Need to Purchase a minivan but...

I am due with our third child in February of 2010. A little ahead of schedule but a blessing nonetheless. This means that we will have to purchase a new car since out Honda Civics will not accomodate a family five. I have been throwing out options for DH for the last month and he has shot EVERYTHING down. He says we can just ride to places in different cars until we can afford it. This is not an option for me. I am a firm believer in where there is a will there is a way. I have the will I need you all's help with the way. Here are the options I have proposed:

1. Purchase a used van. We can afford about a $250-($300 this is really pushing it) car payment which means we would end up with a high mileage (70-100K) Chrysler Town $ Country or a Dodge Caravan (DH is against the purchase of a Dodge).

2. Purchase a new car using him mother's GM discount. This would take about $3k off the price but through my research it does not seem we could ever afford a $400+ car payment...unless I get a new job.

3. Lease a van for 3-4 years. We have friends that are in debt up to their eyeballs and this is the option they chose. They have a lower car payment and they say the mileage doesn't really matter at this point since they can't afford to go anywhere anyway. DH is concerned with the mileage portion saying that we won't be able to drive the car any where.

Are there any other options out there that I haven't thought of?

I am really keen on the leasing option but I have never leased a car before so I don't know if this would be a nightmare or not. Any guidance, experiences, or statments of empathy are apprecaited.

TIA!
LC

 

I used to lease all the time in my past life (pre husband and kids) ... you can negotiate on your lease to have have extra miles ... I think standard lease is usually 12,000 miles a year ... but I used to negotiate for 15K, for a nominal additional fee.

then I would take an honest look at how much/far you drive. If you have a far commute, or take lots of long road trips, you may get hit in the end with an over mileage charge... but if you think you can do it, I think leasing is a good option.

A lot of people are against it ... think it's basically like renting a car for 3 or 4 years (which it is) and when it's all done, you have nothing to show for it. Although if you REALLY like the car, you can finance the car afterwards to purchase it for yourself and then you get to keep it.

Good luck ...

 

I am just wondering are you going to be trading in your car? Is it worth anything? We traded in my old car when getting our mini van and my requirement was our payment had to be under $250 for us to afford a new/used car. We looked at a lot of used mini vans but found for the price of a town & country used we could get a Toyota Sienna for about the same price. So we ended up with a brand new mini van for the payment we wanted. We didn't get the top of the line mini van either just a basic one with no tv or dvd player in the car (which I did not want anyway). Then my dh talked to the sales man and told him we will buy a car but the payment has to be in this price range and the guy worked with him to get it in our price range.

Good luck I hope you can work things out.

 

I had a lot of specifications I was firm on when looking for a "new" van (we never actually looked at anything new. We wanted something around $8000). It had to have a "trunk" big enough for a double stroller (The Sienna didn't. I actually took my stroller car shopping with me. ) and I really wanted a bench middle seat or captains seats that could be moved together rather than spaced-out captain seats because their car seats were still rear-facing and I didn't want to have to crawl over them to get to the back. I was so picky I thought we would never find anything!

Then, we came across a 2002 Chevy Venture with 82,000 miles for $8000 (my car payment is $220/month). It has everything I wanted and more! It was a Warner Brother's addition, so it had a DVD player, it had an automatic sliding door, traction control, and a HUGE "trunk" that will fit my double stroller, a cooler, It also has a 3-seat middle bench. So, I can put car seats on one side and the middle, leaving an extra seat in the middle row that can easily be swung up to climb to the back. It actually seats 8 instead of just 7! Can you tell I LOVE my van?

It has had very few problems, even though it is high mileage. And we have taken it on a few long trips. All this to say that it is possible to find a great used van. It takes a LOT of looking and patience. It took us about 3 months to find mine. And I didn't have a car at all during that time (my old car caught on fire).

 

we got our Chrysler Town and Country for a great deal! I think it was $13,000 and it only had 12,000 miles! It was 3 years old though.

I think you gotta just keep on looking! I dont' think there is anything wrong with a used car. In fact, that's all I would ever buy, even if I had loads of money!

 

I have a 1998 Honda Civic. Kelley Blue Book says it's worth between $1,500-$2,000. My hope it to use the car as part or all of a down payment. I also spoke with my dad and he said I should definitely try to negotiate based on the payment we can afford.

It's tough when I get those reality checks that remind me that I can't afford my life. We try to make the best of it on one income but it's hard. DH is a SAHD and has given up his personal training career to stay at home with the kids. I find myself screaming in my head "DO SOMETHING!!!" Then I realize there is nothing he can do right now except keep taking excellent care of our children. The cost benefit of him going back to work right now just is not there.

I am confident we will figure something out. Just trying to stay positive at this point.

LC

 

I think you are overestimating the cost of used minivans. Last fall I bought a minivan. In my case I was looking specifically for vehicles that were 1999 or older as I was thinking about driving it back to Mexico and it is easier to cross the boarder in 10 year old vehicles due to import taxes. I saw a lot of really nice newer vans in the 6,000 dollar range with well under 100,000 miles on them. A lot of people had minivans for trips, not daily drivers, but have had to get rid of them. This is your chance to gain from their misfortune.

Also don't forget to check out repossession sales, police auctions, and estate auctions. You'd be surprised how many grandparents had a minivan in their garage for occasional use with the grandkids.

 

Seriously, you can find a nice van for 250-300 a month. We bought a Honda Odyssey that was only a year old with only 22,000 miles on it and our car payment is at 290 a month for 5 years. We did have a trade in, so that would probably make a difference. I would start saving a bit each month for a down payment and start looking. It is never too early to start looking. Look everywhere. I was a big internet looker. I think it can be done. You might need to buy an older van, but maybe it won;t have many miles on it.

 

I wanted to add because I'm not sure if I was clear. I passed up a lot of really nice low-milage vans because they didn't meet my 10 year old criteria. None of them were more than $6,000. This was in South Western Missouri, so I'm not sure how much the local market will effect your search.