"What car" thread - Fleet optimization with a small home business

Hello GRM. I need help figuring out the best combination of vehicles for my household.

Family members:

• Yours truly
• SWMBO (fiance and pottery extraordinaire)
• Bill Murray (domestic long hair feline)

Current fleet:

• 08 Saturn Astra, 80k miles, dead reliable, KBB $5k
• 02 Mustang (SWMBO's), V6, 115k miles, getting old but great shape, still trustworthy, KBB $2k
• Project cars, including my beloved '72 El Camino I use heavily for all trucky things but I don't trust for long distance.

Needs:

• NO project cars! Already have plenty!
• My super easy 5 mile commute
• SWMBO's home pottery business: long-distance road trips to shows about 10x per year, ability to haul art booth setup such as folding shelves, 6-ft long pop-up tent, boxes and boxes of art, hundreds of pounds of clay, etc without sacrificing comfort of driver and/or passenger.
• Indiana winters with heavy salting and plowing
• Potential children-hauling abilities within 2 years
• Preferably not a van, but warming up to the idea

We are open to selling the Mustang and/or Saturn and buying 1 or 2 cars to replace them. The 6-foot tent and art booth shelves are tricky requirements. Some cars you think should work just aren't quite long enough. I have moved her art booth with the Saturn hatchback, but the tent forces the passenger seat into a useless position and you have to take two cars. Her mom's Saturn Vue can barely do it, but the darn thing still pokes into the armrest area.

We like late model wagons such as Outbacks and Volvos. Have not measured their cargo lengths though. The Roadmonster Challenge car had the perfect amount of space, but it was a Challenge car, it was old and E36 M3ty, and I never did trust it. Commercial vans are also attractive, like the Transit. I am open to spending more on her car and me just commuting in a beater. I would greatly appreciate input!

Mom & Dad have an '05 Outback and it's been perfect for hauling two adults with a week's worth of beach gear, ez-up tent, toys for grandkids, etc. It's up to 160k, and just about all of the wheel bearings have needed to be changed, swaybar endlinks, and one of the rear coil springs broke and had to be replaced, and there are a few minor oil leaks that need addressed. 9/10 would recommend to random GRMer.

Just drove 4 hours round trip for thanksgiving in my dad's Chevy van. It has 193,000 miles on it and has never had much more than an oil change. Since you have a short commute, screw mileage and get something overbuilt like a van, suburban or truck.

Oh and seriously, a minivan is what you need. You don't want it, but you will love it.

Minivan, you outlined things a minivan is good for.

Ford Taurus X. Not a freestyle as they come with the troublesome cvt.

Since you only need to haul this stuff 10x/year, have you given any thought to just keeping what you have and renting a suitable vehicle those ten times?

It sort of seems silly to keep and maintain a vehicle you REALLY only need for 10 weekends per year.

Add efi and overdrive to the elky for the pottery business. Cheaper to do than get and maintain and depreciate something new.

Or, small enclosed trailer and hitch for the astra.

Range Rover Classic?

Seriously, how about a 5 x 8 enclosed trailer for the business transporter? It would be easier to load/unload the longer pieces, and you could just add a hitch to whatever vehicle you have at the time.

"Potential kids in the future...."

Get the minivan now, right tool for the job and really comfortable. Take it on some road trip adventures before children to appreciate how cool they are for young, hip couples.

Sell mustang, buy slightly used caravan.

What does every other artist at the shows drive?

Yep, get a minivan. Depending on how much weight she's carrying, it's possible a full-size commercial van will be a better option. They're often cheaper than a similar minivan, and rated like pickup trucks.

Have you seen the low prices of those (Big 3) semi-conversion vans? Not the crazy overdone ones with all the ground effects etc. but the ones that were 1/2 way? Those'll do all of what you need and not be a minivan.

(By the way, it's ok to not buy a minivan even if it is the best tool for the job, really it's ok)

E-250 for long trips with a car trailer in the future! Or get a caravan, i owned my only minivan before i had kids but it was great for roadtrips and hauling things i wanted too keep out of the weather.

Can't believe nobody said Mazda 5 .

scottdownsouth wrote: Can't believe nobody said Mazda 5 .

He commented that a Saturn Vue was not quite large enough. I have owned a Saturn Vue and a Mazda 5 at the same time. Their cargo capabilities are very similar with the Vue having maybe slightly more cargo capability.

My recommendation is minivan, maybe full size van.

Second to van would be Tahoe, Expedition, Suburban

Well then if the vue and the Mazda 5 are out then he needs to go minivan or large suv. Suburban and be done with it.

You need a Grand Caravan...

I do the same artist circuit with the girlfriend.. and already have the kids..

You will love it.

A trailer has the added benefit of being storage space for the tent and shelves.

Minivan is the obvious answer, but I'm just throwing this out there and I'm not sure about the size, but what about a Transit Connect Passenger Wagon? They have a long wheelbase available and 7 passenger seating. I would think it would have enough room for all the art stuff.

Here's my long answer.

Keep the Astra. It will be hard to sell since it is an odd model that no one goes looking for. You'd have to let it go cheap to get people to look at it meaning less than its $5k KBB.
Similar issue if you try to trade it in. A dealership won't be willing to pay much for it since it is a "low demand" vehicle.
I suspect the Astra is your current "travel car" for any time your taking a longer trip or traveling together. This could change if you get a minivan but the Astra will still be good for mpg.

Keep the Mustang too. At least keep it for a short while. My recommendation of keeping it is only to serve as a buffer to making you or her feeling "old" as a minivan owner. Sell the Mustang eventually when you realize that you are not driving it enough to justify keeping it.

Keep the El Camino but expect that its life gets much easier and that you begin to use the minivan for all the "truck things".

If Minivan, I would recommend a Dodge with Stow N Go. Especially Stow N Go since you are likely to use the van in cargo mode more than you will use it in seat mode. I recommend the current body style which is '08 - '17 if possible. It's that much better then the previous generation. You could have new with low options for $23k or less. Used can be any price less. $10k will get you a nice example, used.

Here is what I think is a big missing piece of the equation...
Plan to write off all the miles added to the minivan as business expenses.

If not minivan, these duties could have likely been completed by a Buick Roadmaster Wagon.

I appreciate all the input, as always GRM is a good place for this kind of advice. We still like the idea of an Outback or similar, but it's probably not big enough. Honestly the Roadmaster wagon was just enough to do the job. Can't imagine a 3 day art show in a smaller vehicle, plus she's still relatively new and will only accumulate more show stuff. I need to explore the tradeoffs between full size and mini vans.

I love the Saturn and it's been a fantastic car, but totally understand it wouldn't go for what I feel it's worth.

And yes, the business vehicle and all things related will be written off

maschinenbau wrote: We still like the idea of an Outback or similar, but it's probably not big enough.

FYI: A 2105 Outback(Gen 5) is 6'4" from hatch to back of front seat(just measured mine today for someone else). Gen 4(2010-2014) should be the same size.

But I agree with the rest that a minivan is probably the right vehicle for you.