Car quandary

I have all of the following:

1) A 2005 Mazda 3, my car, I owe about 7k on.

2) A 1998 Ford Ranger, paid for (spare, useful vehicle)

3) A 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, wife's car, likewise paid for

A wife, two small boys, and a dog.

A 60 mile round trip commute every day

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Without rambling on too much, I like my Mazda, but am not nuts about it any more, I guess (it was great for us plus one kid, now that there are two it's getting crowded in there)- combine that with the fact that I know my wife is going to start looking for something new-to-her as soon as the Montero rolls over 100k, since she has that number programmed into her head as "this car is old now."

I'll drive whatever, the wife requires something that goes, stops, turns without putting much besides gas in it.

Just fishing for options- what would you do?

Thinking of trading the Mazda away and getting something new for wifey. THEN, I can horse trade with the other two.

I would get rid of/trade the Montero Sport and get something your wife is happy with. Don't wait until it has 100K, you know it's coming, make your wife happy with the thought about her and deal with it sooner.

Once the "practical car" is dealt with your options are wide open for trading the Mazda towards something you find more fun. Keep the truck.

I can tell you from first hand experience that a Ranger, a Miata, and a kid hauler/wife's DD makes a great car combination. Apart from the never-ending stream of random track cars that cycle through my life, that 3-way combination has been the core of my automotive existence for the last six years or so.

With that long commute, you can alternate between the Ranger and the Miata to keep the mileage reasonable on both.

Keep the truck, like you said they are very useful to have.

If you Trade in the Mazda, I'd recommend the Mazda 5 as a replacement, since you mentioned one reason as not loving the 3 anymore being not enough room for a second child. The 5 is essentially a stretched 3 with mini van doors on the back. It seats 6 with all seats in place and four nicely with all the kids stuff that goes with small children. It drives very much like the 3 as in fun to drive, is mechanically identical if you have the 2.3 motor, and has more room.

We have had a 5 since last June when we replaced our old Tribute, this is my wifes car and does daily dutys for her and our two small children. We could not be happier with it.

Chris Rummel

We both work, she 7 to 4, I 8 to 5. So we both use the back seat. I drop the kids off at preschool/daycare in the mornings and she picks them up at night.

I think keeping the (a?) truck is almost a foregone conclusion- it's retarded useful, even though it's just the 4 cylinder model. It's been reliable as gravity thus far, too, which is always a bonus. Only thing there is that I had considered finding an older/bigger crew cab that could theoretically tow whatever I might decide to drag home. Say a Silverado or F150 (for value's sake), though a Tundra would be awesome. I know gas mileage wouldn't be great, but I think we could overcome that if we found the right truck cheap enough. Unless gas hits $5 this summer, at which point, I would be kicking myself. The 3 is only giving me about 26mpg at this point, which is good, but not great, especially given it's a pretty small car.

My only thing about trading the Montero away and keeping the Mazda is that it's paid for, and in spite of what I thought before about Mitsu build quality, has been a fantastic family truckster (knock wood...). I'd rather only pay one car note at a time (hoping to eventually get out of car-note debtor's prison)- what my issue boils down to is that I don't love the mini-wagon enough to comtinue to pay $$$ every month for the privilege of driving it, especially when the kids will have pretty much outgrown it by the time I pay it off.

One other thing, I do have a utility trailer, and though it's nothing fancy, it tows easy and is perfect for sacks of mulch, dirt, lumber and the occasional sheetrock.

Thanks for the posts so far- y'all keep it up. I'm thinking out loud here.

OK, revision. Trade the Mazda towards the wifes new ride you keep the Montero. Keep the truck and pay for a tow if you find a project you have to "drag" home. Always keep a vehicle that is reliable as gravity, period. Especially ones that are retardedly useful to boot.