Well after several weeks on craigslist, we finally found a buyer for our Lexus!! We are meeting them tonight to give them the car and get the money. I love this vehicle, but it is just way too narrow to put all 3 carseat across the backseat. After that article about the safety (or lack of safety) of 3rd rows in SUVs, there is no way I am going to put Katie back there. She's be less than 6 inches from the back glass and if we got rear ended, there would be NO crush room before it got to her. Plus, I'd really like her in the middle of the boys to play referee and fetch toys, replace binkies, and just keep them entertained.
Soooo, after much research, looking and test driving, we have decided that our perfect vehicle is the Nissan Armada. It has 60 inches of rear hip room in the second row - we tested out the Regent, Safeguard and Boulevard side by side and they fit with room to spare! It also has a power liftgate and any one who has tried to close one of those darn things on a full size SUV w/ a baby on your hip, knows what a huge bonus that is! Anyway so now the hunt is on for our Armada. As soon as we get one, the Sienna will be going up for sale so that Kevin can get a smaller, 4WD vehicle to commute to work in. Anyone in the market for an 06 Toyota Sienna?? :)
I'll just be glad when our vehicle situation is squared away, it's a lot of hassle trying to sell and buy without going through a dealership, but SO worth it in the money you save!
5 comments:
Our neighbors have an Armada and they love it! I love my car, but I HATE not having the room in the very back- we needed the extended version bad (not sure why we didn't wait a while longer and get it!) I had to have 3 rows though because of all the kids- they were in one row until Blayden came along and it was awesome! ;-)
Back in 2000 I got rear ended by a semi truck on the Vincent Thomas Bridge (San Pedro, CA) and I was driving a Chevy Suburban and Alex was in a carseat (12 months old) in the second row. He was the only one with me at the time, but even if the other kids were in the third row, they would have been fine. Having that extra trunk space in the back is key!! We were not hurt in that accident, in fact, the semi truck had WAY more damage than we did, if you can believe that. Luckily, he was not carrying a load so he was not very heavy. But still .... seeing that thing coming at me in the rear view mirror is something that I will not likely ever forget!
I am glad to read that you are getting a safer SUV with trunk space!
We still need to purchase 4 more carseats for our Excursion -- but this time need the Radians so that we can fit 3 in a bench. With our 15 passenger van, the Regents are okay because we have seats to spare, but not in the Excursion.
Congrats on selling the Lexus - that was short lived though, huh?
Did you Craigslist it? I have some things to sell and wondering if I should go Craigslist or Ebay with them.
Our friends have the Armada - they only have an infant, but they got it as they transport clients around in their vehicle a lot and they needed something with lots of room.
When I installed the Regent in the back on my car, Shane was shocked at how much room it takes up! It really makes your average car a 4 passenger vehicle.
Our neighbors have one and they love it. But since you said you were thinking Sequoia or Suburban, I didn't suggest it. Glad everything fits!!!
p.s. May I suggest a Subaru for Kevin? All their vehicles come with AWD, and we have a 2003 Forester. It was my very first new car. I bought it because it had fantastic safety ratings - even before we had kids. Plus LATCH is rated up to 60lbs!! It performs great in the snowy winters we get here.
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