New car recs needed! Yay!

[mrshandy]

So I just got off the phone with my parents and they've come into some money from my grandmother's inheritance (she passed almost 9 years ago and they finally sold her property). They've generously offered to buy a new car since we could use a second one and our Dodge Caliber is not doing it space wise.

Where to start? We're a family of 4 and I think we're done having kids. DS is 4.5 and DD is 20 months.

What we want

A third row (we need to have space when people visit)

A decent size trunk with no third row

Not too big (I don't want more space than we need)

Decent gas mileage

Not more than $35k

A good warranty

Anybody have a Kia Sorento? Our friends have one and I like the look of it.

Also financing question, would we get a better deal if we paid in cash or got financing and paid it off right away?

Edit: changed the price since I think I under estimated it.

This is so unexpected and exciting!

[VillainV]

Honda Pilot? We love ours. I has a HUGE cargo area with the third row folded flat, and a decent sized cargo area with the third row up. Both 2nd and 3rd rows are 60/40 split, so you can configure it to hold combinations of people and cargo.

[spunkarella]

Nissan Rogue - I really, really liked the one I test drove and probably would have gone with that if I went the SUV route. It also has a lot of neat safety features like the around view camera. 

With the optional third row, the base model comes in right at $25k MSRP. I bet you could get a good deal and even get some upgrades while staying within budget. 

I think it's a good not too big, not too small size. Gas mileage is 26/33. 

DH and MIL drive Muranos, and SIL has a Rogue. Everyone loves their cars, no problems.

[RandZB]

We got a Durango earlier this year and have been really happy with it. I'm 6 feet tall and can comfortably fit in the third row (not for a 6 hour trip or anything, but it would work for adults in a pinch).

[madisen]

I was also going to recommend the Nissan Rogue with the third row option. My parents own a Nissan and I've owned back-to-back Infinitis (owned by Nissan). All great cars with no issues. Plus both Nissan and Infiniti dealerships we've used have had great customer service.

[saywhatnow]

I really like our 2014 Highlander. We went with the Limited trim and spent about 41,000 but you could definitely get a nice one for $35,000. It came down to the size of the 3rd row and the interior trim for me. I thought so many of 3rd rows in other SUVs were almost unusable for adults. Good luck with your search.

[mainelyfoolish]

Minivan. I know there's a lot of minivan hate in this world, but with two young kids, they are so handy. Decent gas mileage, easy to drive, tons of interior space. I don't know any of my mom friends that regrets getting a minivan. I drive a Toyota Sienna, but I would also be happy with a Honda Odyssey.

[cosmos]

Our runner up was the new Toyota Highlander. Has a third row and starts at 30,000. I really liked it and we debated the pros and cons. (Really were no cons). If we needed a third row, we would have gotten it over the Lexus.

[mmmomof2]

GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse/Mazda CX9

[EmilieMadison]

I would LOVE to get a Kia Sorento. It's my top choice for SUV if we ever got one. 
My friend got one last year and it's fantastic. Plus, it's solid for warranty and reliability. 
The price compared to similarly outfitted SUVs is a deal, too. 

[Deleted]

I'm going to be the MM Debbie Downer here...

I pretty strongly believe that inherited money needs to be invested in something that adds to the family wealth. Not dropped on a new car. Maybe spend $15-20k on an new (to you) 3 row Suv or mini-van and invest the rest. ROTH for you? College savings for the kids?

I say this having absolutely no idea if you're already set on the saving-for-the-kids front. Or on retirement. But I can her my grandma's ghost saying "oh for shits sakes" on buying a new car with her $$$

[cjeanette]

Apr 18, 2015 22:46:48 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

I'm going to be the MM Debbie Downer here...

I pretty strongly believe that inherited money needs to be invested in something that adds to the family wealth. Not dropped on a new car. Maybe spend $15-20k on an new (to you) 3 row Suv or mini-van and invest the rest. ROTH for you? College savings for the kids?

I say this having absolutely no idea if you're already set on the saving-for-the-kids front. Or on retirement. But I can her my grandma's ghost saying "oh for shits sakes" on buying a new car with her $$$

She didn't say they offered her money. They offered her a car. Perhaps they have decided that is what they want to do with a portion of the cash as they see a need there.

Not all of an inheritance needs to be used responsibly.

