**This post was brought to you by ReedmantTollChevy.com of Philly**
When my husband and I needed a new family vehicle I did a lot of research. Our first considerations of course was to make sure it seated everyone. At the time we had five (but now we have 6) I knew I it had to be an automatic for me since I would be the primary driver. I also knew I wanted it to do well for me in the winters here in Pennsylvania.
The next thing of course was our budget. How much of a down payment could we afford? How much could we afford for monthly payments and insurance? The next thing was to figure out what I wanted and see if it would fit into our budget. My dream family car at this point is a Chevy Traverse like you could find at ReedmanTollChevy.com of Philly.
Unfortunately at the time we were looking at them (2009 time frame) they were still fairly new so even the used ones were only a year or two old and still out of our price range. So we started doing some more research. I compared and contrasted vehicles for months before buying. Of course other things to consider as far as cost goes was gas mileage, availability of parts, insurance cost, how long did we hope/intend to keep the vehicle, etc.
I’m one who buys a car and keeps it until it’s on it’s last legs (or wheels as it were). I tend to buy used vehicles but I would consider a new one if the deal was right. We’ll be ready for another family car in about 2 years or so (at least I hope my car keeps going strong). I might be able to consider a used Chevy Traverse next time. For now I’m happy with my Chrysler Pacifica that we got a great deal on. I’ve had it for 4 years now and it’s still going strong. It was everything I wanted at the time. My only complaint now that we have our 4th child is that there is not enough trunk space when all the seats are up. But we can deal with it until it’s time for another family vehicle.
How do you decide what vehicle to get? What are your must haves in a vehicle? If you have a big family, do you like your vehicle?
In April of 2012 I bought my first brand new 2012 Chevy Equinox. My previous vehicle was a 2005 Equinox (which was a rebuilt salvage that my boyfriend rebuilt for me and we got a great deal on it) and I just really loved it. We’re just a family of four and it gives us all plenty of room. I considered all kinds of newer used vehicles but I found out that after financing and with interest, etc., I’d actually paying about the same or even more in the long run for a used vehicle than I would a brand new one so I went that route. A lot of people probably don’t even realize that. My payment ($369.99 a month) is WAY more than I initially wanted to pay and I can definitely feel it but once I pay a couple smaller bills off it won’t hurt so bad.