So, I swapped SUV's with my wife. Help me plan my next vehicle move...

So a few months ago, I needed to replace my SUV as it was burning copious amounts of oil.  My wife was driving a '08 GX470, which is bomb proof.  She was due the next new car, I offered to get her one and take on her 470.  She said no, she was ok driving it a few more years.

So I got myself a '15 Cayenne diesel.  Here we are a few months later and, well, she's really not ok driving the old Lexus anymore.  So last night I handed her the "key" to the Cayenne and took on her GX470.

Here's my situation and where I need some input.  I should be able to pay off the cayenne in under a year, when I do, that opens up the door for me to get something else.

My daughter is about to turn 13 and will need a ride when she's 16.  I'm torn over whether I should keep the GX470 as my tow vehicle/winter ski rig until she's 16.  It opens up the door for me to get a car for myself vs an SUV.  It's a very reliable SUV and safe, plus it won't be worth all that much in 3 years.

However, if I give it to her, I won't have a tow vehicle anymore.  That means trying to borrow the cayenne back, but that leaves my wife without something to drive, as whatever car I buy will have a manual transmission, which my wife doesn't know how to use.

Another complication is I have a 4 post lift in my garage, the GX470 is too tall to fit underneath it and my wife isn't confident enough to park the Cayenne under it the way I did.  So now the GX sits outside, which is ok since its basically spring here, but in the winter time will suck.  Yes, I know, 1st World Problems.

So, basically, am I missing something here that lets me somehow keep a tow vehicle in 3 years if I give the 470 to my daughter?  I'd love to buy a 1M or a 996 Turbo now for myself, but definitely won't be ok letting my daughter drive either of those if I need the 470 to tow for a weekend and have to swap cars with her...

Otherwise the option is to sell/trade the 470 in on another SUV for myself that can tow, maybe a Grand Cherokee SRT...

Get your daughter a lightly used Rav4/CRV/etc and put her as a "named exclusive" on your policy. This means she is only insured to drive the Rav4 and specifically named that she is not insured to drive the larger and more expensive vehicles. 

This will keep you from paying kid rates on your expensive cars. 

Speak to your agent. 

Been driving the 470 around this am.  Not as bad as I remembered.  Throttle response is quite good, handling is, um, ponderous.

working thru the little issues as my wife tends to ignore her cars.  Had to add 20psi of air to the right rear tire, need to reset the service light and replace a front turn signal bulb.

then i hafts order the tow hitch and trailer brake controller harness....

My dad made blocks for his lift to raise it one inch higher.  They fit in the top hole on the uprights.  Now, instead of the lift lowering to the next catch, it sits on these steel blocks.  They're painted, so we can see them to remove them when we need to lower the lift.  Not sure if another inch will help you, but it lets me dad park his Tahoe under there.  

Lift needs to be 5 inches higher.  The 470 is almost 74" tall, so there's really no way for me to lift the lift (lol!) 5 inches and still be able to get the M3 on and off of it. 

Ordered the tow hitch and trailer brake harness today, they're on their way.  Programmed the homelink, replaced a marker bulb.  Next up, spark plugs, air filter and oil change, then reset the light.

Realized another hole in my plan for keeping this thing and giving it to my daughter.  When I do, I'll be losing my winter DD/ski machine.  I can grab it from her when I need to tow, as that's not that often, but I won't be able to grab it from her in the winter when its snowing and I need to get to work.

A 1M, even with snow tires, isn't something I care to take out in a snow storm or drive up to Vail.  A 996 Turbo would probably do ok around town, but still isn't something I'd want to drive up to Vail.  Even if it made it, there's just not enough room in it for ski stuff.

Ugh.  So that means getting a hot hatch like a Golf R/Focus RS, which are fun, but aren't nearly the same class cars as a 1M/996tt and are also depreciating assets, not appreciating like the 1M/996tt. 

Keep GX, buy fun car, worry about additional winter beater/tow rig in three years when she starts driving?

That is an option.  A 996 Turbo with snow tires will get it done around town, just not really on a ski trip.  Could just punt and see what happens in 3 years...

Buy another cayenne diesel, have all the torques?

a 470 is alot of car for your first car.  I'd get her something a little easier to drive to learn on when that time comes. 

Yup, it's big and handles like a blue whale.

so an option would be to just keep it for me and get her a little compact car to learn on

docwyte said:

Yup, it's big and handles like a blue whale.

so an option would be to just keep it for me and get her a little compact car to learn on

A compact car...like a 996 Turbo?

I'm sure your daughter will find all the room in the back of the SUV very handy when she starts dating....

Ditch the roof rack, add lower stiffer springs, maybe lower profile tires and less whale handling plus fit under lift.

In reply to SPORTCHRONO :

Ha!  NO!  Like a Honda Fit...

Panamera?  It sounds like the correct answer is Panamera (so effectively a very big 911). 

In reply to rslifkin :

Very much no, those things are fugly!

Teach wife to drive a standard. Also if you need your car for a weekend your daughter can make other plans. Like get her own car if she can not survive the weekend while you use your car. 

In reply to dean1484 :

Tried to teach my wife how to drive a standard multiple times.  Basically she's just not interested, so it's not gonna happen.

I'm sure my daughter can live without the truck for a weekend.  That doesn't solve my problem losing it as my snow/ski vehicle though.  I'll need to get to work and she'll still need to go to school.

docwyte said:

In reply to SPORTCHRONO :

Ha!  NO!  Like a Honda Fit...

Fine. You get the 996 Turbo, and get her another reasonable compact car

Like a 981 Cayman

I am not biased. 

Get daughter an awd sable. You keep the tow vehical and you get a 996. I will bet your wife will learn to drive a manual if the 996 is a manual. 

In reply to dean1484 :

As much as I'd love to believe that, she's just not a gearhead.  I could have the hottest Ferrari in the garage and she could care less.  She's simply not interested in learning and there's not a whole lot I can do to affect that.

So I think what I'm going to do is sell my current 4 post lift and replace it with a BendPak that goes up a foot higher.  Then the current gx470 and anything else will fit underneath it.  Then I can truly take my time and decide what the heck I want to do.

I agree it makes sense to get my daughter a compact car for her first car, that lets me either keep the 470 as my winter/tow vehicle or and get a 996 turbo, or whatever I want.  I'm a little torn about adding to my stable, as I already own two 3 season vehicles (KTM 1190R, '98 M3 track car) that don't get a whole lot of use.  If I get a 996tt, that'll add another car that gets limited use.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, particularly since I won't lose money on the 996tt, it just bothers me to have things sitting around that I'm not using... 

So I see a tiptronic 996 in your future. 

In reply to dean1484 :

good part of her not being a gearhead is she's totally content driving her own car.

so no need for me to get a tiptonic 996

I have a roof rack for my 996. Solves the ski storage issue. 

We are in different realms with different means and ideals, so my suggestions would be scoffed at.  So I'll just say; get a miata

Jcamper, I have a roof rack that'll fit on the 996.  So that'll carry the skis, just not the bags.  Ground clearance will also be an issue.

DrBoost, miatas are great cars, but I don't fit in them.  They also can't carry kids since they're a two seater.  And they're incredibly slow, I'd drop a huge amount with Keith to get it to where I'd want.

Driving the GX is like driving the titanic, good amount of power but the handling is ponderous!