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Selecting a new car for a larger family
Last Post 03-30-2010 5:00 PM by Ken Morgan. 14 Replies.
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doc.walsh
doc.walsh

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03-12-2010 12:06 AM
    I am looking for advice on what vehicle would be best for a family of 5 with 3 carseats.  My sons are close enough in age that they all need to be in car seats for the next few years.  We have a Stepwagon and it will work but what I really want is a van that has doors on both sides.  Any ideas?

    Doc
     

    Chancie
    Chancie

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    03-12-2010 12:11 AM
    I am interested in this answer too! I also have 3 kids in carseats, and we've been wondering what would work best for us.
    Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

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    03-12-2010 6:09 AM
    Toyota Estima (aka Previa in the US). 3 car seats will fit, but you may need to put at least one in the rear row. Our family of 6 fits comfortably and there is tons of room. If you want doors on both sides, you will need to find a newer model which will be quite a bit more money. Try Mr. Auto, he could take you out to the auction and you can find exactly what you're looking for.

    geoschiss
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    03-12-2010 6:25 AM
    to get a van with dual sliding doors you're gonna have to step up and buy a newer van. By newer, I mean 2001 or newer. There were very few dual sliding door vans prior to 2001.
    “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” -Albert Einstein

    FLSimages
    FLSimages

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    03-12-2010 7:04 AM
    Posted By Tirani on 12 Mar 2010 06:09 AM
    Toyota Estima (aka Previa in the US). 3 car seats will fit, but you may need to put at least one in the rear row. Our family of 6 fits comfortably and there is tons of room. If you want doors on both sides, you will need to find a newer model which will be quite a bit more money. Try Mr. Auto, he could take you out to the auction and you can find exactly what you're looking for.



    No no no no no no no no
    worst advice ever
    The TCRXX chassis is the worst to repair in the world. The engine sits basically inside the cabin, making it a pain to replace the transmission that is going to go out on 80% of them.

    Options?
    Honda stepwgn (rb5 has hte dual doors)
    Honda Oddessy
    Any of the toyota vans EXCEPT earlier estimas (if you can spend 4-5kish, the new estimas are great)
    Mazda MPV
    and you will find a few of the smaller RVR type things like Chariots, RVRs, i THINK the Isis with three rows
    Also Mitsu Delica is one that would work

    but without a budget cant really help too much

    Chancie
    Chancie

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    03-16-2010 7:32 AM
    Also was wondering, do Japanese cars have LATCH, the carseat anchor system, or is there just the seat belt to hold them in?

    FCCMCOLLINS
    FCCMCOLLINS

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    03-16-2010 10:04 AM
    Latch is a newer car deal and have not seen one, the vans are the way to go, the Elgrande at the commissary lot is a nice LARGE van, I want one. I have a largo but wish I had a bigger van for the trips we take, vans are easy to park and the rear mirror makes it easy. The LARGO will do but if you get one of those go for the 8 seater version, ours is 7 and wish it was 8. These are cheap, 2000 or less. We have had ours for 3 years and we are staying for 3 more, I have full confidence that it will last the entire 6 years.

    Guerrero
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    03-16-2010 12:43 PM
    I'm also looking for a big vehicle, a van is my choice... what do you guys think about the Mitsubishi Delica Spacegear?

    geoschiss
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    03-17-2010 6:58 AM
    I personally love the Delica, but they are 4WD and most are diesel. Those two options in Japan make the Delica expensive (between $5K and $20K). Check out www.goo-net.com/english/ for a cars off base.
    “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” -Albert Einstein

    FLSimages
    FLSimages

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    03-17-2010 7:30 AM
    Posted By FCCMCOLLINS on 16 Mar 2010 10:04 AM
    Latch is a newer car deal and have not seen one, the vans are the way to go, the Elgrande at the commissary lot is a nice LARGE van, I want one. I have a largo but wish I had a bigger van for the trips we take, vans are easy to park and the rear mirror makes it easy. The LARGO will do but if you get one of those go for the 8 seater version, ours is 7 and wish it was 8. These are cheap, 2000 or less. We have had ours for 3 years and we are staying for 3 more, I have full confidence that it will last the entire 6 years.

    yeah i didnt suggest hte alphard, elrande, etc cause i figured htey didnt want to spend that much

    if you can afford it, those are the end all way to go

    FLSimages
    FLSimages

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    Posted By Guerrero on 16 Mar 2010 12:43 PM
    I'm also looking for a big vehicle, a van is my choice... what do you guys think about the Mitsubishi Delica Spacegear?

    great van in the gas model.
    some diesels have problems with headgaskets, just like toyota diesels

    Guerrero
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    03-17-2010 8:13 AM

    I was looking at the gas 3.0 L V6 Spacegear Chamonix

    Thank you

    Guerrero
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    03-17-2010 8:15 AM
    Posted By geoschiss on 17 Mar 2010 06:58 AM
    I personally love the Delica, but they are 4WD and most are diesel. Those two options in Japan make the Delica expensive (between $5K and $20K). Check out www.goo-net.com/english/ for a cars off base.



     

    Nice,

    Thank you

    Ken Morgan
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    03-30-2010 5:00 PM
    From a Semi professional point of view...Avoid the nissan prairie and the Mitsubishi rvr like the plague. the newer 98 up nissan prairie has issues with its CVT (transmission0 that make it a crap shoot. the RVR's all of them have one of three issues at all time, bad throttle body, bad computer, or bad transmission. one of the three will pop up.

    Ken

    Ken Morgan
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    03-30-2010 5:00 PM
    From a Semi professional point of view...Avoid the nissan prairie and the Mitsubishi rvr like the plague. the newer 98 up nissan prairie has issues with its CVT (transmission0 that make it a crap shoot. the RVR's all of them have one of three issues at all time, bad throttle body, bad computer, or bad transmission. one of the three will pop up.

    Ken
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