In My Situation Would You Get a New Car?

Lfloppy on 22/04/2020 - 11:27

Just gauging the decision people would make if they were in my situation.

Currently my wife and I own a 2014 Mazda 3 Neo (base model). She is currently pregnant with our first (10 weeks, due Nov) and we have considered getting a new car. New car would most likely be a family SUV (Rav4, CX-5, etc) as she sees the height as a really good plus with putting kids in and taking them out of the car.
-Would be looking at a car around 40K-50K, no loan required
-Unsure to trade in Mazda 3 or not. currently only need 1 car, but may move and require a 2nd car for work

Would you spend the money and upgrade your car now (or in a few months), or save the money and use the Mazda 3 as a family car.

There are plenty of factors to think about.
-Wife has back issues so height really is a good idea
-more safety features on a car would be a plus
-Hard to test drive cars now(trying to isolate ourselves as best as possible atm as wife is vulnerable)
-Both jobs are relatively secure, but anything can change mainly in my job.
-Can the Mazda 3 be a good family car? have looked online at putting babyseats in them and most seem to take up alot of room that makes the front passenger seat unusable as its pushed all the way to the front.
-Main choice so far is a Rav4, seeing as there is a large wait time for them, would it be best to buy one now and hope it comes towards the end of the year. not sure if there are any more delays in regards to Covid-19

there are probs more factors as well.

Poll Options

  • 7
    Upgrade Car Now
  • 98
    Use Mazda 3 as Family Car
Automotive

Comments

  • spackbace on 22/04/2020 - 11:34
    +16

    Is that the only car in the household?

    (10 weeks, due Nov)

    Oh jees, wait a lot longer than that.

    I lost a daughter at 26 weeks. 10 weeks is early. There's zero reason for a family car now

    Would you spend the money and upgrade your car now (or in a few months)

    Wait till September (4-5 months time) before getting more serious. Even if you have to wait for a RAV4 hybrid at the time, you'll make do with the Mazda

    Side note, congrats on your swimmers working :P

    • floppy on 22/04/2020 - 11:41
      +1

      yeah its the only car.

      i just like to plan ahead, not looking to buy right now (unless potentially looking at something like Rav4 and the wait times).

      Sorry to hear about your lose. we have had to go down the IVF path (not age issue, more a me issue), so have had a number of scans and checks already. of course we still take every week as it comes.

      • spackbace on 22/04/2020 - 11:44
        +1

        Recommended viewing:
        What to Expect When You're Expecting (tear-jerker in parts when you've gone through my situation!)
        Being Dad 1&2 - Watched these when ex was pregnant with my first. Was really good getting the guys perspective

      • John Kimble on 22/04/2020 - 11:44
        +42

        not age issue, more a me issue

        Username checks out 🙊

        • Aussiebro on 25/04/2020 - 05:18

          Same thing popped in my head lol

    • cameldownunder on 22/04/2020 - 15:50
      +2

      I lost a daughter at 26 weeks. 10 weeks is early.

      Must have been a shock / terrible time. Hope the world is better now.

    • rainbowsprite on 23/04/2020 - 22:14

      I gave birth to bubs in July last year driving a 2 door Hyundai Getz and we were due to move overseas in November so we didn't want to buy a new car just for a few months. We made it work with the Getz for those few months, the Mazda will be fine.

      On a side note other than going home from the hospital or to doctors appointments, Mum and bubs aren't likely to be out and about in the car every day in the weeks or months following the birth, so you do have plenty of time to decide.

      I actually found going places by bus was way more convenient because I could pop baby in the pram and roll him everywhere without having to worry about getting him in and out or fiddling with the capsule. I know parents swear by them but I'm quite small and the bending over to slot the fittings exactly in was too much for me, especially after a c section.

  • nafe on 22/04/2020 - 11:34
    +4

    This is only based around personal experience of first child and a small car (smaller than your 3!)

