This is along similar lines to @newfydog and @coskigirl 's posts, but different. "Help me choose a vehicle" is the new "Help me choose a ski."
Some of you have been privy to my angsting about replacing my 2008 Outback XT with144k miles. it's my commuter between Boulder and Longmont, as well as the car we take skiing and mountain biking. So far, it hasn't had much in the way of maintenance issues, but I don't know how long I can rely on that. Hopefully another 50-100k?
"Our" other vehicle is a 2006 BMW sedan with fewer miles than the Outback. It's my husband's car, which is used for a very short commute and also very occasional 15 hour drives to visit family. I find it completely impractical. It's also weirdly pristine (more on that later - my husband and I have very different views about how to treat a vehicle).
The main complaints about the Outback:
* There are times when driving stick really sucks. I dread the next time I have to drive I-70 up to the Eisenhower in stop and go traffic, just slightly slower than I can drive in first gear. Actually, that's pretty much the only scenario in which I dislike the manual transmission.
* The seats constrain my husband's shoulders, so he finds them uncomfortable. I hear about this every winter weekend.
* I want more room to put bikes and skis and dogs.
What I like about the Outback:
* I love that it's turbo. I like driving stick when it's not the above scenario.
* It fits into tight spaces like Boulder parking garages, which is a necessity for me.
* It fits into my garage and low parking garages even with the roof box.
* I can shove my bike inside it if necessary, although the hitch rack is much easier.
* I genuinely enjoy driving it.
Why I'm thinking about getting a third vehicle:
* When we do have a mandatory car repair, we have to drop everything to deal with it. An extra vehicle would give us flexibility.
* I grew up in a household that always had more vehicles than drivers, so it's a familiar mode for me.
* I want more room! With two dogs in the back seat, the roof box works for skis ... except my husband's powder skis. When I decided to bring both dogs and my bike recently, I had to remove both wheels to *barely* squeeze my bike into the far back ... and there was zero room for anything else. Good thing I have a roof box!
* I could keep the Outback as a commuter car. Maybe even (gasp) remove the roof box to save gas. Drive it into the ground. Save miles on the new (or new to us) vehicle as well.
* I've always wanted a V8. (I may or may not get a V8 this time, but it's on my mind. Purely emotional.)
* When I considered flat-out replacing the Outback, the only thing that seemed like it might work (because of parking garage for work - height and width) was another Outback. But my heart just isn't into the new Outback, no matter how much I like some of the features. And it would definitely be a compromise for what I really want.
So, the third vehicle would be for driving to the mountains or on trips with ski gear, bikes, and dogs. I would really like to be able to put a bike or two inside it for theft prevention. I would love to be able to throw skis in the back without impacting the dogs, who are each 60 lb and will hopefully be with us a while still (6yo and 9yo, active and healthy). It needs to be able to handle snow, ice, and bumpy dirt roads at least as well as my Outback (but without the stress of fiddling with the clutch). It would be nice to be able to park it in our home garage, but not a must.
Having skis inside some enclosure (box or vehicle) is a requirement - to preserve bases and bindings, and because it gives a lot more flexibility.
My husband argues that the extra cost of owning a third vehicle, even if paid off, isn't worth it, and that maybe he would sell his sedan and drive this hypothetical beast to work (about 3 miles). I'm open to arguments either way. I know that he loves driving his car, so it seems unlikely to me, especially if the third vehicle can't fit in the garage anyway. And more critically - he is extremely fussy about the state of his car, inside and out. He's the type to park far away to keep his car from getting dinged, and the wrappers and crumbs that appear when I go on a road trip drive him nuts. I just don't see us sharing his primary vehicle without world war three breaking out, especially when I inevitably ding it with skis, bikes, or simply a rock that got kicked up driving to a trailhead. To me, vehicles are utilitarian. I have a strong emotional attachment to them, but not to their pristine paint job and immaculate interior.
It's important to me to get a vehicle with some oomph. A vehicle to which I feel an emotional attachment. I kinda want to make that Tim Allen grunt from Home Improvement when I see it.
Realistically, we have other financial goals right now that will serve us better than a vehicle ... but I want to have the lay of the land for when we're ready.
So, some vehicles I've considered -
A Suburban. If anything has the stats for this, a Suburban does, right? But that thing is HUGE. I wonder if we'd live to regret getting something so big. Husband is not so sure he wants to drive something that huge. Maybe he has a point. I haven't test driven anything yet. I would end up buying something before I'm financially ready.
A 4Runner or Grand Cherokee with a roof box. Thing is, I really prefer not to have skis extending through the second row and potentially up into the front of the vehicle. And I don't think they're any better for shoving a bike in the far back than my current Outback.
So, what's between those two classes?
What about a regular Tahoe (not XL)? I'm having trouble telling from the photos of the interior if the far back + rear row (folded down) is much bigger than what I already have in my Outback. Thoughts?
Availability of second row captain's chairs also seems relevant - could shove skis between them without having them be too obnoxious. But with a fold-down rear row, it kinda looks like the skis would dangle and slide - meh. Thinking the dogs would actually have more room with captain's seats. I think they'd choose to stay on the floor.
Maybe an honest to goodness truck? I don't love the separation of bed from seating area. Seems like you lose flexibility for packing (of course, you gain the ability to fill it with mulch or whatever, but we haven't needed that yet). I suspect that even compared to a Suburban, a big ass truck with a full quad cab and a big bed would still not be the most fun to drive on the highway for several hours every weekend.
What vehicles might fit the bill?
