$7000 discount from the dealer finally persuaded me to dump my 7 year old Chevy Prizm ;)

People should be doing the counter intuitive thing and taking advantage of the glut of SUVs and Trucks on the market by buying one at a deep discount. The price of Oil is down about $35 a barrel (from $145ish to $110ish) and should go down a bit further.

Soon people may be seeing prices go down at the pump and will start buying SUVs and Trucks again.

Five days after the birth of our first daughter, I was driving the family home after getting her first baby pictures taken when a full-size pickup ran a red light and totaled our full-size BMW sedan. We were all a bit rattled, but fortunately everyone was fine.

Safety was the priority as we researched vehicles to replace the BMW. A month later we used Carsdirect.com to purchase a new 2004 Nissan Quest minivan because it represented the best value among vehicles with a 5* safety rating for front and rear occupants (perhaps because of front and rear head/curtain airbags).

A new CX-9 is around $30-35K over here. The bargain price was mostly due to the car being used. It has 14K miles on the odometer. Fuel economy should be around 17 MPG. My old van had 20.

Mike:

The sturdiness is also something I noticed when test-driving the CX-9. Although my friends are telling me this is just due to a difference in suspension in SUV and minivans.

About other costs – I am already feeling them. Insurance coverage costs twice as much for CX-9 than it was for my old MPV. I expect the maintenance will also add up.

linlu:

I am sorry about what happened to your mother. My wife and I have been really lucky to have gone through the accidents without any major injuries

She was driving a Chrysler minivan that she had paid extra to get side impact protection at least 10 years before that – which was only available as an expensive option. She said something told her it would be a good investment. Thankfully it saved her life, but now she has two broken ribs that will not heal properly, so she is disabled and can no longer work. The other amazing thing is that the glass was shattered in the sliding door behind her but not on the drivers side door.

She had already bought a new Honda minivan to replace it and was driving her old van to work. So at least she still had a car to drive, not that she could do much of that up until about six months ago.

Here’s another reason why a minivan (in my case) is better, it is so much better on visibility. I can take action sooner when stuff happens two or more cars in front of me and I can see more of what is going on, on the road around me. I think that alone has saved my family and I numerous times.

I think one must factor in potential repair costs and longevity estimates when shopping for the best deal. From a frugal and/or “green” point of view it is usually more efficient to drive a full SUV than two small cars. Also, one should consider more than just fuel costs when comparing and should include tires, oil, maintenance, insurance, etc. when calculating the best vehicle deal.

Then again I am living in Australia where cars are so expensive. CX-9 Classic (the base model) has an RRP of around AUD$50k here ($43k USD). Now reading that you can drive one away for half the price over there, we feel so ripped off…