    Go to a baby store and test out some seats. Some are more compact than others. They are happy for you to take a seat and see how it fits in your car.
    If you want a compact convertible seat, try something like a Britax Graphene - it's narrow, and doesn't recline too far when in rear facing mode.

    If you want a capsule, that's harder as they take more space than a 0-4yr convertible seat. Try the Joie I-Gemm as that's quite compact whilst also lighter than the equivalent Maxi-Cosi capsules.

    Also, for the first few months, you're unlikely to be driving the baby much except maybe to a regular doctor's appointment. Make people come to you to visit :)

    I'd hold off on the new car for a while personally, there will be plenty of deals to be had later in the year if you're still keen.

    • floppy on 22/04/2020 - 11:42

      Thanks for the ideas!

      yeah i was looking at reviews of people who had installed capsules as that's what the wife wants. believe me i have mentioned we probs won't be driving anywhere for a while.

      hopefully there are some deals later in the year.

      • spackbace on 22/04/2020 - 11:45
        +1

        If you get a capsule, maybe find one compatible with the pram.

        Ex insisted on a Baby Jogger City Select, and the capsule later on was a Maxi Cosi. With adapters or whatever, it went straight in

        • nafe on 22/04/2020 - 12:04

          Adaptors are usually pretty easy to get, but have to double check as some simply don't fit or adapt!

          Re. capsules, we had one in mind til I figured out it wouldnt fit once we tested it. I found the capsule great as bubba could be placed in, strapped up etc and then carried to the car - handy when it was raining, or when they were sleepy.

      • nafe on 22/04/2020 - 16:10
        +5

        FWIW, that first drive home with the bub was the most careful I've driven in my entire life LOL

      • smoothymcmellow on 23/04/2020 - 13:49
        +1

        I had the Joie i-Gemm for first 6 months of bub and a Mazda 3 (though a 2017 model)

        It was a little tight in the front but ok, we also used the Joie compact little pram as our run around and that fits in the boot nicely.

        It's amazing how little you will drive with the young bub and the Mazda 3 will be fine. Time flies and now I have a Britax safe and sound platinum pro and there is heaps of room in the front.

        Is it nice to have a bigger car? Probably. Is it necessary? Nope

  • Banville on 22/04/2020 - 11:35

    IMO right now you have the benefit of time, so you can wait a while longer for a deal on a car but also give yourself time to come to a solution that fits your exact needs. With the exception of the back issues, you may or may not be able to get along just fine with the Mazda. I don't have children so can't advise, but do you know how compatible your car is with childrens seats and whether the boot is big enough for most strollers?

  • Euphemistic on 22/04/2020 - 11:44
    +1

    Have friends with a similar age Mazda 3. They use it around town all the time for a family of 4 and have done for about 4 years since child two arrived.

    Having said that, they also have a larger car (currently a dual cab ute) which is used for holidays, especially for towing their caravan. The Mazda gets used more around town because it is cheaper to run and easier to park.

    • floppy on 22/04/2020 - 11:47

      oh good to know, the thing is we do travel around a bit (holidays, camping etc) and intend to more in the future i guess so not sure the Mazda 3 would be a great long term plan

      • Euphemistic on 22/04/2020 - 11:49

        But wait and see. No point going out spending $50k this early. Keep the money ready for an upgrade though.

  • pegaxs on 22/04/2020 - 11:44

    Lots of time to shop and try and sell your car privately. Prices will drop further as end of year is coming up, market is in a huge slump and that's exacerbated by the stay at home thing and people pulling back from major purchases in times of uncertain employment.

    Best deals to be had will be on very low km (see the 20~120km), in stock, demo models. Current MY vehicles built last year (2020MY, '19 built) will be burning holes in dealers and manufactures bottom lines, so aim for them.

    The RAV4 might be a nice vehicle, but the fact that there is still a wait list on it means that you will probably end up paying just about RRP for it unless you get somewhere that has a spare one from another buyer pulling out of their deal.

  • GangGang on 22/04/2020 - 11:47

    Neo is a hatchback yeah? If it is, it will do fine. More space with hatch than sedan. Ability to remove the privacy cover and store pram with shopping on top is so much easier. Sedans are a pain to load a pram & shopping all together.

