Need Help / Input

[trikkonceptz]

As the economic times grow tighter I am doing everything in my power to conserve both money and energy. Obviously as an active member here I have seen the error in my ways and LEARNED to drive smarter resulting in a healthier life for me plus some pretty impressive numbers out of a car not designed to be.

I have now turned my guns on my wife. We own a 2006 4-runner, V8, which admittedly she is driving much more efficiently. Problem is it is an expensive car to own. $500 + a month in payments plus gas. We also have a baby, 22mo. and of course all the gear that goes with her when they go everywhere.

I have since been pricing new vehicles for her in order to save on the Monthly payments and still giver her utility. We have settled in on the Scion xB, the new generation. Considerably smaller than the 4-runner, but much cheaper and still offers a good amount of cargo space. Oh and a payment of $300 a month.

My problem is convincing her to let go of the gas beast she has grown accustomed to. She is still clinging to the space issue, which would be less of a factor if she carried less gear.

Mind you we carry a stroller, and a diaper bag normally. I'm talking about the weekend trips she makes to her mom's house with all the travel bags etc ..

Any of you guys deal with this family hauling issue and have any suggestions on how to approach fairly for her? Of course I think I'm in the right. I even proved to her that re-financing the 4-runner would give her the exact same payment as a new xB, just with a used car that will continue to loose value and mechanical reliability.

In this case .... size does matter .. LOL to her ...

[Christ]

I sound funny to myself saying this: Space Bags.

I'm not even joking, I use them. You can get a nice assortment of them online, for about $30 shipped. They're actually a decent quality product, and easy to use even for just weekend trips, all they require is a vacuum cleaner with a hose, which just about everyone has, as far as I'm aware.

I routinely overstuff mine, and they still shrink the size of our loads unbelievably, when we take our weekend trips to fix my Van at my father in law's house.

• We typically pack enough clothes for 3-4 days,
• our double queen air matress,
• 6 large pillows,
• a full bedding set, including a comforter, blanket, sheet set, and a "topket" which is a stupid little blanket that gets folded up at the foot of the bed in case you get cold in the night, you can just reach down and grab the top of it, and pull it up over you,
• all her school stuff (about 2-3 book bags full)
• several snacks and other things,
• some tools,
• her laptop and bag,
• a full size spare tire,
• a complete car-care basket,
• a hydraulic jack,
• and a 4-way lug iron,

all in a '94 4-door grand prix.

It all fits, and I can still see out the back window, and we still sit in the front seats more than comfortably, for our 3 hour drive.

Given all that crap, fitting in my wife's car, I'm sure your wife could find a way to pack up all her stuff into an xB with 3x the space of our Prix!

[whitewiz]

Make sure the Scion has a trailer hitch and a transmission cooler.

[Frank Lee]

Reminds me of the time 4 of us guys drove to Alaska in a Chevy LUV. I pretty much had a toothbrush, comb, and one change of clothes packed. One of the other guys had everything but the kitchen sink packed and we all laughed him down when we saw the hair dryer!

Point is, most of that junk doesn't need to be carted around. Change that habit first.

[Christ]

Also a good point. The wife and I have only begun packing that much crap with us to account for comfort, most of the stuff anyway.

[blueflame]

Like with most creatures, a gift of some sort may sweeten the deal. Rather than bacon bits in your pocket I would think a holiday?

Or moral blackmail re saving the planet....Or wage a psychological war like playing subliminal messages in her sleep

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I have 2 kids (11 & 8), and I have many friends who are in your situation. The issue is: when we get used to something, it is hard to change. You could take your typical load of stuff to the Toyota dealer and put it in the xB for the test drive?

A few years ago, my family and I went camping for 2 weeks in my wife's Focus wagon: with a 16cu ft Thule on the roof, we fit 2 tents, 2 chairs, 1 small table, 3 burner stove, 4 sleeping bags & pillows, large "jogging" stroller, small portable crib, electric cooler, food, pots, pans, plates, etc., air mattresses, all our clothes, camera...and we still got ~30mpg.

Did you consider the new Honda Fit? The backseat is...magic.

[whitewiz]

re: honda fit
I want a car with an INFLATEABLE rear seat! LOL!

[tasdrouille]

If you have only one kid, I really don't see why you need more than a standard midsize sedan.

When my wife and I got our boy, we had an Aveo. We got the only stroller on the local market that was not and umbrella stroller and would fit in the trunk of the Aveo, a Peg Perego Pliko P3. Great stroller btw. All the possibly needed baby gear was kept in a single shoulder bag.

The stroller was taking all of the trunk space. On day to day trips this was not much of a problem since there was still plenty of space on the seats to put grocery or shopping bags.

Weekend trips to visit family were a problem with all the luggage though. We then bought a roof rack and an 18 cube feet cargo roof box. It's amazing all the stuff that will go in there, especially since its shape makes the volume much more usable than a usual car trunk.

We then switched to an Elantra when our boy needed a phase 2 car seat. The phase 2 seat in the Aveo would have forced any passenger to sit behind the driver, which is very impractical. We don't need the cargo box much anymore, only for week long camping trips.

Does all this available cargo space justify the premium you're paying over a smaller vehicle?

[Christ]

Show her a map of exactly what your projected costs for each vehicle are...

Show her that $200 a month is $2400 a year, plus maintenance, plus the loss of gas mileage compared to the xB.

Show her also that the $2400 a year (plus maintenance) that you're saving, means vacation come summer time! (or a better one than you're already planning) And all because she can sacrifice a few feet of storage room that she's not using anyway!

Sometimes, it helps to make a diagram, showing exactly what you mean.. with my wife, I have to draw things out for her, b/c she doesn't take the time to figure out things she can't physically see.

Maybe you just get the xB and put a diamond necklace around the rearview? The gas mileage increase should pay for the necklace in short order!