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After the second boy I went under the knife and have stopped at 4 baby seats (two for ZTW, two for Marauder).
I suggest you also look at the Chev/GMC Uplander/Montana or whatever they were called. I know 4 friends and my brother owned them and the fuel economy was great compared to all other vans.

Good idea to wait. Gives you more time to decide on something and also pay down the trade in. See what's out there to rent for a day or two.

My boss has two kids and has two cars in his stable - a 2005 Nissan Xterra (not a bad truck, I actually fit in it) and a 2006 Chevy Equinox. I'm not a fan of the Equinox model myself, but it hauls their gear well and it's available in AWD (which they have).

CanadaSVT,Sep 1 2007, 10:25 AM Wrote:After the second boy I went under the knife and have stopped at 4 baby seats (two for ZTW, two for Marauder).
I suggest you also look at the Chev/GMC Uplander/Montana or whatever they were called.  I know 4 friends and my brother owned them and the fuel economy was great compared to all other vans.

Good idea to wait.  Gives you more time to decide on something and also pay down the trade in.  See what's out there to rent for a day or two.
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I rented a Montana for my family a few years back for my wedding and it hauled 7 people around with no problems and according to my dad the fuel mileage wasn't at all bad for such a big vehicle.

Laterz :)

i'm reading all of your posts and i can't imagine having children dictate vehicle purchasing choices.. this is like.. the best birth control thread evaR

some of those vans and SUVs are over USD $$35k aren't they?! :blink:

They can get pricy realy quick.
We are looking to get something around 30,000 to 32,000$ new.
So if your planning on having kids, have no mre than two if you care about what you drive ;)
Unless money is no object, then have as many as you can so that your family parties will be great later on :)
Did I mention I have three sisters and one brother, lol... but money ain't growing on our trees though!

" mini van = mega fun "

A little update for everyone...

Well, we still haven't decided on what vehicule to get.
Lately, she has been eyeing the Chrysler Pacifica.
There are a couple of used '07 in the area that aren't too expensive.
Might be going to try out an '07 Touring AWD for about $27,000 with 28K Kms.

Anyone have any experience with these cars? Reliability?
This one has the 4.0L with 255HP. dvd, leather, heated seats, etc...

No direct experience, but everything that I've ever read about it suggests that its heavy, hard on gas and handles poorly even allowing for its bulk... :iono: :ph34r:

NefCanuck

Gravter,Oct 12 2007, 02:39 PM Wrote:A little update for everyone...

Well, we still haven't decided on what vehicule to get.
Lately, she has been eyeing the Chrysler Pacifica.
There are a couple of used '07 in the area that aren't too expensive.
Might be going to try out an '07 Touring AWD for about $27,000 with 28K Kms.

Anyone have any experience with these cars?  Reliability?
This one has the 4.0L with 255HP. dvd, leather, heated seats, etc...
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Mazda 5!!
Chrysler is crap.
Check out http://www.canadiandriver.com for new and used vehicle reviews

We Drove a Caravan last year bwtween stages at snow drift rally in Atlanta Michigan it was the model with the 420A yea that's right a neon motor... but we still flew through snowy logging roads at a tick under 100 KM/H and counted many more capable vehicals trail behind.. it's not what your drive.. it's how you drive it man.. ROCK THAT VAN!

A Mazda RX-8 has child seat anchors... just throwing that out there... :D :ph34r:

Unless you actually need seating for 7, look at the Edge.

Seats 5, looks good, plenty of power, good on gas and great quality.

And you don't feel emasculated driving one.

When I picked up my wifes car from the dealership yesterday I looked at the edge its very nice but I dont think you could get 3 child seats back there. The edge was also parked beside the Tarus-X and the edge was shorter (height) then the X. If i had to choose between the two it would be the edge for sure. :D

Okay, waaaay back, when our kids were very young, we had 3 child seats in a Tempo. Go look at the Mazda 5 and tell me you won't or the wife won't like it. Take three child seats with you, and if they don't fit, I'll apologize for being a pain and I'll shut up....on this topic. Of course, if you can afford the Edge or the Taurus-X, go get them. Or wait until the Flex comes out.......

I like the Mazda 5, I think the only downfall would be the engine. The 2.3 is good and all but 2 adults 3 kids and there supplies..that would be pushing it I think. Well Maybe you could borrow an engine out of the speed 3 and put it in the Mazda 5...yup enouph power! I like the idea of the dual sliding doors and compact size.

the Mazda5 is a good car, but yeah they are quite good even when loaded up with crap, my friend bought one and it is used with all sorts of stuff packed into it, and she has 3 kids too. she has no complains about it and loves the fact she gets great MPG with it, and it didn't cost her an arm and a leg like it would have had she bought a caravan.

Frost__2001,Oct 13 2007, 01:22 PM Wrote:the Mazda5 is a good car, but yeah they are quite good even when loaded up with crap, my friend bought one and it is used with all sorts of stuff packed into it, and she has 3 kids too. she has no complains about it and loves the fact she gets great MPG with it, and it didn't cost her an arm and a leg like it would have had she bought a caravan.
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Good to know. We will be relacing my wifes car in the next couple of years so I want to keep my eyes open. Now its the new Impreza, the Mazda 5 or a used freestyle( they are to expensive new). Does she have the auto or is it standard?

^ Freestyles have been replaced by Taurus-X
Freestyle has CVT tranny, Taurus-X 6 speed auto. <-- I preffer 6 speed.
Mazda 5 is not and won't be considered by us. Way toooo small.
Edge was our choice before we thought of having a 3rd child, but now, 3 car seats side by side is not an option. Just imagine the possibility of 3 boys side by side on a 8 hour trip.. even just a 1 hour trip! Yikes!!! lol.

We have also been looking at used Honda Odysees and Toyota Siennas.
They are sooo expensive... even one that is 2 years old with 40,000Km!
Financing is terrible on used cars. 8% for a car over 20,000$ Under that, it can go up to 12%!!!

I have a feeling we will be trying out quite a few cars before we decide on what to get.. Oh well... If we ever do decide on something, I'll be for sure posting it here ;)

I think that if my gf and I start having kids, I'll have to trade in my Mustang. Right now, my top Pics are:

Dodge Magnum R/T AWD or the SXT AWD

Edge V6 SEL AWD

Fusion V6 SEL AWD w/Sports package

Dodge Nitro R/T

Any of those vehicles will let me have that "Cool Dad" Factor, moreso than a minivan, which I refuse to buy. I think that the Ford Flex is going to be a cool vehicle when they release it.

Let us know what happens...

Well, time to bring this thread back to life.
My gf and I went at a used car lot and found a decent looking 2007 Freestar Sport. It doesn't have leather, but it does have a DVD and 3 zone climate control.
One problem, it has over 50,000Kms!!!
Okay, this "bad boy" has 5 year 100K Km warranty, but dang, half of it is gone in one year!
I don't have the full full VIN, only the last 8 numbers. Can I still get a car fax report wih this, or should I just ask for the full vin? Can anyone here look it up for us? I know it's an ex daily rental, most used vans are anyway.
The dealer told us that is was not smoked in because it's against the rentals policy. Is there any truth to this? It did smell "good" for a used van. Very clean in and out. We still have to take it for a drive, which should be sometime this week. the only thing they said is that they would have to resurface the brakes to pass the safety in Quebec.

Cheers