Looking for an SUV to fit 3 car seats. I usually lease with payments about $500. For a similar payment would you buy a 4Runner with 50k miles or lease another SUV if they are available? I was wondering if the 4Runner would prices would come down a lot with a used car market correction.Thank you!
Need to stop thinking about 4Runner and start looking at unibodies because they are much more space-efficient, such as Palluride, Pathfinder, Traverse, Atlas, etc.
You’ll have to choose one knowing you’ll have to finance it, because the lease deals are so bad. Traverse and Atlas may be the largest but they will also likely depreciate the most. Palluride and Highlander will likely depreciate the least but they are slightly smaller.
Which make/model of car seats? And 3 across or 2 plus one in the third row?
Also remember it’s cheaper to change or choose the right car seats than it is to waste money on a car that’s too big or depreciates too much.
What was ‘usually’ or historically the case is completely irrelevent rn. Those days are gone.
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Right now the car you are describing is about $800
Check the mpg on the 4Runner.
Thanks, forgot about Pathfinder. We have a Highlander lease that ends next May. We have 3 car seats across in that and I prefer that. We have twins and they are all under 3 years old.
If you don’t need a real third row and just need the width of a good second row, then look at the larger 2-row crossovers like Passport, Sorento, Edge, etc.
Why do you need something ASAP if you have 8 months left on the current lease plus any possible extensions the lessor will offer?
It’s very unlikely to find a “deal” relative to your comparison of $500 month based off the vehicles your looking at in the current environment.
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Need two vehicles for daycare drop offs. One parent drop off, other pick up.
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Get Diono car seats as they can fit 3 across in a majority of cars/SUVs. Don’t overpay for a larger SUV if it’s really just for pickup/drop off.
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Seconding this. You can fit 3 Diono car seats across the rear in a Camry.
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Your intent was probably to foster a discussion of possible “three across” solutions but too often people will jump to the conclusion that they should buy, say, a 2019 Nissan Murano from such a list.
People looking to ride out the seller’s market for late model used cars should look at something closer to being fully depreciated.
Toyota Avalons and Buicks with the reliable 3800 motor come to mind as relatively modern used cars with wide back seats.
This thread has lots of good info:
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It certainly wasn’t a blanket endorsement of the entire list, or any one particular example.
No matter what our individual needs or desires are, we all have to pick through kernels of corn in order to find the perfect turd.
Corollas are now closer to that kind of payment than any SUV is. Leasing is dead for the foreseeable future. Manufacturers seem to have no interest in changing the fake supply chain issue tactic any time soon. Making more per vehicle allows them to sell much less vehicles and still be fine. The industry is only slightly down from pre pandemic numbers while selling a hell of a lot less vehicles. Theres will be no end to this any time soon. This is the kind of market they want. Anyone falling for their BS 2.5 years after the start of covid is an easy mark. Supply chains have never in history been truly disrupted that amount of time even through wars.
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