So, dallas just sent me this text. Other than suburban and caravan, im drawing a blank. So i come to y'all, as the purveyors of fine automobiles for wives. He had been looking at the dodge journey.....
Brother dallas said:
Ugh ok...there goes a lot of time I spent researching How about you send me 5 specific vehicles that I can look up and try to find with low mileage and $15,000 or less. That’s a hard search btw Oh yeah and with 3rd row seating Give them that job and tell me what they can come up with Seriously give them the criteria of: $15,000 or less, least amount of mileage possibly (keep in mind the dodges had 24-55k), and 3rd row seating. Preferably a SUV. I’d love to know what they find
Ford Flex is the first thing that came to mind.
RossD
MegaDork
12/23/18 6:36 p.m.
List every SUV with three rows of seating...
Grand caravan would be my go too. Suburban but finding a low mileage one in good shape at that price may be a stretch
In reply to ProDarwin :
Pretty much what i thought.
But this place excels at this type of thing, so he asked me to ask.
Hes too stubborn/technologically challenged to make an account.....
FIL got a 2015 caravan with 3 rows and dvd for 15800 with right at 25k miles at dealer last year.
How old are the kids?
Many 3rd rows in SUVs are pretty "hypothetical". There is not a lot of room in that 3rd row. You can't fit car seats (more than a booster) back there. The Dodge Journey is an example of a 3rd row that is pretty small and hard to use.
That leaves these 3rd rows only suitable for 6yr old to 13 yr olds.
However, in mini vans you can get more full use out of the 3rd row.
BlueInGreen - Jon said:
Ford Flex is the first thing that came to mind.
Spouse really likes her's.
My Kia Sorento has a third row seat. I think it is pretty small. It is the V6 FWD seems like pleanty of power. Can be found for decent prices.
Almost anything other than a minivan or full size suv will leave almost no cargo space when using the third row.
Practicality would lean lean towards a minivan for ease of access and space.
Oldest is 5, youngest is 1. So a LONG time need.
I know hes fickle, but i have a feeling that it will be the maybe-a-wife daily. So long term cost of ownership is more likely the biggest concern. I cautioned against the journey because of reputation. However, thats maybe a little premature based on the mopar minivan experience around here.....
Comments around here have also stated that the Journey has an unreliable reputation yet the Grand Caravan has a reputation of much better reliability. I know that seems odd since they should be same/similar parts bin but that is what people report.
The 3rd row of the journey is LOL. Like no leg room for an infant why did they bother wasting money on a seat. We shopped them long enough to say f this imaginary 3rd row and buy a Charger.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Oldest is 5, youngest is 1. So a LONG time need.
I know hes fickle, but i have a feeling that it will be the maybe-a-wife daily. So long term cost of ownership is more likely the biggest concern. I cautioned against the journey because of reputation. However, thats maybe a little premature based on the mopar minivan experience around here.....
Based on the first part of this post, I’d lean towards a CPO Kia Sedona or a GC with the Chrysler Lifetime warranty negotiated into the deal.
I don’t have any direct experience with the Chrysler warranty, but on paper it seems like it might be a better option than an aftermarket if he doesn’t like the Kia or Hyundai options.
An outlier might be the Kia Borrego, if you can find one and don’t mind going back to 2009 MY:
Not a Mazda 5. It is too little for 4 kids in car or booster seats.
Even with only 2 kids in car seats, the back seats are pretty much unusable.
We have a Mazda 5 btw.
skierd
SuperDork
12/23/18 9:38 p.m.
ProDarwin said:
Mazda 5
Dodge Grand Caravan
Toyota Sienna
Kia Sedona
Honda Odyssey
there, I did it for you
The Mazda5 is kinda small from what I remember for four kids plus accessories.
I’d add any full-size passenger van to the list, especially if they have goals for the kids to get in to sports or take road trips with the whole family.
I think for SUvs you're pretty much limited to the Suburban and the Excursion. MAYBE the big Toyota/Lexus.
skierd said:
ProDarwin said:
Mazda 5
Dodge Grand Caravan
Toyota Sienna
Kia Sedona
Honda Odyssey
there, I did it for you
The Mazda5 is kinda small from what I remember for four kids plus accessories.
I’d add any full-size passenger van to the list, especially if they have goals for the kids to get in to sports or take road trips with the whole family.
It is small. I was just making a point to list all the minivans because looking at only SUVs for a family of 6 is dumb.
Dave M
Reader
12/23/18 10:23 p.m.
Get a used E250 or Express 2500 passenger van, or even better conversion van. Big, comfy, low miles and CHEAP because people don't want to be seen driving around in the church van. I wanted one for our much smaller family but my wife dinged that idea.
Any minivan will also work, but besides the cheap pricing the van also offers huge amounts of cargo space while seating two adults and four kids.
I'd say any SUV will be tight, even a Suburban.
SVreX
MegaDork
12/24/18 5:07 a.m.
I’ve had Suburbans. I’ve had minivans. I’ve had 5 kids.
Tell him to give in. The minivan is the answer by far.
You can do it in an X or Y or Z. Anything that seats six will work. My primary vehicle for six has been a double bench seat Silverado for the past decade and 200k miles. It works. But unless he needs to seat six and tow, or seat six and drive offroad, or seat six and...something very specific, a minivan of some flavor is the best bet by far.
Dealing with kid seats is WAY easier through sliding doors than through swinging doors. Minivan wins this round.
I'd go for one that can accommodate three seats across the middle row so that there's less to worry about in the third row. Sienna and Odyssey both can do it, some flavors of the Sedona can do it.
Some people here REALLY love their stow-n-go seats, but if you've got kids seats strapped to those stow-n-go seats, they're not as much a benefit.
wvumtnbkr said:
Not a Mazda 5. It is too little for 4 kids in car or booster seats.
Even with only 2 kids in car seats, the back seats are pretty much unusable.
We have a Mazda 5 btw.
This. And yeah. Pick a van (a “REAL” van.)
