Make a Small Car Bigger, or Buy a New Car?

[Incandenza]

We are a three person family soon to expand to four with the addition of our daughter, due in February.  We have a Honda Fit as our sole vehicle.  I bike or take the bus every day, and my wife uses the Fit to get to work and drop off our son at his nanny.  Outside of this, we go on long drives to visit family and for vacation 3-4 times a year.

I'm 6'3, and when we travel long distance with my son the car is brimming with people, a car seat, a stroller, and luggage.  It works right now but we're going to be overflowing with the next kid.  I also don't think either of us will fit comfortably in the back seat along with two child seats, so for long drives nobody will be back there to entertain the baby other than her brother.

So my questions:

1) Anyone out there with 2+ kids have a Fit or comparable small vehicle as their sole car? How do you make it work, especially on long drives?
 
2) Has anyone installed a roof rack, cargo carrier hitch, or any other additional type of storage on a small vehicle? How much did it cost and how did it work out? 

3) Should we just buy a new car?  What do you recommend?

Thanks!

[ixtap]

You want to buy something bigger for a quarterly trip? Have you looked into the comparative costs for renting a few times a year vs increased gas, insurance, maintenance, etc?

[Incandenza]

Have you looked into the comparative costs for renting a few times a year vs increased gas, insurance, maintenance, etc?

I haven't.  It's worth a look.  But the summer trip is month long, so we're looking at around 40+ days a year worth of travel. I'm skeptical that a rental for this length of time would be cheaper than the increased cost of a slightly bigger used vehicle.  The first quotes I am looking at are around $2500-3000.     

[NeonPegasus]

We got one of these for our Highlander -https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D9C2CDO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With three kids, we needed the 3rd row, which left little room for luggage. The roof bag (plus protective mat) was a great solution for an infrequent issue.

You may also want to look into particular car seats that are smaller. Diono Radian is one. You can get a seat angle adjuster that will help it fit better rearfacing.

Also, don't underestimate the power of a sibling to entertain the baby.

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

My memories of road trips as a child were of 3 kids sitting in the back seat of a station wagon, all of the passengers having extra stuff below their feet or holding on their laps. It was cramped. We all survived.

The non-driving parent would have never considered sitting in the backseat for the sake of entertaining a kid, although my mom later would swap seats when her teenage sons had larger frames and fit more comfortably in the front seat.

[Laura33]

We are a three person family soon to expand to four with the addition of our daughter, due in February.  We have a Honda Fit as our sole vehicle.  I bike or take the bus every day, and my wife uses the Fit to get to work and drop off our son at his nanny.  Outside of this, we go on long drives to visit family and for vacation 3-4 times a year.

I'm 6'3, and when we travel long distance with my son the car is brimming with people, a car seat, a stroller, and luggage.  It works right now but we're going to be overflowing with the next kid.  I also don't think either of us will fit comfortably in the back seat along with two child seats, so for long drives nobody will be back there to entertain the baby other than her brother.

So my questions:

1) Anyone out there with 2+ kids have a Fit or comparable small vehicle as their sole car? How do you make it work, especially on long drives?
 
2) Has anyone installed a roof rack, cargo carrier hitch, or any other additional type of storage on a small vehicle? How much did it cost and how did it work out? 

3) Should we just buy a new car?  What do you recommend?

Thanks!

The vast majority of parents get by just fine without humongo vehicles, modern marketing aside.  And even a larger vehicle is not going to provide comfort squished between two carseats,* unless you go up to the Giant Floating Battleship on Wheels level.  Most parents master the side-stretch to provide bottle/food/toy to the infant behind the driver's seat, and frequently a larger sibling is the best entertainment of all.  And you just adapt -- you plan more frequent stops than you like, you learn where every McDonald's Play Place and playground and weird kid-appropriate tourist attraction is along the route, and you pray they become excellent car nappers.  All of which is exactly what you'd do if you were sitting back with them anyway.

So, yeah, I'm going to go with the roof carrier option.  At worst, you try it, it doesn't work, and then you get a larger vehicle.

*I get carsick easily, so sitting in the backseat to take care of baby wasn't even an option for me.

[acroy]

We made a Mazda Protege5 work until we had 5 people in the family.
Roof rack accommodated bicycles etc.
Worked out great. it was tight but made us plan well.

[Dee18]

Did either you or your spouse have a parent riding in the back with them for entertainment?  I know I never did.  Riding cross country for camping trips I either read, daydreamed, or played/argued with my sister.  If you set your child up expecting to be entertained by a parent you may regret it down the road.  When you do take trips, price a rental on autoslash.com   I am sometimes amazed at how cheap it is; other times it's relatively costly depending on supply and demand.  Friends of mine who had 4 children always rented a car for trips partly because they had a "no eating in the car" rule for their own cars.

[NeonPegasus]

My memories of road trips as a child were of 3 kids sitting in the back seat of a station wagon, all of the passengers having extra stuff below their feet or holding on their laps. It was cramped. We all survived.

