Car Conundrum

[avons123]

Hello all, my family is at a crossroads with our car situation, and would like some Mustachian wisdom.

Current situation:
Mid 20s, married, 1 year old kiddo with #2 due in March.  Our tentative plan is to adopt once kid #2 is 2-3 years old, and end up with 4-5 kids in the next ~5 years.  We also have a 2 year old husky.

Current vehicles:
2012 Chevy Malibu - 144k miles, decent condition, probably worth $4k.  I'm planning to drive this into the ground.
2006 Chevy Trailblazer - 177k miles, poor condition.  Purchased from a family friend a few months ago for $600.  Currently needs a new power steering rack ($1k fix).  Will need new tires in the next 6 months, and has some rust issues.  We got it inspected before we bought it - everything else checked out mechanically. I'm fairly confident I could sell this for $1k, even with the bad power steering rack.

My wife and I both work full time while our kid goes to daycare.  I commute to work 3x/week, 30 minutes each way, and work from home the other 2 days.  My wife is fully remote.  I drive the Malibu on the days I go to the office.  On the days when I'm gone, my wife uses the Trailblazer to take my son to and from daycare, go to the park, run errands, etc.  The Trailblazer rarely gets used otherwise, except to pick up bigger items from the hardware store.

This summer, we got by with the Malibu and a bike trailer (daycare is about a mile from our house).  However, we live in the Midwest, and my wife is not wild about the idea of riding a bike through snow, ice, and freezing temps while 7 months pregnant, with our 1 year old in a trailer behind her.

Ideally, I'd get a new job where I could work from home and we could go back to 1 car.  However, I'm hesitant to give up my very secure job with good benefits right before we have a second kid.  I will continue to look for a new job, but don't count on finding anything in the short-term.

Options moving forward:

• My parents offered to sell us their 2018 Chevy Equinox (114k miles) for $10k.  This would likely cost $16-$18k on the market.
• Buy another car, most likely a minivan, that better suits our growing family.  We'll have to do this at some point in the next few years. I'd like to spend less than $10k on anything new.
• Repair the Trailblazer and drive it into the ground.  I'm not very mechanically inclined, but my dad is, so we could make basic repairs ourselves.
• I drop my son off on my way to and from work.  He's normally at daycare from 8:30-3 and I'm gone 6:30-4:15, so he'd have to spend an extra 3 hours at daycare those 3 days - we do not like this idea and are willing to spend money to have our son at home more often.
• Hire someone to take my son to daycare 3x/week when I'm at work, assuming we could find someone we trust to do this.  Next summer, once my wife is back from maternity leave (June 2024), go back to biking to daycare.
• Other?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[neo von retorch]

Not exactly advice, as you've thought through this fairly well.

#3 and #1 both seem like they make a good amount of sense. Optimize for your life, your time with family, etc. And for using what already exists.

Will your parents replace that car if they sell you one? If so, it's less appealing on a "grand scale", where less vehicles is generally a better path. But on the small scale, it's nice for them to give you such a gift in the form of a big discount. (Are they well-off, and does such a gift affect them materially?)

Of course #1 gives you an uncertain extension to an old car. My nephew just had an '06 Chevy V6 warp a piston. At that mileage, I'd worry a bit about longevity.

[Paper Chaser]

Used vehicle prices have come down a lot in recent weeks. What may have been a $16k vehicle last year probably isn't anymore, which might mean your parents' vehicle isn't the great deal that it may seem to be on the surface. A quick search on autotrader showed 46 2018 Equinoxes with under 150k miles between 10-13k.

Trailblazers don't hold up well. If you can sell it for a profit I'd go that route. What you do from there is up to you, but 2 little kids and a large dog is enough to justify a minivan for me.

[zolotiyeruki]

This one is easy: sell the trailblazer and buy a used Honda Odyssey. We got our first minivan 15 years ago and have never regretted it.

[wpgdude]

I'd lean towards option 1 or 2.  I like the equinox idea IF you parents bought the car brand new and maintained it well since new.  I will always lean towards a car that you know the history of, and where you know that the manufacturers recommended maintenance has been followed vs spending 10k on a minivan where you don't know the history and could be looking at a big repair bill because the previous owners didn't take care of it.

If a year from now you realize that the equinox doesn't work for you, then you sell it and get a minivan. 

[ChickenStash]

As a former owner of an Envoy (same as a Trailblazer), any plan that involves getting rid of it is a step in the right direction. They aren't a particularly reliable platform.

I would skip getting any of the crossover or SUV vehicles and go straight to the minivan. The minivan has considerably more utility than the others for hauling people and cargo while usually having a superior ride.

[roomtempmayo]

Three kids in the foreseeable future is minivan territory.

[catccc]

I wouldn’t get a car now for what you may need in 3-5 years.

Just choose a reliable make that suits you now for under $10k.

Btw, I had always wanted 4 kids (and to adopt).  But after 2 biological kiddos, I changed my mind. Suddenly my family was perfect as it was.    Not saying you’ll change your mind, too, but it’s a possibility.

[lampstache]

Family with 4 kids here. When we had three kids we managed with a 2005 Honda CRV and three car seats in the back. Also, had regular commuter vehicle for DW. Wasn't super ideal, but it worked great and was able to hold off on a car payment for a long time!

We eventually went the minivan route, but not until we had at least three kids. For us holding off and using decent middle of the road vehicles helped financially short/long term. I lean towards option #1 and then #3 as last resort.

[ender]

I love having a minivan, even with "just" two kids.

It's so easy to bring anything you might need on trips. And it can haul lots of things (just a few days ago I had 10 foot sections of pvc in it).

[Just Joe]

Keep the 'Bu and run it into the ground. We had one slightly older last 190K+ miles. Sold it and it was still running well.

I'd dump the Trailblazer. I know the vehicle well. There are many expensive repairs in that vehicle waiting to happen. $1K might be the most it will ever be valued. 

I think I would buy the Equinox and expect to run it another 50K-60K minimum. These days a well maintained vehicle can last 250K miles if rust or neglect doesn't kill it first. We're running a 24 year old 312K mile old CRV that we carpool in. Very reliable but starting to get a little scruffy around the edges. DW prefers to drive our nicer vehicle when she is out and about alone b/c she feels more secure in it. Perfectly content to ride in the CRV when I'm driving. 

Make your home and career adjustments in the future and then adjust your transportation costs later. You can always run both cars on liability insurance only, minimize miles driven, DIY repairs to reduce costs. What you don't want to do is have your pregnant wife and kids broken down on the side of the road in sub-freezing weather. You DW might have strong feelings about what you value most - her or your MMM goals.   

[avons123]

Thanks for the advice everyone.  We ended up buying the Equinox and selling the Trailblazer. 

I was able to get $1k for the Trailblazer on FB Marketplace and was glad to be done with it.

@Paper Chaser was correct - we were overvaluing the Equinox.  The salesman my parents talked to at the dealership gave them a bad quote.  They sold it to us for $7,500.  We'll run with the Equinox and Malibu for as long as we can, then upgrade to a minivan when the need arises.

You DW might have strong feelings about what you value most - her or your MMM goals.   

My wife is very grateful to have a reliable car. :)