Okay everyone I'm at an impass here and I'm hoping I can get some opinions here. My wife and I are looking at starting a family soon and as many of you know, the tC and strollers/carseats don't mix very well. Yes, you can get a carseat back there, but man is it a pain in the butt! SO! We've been brainstorming what we would like as far as a family car. We've looked at xB's quite a bit, older and newer, as well as the xD among other cars (Rav4, matrix, mazda 3 & 6, etc...)

We were at the local dealership today and they had a couple xB's that are quite nice that should fill our needs, but I want to make sure the offer is a good deal and maybe get some insight as to whether or not they will fit our needs?

Option 1:
2006 xB RS 4.0, 11,000 miles Automatic Trans
This is a stock (as an RS gets) RS 4 in great condition. The dealer wants 18k for it and will give me 14.2k for my car. It would add an extra year to my loan (have 2 years left now) at the same price. I love the paint on the RS 4! However, it is a lot of money...

Option 2:
2006 white xB, 7000 miles Manual Trans
This was the dealership's show car. It's dressed to the T's. A brief list of the main mods:
Sunroof (electric)
Full tint
Heated leather seats (including headrest monitors)
19" TRD wheels
Lowered on (I think) TRD springs
Alpine nav system
Full infinity speaker system
JBL subs in the back with JBL amps built into the side walls (where that cubby is)
14" flip-down monitor built into the hatch, connected to an Xbox 360 mounted in the trunk
Rockblocker on the front
Plus a bunch of other smaller mods (sport pedals, etc...)

This one is very clean and extremely nice! The dealer wants 19,777 for it and will only give me 13k for my car if I trade in for this one. The price is a steal, I know, but the main problems I have here are A) the trade-in for my tC and B) the trunk space is used up by the Xbox and subs. I'm sure I could remove those when I need to easily enough, and replace for show, but I'm not sure if I want to worry about it. Plus this is even more money.

Option 3:
Sell the tC private party and buy a used xB, also private party. I could actually kill most of my loan if I went this route, most likely.

Here's a look at my car:
2006 FM tC, 21k miles, manual, and a few mods:
Full tint
Full illumination change (gauges, hvac, everything is blue)
Megan headers, TRD axleback, and custom exhaust in between (with a big resonator)
Rockford Fosgate deck, full infinity speakers
JL W6v2 with a Phoenixgold 900.1 amp... this thing hits HARD
Full paint and interior fabric sealing and protectant

My car is in top shape, no scratches except a little bit of curb rash on the wheels. IMO the tC is worth more than they're willing to give me in trade, but if I wait too long those 2 will be gone...

What do you guys think?

 

xBs are cool, but I have to vote for the RAV4.
My wife has one and she loves it!
I've seen some great deals lately too.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, so good luck with the car and the family.

I roll with a baby-seat 24/7, so I know it's not easy, but the tC is surprisingly good for that.
Strollers, not so much.

 

run though i really like the color on the rs4. where you have the problem would be repainting it. if something happens to where you have to get it repainted. matching it could be a nightmare. it is also the type of car likely to randomly keyed by some fool. but like i said i love the color extremely. if they ever brought that color out on the 08 i will be the first inline for it. but you have to think this way as well.

option 2 isn't bad either. i mean sun roof is great to have

 

Like I said on the phone...the stroller and all the other baby incidentals make space a premium so #2 is hard even though its so cool and such a steal over-all.

Mo & I are going to upgrade later this summer to a larger vehicle because the car seat, stroller, & diaper bag take up so much room that carrying passengers &/or other stuff (like groceries) can be hard in a stock xB.

 

That's a tough choice. I would get out there and test drive all the different cars to see what is more confortable for you and your wife and that would have the room for the newborn and all the necessary stuff needed.


I love my xb and don't see me getting rid of it anytime soon, but like Corey said there isn't a lot of storage room behind the rear seats (maybe a little more in the new ones) so I don't think the xb is a good choice for your family.

I think the Rav 4 is a good idea or maybe try to pick up a slightly used 4-runner if you're trying to stick with the Toyota brand.

What ever it is that you chose, make sure that it will be comfy and will accomondate everything you need. Just my opinion, I think (right now) that the Scion line won't give you that versatility. They are awesome cars for singles, couples or kids who don't require handbags, strollers and so on.

Hell go big and get the new Highlander - that should give you plenty of room =)

 

Thats tough. From a dealer standpoint you will always get more money from private party because even though the Scion champion may appreciate aftermarket accessories higher up managers do not.

If you have the factory deck I would pull out your deck and speakers then you can put those in the new ride or at least sell them seperately.

Good luck!!!

 

Have you checked the pricing on the RS 5?

 

Either way you go 13k for your tC is good, considering it is a manual and retailed for $16,500 new. If I was only looking at the numbers surprisingly the dealer is not trying to screw you. All are a good deal, the show xB is an incredible deal, however probably not the most practical.

My $0.02

From a depreciation standpoint the 06 xB’s are not a good idea, you are basically paying full price for the RS 4 when it is worth a little less because it is now 2008 and the car is considered almost two years old. Even if you pay cash say the car is totaled a few weeks from when you buy it you will most likely get a lot less from your insurance company.

