for those that have an economical car as the second family car

Dh is in the market for a used car. It will not be the primary one for the kids but we need to be able to fit them and their stuff in there just in case. We need it to be something sort of economical and compact as dh has a 50 mile commute each way to work. He asked me to post to see what other people have. Would you recommend it? Or not? Any suggestions?

btw: the main family truckster is an SUV

 

Our economical car used to be my primary car -- and still would be if I didn't have to drive the girls to preschool in the AM. It's a 2001 Hyundai Elantra. Never gave me a single problem and has over 110,000 miles on it. Good mileage, great warranty, great deal.

ETA: when I bought mine new in 2001, I was in the market for a used car, but decided to buy new because it was under $12,000 while used Hondas and Toyotas were going for close to or more than that.

 

My dh gets toyota corolla's (90's models) for his commuter car. They seem to last a few years. His first one (bought in Oct. 2005) was a 92 and he just got another one this year (mid year) that's a '95. He's a toyota guy though.

 

Our second car used to be my primary car as well (Sigh... I miss it). It's a 2003 VW New Beetle. I did have the carseats in it once for a couple days in an emergency, and they did fit. So, it does work in a pinch. It gets great gas mileage and is really fun to drive. Only problem we had with it was something happened with the radiator. I really don't know what it was, other than that, it's an awesome car. Did I mention I miss it?

 

My DH has a Mazda 6. He also needs an economical car for his 50 mile commute each way. Unfortunately it is not big enough for all 5 of us and we don't really worry about that, I guess because to get a second car that would fit all 5 of us we'd have to go for another mini van or SUV and then that would not be practical. So I'm no help there, but it did work well for our family of 3, although we never used it on trips anywhere, before the twins came along.

Other than that, it is a nice size and gets good gas mileage.

 

My dh drives a Toyota Yaris to work. We don't use it for the babies (we always use our Toyota Sienna when we go anywhere with the girls) The Yaris is GREAT!! It gets about 45-55 mpg which is great since he has to drive a good 45 miles each way to work everyday.

 

My DH used to drive a Grand Prix, which he really liked and it would fit 4. He drives my old vehicle now (a Pacifica) but we're crunching numbers to see if taking a loss on getting rid of it is economical...it uses way more gas and if we could get the payment down and save on gas, it might be worth getting rid of it and leasing another small car.

He never takes the girls anywhere in his car, ever. We only have 2 carseats and they stay in my minivan. But we're starting them in daycare 3 days a week soon, and he wants to do dropoff at least one day a week, so I guess we'll be getting 2 more carseats.

 

My DH currently drives our old Honda Accord. It's 13 years old, but still runs well. We have a second set of carseats (used ones that we bought from another multiples family) and they fit totally fine in there. We will be selling it soon as my sister is giving us her old car which is a 1999 with less miles, but the honda has been good to us.

 

Our main car/van is a Chevy Express 3500 (15 passenger van).....and our other car we purchased brand new exactly one month before our soon to be 16 YEAR OLD was born........it is a 1992 Saturn SL1......it has 178,000 miles on it and still going strong!!!!!

HTH

 

I second the Honda. I gave my 94 to my parents (only a 2 door coupe) but it gets AWESOME gas mileage, even with 150K+ miles on it. I've actually been looking for another one, in a 4 door variety, to use as our second car. Right now we have a 97 BMW 5 series that we use as our second car. It does allright on gas mileage (I think around 30-35mpg) but I REALLLLLLY want another Honda (40-45mpg, 50 on the highway) for gas price purposes.

 

we have a Saturn Ion - I traded in my Ford Focus for an Escape a few months ago....either of those gets good mileage and is affordable!

 

DH drives a jeep but he is looking to get a new car. He is talking about the Honda Fit. You could get one for around $13K. And with Honda it keeps it value for resale.

Cari

 

Honda Accord. DH has 1997 with 130K miles on it and it runs like a charm. Good on gas too.

 

Dh's Honda Accord is from 1996 and still running great. I'm probably jinxing myself but its never broken down ever and has great gas mileage. We've replaced a muffler and a radiator but other than oil changes that's it. We don't keep car seats in it though. That is our adult car.

Tracy