Car shopping

[sandy_williams]

Yep. We're going to need a new one (or a new used one). I think we might be able to make do with my car for a little while, but my husband's car? Nope. We'd have to move both front seats all the way forward in order to get two baby carseats in the back. And even if that works, fitting a double stroller into the back might be problematic. Pretty

Comments

[mtlawson]

I hate car salesmen like that. (And I can get away with saying salesmen, because I've yet to meet a female car salesperson who behaves like a jerk.)

We have a 2001 Toyota Sienna, and lmlawson loves the fact that it drives like a car. That was it's big selling point, really. We tried the Odyssey, but that was just too much size for us at the time. Now, with three kids, the oldest just starting her teenage years, oh yeah. We could really use that extra space.

[sandy_williams]

I think it was the Sienna we drove last weekend. I remember it feeling a little smaller than what we drove a few weeks ago. It is a decent mini-van. Probably my favorite until we got to the Kia deealer. Of course, the mini-van we looked at there had all the bells and whistles.

My favorite vehicle so far is the Kia Sorento.

[mtlawson]

Considering that our 2001 model will be a decade old this year, it wouldn't shock me that others have caught up.

The only advice that I can give you is that the Chrysler mini-vans fall apart waaay to easily.

[sandy_williams]

Yeah, we're not a fan of Chryslers in general. Trey has read all the internet reviews, safety ratings, consumer report stuff available, so we're hoping whatever we end up buying will last us for years and years.

[lmlawson]

I used to swear that I would never drive a minivan. And what have we had in our driveway for the last 10 years? Yup.

[sandy_williams]

I know. They're so very practical. If it wasn't for the sliding doors, though, I wouldn't be considering them at all. They're bigger than what we need right now. But a car is too small. An SUV sounds like a nice middle ground. Plus, it's styling. :-)

[lmlawson]

Ooh, sliding doors! Our minivan's broke a few months ago (it's 10 years old), but they were wonderful!

[mtlawson]

I should clarify: the cable on our automatic sliding door broke. It still works fine as a manual door, so we decided to leave it as-is for the time being.

The owner of the repair shop we take our vehicles to told us that it was only when you open up the mechanism will you discover if it's a $300 repair or a $800 repair, based on what happened to the mechanism when the cable blew.

[reneesweet]

A friend of mine swore that her SUV worked just as well for carrying her kid and kid-related stuff and was much more dignified than a mini-van. :) Of course, she only had one kid, so I don't know how twins would factor in.

Too bad you can't buy a Japanese model -- like, from Japan. They're so conscientious about stuff like this. We saw mini-vans with seats that rotated out to make it easier to load/unload babies into car seats. So cool.

[sandy_williams]

That's one of my arguments: other people with two kids make do with a car or SUV. It shouldn't be that difficult for us to make do either. But then, the thought of juggling two infants is quite terrifying. I almost feel like I need all the help I can get, convenience-wise. And those automatically sliding doors are so, so tempting.

Super cool about the rotating seats in Japanese cars!

[david_bridger]

Put the Toyota salesman in a novel. :)

[kas2662]

A mini-van... very practical, but I kinda laugh at trying to picture you driving one. I would like to say that we do have 2 kids in the backseat of my car. They both won't fit in Mike's. In a few years we will definitely be getting a bigger car, probably a SUV. But it will be hard to give up my car, even if it is just giving it to Mike to use.

I'm impressed you were out for 8 hrs. You must be doing much better now.

[kas2662]

I've changed my mind. Go against the rest of the world. Get a mini cooper and show the world you can do it with twins.

Of course you know I'm kidding, but that would be halarious and a huge pain in the butt.