Should we buy a second car? It is complicated, WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Sorry it is a bit long.

We have a nice compact car and we live in a residential area in DC, my DH bikes to work and I take the metro. Our car is parked most days on the driveway getting no use. Our twins toddlers will start preschool in September 1.5 miles away. Next year they will be attending the neighborhood school which is literally one block away (no driving). The small car works fine for now and we rent a van when we do road trip or need more space.

Now, we are expecting a third kid this summer and we are also getting an Au pair. The Aupair, myself or my husband will be doing drop off/pick up which is (mostly) the only use of the car will get during the weekday. Our current car could tightly fit 3 carseats and we don't want to get rid of it. Problem is we can't fit 6 people in this car and it is already getting a bit tight for the 4 of us. My options:

1) Buy a new bigger car, the car we are interested in is a new model and there are no older model, it will cost about 36K new, this seems like a lot of money to spend on a car that will be parked in the driveway 80% of the time...and we will now have 2 cars parked in the driveway (more cars to maintain, insurance to pay)! We are very reluctant to do this.
2) Get a one year lease for the time being and reassert later: I always thought car leases were a scam, not sure if this is a good idea since we might end up needing a bigger car anyway
3) Continue using our small car, if the whole family need to get somewhere, I will drive with the Au pair and the kids, DH can join us with Uber (we can also use cartogo, zipcar, etc).
4) My least favorite option, buy a used car for a model we don't really care for, although I still find decent used cars quite expensive (and still 2 cars to maintain).

Is there any other options? WWYD?
Other facts: We both hate driving which is why we bought a house in the city, we could afford a new car but that is not our priority (especially if it is not getting used much). We won't really need to be all 6 in the car unless we are traveling or going to a party/event.

Any suggestion is welcome! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

[Anonymous]

3 seems like a good option, especially since it is easily reversible - you try it for a month and don't like it, you can go ahead and try something else. If you do buy another car, why not trade in the current car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3 seems like a good option, especially since it is easily reversible - you try it for a month and don't like it, you can go ahead and try something else. If you do buy another car, why not trade in the current car?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

This - "we don't want to get rid of it" really isn't a good reason, especially for a car that will be unsuited for your life for years to come (you will be dealing with car seats/boosters for the foreseeable future).

[Anonymous]

What is your car usage on the weekend? Are you prepared to disclose to your AP that she won't have access to the car on the weekend? If not, it seems like getting another car and letting AP use the old car is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

How can you not see that the most logical option is to trade in your current car for a used minivan?

Who gives a shit what the particular model that you really like is new? If you don't want to spend $36k for a car that will be barely used (and I agree that you shouldn't) then don't try to claim the excuse that it's the only model to suit your needs. Minivans have been around since 1984.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is only complicated because you are making it so. To recap: You have a car that suits your current family composition and usage (4 people, intermittent usage), though you admit it's getting a bit tight. Your family size is increasing, and you are getting an au pair (likely for multiple years). Therefore, your current car doesn't fit your life anymore. What should you do?

[drum roll]

You should get a larger car. And since you don't need more than one car, you should get rid of your current car.

The thing you're overlooking is that your current car is "getting a little tight" for you already, before the baby (and disregarding the au pair). It's going to get a worse, and there's no reason to overthink this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can you not see that the most logical option is to trade in your current car for a used minivan?

Who gives a shit what the particular model that you really like is new? If you don't want to spend $36k for a car that will be barely used (and I agree that you shouldn't) then don't try to claim the excuse that it's the only model to suit your needs. Minivans have been around since 1984.

This. Sell your car. Get a used minivan. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

OP here:
1) We are worried that as soon we will get rid of it, our situation may change (maybe a new job or whatever) and we will be in the market for a second car, that would be a pity
2) Also DH bought the small car before we got married so any money he gets from it will not go toward the new car and he doesn't think we will get much money (maybe $6-7K) for it so he is not much interested in selling it.

[Anonymous]

If you rarely use your car it matters much less if you love it. When I had a job that required spending hours a day in the car I bought a car I loved that cost more. When I switched jobs and now use my car for errands on the weekend I have a cheaper car I don’t hate and rent a car I love for long road trips. This isn’t that complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

OP here:
1) We are worried that as soon we will get rid of it, our situation may change (maybe a new job or whatever) and we will be in the market for a second car, that would be a pity
2) Also DH bought the small car before we got married so any money he gets from it will not go toward the new car and he doesn't think we will get much money (maybe $6-7K) for it so he is not much interested in selling it.

DH here. WTF is this? What kind of weird arrangement do you have?

Is he married to you or not?

[Anonymous]

A car that doesn’t fit your family and a second set of 3 car seats doesn’t make any sense. Get a larger car. Keep the small car for 1-2 years for you and your au pair to run errands go places without kids. If needed, you can belt an infant car seat and install it without a base.

Once you have 2 kids - or in your case 3 - you may find you divide and conquer more. We had 1 car with 1 kid and needed 2 with 2 kids. There are lots of times I need to run errands with the baby and my husband needs to take the preschooler to a lesson or play date.

You will have 1 more adult and 1 more kid than us. I think you will find 2 cars to be helpful to have some flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

OP here:
1) We are worried that as soon we will get rid of it, our situation may change (maybe a new job or whatever) and we will be in the market for a second car, that would be a pity
2) Also DH bought the small car before we got married so any money he gets from it will not go toward the new car and he doesn't think we will get much money (maybe $6-7K) for it so he is not much interested in selling it.

So...things are changing now so you'd rather...what, buy a second car now so that you won't have to maybe buy a second car in the future if things change? That makes no sense.

If you husband won't sell his car, then you'll end up with a second car anyway. And then you'll have a car that you use sometimes and a car that you use never.

You are really overthinking this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you get the bigger car and get rid of the small car?

OP here:
1) We are worried that as soon we will get rid of it, our situation may change (maybe a new job or whatever) and we will be in the market for a second car, that would be a pity
2) Also DH bought the small car before we got married so any money he gets from it will not go toward the new car and he doesn't think we will get much money (maybe $6-7K) for it so he is not much interested in selling it.

DH here. WTF is this? What kind of weird arrangement do you have?

Is he married to you or not?

+1 OP if you've got some kind of financial constraint related to the father of your three kids thinking he shouldn't share funds with you, you need to include it in the post. Because none of your reasons for keeping a car that doesn't work for your family make sense.