  • ESEMCE on 22/04/2020 - 11:50
    +3

    Our first baby car was a 2009 i30, I'm 180cm and recall no issues sitting in the front passenger seat, which happened more often then cause my wife wasn't drinking while breastfeeding. Possibly front passenger may have to move forward slightly, but it wont make the seat unusable.

    You'll be fine for space in the Mazda 3.
    Boot space will also be fine.

    And for the first 6 months, baby is reasonably lightweight and in a capsule, so you'll have plenty of time to work out whether height is required.

  • donbot on 22/04/2020 - 11:55
    +2

    we're in a similar boat…. due in July. We decided to hold until bub comes along and better assess then.

    End of the day, you'll make do with what you've got - it might not be the exact best solution, but it'll work for long enough to work out what you really need/want, because at the moment, its just speculation.

  • floppy on 22/04/2020 - 12:02
    +1

    I will add that i was leaning more towards holding off from purchasing a new car atm. wait and see and how things go down the line. i know we can make do with our current car, and i also have the potential option to borrow my sisters CX-5 if we get in a predicament (they have a CX5 and CX9). the wife is pretty set on eventually getting some sort of family SUV, as she is a person that likes to get away with the fam and as mentioned likes the height advantage.

    • spackbace on 22/04/2020 - 12:06
      +1

      Encourage her to wait

      The other thing is if she needs a c-section, she won't be driving anywhere for a little while!

      • morse on 22/04/2020 - 15:16

        I was medically cleared for driving 4 weeks post cesarean. I was also lifting him in and out of car from 3days old when hubby drove. There’s lots of appointments in the first 6 weeks. I can’t imagine trying to go car shopping with bub (he’s now 7months) after he was born. It was great already having the car when shopping for car seats and pram etc so we knew what would fit.

    • donbot on 22/04/2020 - 13:59
      +1

      having gone from a 2008 ford focus hatchback to a kia sportage, dont assume that the SUV will have more room to 'get away with the fam'. My experience is the opposite.

      That focus had immense space compared to the SUV. the first time we went camping with the suv we were like 'uh…. what the? All this stuff used to fit in the focus, how does this not work?' We've learned to live with it, but yeah, it was a shock.

      We had other reasons for switching over (focus was a manual, wife cannot drive manual being the major one, picked up the sportage on the cheap as a switchover from the focus). Now she wants to go back to the hatchback (an i30) - but I've said hold off until bub actually comes and see if height is preferable to the hatch.

      Proof that no matter what you do - you'll get it wrong!!

  • John Kimble on 22/04/2020 - 12:09
    +3

    If she's anything like my wife, she will want new everything and it's hard to argue with a first time pregnant partner…spent so much money it still hurts. 😭

    Although she has always had champagne tastes on a beer budget…the pregnant bit just made it that much worse.

  • Daabido on 22/04/2020 - 12:13

    Falcon on gas. Oh sorry, I thought I was on Whirlpool.

  • Realsteel on 22/04/2020 - 12:34
    +1

    Congrats on the news! Just sharing my experience, just had our first baby in March this year. I was contemplating buying a car as well (given we have just the one family sedan which we have owned for 11 years). Never got around to buying one as got tied up with work and other commitments. Given the current environment, it was a blessing in disguise as the car would have been garaged all the time. Before the restrictions hit, Bub travelled in car only twice -one from hospital to home and once to the maternal health centre for first assessment. After restrictions, baby check ups are being done via phone calls. Bub was lucky to have another trip in the car for his first vaccination. Wife is on parental leave and I am currently working from home so even the current car is not getting much run.

    For now, i am happy to use my current car for another 6 months before making a decision. I have gotten used to the idea of using my current car. In your situation, I would wait it out and make a call later during the year. I understand your dynamics maybe different with wife's back and other consideration but still makes sense to wait it out and see how things unfold.

    Good luck with the new arrival!