Some of you have been privy to my angsting about replacing my 2008 Outback XT with144k miles. it's my commuter between Boulder and Longmont, as well as the car we take skiing and mountain biking. So far, it hasn't had much in the way of maintenance issues, but I don't know how long I can rely on that. Hopefully another 50-100k?
"Our" other vehicle is a 2006 BMW sedan with fewer miles than the Outback. It's my husband's car, which is used for a very short commute and also very occasional 15 hour drives to visit family. I find it completely impractical. It's also weirdly pristine (more on that later - my husband and I have very different views about how to treat a vehicle).
The main complaints about the Outback:
* There are times when driving stick really sucks. I dread the next time I have to drive I-70 up to the Eisenhower in stop and go traffic, just slightly slower than I can drive in first gear. Actually, that's pretty much the only scenario in which I dislike the manual transmission.
* The seats constrain my husband's shoulders, so he finds them uncomfortable. I hear about this every winter weekend.
* I want more room to put bikes and skis and dogs.
What I like about the Outback:
* I love that it's turbo. I like driving stick when it's not the above scenario.
* It fits into tight spaces like Boulder parking garages, which is a necessity for me.
* It fits into my garage and low parking garages even with the roof box.
* I can shove my bike inside it if necessary, although the hitch rack is much easier.
* I genuinely enjoy driving it.
Why I'm thinking about getting a third vehicle:
* When we do have a mandatory car repair, we have to drop everything to deal with it. An extra vehicle would give us flexibility.
* I grew up in a household that always had more vehicles than drivers, so it's a familiar mode for me.
* I want more room! With two dogs in the back seat, the roof box works for skis ... except my husband's powder skis. When I decided to bring both dogs and my bike recently, I had to remove both wheels to *barely* squeeze my bike into the far back ... and there was zero room for anything else. Good thing I have a roof box!
* I could keep the Outback as a commuter car. Maybe even (gasp) remove the roof box to save gas. Drive it into the ground. Save miles on the new (or new to us) vehicle as well.
* I've always wanted a V8. (I may or may not get a V8 this time, but it's on my mind. Purely emotional.)
* When I considered flat-out replacing the Outback, the only thing that seemed like it might work (because of parking garage for work - height and width) was another Outback. But my heart just isn't into the new Outback, no matter how much I like some of the features. And it would definitely be a compromise for what I really want.
So, the third vehicle would be for driving to the mountains or on trips with ski gear, bikes, and dogs. I would really like to be able to put a bike or two inside it for theft prevention. I would love to be able to throw skis in the back without impacting the dogs, who are each 60 lb and will hopefully be with us a while still (6yo and 9yo, active and healthy). It needs to be able to handle snow, ice, and bumpy dirt roads at least as well as my Outback (but without the stress of fiddling with the clutch). It would be nice to be able to park it in our home garage, but not a must.
Having skis inside some enclosure (box or vehicle) is a requirement - to preserve bases and bindings, and because it gives a lot more flexibility.
My husband argues that the extra cost of owning a third vehicle, even if paid off, isn't worth it, and that maybe he would sell his sedan and drive this hypothetical beast to work (about 3 miles). I'm open to arguments either way. I know that he loves driving his car, so it seems unlikely to me, especially if the third vehicle can't fit in the garage anyway. And more critically - he is extremely fussy about the state of his car, inside and out. He's the type to park far away to keep his car from getting dinged, and the wrappers and crumbs that appear when I go on a road trip drive him nuts. I just don't see us sharing his primary vehicle without world war three breaking out, especially when I inevitably ding it with skis, bikes, or simply a rock that got kicked up driving to a trailhead. To me, vehicles are utilitarian. I have a strong emotional attachment to them, but not to their pristine paint job and immaculate interior.
It's important to me to get a vehicle with some oomph. A vehicle to which I feel an emotional attachment. I kinda want to make that Tim Allen grunt from Home Improvement when I see it.
Realistically, we have other financial goals right now that will serve us better than a vehicle ... but I want to have the lay of the land for when we're ready.
So, some vehicles I've considered -
A Suburban. If anything has the stats for this, a Suburban does, right? But that thing is HUGE. I wonder if we'd live to regret getting something so big. Husband is not so sure he wants to drive something that huge. Maybe he has a point. I haven't test driven anything yet. I would end up buying something before I'm financially ready.
A 4Runner or Grand Cherokee with a roof box. Thing is, I really prefer not to have skis extending through the second row and potentially up into the front of the vehicle. And I don't think they're any better for shoving a bike in the far back than my current Outback.
So, what's between those two classes?
What about a regular Tahoe (not XL)? I'm having trouble telling from the photos of the interior if the far back + rear row (folded down) is much bigger than what I already have in my Outback. Thoughts?
Availability of second row captain's chairs also seems relevant - could shove skis between them without having them be too obnoxious. But with a fold-down rear row, it kinda looks like the skis would dangle and slide - meh. Thinking the dogs would actually have more room with captain's seats. I think they'd choose to stay on the floor.
Maybe an honest to goodness truck? I don't love the separation of bed from seating area. Seems like you lose flexibility for packing (of course, you gain the ability to fill it with mulch or whatever, but we haven't needed that yet). I suspect that even compared to a Suburban, a big ass truck with a full quad cab and a big bed would still not be the most fun to drive on the highway for several hours every weekend.
What vehicles might fit the bill?
. I’m on my second Outback, a 2011 that is my daily commute first on the highway then up a steep mountain road with lots of switchbacks that I often travel up early in the morning sometimes before the snow plows. The Outback is great, I have an Automatic but for the mountain roads I switch to the manual option and use the paddle shifters on the steering column which really makes it fun