The non-driving parent would have never considered sitting in the backseat for the sake of entertaining a kid, although my mom later would swap seats when her teenage sons had larger frames and fit more comfortably in the front seat.

Did either you or your spouse have a parent riding in the back with them for entertainment?  I know I never did.  Riding cross country for camping trips I either read, daydreamed, or played/argued with my sister.  If you set your child up expecting to be entertained by a parent you may regret it down the road.  When you do take trips, price a rental on autoslash.com   I am sometimes amazed at how cheap it is; other times it's relatively costly depending on supply and demand.  Friends of mine who had 4 children always rented a car for trips partly because they had a "no eating in the car" rule for their own cars.

Do either of you have kids? Your memories of your own childhoods do not take into account the realities of modern parenting.

Children ride in car seats (for good reason) for much longer. Children rear-face (again, for very good reason) much longer. The downside of these safety measures is that it can be very difficult to manage children on long car rides, especially young babies. There were plenty of times that I had to ride in the back with a baby to keep the baby from screaming on a car ride.

OP, having your children seated immediately next to each other may help. The older kid can fetch lost pacis, etc. They can be very effective at helping their baby sib. If you have baby in a narrow seat in the middle and the toddler in a narrow seat on the side, that could still leave room for you to squeeze in if needed.

Go to carseats.org and check out their three across recommendations for your car. You basically want to engineer a 3 across arrangement in your car, minus one side car seat.

[slugsworth]

#2) I have a similar car and use a hitch mounted cargo carrier for road trips.  I recently used it to take 4 adults car camping for a few days in a hatchback and we had a little extra room.

If you google curt 18145 you'll see the model I used, which is class 1 hitch compatible (the size your car should fit).  You can find them for between $60-$100 pretty easily online.  Additionally, you'll need to install a hitch, which I also use for a bike rack - and it could be used for a small trailer if you got crazy.  The only downsides are - the rack is low, so you have to be aware if you are backing up as you may not be able to see the rack.  The rack doesn't really have anything reflective on it - I added some DOT approved reflective tape to mine.  Additionally, you'll want to get a cargo net or some bungees for it.  I'm happy to answer questions if you have any about the cargo carrier but it is pretty straight forward.

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Do either of you have kids? Your memories of your own childhoods do not take into account the realities of modern parenting.

No, and I think it might be reasonable to consider a bigger car if OP needed to get 2 kids in rear-facing seats and another adult around town all the time. But it sounds like this is just for 3-4 trips per year, one of which is a month-long vacation. Extended car travel with young kids sounds terrible to me. If I were OP, I'd be thinking about scrapping the month-long car trip (maybe just a staycation closer to home?) until both kids are a bit older. And maybe for 1-2 trips to visit family per year, it would make sense to rent a bigger vehicle.

[a rose by any other name]

My memories of road trips as a child were of 3 kids sitting in the back seat of a station wagon, all of the passengers having extra stuff below their feet or holding on their laps. It was cramped. We all survived.

The non-driving parent would have never considered sitting in the backseat for the sake of entertaining a kid, although my mom later would swap seats when her teenage sons had larger frames and fit more comfortably in the front seat.

Yeah funny how the children who didn't survive aren't around to comment on posts like this...

OP, csftl.org and their Facebook group is a great resource for figuring out which carseats will fit in a given vehicle.

[mtn]

I'd get a bigger car, just because the Fit is tiny. It doesn't even have to be much bigger--but with carseats, tiny is not really great. I don't have any recommendations, but I'd google "best compact for carseats". If you can fit 2 carseats and 2 full sized humans in it, disregard this. But I would get frustrated with it, especially since you could get a Prius for not much, if any more.

After that, I'm a BIG proponent of adding a trailer hitch and small 4x4 trailer to everything. I despise roof top boxes, although I do have one and use one. As soon as I free the funds up for a small trailer, I'm getting one (had to sell my last one due to a move). In the past, I used said trailer for doing "pickup truck" type jobs, as well as putting a cargo box on it and using it as an extra trunk. Anything can tow one--I used to tow mine with a Miata.

[Incandenza]

Thanks all!

Extended car travel with young kids sounds terrible to me. If I were OP, I'd be thinking about scrapping the month-long car trip

It is!  It really is.  I find any car travel tedious and claustrophobic, so these trips are particularly miserable.  And scrapping them is the best common sense answer.  But these are family vacations with extended family, and we're both close with our families and really value the time, so it is ultimately worth it for us.

MTN--why the hatred for roof top boxes?  I think ultimately we are likely to at least try to make it work in Fit, so the big decision will be hitch-storage vs. roof-top box. 

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Thanks all!

But these are family vacations with extended family, and we're both close with our families and really value the time, so it is ultimately worth it for us.

Oh wait, I think I misunderstood, the whole extended family caravans on a month-long road trip together? If it's the latter, the math might favor renting a van or giant SUV for more people to ride together?

[Incandenza]

Oh wait, I think I misunderstood, the whole extended family caravans on a month-long road trip together? If it's the latter, the math might favor renting a van or giant SUV for more people to ride together?

