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I would be inclined to get a car that will work in the long run. Maybe not your ideal family car if that puts too much of a strain on the budget, but something reliable and usable long term. Cheap cars very rarely actually turn out to be cheap because of repair issues.

Just chiming in to say I love my Santa Fe! It was my first car to buy new and it temporarily stretched out budget too but it’s had no issues in 6 years.

Buy the reliable long term car. We bought a fully loaded certified used Toyota Sienna when I was 2 months pregnant with DS2 that had 38K miles on it after I had HAD it with our Jeep Grand Cherokee. We had intended to drive it into the ground but I couldnt handle the mileage and pricey repairs anymore! We paid about $20K less than if we bought a comparable vehicle new. In 2.5 years we have had zero issues with it and have only done oil changes and regular maintenance. And it uses a fraction of the gas our Jeep did. And with two kids, minivans are LIFE. Power lift gate when pregnant? Amazing.

Essentially, it saves us money and time over dealing with car issues and we’re confident about driving this guy for at least another 4-5 years. Car buying SUCKS and it’s so time consuming I try to do it as rarely as possible.

For me, it would depend on if I could find a cheap car that would be reliable for a good price, and also how long we would be tight on the budget if we got the better car now. If the car payments would overlap less than a year, I think I would lean in the direction of getting your SUV now. Any more than that though, I think I would find a cheaper option for a few years.

This is similar to my situation currently actually. My car is still running, but I don't think it will last the 2-3 years that we want it to before we are ready to buy a SUV for kids/towing options. I don't really want to get the SUV now though since we are about to buy a house and I'll have a long commute for another year (car= better gas mileage). We were lucky that my parents just bought a new car last week, so I'm buying their old one. I know they have taken good care of it, and they are only charging me what the dealer offered them, so we are getting an amazing deal. Their car is 3 years newer and has 50k less miles on it, so I'm sure it will last me the 2-3 years we want until we are ready to buy an SUV.

Good luck. I hate car shopping/dealing with this type of stuff!!

I would agree with Krispi, if you do decide to buy a long term car, go used. And look outside your immediate area for other car dealers. Most people just look locally for cars but if you broaden your search you can save a lot of money. When we bought our last car we drove 500 mile to buy it but it was totally worth it because it was significantly cheaper than we found anywhere else. We made a short vacation out of it.

I would just get a gently used "dream car" with low mileage. To me it's just too much hassle to get another car just to get another car, you know?

Isn't there some middle ground? An affordable used car that will last for a while? We bought a used Pilot with more miles than I wanted but we could afford it without a loan and it should still have several years on it. I would see how much you could scrape together to go without a loan if money is tight. But not if it means buying a car that is going to need costly repairs or will not last for at least a few years. Then, pay yourself the money you would have paid on a loan so to save for your long term car.

I vote neither. Can you buy your ideal car used (2-3 years old, low mileage)? That would save some costs. Could you sell your husbands carbs downgrade to a cheaper used car? Also, is it possible to go down to one car for awhile to save? We are a one car family and I have found I don't miss it at all.

My philosophy is that we try to avoid debt as much as possible. I'd be worried to have two car notes and daycare for a second baby

For me, I would probably try to fix the car I had. It might cost more than the car is worth, but should still be cheaper than buying another (even used) car. Just depends on the repair bill. I would get whatever is cheapest of buying used or fixing. We try to avoid debt and I would want to keep saving so I could get what I wanted without stretching.

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