too many kids for the car? what to do.

Hi guys,

Just having a reality check, we have 3 little kiddies and have out grown our current car and we are planning another baby or two in the next 12 to 24 months?
6 months ago i sold a big expensive Euro 4WD and borrowed my sisters car as she had updated. Good solid Subaru outback that has seen some miles and been a reliable family hack. I'm looking at the KIA Grand that fits 8 people. 2nd hand about the 25k range for a 3 year old model! or new for 37k with 8 years warranty.

Just tossing up if its worth it and whether to use equity, a personal loan or even heavens forbid save for it?

I realise the car is not going to gain any value, but our 7yo has to sit almost 45degrees to the back seat to fit in between the 2 baby seats.

My gut says hang off till the 4th baby is here and then buy???? any one else faced the challenge of growing a family in a shrinking car?
 
From what I hear Kia have a rather poor reputation for quality. A Toyota Tarago would be a much more sensible option. Maybe something like this http://www.drive.com.au/used-cars/TOYOTA/TARAGO/Sydney/detail.aspx?id=13455316&lid=13455316&pg=1&pp=0&d=0&nv=1&SG=-1069190446&pt=1

As far as how it should be paid for, if it is not going to be tax deductable, use funds that have the lowest interest cost. If you can put it through a business, look at buying new and claim the 50% tax rebate currently on offer.
 
I might have a similar issue soon but house not car ...

I think cars are cheaper than houses. But you just *can't* fit 4 kids in a regular car unless you ditch the wife or walk everywhere yourself (if you're the wife, just switch 'wife' for 'husband').

Now try fitting 5 people in a 3br 1 living 1 bathroom no shed house where each room is already used for more than one purpose, one of the room contains an almost-tweenager, and another room contains an EXTREMELY loud toddler who Will Not Sleep if put in her room (won't sleep anywhere voluntarily), but is happy to scream loudly and hurl anything she can reach at full strength.

We have our best luck 'making' her nap by her simply refusing to nap in the afternoon and then she falls asleep DURING dinner. Just leave her and she gets a good 10 minutes sleep in her food and is good to go afterwards.

Now, go ye hence and trade up your car for a bigger one :p
 
I like the kia grand - but unless you need the room now, I would hold off buying the new (or secondhand) car until your wife is at least pg (but before the new bubs actually arrives). You can make the payment decision then too - start saving now JIC, you cn always use the money differently if you eventually decide on finance or LOC.
 
Something like the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Tarago would be a good choice. The Odyssey is actually quite zippy too if you care for that sort of thing ;)

4WDs are ok, but they are more expensive to maintain. I'm looking at getting a bigger car myself and my mechanic brother advises me to steer clear of things like the Ford Territory and other 4WDs around the 20k bracket. Apparently they are quite expensive to fix when they break!

Personally I'd love a Mazda CX-9, but that's out of my price range :)
 
yep exact same situation except we've only got the 2, planning a 3rd and stopping at 3!

We've got a Magna that seats 2 baby seats on either side of the rear passenger and even though there's the middle seat unoccupied, noone could actually fit in between them because baby seats and booster seats are so freaking wide and chunky these days :D

Plus what makes it all the more harder is our Magna's on LGP so we have half the bootspace...poor hubby has to dismantle the pram everytime we go to take it in and out :(....and we can't do any grocery shopping coz nothing fits besides the pram! So we just ordered our new car...Holden Captiva LX which is a 7 seater so our 2yr old will sit in the 3rd row leaving room for 2 more baby seats in the 2nd row. Its no wider than your average holden or sedan but the 6th and 7th seater helps. And the pram can sit upright by leaving the 7th seat collapsed.

Even better, get a huge discount if you can find a friend or someone who works for Holden buy for you in their name!
 
Hi guys,

My gut says hang off till the 4th baby is here and then buy???? any one else faced the challenge of growing a family in a shrinking car?

Hey Andrew

We are in a slightly different position, looking to downsize a bit, with our eldest now able to drive. I have a 2006 Toyota Avensis Verso Ultima which is a 7 seater, only 48k on the clock, am just up the road from you (Terrey Hills) but not looking to sell until December / January ?