No, these are long trips to a place near the beach where all or most of my extended family gathers for a couple of weeks.  The location is not flexible for various reasons.  My family vacation is followed by my wife's family vacation, at a different but similarly non-negotiable spot, hence the month-long time period.

Another option to consider would be some mixture of flying, renting, and then borrowing family members cars, but I'm uncertain if it would save anything or be worth the head-ache. 

[mtn]

Thanks all!

Extended car travel with young kids sounds terrible to me. If I were OP, I'd be thinking about scrapping the month-long car trip

MTN--why the hatred for roof top boxes?  I think ultimately we are likely to at least try to make it work in Fit, so the big decision will be hitch-storage vs. roof-top box.

Well, first of all lets separate the roof top boxes into two separate categories: Thule and Yakima (I prefer Yakima), and everything else. The Thule/Yakima are worth the price difference. The "everything else" (Sears X-Cargo, Karrite, etc.) are not made nearly as well. I would only use these on a trailer, not actually on top of the car. But I digress; the three main reasons I dislike them:

• kills your gas mileage
• makes you drive slower, especially in the wind--this was a really big deal for me. It really made the car feel like a sail
• often times a pain in the ass to get onto the car

Now, that is not an indictment of the boxes themselves, mostly just their placement. Like I said, I am a big fan of putting them on a small trailer. I used to tow this basic setup with my Miata: 


That was not mine, but mine was very similar. The impact on mpg was not noticeable with over 400 miles tracked.

[bognish]

A bigger car also allows your kids to take friends along for in town trips or when car pooling starts up. Not necessary, but it is another practical use for a larger car. We managed with a small car (versa) when they were infant/toddlers, but upgraded to the minivan when it died. Not necessary, but nice if you need to add another kid or adult in the car.

For only once or twice a year the car top bags probably make more sense than a roof rack. They work surprisingly well.

[retiringearly]

You could see if any of your friends might be willing to swap their larger vehicle for your Fit for your vacation time.

[mm1970]

Have you looked into the comparative costs for renting a few times a year vs increased gas, insurance, maintenance, etc?

I haven't.  It's worth a look.  But the summer trip is month long, so we're looking at around 40+ days a year worth of travel. I'm skeptical that a rental for this length of time would be cheaper than the increased cost of a slightly bigger used vehicle.  The first quotes I am looking at are around $2500-3000.   

We have a Matrix that we use for our "long trips".  We also have a Thule box for the top.  For trips where we camp, we are packed to the gills, that's for sure.

The Thule was about $600 I think for the rack and the box.  It comes in very handy.

- Entertaining the baby...long trips with little ones have to be adjusted for more stops.  No way around it, rental or not.
- Definitely try it without a new car (use the FIT) and see how it goes.  You'll know.

Nobody in my family likes road trips except me.  You know, it's tight in a Matrix because we are packed to the gills.  Big kid gets car sick, everyone is tired of sitting. We are basically limited to 6 driving hours, which takes 8 because of the bathroom stops.  "I have to go."  "WE JUST STOPPED 5 MINUTES AGO."  15 minutes later, the other kid "I HAVE TO POOP".

Anyway, I would love to road trip in a bigger car/ minivan.  I think my family would enjoy it more and be more willing to do it.  But I don't know that for sure, so not willing to upsize my car.

Don't know about where you live, but everywhere that I lived Enterprise rental car has been the place where cars are rented for longer times, and locally.  That's where the insurance company sent us when our car was totaled or in the shop.  Cannot hurt to go in and ask for a deal on a month long rental.

[Laura33]

A bigger car also allows your kids to take friends along for in town trips or when car pooling starts up. Not necessary, but it is another practical use for a larger car. We managed with a small car (versa) when they were infant/toddlers, but upgraded to the minivan when it died. Not necessary, but nice if you need to add another kid or adult in the car.

I agree with this -- infant/toddler crap is bulky and annoying, but manageable.  But when they get older and want to take friends places, it's nice to have that capability. 

But for me, that's another reason to stick with the small car for now -- keep the costs low until you actually have a regular use for that additional space (plus have more time to save up for the larger option), rather than buying more space which your crap will promptly expand to fill.

FWIW, I read the comment about vacations in the old days as focusing on the comfort level of being squished together and surrounded by stuff, not as disparaging modern safety requirements.  I don't hear anyone here saying to skip the carseats, just that you don't actually need an adult in the back seat, because we all somehow got by without one.  And frankly, most of the pain and annoyance from traveling with small kids is not something that a bigger car can fix; the kid's going to cry, my DS is going to need to go potty 15 minutes after we leave, everyone will be bored and cranky, etc. etc. etc. 

OP:  worth looking into flying just for the annoyance factor, if you can work out the car thing on the other end.  I can drive 6-7 hrs with the kids to my dad's (including navigating traffic around DC, a/k/a "leave at an ungodly hour and cross all of your fingers and toes that it doesn't take 3 hrs"), or take a one-hour flight for @$120 apiece round trip.  For me, that's pretty close to a no-brainer.