Author Topic: Car Recommendation?  (Read 2742 times)

cryptoroger

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Car Recommendation?
« on: September 09, 2016, 05:58:12 PM »
Hi guys i have a 2004 BMW X3 that i've owned for two years but it has been a money pit of sorts and I'm sick of paying for premium gas.  I drive about 12K miles per year.  I also have two small kids with car seats in the back.  So need something with good gas mileage that is able to fit a few kids comfortably.  We also live in Boston, so need something that can drive well in the snow.  I also do want to be mustachian and get something with good gas mileage.   Not sure what I can get for the BMW (maybe $4500 or so) and I have about $3K to $4K that i can put on top of that.  I've read the few articles about used cars on here and the Fit seems like an interesting car---just a bit curious about whether its big enough for towing two kids.  Any ideas?

protostache

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Re: Car Recommendation?
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2016, 01:40:10 AM »
The Fit is a lovely car. My wife adores her 2009.

Car seats depends entirely on how small your kids are and how tall you and whoever will be riding in the front seat are. Picking a rear-facing infant seat that allowed me (6 foot) to safely ride in the passenger seat proved impossible for us, but if the kiddos are forward facing or at least out of the infant bucket-style seats then you shouldn't have any problems.

Cars.com car seat check and The Car Crash Detective both proved to be invaluable resources when trying to figure out what would fit.

FWIW we ended up in a 2016 Nissan Rogue because we plan on doing road trips with our little one (and maybe another one in a few years) and it has the comfiest seats of any car we have ever sat in and it still gets reasonable highway milage.

mountains_o_mustaches

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Re: Car Recommendation?
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2016, 12:43:06 PM »
You should definitely sell and get a more economical car.  The Honda Fit is great.  MMM has a whole post on reasonable options here:  http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/03/19/top-10-cars-for-smart-people/ Although there are likely a few more options on the market since this post is a bit older.  The general theme is hatchback with decent gas mileage.

With regard to snow driving - get yourself a good set of snow tires and you're good.  AWD is NOT necessary, especially in a place like Boston where they clear the roads very well compared to other parts of the country that get a ton of snow.  If you were living up in the mountains with unpaved gravel roads MAYBE you could consider AWD (but maybe not even then), otherwise it's a waste of money and makes your vehicle more of a gas guzzler.  See MMM's post about that here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/12/01/all-wheel-drive-does-not-make-you-safer/

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!