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Car Shopping and Tips for Choosing the Perfect Family Vehicle
I hate car shopping. I hate the haggling, the pressure, trying to figure out what options I need and what I can do without – I just hate all of it – and I definitely don’t want to go to a car dealer empty-handed and without having done any research. Thankfully, Cars.com makes it easier to be prepared.
What Are You Looking For in a Vehicle?
When you have a family, it’s about more than just what looks good or what’s fun. You have to also consider things like leg room, how many passengers can it seat, and more. How old are your kids? Do they still need car seats? Do you have pets? It can quickly become overwhelming, so I suggest making a list (or two) to bring with you to the dealership.
Things to Consider:
- How many adults will regularly ride in the vehicle?
- How many children? How old are they? Any using car seats?
- How easy will it be for your rear passengers to get in and out?
- What’s the gas mileage like?
- How much cargo space do you need? If your children are little, will you need to bring a stroller? Diaper bag?
- Do you need room for a dog?
Make a list of must-haves (like four doors to make it easier to get little ones safely in their car seats) and wants (like DVD players). Consider how often your whole family will be in the vehicle and if you’ll be using it to commute to work or taking it on road trip vacations.
We have two vehicles. My daily commuter car is a Toyota Corolla and my husband’s is a Toyota 4Runner. We’ve found the Corolla to be more convenient for shorter trips and much easier to put our grandson in his car seat. The 4Runner, while it seats more passengers, is more of a hassle to park due to its size, it’s harder to get Ayden in and out of because it’s so high off the ground, and the gas mileage is horrid. However, if we want to take most of the kids somewhere, like we did last weekend on our trip to Apple Hill in Camino, CA, we need the 4Runner’s 7-person capacity.
Now You’re Ready
Once you figure out your own specific needs and wants, head over to Cars.com to start researching makes and models. Make a list of a few different vehicles that fit your needs and then read the reviews. After you narrow it down, to to Find a Dealer and start test driving!
Child Passenger Safety Week Began September 17, 2017
Do you have kids in car seats? Did you know Cars.com conducts Car Seat Checks? They have three certified child passenger safety technicians who install and write their Car Seat Checks. Check out which vehicles are on their Car Seat Honor Roll for 2017! They consider these 10 to be the best for car seat installation and use and all of them earned straight As on Cars.com‘s extensive tests.
So, tell me – what’s most important to you when choosing your next vehicle?
Comments
I appreciate you pointing out how you need to think of the age of your kids and if they need car seats when you’re looking at vehicles for sale. My husband and I just found out that we’re 8 weeks pregnant with our second child, and we only have a Subaru Outback. We’ll have to start looking for cars that can hold two car seats, but at least we’ll have a few months to decide.