    • floppy on 22/04/2020 - 12:45

      Thanks mate, yeh that's seem to have confirmed most of my thoughts, cheers for that.

  • tsunamisurfer on 22/04/2020 - 12:44

    I had my first child in early 2010's into a 1995 Hyundai Excel hatch.

    It was fine, there is more than enough room for a 0-4 child seat plus a nappy bag full of necessary items with plenty of space for shopping etc.

  • Tomatosaucevinegar on 22/04/2020 - 12:48
    +1

    I think use the mazda3 for now and wait to purchase a new mid sized SUV of your choice later. You never know if you can score a better deal if the car industry tanks.

    Personally, I use a Mazda Cx5 for my 18 month old and my parents bought a Merc GLC250 to drive the baby around as well when they look after him 3 days a week. It helps that the cars are higher and you're able to put the baby into the car seat easier. Also for the grandparents they just couldnt bend down and strain, which might be similar to your wife depending on how hard the birth is on her.

    best of luck with everything!

  • Ghost47 on 22/04/2020 - 12:56
    +1

    $40k - $50k is a lot of money to throw down to get a car for essentially a baby IMO…

    I would personally stick with what we had and if absolutely required buy a slightly used car instead of a brand new one and save some cash. Babies aren't cheap… but if you have say $200k sitting in the bank doing nothing then maybe it's not a bad idea if you feel like it's worth it. Otherwise you could end up regretting spending so much on a car if something goes south in the coming months.

  • Baa on 22/04/2020 - 13:13
    +1

    We had three car seats in a Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla. Toyota was super tight but plenty of space in the Mazda.

    While they are rear facing it is a bit more fun, but certainly not too difficult!

  • WaitAwhile on 22/04/2020 - 13:53
    +3

    Option 3 Upgrade Wife.

    • kolorijo on 22/04/2020 - 14:52

      How about the baby?

  • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2020 - 13:56

    I'm going to go the other way here. I think you should buy a different car.

    I don't think you should buy a new car.

    Get a 1-3yr old small SUV. You will get the height advantage, most of the "newness" advantage, and a lot less cost.

    I don't think that a Mazda 3 is impossible as a family car but I understand and agree that it's not ideal.

    Look at the Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester/Outback, Suzuki Vitara, and the old Toyota RAV4 (or a demo if such a thing exists yet).

    You dodge probably 25% of the depreciation if you buy a late model used car and barely lose any of the benefits. It's a no brainier.

  • roundnumbersonly on 22/04/2020 - 14:13

    Unfortunately your wife's back problems are likely to get worse as the baby grows/she gives birth. Heated seats might help (assuming she'll be using the car more). Also, if you plan on having more kids, you may want to consider 7 seats.

    • Banana on 22/04/2020 - 15:47

      That escalated quickly…calm down, they are only on 0.5!

    • nafe on 22/04/2020 - 16:09
      +1

      7 seater makes sense when the kids are older….

      • John Kimble on 22/04/2020 - 17:02
        +1

        Yep, wait until car seats are not required, otherwise they just hinder the access to the third row.

  • morse on 22/04/2020 - 14:47
    +1

    Do upgrade. But maybe wait a few months as I suspect they will be some good deals around later (might already be though). We got a Honda CRV whilst I was pregnant knowing that they height would likely be helpful with a baby and haven’t regretted it at all. Love the height and air con in back for baby. Automatic boot is another great feature with a baby. I can’t imagine using our other car (corolla) full time with bub.

  • muzzamo on 22/04/2020 - 16:07
    +1

    +1 for upgrading, but it isn't urgent. A couple of months after the baby will be fine.

    We bought a 2019 Forester 2.5i-s for the arrival of our first baby, upgrading from a camry. It's loaded with safety tech.

    The big benefits for getting an SUV is the easy dragging of the pram out of the boot, and for easily taking the child in/out of the car without bending over.

