My family is rapidly growing. We have two kids, 1 and 3, and another one on the way. In a 2-3 years we will almost definitely have another, bringing the total family size to a whopping 6. Because of our recent expansion, we are now in the market for a minivan or similar. My wife will be the main driver, around town to drop the kids off at school, go to YMCA, groceries. It will also be our vacation vehicle, so maybe like 10-15K miles a year or so.
The ideal NEW CAR would be something like a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, with the tax break. That is somewhere in the mid $30Ks, obviously not Mustachian, although tempting my wife. We would have it for at least 10 years, if we went that route, if not longer.
Wife constraints: while my wife is supportive, in a way, about the Mustachian lifestyle, she has imposed a couple of demands/requests for a used car to have. She is not a confident driver, so she wants a rear-view camera for backing up, and ideally a blind-spot indicator, especially for a bigger car. These only exist on more modern cars.
So we're looking for a car with 3 rows of seats with these requirements. I have never bought a car with a lot of miles on it, so I'm a bit worried about lemons, maybe irrationally so. I just don't want my wife and kids to be stranded on the road because of random repair issues. I would love any good sources that can cure me of that fear, btw!
My strategy for finding a car that meets the requirements was to go to Carmax and search for cars on that criteria:
https://www.carmax.com/cars/rear-view-camera/blind-spot-monitor/3rd-rear-seat,
and then sort by price. A few examples:
2013 Chrysler T&C, 86K miles, $14.6K
2012 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring, 59K miles, $16K
2012 Nissan Quest, 70K miles, $17K
I'm pretty clueless here when it comes to evaluating the older cars. How reliable will they be for the next 100K? Anyone have some guidance for me? I'm new to FIRE and trying to take my first major dip into being smarter with money...but it's tricky with a big family and a wife who is not a confident driver, and supportive by wary of FIRE. All advice appreciated!