- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
D.C. Area Babies
Car advice from moms of 2
With #2 on the way, we are having a very hard time deciding what to do about our cars, so I wanted some advice. My 12 year old Accord will have to go (no side impact airbags - fine for one kid in the middle, not fine for two on either side). The question is, what to replace with?
If we went with our preference, we would buy another smaller car (biggest would be one of the small SUV's) as we live in the city, appreciate the gas mileage and efficiency, and could buy something nicer for less money.
My worry is that we really need three rows of seats because otherwise we are locked into carrying only the four family members and there would be no carpooling, taking two cars when grandparents come to visit, etc. We don't want a minivan and are having a really hard time conceptualizing ourselves with a bigger SUV (right now our other car is a Prius).
So, the major question is HOW IMPORTANT ARE THREE ROWS OF SEATS WHEN YOU HAVE TWO KIDS?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Car advice from moms of 2
I'm sure you are going to get a lot of opinions on this one. But here are a few things to consider:
1. Do you carpool now? Remember that as the kids get older, they'll be able to ride in booster seats, which allow for more room in the back seat and make it possible to have 3 kids in the back, when needed. Our girls are 2 and 5 and I feel like we are just getting into more carpooling situations now that the 5 year old is in kindergarten and it has not really been an issue before now.
2. How often do you have people visiting where you need the additional seats? When we bought our second car a few months ago, this was an argument I had for getting a car with a third seat option, but DH pointed out that our family lives out of the area and doesn't visit often enough to make it worth it to drive around a bigger car all year just for that once or twice time of the year when we need a few extra seats. If you have family that lives in the area or visits frequently, then that might be a different story.
In our case, we have 2 kids and now 2 cars. In both cars (Toyota 4Runner and a Lexus 450h), we have enough room for our immediate family and that's it. We picked the Lexus because of the safety factor, the gas mileage and the hybrid element (the 4Runner DH has had for 10 years). The other car we considered was a Toyota Highlander Hybrid (which may be bigger than you want), which has the option 3rd row and gives you more options if you have people visiting and don't want to take 2 cars. The gas mileage is very good. For us the deal breaker with that was that they don't make very many, you have to special order them and it takes about 3 months to come in. By the time we were finally ready to buy our second car, we didn't want to wait that long.
All this is to say, I think on a day-to-day basis with 2 kids, you don't have to have a mini van or a car with an option 3rd row seat. I think this is probably even more true in the city, where you have other decent transportation options (we're in Fairfax and the car is really the most reliable and consistent option). But it's the frequency of those extra factors (need to transport additional family members or other kids) that will tip the choice in one direction or another.
GL!
On a day to day basis, we're fine with our Accord with DS behind the driver and DD behind the passenger seat. (The two seats don't fit next to each other.) We can really just carry the four of us that way, though. There is a middle seat between the two car seats, but the car seats don't really leave enough room for an adult.
For a recent trip to visit family, we rented a minivan. We put DS's seat in the bucket seat behind the passenger seat, and we out DD in the middle of the back row. That way, I could sit next to DD and behind DS. The trip would have been tough in our car because I wouldn't have been able to do things like give DD a pacifier when she woke up in traffic. It was also nice to have the extra room for snacks and toys for DS.
Generally, though, we don't really need the third row, and right now, the gas mileage and better visibility of our sedan outweigh the convenience of being able to carry guests in our car. I suspect that we'll end up owning a minivan or SUV with a third row within a few years, though, when we have our kids' friends riding with us occasionally (or if we end up having another child).
We have three rows of seats and we've used it quite a bit. My brother lives in town and my ILs live in our neighborhood. When we all do things together as a family, we have to use the 3rd row. My dad and his girlfriend are currently visiting. Last weekend, we all went to the zoo together. This wouldn't have been possible without the third row and it would've been a pain if we had to drive two cars (plus we would've had to pay for parking twice).
Also, the 3rd row has been helpful in a few instances where we weren't taking the kids but didn't want to take out the car seats. For example, if we were going somewhere with 4 adults in the car, we would've had to take out a car seat if we didn't have the third row.
My other justification is that once the kids get older, I would like to be able to do slumber parties or play dates where each of them can have at least one friend over. If I wanted to take 4 kids somewhere, I would definitely need the third row if I don't want to put a kid in the front.
I wondered when we got the minivan if we were overdoing it but I have been pleasantly surprised with the number of times we have used the third row seating. Also, when the third row is folded down, there's a lot of room in the back for storage which is also very useful.
ETA: Another reason we got the minivan is that we were thinking we may want to try for #3 but I'm not sure whether that's going to happen or not. But regardless, we'll be prepared!
Hard to tell from your OP if you cart people around currently. We rarely do. We have a minivan because we have three kids, but before that my Hyundai Elantra was fine. Make other people drive their own selves!
If you do look for a car with a third row option, my parents love their Toyota Highlander. I think it drives like a car, not too big, etc. Might want to test drive one. They mostly have the third row folded down so they can cart their dogs, but when they have guests in town they break out the third row. Pretty convenient.
I have to ditto this suggestion, as I noted above already--I did test drive it and really liked it!
Our plan was to wait till we had three kiddos before buying a minivan, but DHs car died and we bought it when I was pregnant with number 2. Like a lot of things, having all that extra space isn't necessary on a daily basis, but boy does it make weekend trips, out of town guests, taking along single friends, home depot runs, etc. more convenient. What I am trying to say, if you have the space, you'll use it and wonder how you lived without it - if you don't have it, you probably won't miss it on a regular basis.
Our second car is a Prius btw and while I love it, the double stroller takes up the entire trunk which makes it difficult to pack up for weekend trips.
However, if I lived in the District, I would get another smaller car. I lived in the District for years with a smaller SUV (Ford Explorer Sport) and it is harder to park. I would often be circling looking for a space and see ones that would work if only I drove a Civic...
This was my first thought as well. And I don't think you can turn off side-impact air bags like you can the front passenger seat. My car has every option possible, except side impact air bags in the back. It was available on the floor and the dealer said that many people request not to have them, which is why they weren't included. I didn't want them.
TTC #1 Cycle 14 - IUI#1=BFN, IUI#2=BFP | TTC #2 Cycle 8=BFP!!
I have one and we love it. My biggest complaint is the middle seat in the 2nd row is reaaaaally narrow (because it's removable) and it's impossible to put a carseat in that spot. You're forced to either do passenger or driver side locations, which may not be a concern since you'll be trying to get 2 seats in the 2nd row.
We've not used our 3rd row seating much, but we tend to drive cars into the ground. We plan to have it around by the time kids are out of booster seats and this would allow us to cart around kids+friends or kids+family well.