    Upgrading from your mazda (295L boot space) to a RAV4 (580L boot space) will give you a neat increase in space, but to get the most of it you need to stack things vertically in the boot as that space is measured right to the ceiling, however it is still worth it. You can also fold the seats down for transporting ikea furniture, mountain bikes and the like.

    15 months after the baby has come along we are getting right into camping, so we have the forester (500L boot space) and a 600L roof pod, which is just enough for our camping needs.

    One other thing to think about is your pram/capsule setup. If you sort it out right, you can get a pram and compatible brackets/attachable capsule and a capsule dock for the car. You end up with a situation where you have the capsule that can be "docked" in the car, quickly "undocked" and "docked" again on the pram.

    One other thing to consider is to make sure that whatever car you get (particularly if second hand) then you want isofix for rapid mounting of baby seats and capsule docks.

  • PissLUR on 22/04/2020 - 17:02
    -2

    you have the money. so just buy it.

  • Halo375 on 22/04/2020 - 19:43

    The mazda 3 is fine - you dont need a lot of stuff early on depending on how big your pram is.

    I would consider a larger used car - $40,000 is a bit over the top in this difficult time.

  • macfudd on 22/04/2020 - 20:02

    Two years ago I had back surgery 4 weeks before our first child was born. Our car at the time was a Nissan Micra (still is, though we have a skoda wagon as well now). The trick I quickly learned is that you don't actually have to bend over to put a child in a carseat even in a small car.

    Treat it like tetris, Rotate child so they are horizontal, have your arms at an appropriate height so the kid will fit between the roof and the seat. Step forward so they are now suspended over the seat, lower your arms. The whole time keeping your back straight. Now the weight of the child is out of your arms you can easily bend to fasten their belt etc. Still works with son now he is two years old. Was weird at first cause you feel like you need to see what you are doing, but actually, you don't, the car and baby aren't moving.

    Other stuff;
    -Consider your lifestyle, we took far, far fewer car trips in the first 6 months than we thought we would.
    -If your wife really wants a capsule - just rent it for 6 months then buy a carseat after that. Much easier.
    -Capsules are bloody heavy with a baby inside, and really bulky and awkward to carry. We have one for our second kid and I can't carry it far without backpain.
    -The micra fits a standard rear facing carseat (Maxi-cosi) just fine, had to move the seat forward a little but not much (1-2 notches).
    -From 2 months until he broke us at 8 months our kid screamed through literally all car journeys from start to stop. We changed him to forward facing and crying stopped. Forward facing in the micra the carseat takes up much less room.
    -If you do get an SUV make sure the boot can easily fit your pram, like take it along and try it. That's why we got the wagon. Could just lay the pram horizontally, chuck any shopping on top its sorted. So many cheaper SUV's we looked at had a lot of vertical space which is far harder to use.

  • Enzalicious on 23/04/2020 - 00:04

    I had a Mazda 3 with both kids.

    Rearward facing baby capsules take up a lot of room. My wife is a short ass, so moving the passenger seat forward wasn’t an issue to accommodate the capsule.

    We had a capsule type seat that had a base. So we were able to take out the capsule with the baby in it. This is a good option as when the baby isn’t in the car the passenger seat can be moved back for other passengers. Taking the capsule in and out of the car is pretty easy, even in a low car like a Mazda 3.

    Once you move into a forward facing seat ( ~12 months) you’ll have more room.

    • morse on 23/04/2020 - 04:33

      Whilst you can go forward facing at 12months - extended rear facing to 2-3years is recommended and safer if it’s an option. A lot of the extended rear facing seats are bigger and only suitable for a bigger car.

      I personally found the capsule to be really heavy once the weight of the baby was added and ours was the lightest available, so much preferred just lifting bub in and out of the car (like OPs wife I have back issues). Each to their own, but having the bigger car in our case meant we don’t have to take the seat out for the passenger seat to go back, even with a large rear facing seat.

      • nafe on 23/04/2020 - 08:38

        One suggestion I saw was someone took 4 x 1kg bags of flour in a plastic bag to the baby shop and tried the capsules with 4kg of weight in them to see how it was getting them inand out etc. Not a bad idea I thought!