PM me if interested ?

Cheers
Neil
 
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My gut says hang off till the 4th baby is here and then buy???? any one else faced the challenge of growing a family in a shrinking car?

No.

Having babies is hazardous to your wealth - unless you are an extremely high income earner, or don't want to have a spectacular lifestyle of travel and fun things like that.

We opted for 2 kids; still get the enjoyment of the kids, but can still afford to give them a really good life.

But, we are shamelessly selfish and want to do a lot of things. This takes money.

Have a look at the later model Taragos for lots of space. Forget good fuel consumption though.

My mate has a Mazda CX-9. Great car, good amount of seat room, but not a lot of boot room. And not that cheap.

Either way you go; you'll be up for lots of fuel, and a fair whack to buy it to get a decent people mover type car.

But; you wanted the kids. :eek:
 
We know a family with 10 kids. They drive a bus! School bus sort of size.

Amazing!

I was chatting to the wife at a party and she kept on telling me about how much it had cost her to get the 'bus' fixed. I thought that was just what she called her car until she left and I watched her load all the kids in the actual BUS. :eek:
 
steer very clear of the KIA Carnival V6.

google the problems people have with the engine's letting go at 15 thousand and them refusing to fix it.

we have a nissan pathfinder 05 turbo diesel 7 seater.

AWESOME car - highly recommend.
 
sheesh , 4 kids , give one away , you won't even know the diff.








just joke's lol second hand cars are the best value,for money, go 6< 7 years old , get em real cheap at auctions like pickels etc etc,


are ya! gana go for number 5 ;)
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. :)

The Kia Grand carnival from my research is a very good car and touch wood since its intro to Oz in 2006 has been faultless. It was the Kia carnival with the dodgy motor. A completely different model and motor, But thanks for the warnings non the less.

My worry is the delayed gratification......but I need to move the family somehow? And i'm not buying another 100k euro 4WD so I'm getting more and more comfortable with spending 30k on a people mover that has all the safety and airbags needed, just in case.

And yes we will no doubt go for the fifth....... :eek::eek: once you get to 3 whats 2 more around the house. Another plus is more beneficiaries to distribute income to. ;)
 
And yes we will no doubt go for the fifth....... :eek::eek: once you get to 3 whats 2 more around the house. Another plus is more beneficiaries to distribute income to. ;)


Haha, I think the cost of the child might outweigh any tax benefits. :)
But good luck to you, I think it's great there are people out there who are so family orientated.
 
We have a 7 seat mitsubishi nimbus , all adult seating, demo model so got a good deal and LOVE it. Safe, comfy, fuel efficient. About the same size or smaller than Honda odyssy so handles like a car and not a "people mover".
 
I might have a similar issue soon but house not car ...
Now try fitting 5 people in a 3br 1 living 1 bathroom no shed house where each room is already used for more than one purpose, one of the room contains an almost-tweenager, and another room contains an EXTREMELY loud toddler who Will Not Sleep if put in her room (won't sleep anywhere voluntarily), but is happy to scream loudly and hurl anything she can reach at full strength.

We have our best luck 'making' her nap by her simply refusing to nap in the afternoon and then she falls asleep DURING dinner. Just leave her and she gets a good 10 minutes sleep in her food and is good to go afterwards.
:p

LOL as a fellow owner of a 4 year old:D
 
We have the Kia Grand Carnival. Did plenty of research into it and the competitors. For the most space, in the cabin and in the boot, and for the most flexibility in that space ie. fold down seat options, remove seats etc, the kia won hands down. Engine is sound - same engine as the Prado or Pajero (can never remember which one).

We've had ours for 2 years without any trouble what so ever. As you correctly point out there is no history at all of issues with this car.

I particularly like having the sliding read doors on both sides of the car and the massive boot space even with the 8 seat configuration. Only downside is fuel consumption as you would expect for such a large vehicle. Handles well, good option all round.
 
we had a carnival and other than the excessive petrol use we were very happy with it. lots of versatility in seating configuration. Only got rid of it because eldest kid got her own car and I didn't have to drive her anymore. the teenagers still at home whinge about not having the KIA anymore!
 
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