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Who is the one paying for this vehicle? If the answer is you, then you buy what you feel makes sense, and it’s a “take it or leave it” proposition for the wife. Since we both understand that a mini-van offers vastly superior comfort, fuel economy, reliability, and bang-for-the-buck, this shouldn’t even be a conversation. A vehicle is an appliance, and a smart person shops for an appliance based on bang-for-the-buck, i.e. which model will meet my needs for the lowest cost of ownership? And for you, it sounds like the answer is a used Dodge Caravan or Toyota Sienna.
I remember when my wife started hassling me that she wanted a new(er) vehicle, because her 2004 Corolla was starting to look bad, since the sun beat up the paint, and she was “embarrassed” to be seen in it, especially while picking up our son at school. I made it crystal clear that I am not willing to spend money replacing a perfectly good car just to “impress” strangers, and if this is a problem, then you (meaning my wife) should have married those people’s husbands instead.
I had to deal with some uncomfortable conversations, listen to rude insults, lack of affection, etc. for a while, but I stood my ground and refused to spend money that I simply did not wish to spend. Now, at least she understands the fact that I am not just a “cheapskate”, I am trying to save for retirement, and every dollar that we avoid spending now can grow significantly by the time I am too old to work anymore.
Was thinking the same thing, My brother bought a 2011 Seqoia Paltinum a few years ago and so far it’s only needed brakes and other normal wear items. They’ve gotten used to the mileage and the overall size compared to the Subaru Legacy wagon that was the family vehicle before the 3rd child arrived. From what i’m seeing on the market could go a little newer and for a lower trim.
Almost bought a Honda Pilot but found the Toyota only an hour away,
With a set of Blizzarks for the winter it’s been the family ski bus. The preferred mechanic’s work on either Japanese or European makes so they didn’t even consider Ford or GM.
Great to know I will look up the guide and see if that sheds more light on the topic. Yes we had experience with Ford and their infotainment system, not impressed and very buggy, Ford seems to have more than its share of issues.
You and I seem to share the same sentiments on the topic and have the same long term goals but I am not looking to get divorced over a vehicle, besides we both work and she allows me to indulge in my hobbies and interests without putting up a fight so unless she starts being reckless I will try and reach a happy compromise. To be honest as I think I stated earlier I will have some designs on the vehicle as well since I am looking to buy a backhoe or upgrade to a newer bobcat and will use the SUV to tow it around. I am not sure a mini van would be able to do that but it would be a curious sight to see a mommy van towing a 4wd Cat or Deere around. Yes I too am not interested in keeping up with the Jones’ and dont care what other people do or think on most subjects and she knows those arguments are just not going to stick. Keep up the good fight brother, we are all with you.
No way a minivan could do that. If you can handle slightly less cargo capacity a Tahoe or Yukon or Sequoia might work. The extra cargo capacity is available in the Suburban or Yukon XL or Expedition. You could go with a minivan and rent a truck to tow your equipment but that would eat up the $3000 gas savings quickly.
No havent been sent to the wood shed yet. I am trying to find the middle ground and keep the peace but its a challenge, however she is good to me so its only fair and not really a burden to do things that make her happy. Didnt someone once say happy wife happy life? Sorry didnt respond sooner, this site limits posts of new users which I find totally frustrating and counter intuitive especially when I am attempting to respond to other members who kindly responded to my post.
Suggest you re-read what you just wrote. No dispute saving for retirement is the more important family priority, but - suggest to trust me on this one – this is not a good way to save money.
I’ll relate a story from my Colorado era. A well paid married man, financial consultant, decided to buy a house, and thought the new houses available were overly priced. So he purchased a vacant lot, and built his own house. He acted as construction manager, hired out most of the work, but did a fair amount himself after work and on weekends. I stopped by one afternoon to say “hi”, when the house was almost done, only the exterior painting remained. I asked him what was holding up the painting job? He explained he & his wife couldn’t agree on the color. I told him “Seems very easy to solve, paint it whatever color your wife wants!” He wasn’t satisfied with my reply, held his ground. A few months I saw him moving out of the house, and another man moving in.
Will take a look at them but not sure it will pass muster. I owned a Tacoma brand new and was not happy at all with the quality, the build, the price. About 2 years ago was at a dealer and looked at the Tacoma and then looked at the price and then dropped to the ground laughing, cant believe they get away with gouging people for cheap plastic and limited base options. Thanks for the suggestion however.
Ah ha ha. Yeah been there. We were very picky when choosing the original stain color. Time to re stain and no longer available from fuller or whoever it was. I got a deal on 15 gallons at Sherwin Williams and stained the house. Wife always complained the color was off. Looked the same to me. So we went through about five years of not staining the deck or redoing the house again due to no agreement on the color. Finally hired a painter and h3 helped resolve the color issue and I stayed out of it. She is very happy with the choice.
Heh heh. I remember about 40 years ago one Sunday our young pastor brought out the scripture part of a man being the head i& the house etc. all of us married guys knew he was headed for an instant crucifixion from his head strong wife. Didn’t take him long to see the error of his ways and still married. Same thing with the poor knuckle dragging car salesman that told our school super to come back with her husband to talk price. She beat him to a pulp and told him she was buying the car not her husband.
Some guys are just stuck in the 19th century. So mend your ways if you want a happy retirement with all that money saved. More where that came from. Even the most docile women will eventually rise up in revolt.
My role as I see it is to bridge the gap between my wifes weaknesses with my strengths and she does likewise.
Example…I am not a people person, no offense to the readers, but I would prefer the company of a rabid dog to most people, and, I know you wont believe this, that gets in the way at times, so my wife being the beautiful person she is, inside and out, takes on the role as our social and people manager.
Me being the analytical, logical and statistical guy I research, recommend and when necessary defend the choices which can impact our fiscal well being and also act as cheap labor. The latter is the price I pay for having mad skills and a father who as well as being an aerospace engineer, didnt trust anyone when it came to repairs and maintenance and I was his apprentice.
I cant say without crossing my fingers that I am an evolved or enlightened 21st century kind of guy, but I can say that for the right person, change doesnt have come at a cost, it actually pays you back in ways you could not conceive, and my wife is the right person for me.
Now that was a Hallmark moment.
So with that being said, I will continue to find the best options, argue their benefits and choose that which brings the greatest return on investment.
I have been looking for a while and $30k seems to be +/- the mean price for what we are looking for. I have a 2015 suburban on the radar for 25k with 91k miles thats about 11k per year, that is from a dealer. I am sure if I can find a similar model from a private seller I can do better. Again if a dealer offers a decent warranty which many dont it might be worth it but thats if. We have time, I want to buy something by the Spring and if the economy goes sour like many say we may get a better deal.
I have been very happy with the 2017 Acadia Limeted.3 row seating and towing package, awd or 4wd, not sure what they call it. 16 mpg citty, 22 hwy. Acadia limited is a whole nother animal from an Acadia. Pretty reasonably priced. 2017 was the last year they were made.
BC dry weight is 4700#, wet lets call it 5000#, if bucket attached call it 5400#, trailer dead weight <3k so looking at 8000# all in which is in the range of the larger SUVs, definitely any of the v8’s I would think. Also not something I would be doing daily, infrequently actually if I do more then I would look at an old ford or chevy.