        For those with back issues, I wouldn't recommend a capsule. If you are of moderate strength, then a capsule shouldn't be an issue

        @morse - did you have the Nuna capsule?

        • morse on 23/04/2020 - 12:44

          I was going to do something similar by carrying and lifting a bag of rice around to get fit before baby came - didn't happen, lucky they don't grow too quickly, although he's almost tripled in weight in 7 months.

          We had the Maxi Cosi Citi which is 3.2kg - only chose it as got a DJs bargain at $150, it's a bit lighter than the Nuna. He's now in the Britax Platinum Pro carseat, which is great, he's always very happy in the car, and seems comfier since going since going into the bigger seat. For us a capsule wasn't really useful, but other people swear by them.

          • nafe on 23/04/2020 - 12:53

            @morse: I swear by them, but I always tell people it's still an individual choice. The number of times it's saved my bacon with a sleeping bub has paid for the cost easily LOL. We have the Britax Graphene now, needed something a bit more compact. He's happy in it, so we're happy!

            I wanted the Nuna, but it was physically so long it didn't fit in our small car!

  • HeWhoKnows on 23/04/2020 - 07:58

    OP should wait until he is decided, not just thinking about it.
    OP will know when its time for a bigger car.
    One baby/child just NOT justify an SUV.
    And for the next 12 - 18 mths we wont be using our cars as much as in the past

  • golfer dad on 23/04/2020 - 08:58
    +2

    How secure are both your jobs and are you likely to face reduced hours/take pay cut? There's a lot of expenses associated with raising children (I have 3) so I would think long and hard about spending $50k on a rapidly depreciating asset. You won't be going out much in the first 6 months with the bub and we might still have restricted movement policy well into next year. If you really need to get a SUV for better driving views and to help with your wife's back, then get a used SUV with lowish kms and have $20k as emergency living funds in case one of you get laid off.

  • ShahAU786 on 23/04/2020 - 09:00

    Well, congrats! I am assuming that this is your first child?

    I am not sure of online reviews about "have looked online at putting baby seats in them and most seem to take up a lot of room that makes the front passenger seat unusable as its pushed all the way to the front".

    Being a parent of 4yo, I can confidently say that car seats work fine in, specially if it is a Mazda 3 Hatch. Safest place to install a car seat for newborn is the middle position. As you have mentioned about the back issue of your wife, rear left is next next safe location.

    About a month ago, we have just bought Mazda 3 SP25 MY13 for my wife, installed the car seat at rear left. I still have enough space for an adult to sit comfortably. I am 5'10" and have no issues being a passenger at the front seat. My son sits in the car seat comfortably.

    I wasn't a big fan of hatch cars due to small boot space until I saw Mazda 3. It has quite a large boot space. My initial priority was always a sedan. As much as you drive carefully on the road, you don't know how the driver behind you drives. In case of unfortunate situation, the impact comes directly at the rear seat if it is small hatch like Yaris.

    Anyway, Mazda 3 seems a good car to me. Would suggest to upgrade to SUV only due to back issue, but 40-50k for a car sounds too much at this time. Save for the new life :) Open a bank account for a newborn.

    All the best.

  • thardy456 on 23/04/2020 - 10:22

    My feeling is new cars are such a waste of money, if you do want to upgrade buy a 3 year old quality car from pickles, Camry hybrid. I'd put off any purchase until you could afford an EV electric car, there are only a few options atm but more are coming this year and next. They are soooooo much better than ICE cars, almost no maintenance, very low running cost, quiet, better for the planet. Take one for a test drive and you won't believe how good they are. Watch this Tony Seba video if you have time: https://youtu.be/O-kbzfWzvSI

  • mjwills on 23/04/2020 - 15:16

    We had three small children, and had three (child) car seats in a Corolla. Mazda 3 should be fine for you.

  • TimOfEastBNE on 24/04/2020 - 01:16
    +1

    I raised small children with a corolla, the 3 will be fine.

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