Can't you go with like a smaller SUV (Rav 4, Rogue -type) so you have the ability to stow/carry a lot when needed, but better gas milage and not as bulky as a minivan. And better in the snow.

Or get like an Outback. PLus, they are like tanks in the winter.

Our minivan is worth $1000 per the dealer and carmax. It has a few issues but drives well. Instead of getting rid of it, we decided to buy a smaller SUV that gets used most of the time.. Better drive experience, newer features, etc. We use the van for when a lot for people are around, long-distance trips with > 5 people, etc.

Chiming in to say it depends. We just downsized and our 3 kids are all still home, but when we took an honest look at how often we were really using the full SUV/minivan features compared to how often we were driving with 2-3 people, it wasn't worth the cost.

Our new hybrid gets 50+ mpg and was cheaper than what we would have spent on a bigger car - to the extent I'll be comfortable renting something bigger when the need arises.


We have soccer & baseball kids, not much carpooling & out of town family. Your 'mileage' will vary (ha!), but it's worth noting the answer is going to vary!

I'd get a larger SUV. I'm impressed you can pay for 4 in college and buy a new car.

I had a minivan until our kids were in HS and then I downsized to a Ford Escape. Once they were in HS it was rare that all 5 of us would be in the same car for more than a few minutes. I loved the minivan and I don’t understand why parents with a lot of young kids prefer to drive huge SUV’s which are tough to get into. I guess it is an ego thing but a minivan is so darn practical.

If you only need a large college for college trips, you can rent 1 2x a year. For going out to dinner a few times a year, just bring two cars. But as someone said, I would not trade in a working car just to have a smaller one.

I have a full size SUV that is a 2012 and three kids, 19,17 and 12.

I NEVER plan on getting rid of it. I do the drive back and forth to college oldest child, then next kid next year, summers and xmas break I have the three kids and when I go Oceancity or NY take one car the truck.

I did get a cute 2017 model smaller car for daughter that the 17 and 19 year old have, but they go away to school. Some times my wife and I drive it when away.

Once car is 12-15 years old I can drop the theft and accident coverage on truck.

Want to get a BMW in a few years, but will keep truck. It seats 8 and has a roof rack on top. Pretty useful

I’d say when the youngest can drive. But we’ll always own at least a small SUV.

I am hanging on to mine because I am in the midst of downsizing. Not only do we have to schlep our college kids' stuff each time they go back to college, but I am donating a lot of items and the minivan comes in handy for that. When we move out of the area, we will want to put things in the minivan that we want handy. We will sell the minivan once we are settled in our new home.

My parents kept theirs until I was 32 and my siblings were all in their 20s! They didn't drive it much those last few years, but it kept chugging along so they didn't see any reason to get rid of it. And I would borrow it sometimes for transporting Craigslist furniture, moving apartments, that kind of thing. It was useful.

Haha! We have five grown kids and still drive a Ford Flex. Adult kids come home with spouses and grandkids. My German Shepherds fit in the back. I like that I can load it up when necessary. It’s great for road trips and camping. So my answer is, never.

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget you may need to drive DC and their stuff to college. Even as/after they graduate from college, you can help them move stuff.

At that age they switch jobs and/or apartments often. Before you know it they are going to start to bring significant others home for the holidays that you are going to need to drive around.

The time to get rid of the larger car is when it dies like any other car. Trading in a car before it is pretty much dead really creates the waste of an entire new vehicle.

Once it dies, as you have correctly determined, it's already no big deal to drive in 2 cars or rent a van for a weekend to help them move.

OP here Thanks!
Yes, my minivan is about 8 years old now.

My previous car (a Honda Odyssey minivan) started "dying" (requiring service each month at $1000+) around year 7. The car I had before that was a 3 year lease (yeah, I know. I was young and stupid.) The car before that (my very first car) was totaled in an accident (not my fault!) around year 4. So this is the longest I've ever owned a car.

Don't forget you may need to drive DC and their stuff to college. Even as/after they graduate from college, you can help them move stuff.

At that age they switch jobs and/or apartments often. Before you know it they are going to start to bring significant others home for the holidays that you are going to need to drive around.

The time to get rid of the larger car is when it dies like any other car. Trading in a car before it is pretty much dead really creates the waste of an entire new vehicle.

Once it dies, as you have correctly determined, it's already no big deal to drive in 2 cars or rent a van for a weekend to help them move.

With 3+ kids, most families will have a minivan or larger SUV so the whole family can ride in one car together. As kids grow up and move out of the family home, it's less frequent that you need that much space in your car.
At what point can you down size to a more compact vehicle?

I have 4 kids; the oldest lives about 4 hours away at his college, the next one will be leaving for college in the fall. Even now with 3 older kids at home, I find that 90% of the time only one or two people are in the minivan at any given time.

Yes, there will be occasions when the oldest is home from college (Thanksgiving break, summer, etc.) and maybe all 6 of us will go out to dinner or something, but really only maybe a few times a year at most. It feels wasteful to have such a large vehicle.