[babsbunny]

I don't get the minivan hate. I don't have kids and have a minivan (I thought I might have kids, so it's not that I bought a gasguzzler for no reason). Minivans are awesome. They are perfect for families with young kids and great to pass down to teenagers (because, by then, they are slow and soooo uncool).

I vote minivan over SUV.

[audette]

My brother and SIL swear by their Pilot. They have two kids, the elder of which is now almost a teenager, and they love the vehicle.

[purpleminion]

I am totally in love with the GMC Acadia. If I could afford it right now, I would most definitely be getting one.

[carfar]

Another highlander lover here!

[cajunmom]

I adore the Pilot as far as looks go, but I definitely wouldn't say that there's a good amount of storage space with the third row up. We were going to get one last May when we were car shopping and I wanted one so much but there was no way. I mean, I could have put groceries down there but it was seriously tiny with the third row up. Looking at pictures ahead of time I thought there would be plenty of room, but when we saw them in person there was no way unless we had at least half of the third row folded down, and that defeats the purpose of being able to seat 8 people.

That being said, nothing beats our mini van for the combination of seating and storage. Hands down. We have a Grand Caravan.

[tripleshot]

Highlander all the way. I really wanted one, but didn't really need the third row so I got the Rav4. I still lust over the Highlander, though.

[mrshandy]

Apr 18, 2015 22:55:09 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Apr 18, 2015 22:46:48 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

I'm going to be the MM Debbie Downer here...

I pretty strongly believe that inherited money needs to be invested in something that adds to the family wealth. Not dropped on a new car. Maybe spend $15-20k on an new (to you) 3 row Suv or mini-van and invest the rest. ROTH for you? College savings for the kids?

I say this having absolutely no idea if you're already set on the saving-for-the-kids front. Or on retirement. But I can her my grandma's ghost saying "oh for shits sakes" on buying a new car with her $$$

She didn't say they offered her money. They offered her a car. Perhaps they have decided that is what they want to do with a portion of the cash as they see a need there.

Not all of an inheritance needs to be used responsibly.

Yep they said they wanted to buy us a car. My grandma did something similar for my parents when they were young.

[lys]

Do not talk financing or monthly payments until after you decide on which vehicle you want and have an "out the door" cost agreed upon.

Call your local credit union as to their finance rates for the year and model that interest you prior to visiting a dealership.  That will let you know how to evaluate any finance packages/rebates etc that may be offered to you.

I would just pay cash for the car and be done with it.

[holly22]

I recently bought a Ford Explorer and absolutely love it! It has 3rd row that folds flat and a huge cargo space

[mrshandy]

Thanks for all the recs. My parents really want us to get a Kia Sorento, not sure why. My mom really likes her new Kia. But I want to do my homework. The warranty looks really good. The Highlander might be outside of our budget. I'll have to crunch the numbers.

The major con I see with the Sorento is the third row. But the third row won't be used to often. I'll have to see if we can put the kids carseats back there if we have people visit. So that my parents or other visitors could sit in the second row.

Hoping we'll be able to test drive a few of them this week. Test drive question, we may have to take the kids since H's work schedule is busy this week. Is this a terrible idea? Anybody done this?

[dancingirl21]

Coming in to recommend the Nissan Pathfinder. We just bought a new one several months ago and I love it. We paid around $30k out the door but that also included some good manufacturer rebates and a trade of about $7k. There is a base model that you could get under $35k. The cargo area is huge with the third row folded down. And the passenger area is huge too. Good luck!

[Kristinmo]

Biggest thing is to make sure the third row is accessible with carseats installed. We have a Ford Explorer and the third row was unusable until DS moved to a booster.

[shaynaatl]

Apr 20, 2015 9:28:16 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Thanks for all the recs. My parents really want us to get a Kia Sorento, not sure why. My mom really likes her new Kia. But I want to do my homework. The warranty looks really good. The Highlander might be outside of our budget. I'll have to crunch the numbers.

The major con I see with the Sorento is the third row. But the third row won't be used to often. I'll have to see if we can put the kids carseats back there if we have people visit. So that my parents or other visitors could sit in the second row.

Hoping we'll be able to test drive a few of them this week. Test drive question, we may have to take the kids since H's work schedule is busy this week. Is this a terrible idea? Anybody done this?

FYI the 2016 Kia sorento is a complete redesign. It has some pretty cool new features:

www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/sorento/2016/experience?story=hello