Our current setup (family of four in the suburbs is):
2010 Hyundai Santa Fe (small commuter-style SUV) with approximately 70,000 miles
2000 Nissan Altima (dinged-up but well-loved econobox) with approximately 100,000 miles
The SUV is for hauling the kids around and the econobox is the spare car for errands. (I take public transit to work and my wife is currently a SAHM with a preschool in walking distance so mercifully we don't drive much period even though we live in a cul-de-sac in the suburbs.)
My wife is inheriting a 2015 Nissan Murano (slightly larger, slightly fancier commuter-style SUV) with very few miles on it. (Her mom got sick shortly after purchasing.) :(
The best straight cash move would be to sell the Murano and keep our setup, but my wife would like to take the car and I don't want to go there.
I don't really want another SUV, so we are considering selling the Santa Fe and keeping the econobox. But apparently some people (i.e., bogleheads) think that these older commuter style cars are now less safe, particularly if we have a kid in it, compared to newer cars.
Should we sell the econobox and just have two SUVs for a while, given that we won't be burning much gas either way and the cars are paid off / free to us? Or should we sell both cars and just go out and get a more up-to-date commuter car, like a Nissan leaf?
The econobox runs fine and I am kind of attached to it (I'm a spendypants in other ways so it's one of my connections to mustachianism) so the only reasons I am considering ditching it is (1) it seems illogical to get rid of a newer, less banged-up car to keep this, (2) not sure how to assess the safety concerns and (3) it would be kind of cool to get a pure hybrid and never go to the gas station.