Reality wins agian

So my wife finally agreed to let me buy the 08 Crystal white Mazdaspeed 3 GT at the local jeep dealer for an awesome price with 6k miles on it. So I go test the car, fall in love, start to get financing set up. Later that night she tells me she's "late". I run to the store and get a few tests. Then I run back to the store in a panic to get some more. 5 positive tests later, I guess we're having a kid.

Crap.

Guess who's getting a new car now. She currently drive an 04 cavalier coupe. Not the best baby hauler. She wants a small SUV.

Now it's a what car thread I suppose.

Specs: Under $15,000, used, hopefully newer than 05. She has a thing for the CX-7, and they seem like a decent value used.

What say you, people with young children of GRM?

Wait... what's wrong with the Mazdaspeed3 as a baby transport?

Well, she doesn't want the speed3. And since we'll be keeping my car I don't really want another car payment quite that big.

It also needs to be her car. If we get the speed3 I'll end up driving it all the time.

Fab up a Speed5? It can be done. But its not an suv...

But in all seriousness congrats and condolences, take your pick

I hauled 2 kids around in an E36 M3 2 door, and now they are 9 and 6... they fit nicely in the back seat of an old 911. Everything you need for football practice fits in the trunk too.

My wife has an '05 E46 325Xi sport wagon that I just purchased in January with 43k on it, still under factory warranty for just under $15k. It replaces a Passat wagon that was also big enough for a family vacation with the dog and luggage.

Kids really don't need all that much room.

Mazda3 hatchback?

I rode in the back of my mom's Camaro until I was old enough to drive (assuming two people were up front).

But I guess no one had to get me out of a car seat, either.

my mom drove an 84 300zx until i was about 10. the bucket seats in the back were like car seats all by themselves

skruffy wrote: Specs: Under $15,000, used, hopefully newer than 05. She has a thing for the CX-7, and they seem like a decent value used. What say you, people with young children of GRM?

05 up rav4 or whatever CRV you can get..

I got a 08 rav4 for the wife. It has a 3rd row and works great for transporting little ones(teacher private school.. think field trips).

My old boss had a previous generation crv. I think he finally got rid of it with 280k miles on it.

Keep mama happy.. or you'll be miserable.

My wife is 30 weeks preg.

1st kid? any thing will work.

We went from 1 to 3.. no in between.

so...that makes us the owners of a 2005 Chrysler T&C with Sto-n-Go. holds 3 kids, 2 (large) Golden Retrievers and luggage.

She got that, and I got a motorcycle ;)

I gotta say I am loving the 2002 Passat as a baby hauler. I mean REALLY loving it. Now mind you mine has 195,000 miles on it and has it's little issues... like the heat doesn't transfer 100% through the heater core. It gets nice and warm but not hot.

Not sporty but the 1.8T gets it on the highway in a rapid fashion and on a 45 mile trip yesterday we averaged 29.4mpg on the highway.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/ctd/1023148162.html

/thread.

Per Schroeder wrote: http://orlando.craigslist.org/ctd/1023148162.html /thread.

Word. We have an '04 version and it's so incredibly utilitarian that I've come to embrace minivans.

Per Schroeder wrote: http://orlando.craigslist.org/ctd/1023148162.html /thread.

And, it'll beat an E-Type and a 356 in our favorite magazine's test. Not sure if it's what you want with only one kid, but as it's been said, keep Momma happy. If Momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy.

Friends kept a mid 90's Civic hatch as primary transport until they had pooping unit #2, and then thy got an Impala simply to be able to fit 2 car seats in the back. They were all set to sell me the Civic and get a 2 seater until she "missed" (or he didn't, depending on how one looks at it). They are now keeping it due to fuel prices (grrrrr).

Plus, an Odyssey with a 2" drop, 18's (20's?), and tinted windows looks pretty damn sweet. The 2" drop is of course for easier loading of the kids, duh.

this is straight up pimpin yo

Congratulations on your child.

May I suggest the Suzuki SX4 sport? that is what I would be doing, but I have three kids so it is Minivan land for me.

I gotta add another vote for the Odyssey....although my Lovely Wife is now starting to plant the seeds of wanting another "car" after 5+ years and 60K miles.

JFX001 wrote: I gotta add another vote for the Odyssey....although my Lovely Wife is now starting to plant the seeds of wanting another "car" after 5+ years and 60K miles.

Funny...we're reaching that stage too. We're at 5+ years and almost 80k.

we had an '01 outback for the first year of our first child's life. it was perfect, because for the first several months the kid is in one of those rear facing two piece car seat slash baby carrier deals, so the kid is already strapped into the carrier and all you do is set the carrier onto the base, and click it in place. easy in, easy out. biggest drawback is the hinged door versus the slider, and that might not be drawback at all, depending on your personal parking situation.

once the kid has to be strapped into a one piece car seat and is still facing the rear, then the sliding door and the higher roofline make the minivan attractive.

then, when the kids are old enough to climb into their front-facing seats and fasten their own harnesses, you can get out of the minivan and back into a sedan or wagon.

when our ody starts costing too much to keep alive -- not in the forseeable future, as at 145k it doesn't rattle smoke or drip and still rocks VTAK y0! -- we'll replace it with a used mazda5 because our garage is pretty narrow and the sliding doors are worth the tall-car profile.

i have two close friends with mazda5s and they love 'em.

a two-door is teh suck for the adult who has to put the kid in and out of the car seat. again, once the kid can buckle themself in, the 2-door becomes viable again, as long as they've got legroom.

BTW - I hope you reacted better than "Crap!" to your wife.

DILYSI Dave wrote: BTW - I hope you reacted better than "Crap!" to your wife.

+1. That's a REAL quick way to wind up on the couch. Congrats on the oncoming addition!

One car I think gets overlooked a lot is the Accord wagon. Those are plenty roomy and get good mileage plus they are damn near bulletproof. They are usually pretty cheap used. Another good one is the CR-V but those usually bring a premium price.

Use those testes that got you in this situation, and go get the car you want. Its a family car anyway, and you can both use it. Sure, the Cav isn't the best baby hauler, but its hardly the worst. Babies are small, and stay that way for some time. The Cav has plenty of room. After all, you guys are having a baby, so she's getting what she wants, you should get what you want

suprf1y wrote: After all, you guys are having a baby, so she's getting what she wants, you should get what you want

Umm. Yeah. Let us know how that works out for ya.

Let us know how that works out for you. Everyone uses pregnancy as an excuse to get rid of their Cavalier. Mine was a friend's wifes car but with triplets coming it wasn't going to work.