Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth did your wheel fly off?!?!

Yes! Do tell.

Oil change and tire rotation done at the Honda dealership. The nuts were either over torqued or under torqued according to two different collision centers. This caused pressure and the inevitable wheel flew off. We are very very lucky no one was hurt. No way we could’ve known as we didn’t put the tire on ourselves obviously. Of course the Honda dealership said they used the best technician that day, and USAA said for a 17 year old car they were not going to fight them for repairs and declared a total loss. They still gave us a couple grand for it which is more than what we were expecting!

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth did your wheel fly off?!?!

Yes! Do tell.

Why on earth did your wheel fly off?!?!

I really think every family with 2+ kids would enjoy a minivan for the 2 in car seats/strollers years. Is it a “need”? Of course not. But it’s sure been nice. Now that mine are 7 and 10 I could certainly switch back to something else, but I like it so much I may get another one. I have an Odyssey but am intrigued by the Pacifica Hybrid. It’s hard for me to pay more for a similarly equipped Pilot/Highlander when I know a van has more utility. But I know some hate the image, and that’s fine too.

My kids were born in 1987, 1991, and 1993.

We never had a minivan or SUV. Our habit was to buy used BMWs and drive them into the ground. So, the kids grew up in a 1986 BMW 528e, took us from NYC to Sanibel, FL and Wisconsin to North Carolina. We could fit two car seats in the back leaving a tight space for #1.

We rented large cars when we went on trips that required more space, primarily for luggage or lots of Christmas presents for the family.

Anonymous wrote:I just bought a Jetta. I have two kids under 3, and I love it!

Wow! The new jettas are bigger than they used to be. We went with the Passat though. Got ours today!

I just bought a Jetta. I have two kids under 3, and I love it!

I never needed a minivan. My oldest never carpooled with more than one or two kids. The minivan made my life more convenient when my younger child became involved in bigger carpools in 2nd grade. I didn’t have to drive as often because I could fit 4 or more kids in the car. She played more sports and we always had these types of arrangements so driving every 4th practice or once every two weeks or so made my life easier.

We happily drove a VW Golf with one kid and a dog but the second baby put us over the edge to SUV territory. Two car seats and a large dog (plus all the stuff that goes with them on car trips!) made it pretty impossible to avoid a bigger car!

We have a minivan with two kids because grandparents fly in to visit often and we couldn’t all fit in our accord. Also, road trips were really difficult with just a sedan. Now that the kids are older we carpool more.

The minivans are useful when the kids start doing things with other kids and you are doing carpools or driving to Scout camping trips and outings.

We just made do with a Honda Civic but a minivan would have been convenient for sure!

We have two young kids, an Impreza, and a car top carrier for road trips when needed. I think when DH’s old Accord dies he might get something a bit bigger like an Outback or Forester, but for now it’s fine.

I have not needed a minivan and have 2 kids almost out of car seats.

Anonymous wrote:We had to get a minivan when we had twins bc the cell doing car seats were so huge and we planned on having more kids after that.

*clek foonf* stupid autocorrect

We had to get a minivan when we had twins bc the cell doing car seats were so huge and we planned on having more kids after that.