are going to 3-4 stores we would run out of room by store #3.

[jpg7n16]

If the stroller is foldable, with my car - you could fit the stroller and the two boys in the trunk, leaving lots of space for groceries in the back seat hah

For us - it's me, my brother, and roommate - so 3 20-something guys who eat a lot. We can fit all our groceries in my trunk, with 3 bowling balls, a bowling bag (fits 2), disc golf equipment, and car vac. (spare tire is technically in trunk too, but covered) So all that and about 1.5-2 carts of food easily fit in trunk alone. Don't even need to put any in the backseat. So the 3 of us fit comfortably too.

I was kinda joking, but there is seriously a lot more room in my accord than I thought at first.

[cypher1]

For us - it's me, my brother, and roommate - so 3 20-something guys who eat a lot. We can fit all our groceries in my trunk, with 3 bowling balls, a bowling bag (fits 2), disc golf equipment, and car vac. (spare tire is technically in trunk too, but covered) So all that and about 1.5-2 carts of food easily fit in trunk alone. Don't even need to put any in the backseat. So the 3 of us fit comfortably too.

I could say the same thing in my older Civic hatch or CRV for hauling 3-4 adults, groceries, tools, and 1 server, without flipping down the seats. I'm in no way saying a Civic=Accord=Pilot. Just because I can do that with my car doesn't mean its always the right option for another user. I may be single with no kids, but I can understand with different priorities/lifestyle, of wanting something bigger for a family in the long run. This topic is going towards need vs want. jIM clearly knows he wants something bigger, and sounds comfortable with affording a higher payment in doing so. I personally think $700 is a huge jump compared to his Accord, but I really can't argue if it fits within his monthly budget. But that's really no different to another person with half the income, believing a monthly payment of $350 being outrageous. I could suggest a cheaper similar vehicle with higher miles, but the buyer will only end up sticking with his preferences, but thats really not the point.

FYI: love Hondas for the resale value, quality, and engineering (never been a fan of their V6 for gas consumption though), just hate car payments. Then again it was hard going from 35-38 MPG on civic, to 25-27 on CRV, so I've been spoiled. Maybe I'll give my parents the CRV and pick up another Civic/Integra...