Well, life as I know it is about to change....my wife is pregnant and we are going to have a kid in April...Hooray! Fortunately for me that means I finally get to get rid of my POS '98 Mazda B3000 truck that I absolutely hate....can't fit me, my wife and a baby seat in it. So.....after much internet search, I've narrowed it down (at this point) to 2 vehicles: Toyota Tacoma vs. Hyundai Santa Fe. Here's why I like those two.... 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4Dr Cab: Obviously a pretty damn good truck. Not quite sure if I want to give up having a truck bed for hauling **** around. Decent, but not great, reviews by Consumer Reports; Edmund's gives a better review....good reviews by consumers. Great resale value. Looks ******* cool. Gas mileage kinda sucks (17-22 mpg) and performed below average on crash tests. The 4-Dr crew cab has plenty of room for a baby seat. A tad more expensive....around $23-24K -vs- 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe: Normally I would say to myself, "Why the f**k am I even considering buying a Hyundai?" But apparently the Santa Fe SUV has gotten good reviews by the car guides and great reviews by consumer drivers. I like the way it looks and it gets good gas mileage for an SUV (19-24 mpg for the V6 2.7L engine). Crash test results were excellent. More family oriented vehicle than a truck. Cheaper than the Tacoma, $20-23K The reason I'm considering getting away from a truck is that I really don't haul stuff around that much other than the occasional piece of furniture 1-2 times a year. But hell....I've always driven a truck...I might miss it, but I dunno. Thoughts anyone? I probably won't actually buy anything until later in the year when the rebates/discounts go way up so I've got lots of time to decide.
I'm just not at a point where I trust Hyundais. I would go with the Tacoma - I've owned a few different Toyotas and I've never had problems...
Surveying owners of one or two year old vehicles is not a good basis for deciding which car to buy. All cars are nice when they are new, and people rate them by the convenience of the cupholders and makeup mirrors. Toyotas are almost as good as Hondas, and Hyundais are two or three steps below. Get a Honda CRV, Pilot or Odyssey if you are going to want to keep it a long time, or the Toyota. If you will have it two or three years, it probably won't matter, except for the resale value.
It depends on what other vehicles you have. Having a kid means more than hauling 1 kid. For instance, if you need to use the vehicle to go out of town then consider what you're going to do with the stroller, playyard, jumbo bag of diapers, toys, etc if it's raining and all you have is an uncovered truck bed.
My car (VW Passat) was totaled in a wreck last week. As soon as I get things square with the other driver's insurance company my next car is going to be a Double Cab Tacoma. I do alot of camping, cycling, fishing, kayaking, etc. and it will be nice to have a truck again to haul all that stuff around. Everyone that I know that has the Tacoma loves it. Also, the people that I know report gas mileage at or above 20 mpg -- not too bad for a truck.
If you have a kid coming, forget the pickup. Some guys might tell you to go get one but your going to need the covered carrying space a whole lot more than you'll need the bed space in a pickup. Unless you use your truck for work, you'll want some place to store kid stuff in the over the next couple of years. Since you've had the Mazda for going on 7 years, think about where you'll be in 2010. You'll have a kiddo that's playing sports or maybe even another yard ape. I would love to have a pickup but unless you can afford a full size 4 door, it's just not practical with kids.
Of course he could just get a roll up tonneau (sp?) cover for the truck bed for covered storage. I had a Mazda ruck when my first kid was born 9 1/2 years ago and that what I did. It only cost a few hundred bucks. It mounted right under the window and was self sotring. When I needed a cover I simply pulled it out.
New cars are for suckers and people with bad credit. For the same price of a new Hyundai Sante Fe, you could buy a 2002 GMC Yukon with 35k miles. WAY more truck for the money. Bernard
I would also think about that child getting jostled around riding on a suspension that was meant to drive over rocks and trees and **** without breaking, not for comfortable road driving. Plus, I would be concerned about the safety of that truck.
I have a 3 year old Santa Fe and I love it. No major problems, except when I was in a wreck and the body shop (at the dealer) took out the rear seat belts and didn't replace them I don't need a 900 HP big-*** truck, but I did want something that could haul around bookcases, tables, chairs, large boxes, etc, as well as comfortably seat a foursome and hold all of our golf bags. It does that just fine. I could have paid more (I paid only 18.5K) and got a "better" brand with a bigger engine and more "power", but I've never had a need for that. And everyone who's been in it loves how comfortable it is.
I agree with Bernard. I refuse to buy a brand new vehicle. Let someone else take the initial depreciation hit. There is nothing wrong with buying a 2 year-old vehicle that is barely broken in. A 2 year-old Toyota or Honda is as good as new and yes, you can get a nice Tahoe or Expedition with lots of room for what you would pay for a new Tacoma or Santa Fe. Just to give you an idea: The Link The Link The Link You can go to almost any dealer and get a "Certified Pre-owned" or you can go to Carmax. Carmax's website is a great resource.