As for the show xB same issue with depreciation and IMO owning a show car with a kid is a bad idea. The car’s interior will be impossible to keep clean, the ride on the xB is not that great to begin with and once it is lowered it is worse. Having sat with Bronwyn in the back or our lowered xB I noticed she gets jiggled around over every bump. Plus placing the car seat in the center leaves little room for stuff on the sides and it is cramped for a person. Additionally the added hassle of having a show car from not knowing how stuff was installed to having to deal with replacing items can be a pain when they are damaged. There is also the potential for having stuff go wrong or other stuff having issues. There are at least two SL members with show cars that have a mysterious drain that kills their battery daily.

The first question I would ask is how much do you want to spend? It sounds like you are okay with the 19-20k range I would go for a Rav4 or xB2. The xB2 has some great reviews and Motor week did recommend it for families as their number one pick. http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/dc2008/00.shtml

Also shop around there are a lot of cars from other manufacturers out there that are worth considering and if you are okay going used you can get some good deals. If you love the older xB you can get the 04-05 model year ones with a little more miles for 10-12k. With that savings you could potential even get a 2nd car.

 

They don't like the xB2.

 

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the input. I think right now after sleeping on it I've decided against both xB's for now. The reason we were steering toward the older xB's was for room and mileage. I work as an insurance agent and I drive a LOT! So the better gas mileage would be nice.

Surprisingly, the ride in the show xB was pretty decent, as well as the road noise, but IMO it's just more than I want to spend. I would have no problem with the mods as long as I could speak to the installer. Most of the stuff they did was mods I could do myself, but don't have the time to do really. I'm leaning toward trading for something closer to the trade-in value of my tC now. We want to get rid of the auto debt asap.

We did test out the xD and really liked the ride and noise, even though it is quite small (we love small, though!). Also, I think the new xB is starting to grow on Abbi (don't know about myself, however...) and man do they have lots of trunk space!!

Basically what we are looking for is something that you can get a car seat in and out of easily and that can hold a stroller in the back but is as small as possible with decent gas mileage that can accomodate those 2 requirements. I'd like to stick to Toyota if possible, but at least keep it an import if I can't find what I want...

 

18k for an 06 xb is ridiculous. rs4 or not. my 06 non-rs4 was 15.2k brand new.

 

The RS keep their value better than the others, but I agree totaly not worth it.

 

Definitely try to sell your tC private party. I sold mine for $16K and didn't have all the mods you have, granted most people don't pay a whole lot extra for them anyways. There's a little more work involved, but it was worth it in the end.

Like others said, take a look at other cars out there. You mentioned a couple nice one's ( Mazda's ) . . . there's the Corolla ( maybe too small? ), the Camry . . . there are so many nice 4 door's out there nowdays!

Well good luck whatever you do!

evette

 

The new Corolla is bigger and nice! The XRS is back too with AWD.

 

We tested out the Corolla and Matrix alongside the xD today and boy were we surprised by the results. The Matrix is out. It was too noisy and felt just big and bulky. The Corolla's ride was VERY smooth and quiet, but felt a little too mundane in the end (poor acceleration and very floaty steering).

But get this: We borrowed my friend's stroller and carseat and brought them with us. Now, keep in mind that her son has special needs so she has an imported stroller designed to do all kinds of crazy stuff and hold a kid up to 88lbs. The thing is huge!! We wanted to see how things fit in all the cars (testing the xB2 on Thursday) and we were surprised. We figured if we could fit THAT stroller in a car, we would be fine.

It fit in the xD better than the Corolla or Matrix. Go fig...

For the time being we're actually leaning toward the xD. We'll find out more on Thursday after some more extensive test drives... Plus we'll look at the xB2 and maybe even the Prius. We've been looking into other brands as well, but keep coming back to Toyota in the end... The Nissan Versa felt pretty sluggish and the cargo space wasn't much better. The Honda Fit is, well, a Honda Fit. If I say more about the Fit I'll be tempted to vomit. Even the Mazda 3 didn't have much more to offer in boot space.

BTW, does anyone know anything about the new Toyota Venza?

 

The Venza is supposed to fall in between the Rav4 and Highlander, so it'll probably be priced in the mid $20's.

What were your impressions on driving the xD?

 

how about the subaru impreza sedan/hatch? i like the new ones

 

xD has the same engine as the corolla you test drove so they should in theory anyway be about the same. The XRS corolla has the same 2.4L engine that is in your tC and the Camry.

http://www.toyota.com/upcoming-vehicles/index.html

 

This is true. However the auto trans in the Corolla made the drive feel like I was driving a Chevy Celebrity...

Impressions on driving the xD:
It's not quite as fast as the tC (obviously), but it is very quick and nimble. Its small size and design make it easy to drive and direct, plus you can fit the thing just about anywhere. The ride is smoother than the tC, which I'm assuming is due to the larger tires. Also, the road noise is less than inside the tC, but not as quiet as the Corolla.

Overall it's a very fun drive. The handling is somewhat go-kartish, but it doesn't feel like a toy. The steering and throttle are nice and responsive, but the brakes are a little squishy. However, with it's ABS you can stop the thing fast. I slammed the brakes with 3 people inside and was surprised how quick it stopped. I didn't even feel the "chunk chunk chunk" of the ABS like you do in the xB2. It is quick enough to easily handle merging into faster traffic. if necessary. Even considering it's small size it feels quite secure. 6 airbags standard is quite nice and lend to high crash ratings.

Another interesting thing... I almost liked driving the automatic more than the manual. The shifting seems loose and almost sloppy, and while the clutch is softer than the tC, I still feel like I have to push the clutch halfway into the engine.

I'll be driving some more vehicles and the xD again on Wednesday, so we will have more then.

 

i would keep the TC