Does a cost-conscious family of 4 need a minivan?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Excessive depends. Is it twins? Ever twins mom says they need a large suv or minivan so maybe. I have two kids but I was used to driving a corolla and now and outback. Love the size but I wasn't ready for a minivan.

That being said I keep trying to stick a third carseat between my two I have and it doesn't fit. So I would have a hard time figuring out how a family of 5 would manage with 3 kids in carseats across a sedan? Of course it depends mostly on the age difference of the kids.

[justericka]

We have a 2001 grand caravan, and a 2000 buick regal. I drive the reagal and my 16yo has the van, in my case...both cars are paid for. Neither cost more than 1800 and my fiancee owns an auto parts store and keeps them running like tops. Booth have over 250000 mi on them. I think if you don't over spend its a good deal. Jmho tho.

[JoeP]

Minivans are nice, but not required.

A suitable alternative is a smallish SUV/crossover, with an optional rooftop cargo carrier, and a small hitch. If you can score a small trailer off craigslist, you'll have the ability to move furniture, lumber, appliances, etc.

[disneysteve]

Ever twins mom says they need a large suv or minivan so maybe. I have two kids but I was used to driving a corolla and now and outback. Love the size but I wasn't ready for a minivan.

That being said I keep trying to stick a third carseat between my two I have and it doesn't fit. So I would have a hard time figuring out how a family of 5 would manage with 3 kids in carseats across a sedan? Of course it depends mostly on the age difference of the kids.

When DD was in a carseat, the only place the seat would fit properly in my car (98 Camry) was in the center of the backseat. Of course, that made it impossible to comfortably squeeze anybody else into the backseat, so my car was okay if just the 3 of us went out but if anyone else came along, we needed the van. We only had one child but if we had 2, the Camry would have been entirely worthless for the family as there would have been no way to transport both kids at the same time.

[Gailete]

Depending on how often you do shopping with all of you together, that would be enough for me to want a mini-van. I have a better reason. I can't get in or out of most cars due to my height AND artificial knees. I just can't wedge myself in or out. A Chrysler/Dodge mini van allows me easy access into a car. I do note that on the 2006 that we just had to get, I for one would never want to sit in the back two seats as there isn't much/any leg room. Our last van 1998 we took out the back seat when we got it so that we would have more storage space and that was that. We don't want to do it this time, but I sure have lots less space for groceries. If you are like me and want to stock up for the winter, you need a bigger vehicle to get it all home. Those kids are going to be growing too, don't forget.

As to do you need one--NO. But they do make life convenient.

[josetann]

I currently have an older station wagon. Owned a newer one a while back. One we have now is a six seater (three in front, three in back). One before would seat seven (two in front, three in back, two more in the "trunk" facing backwards). Had more space that the minivan, and plenty of power. I'd pull up to the loading bay to pick up something like a stove, they'd be confused...but it'd fit no problem. Lots of pulling power...U-Haul might be a bit confused as to how to install a hitch (and you might want to double-check their work), but a 6-cylinder in a station wagon can be more than sufficient (used it to haul loads of stuff). Heck, I even used it to pull a pickup truck that got itself stuck.

We had a minivan too, but it just didn't seem to have as much space and got worse fuel mileage.

Now, in Australia, station wagons are common so they aren't exactly cheap. BUT, in the US, not many people actually want a station wagon...so you might be able to get a pretty good deal on one.

[susie michelle]

I have three kids and while I can't really say that I love my minivan (I do find it a little dorky), it's the most practical choice for us. We live where it snows a lot, so i have good studded snows on my minivan in the wintertime, and it's super dependable, even as a front wheel drive - ie. not a four wheel drive. The maintenance costs are super low. The gas mileage is great, and I always have room for extra kids, which means other people reciprocate and there's always someone willing to help me out with a carpool here or there.

Does a family of 4 need a minivan? Probably not. But they do make a lot of sense.

[elessar78]

We're closing in on a minivan purchase. It's a Honda Odyssey with 120K miles on it. Getting it for a good price. It still has to pass a pre-purchase inspection and hopefully we can keep it running for 5 years since I estimate putting about 10K miles/year on it.

[LuckyRobin]

I went back and forth on getting a mini-van for a long time, due to cost and mileage, but finally settled on what would work best for my family's needs. The kids were getting very cramped in our old Matrix (Which only got 25 mpg on a good day, not the avearge they touted) as they got older. They both take after their father in height and long legs and big feet. So legroom was a big deciding factor for us. The fact that I could get into it easily with my bad knee, the fact that everyone would have enough leg room and an extra row of seats if we were carting around cousins or friends, and that it was far more comfortable to sit in than anything else. Also DH had headroom. In many regular cars his head either touches the ceiling or he'd have to angle it sideways. There's plenty of headroom in the Sienna. It's the most comfortable car I've ever driven or have ridden in.

I've been very happy with it. We leave the backseats folded down into the floor until we need them. We use that area for groceries, emergency gear, athletic gear, to move furniture, and fill it with suitcases and a big cooler for our driving vacations. It has perfectly met all our needs as a family. Once the kids are gone we plan to take out the middle set of chairs and keep the back one's folded down and go on some road trips. We'll just throw a mattress in the back and sleep in rest areas or camp grounds.

So I feel like we definitely needed a mini-van to meet our needs. Did we need to get one as loaded and expensive as the one we ended up with? No. But the wants met the needs and we are very happy with what we ended up with. The comfort level alone makes driving easier. And since this will be our only car for the next fifteen years or so, we are happy we chose to get all the bells and whistles that we wanted.