help - need to discuss DD replacement quickly

Bribe grandparents for upgrade and say Hello Myrtle beach , Headline reads "Pappa saves summer vacation "

Karl La Follette wrote: Bribe grandparents for upgrade and say Hello Myrtle beach , Headline reads "Pappa saves summer vacation "

I have no idea what you mean. We're planning on re-trying the trip when we get the Freestyle back.

nothing beats a vacation in a rental ///////

Karl La Follette wrote: nothing beats a vacation in a rental ///////

Nah - not nearly enough room, and even if someone ponied up the extra cash for a rental minivan we can't just up and go, weekends with nothing going on are scarce.

A Mazda5 will probably be too small for your crew, if you’re average size or better. I’m 6’2”, wife is 5’9”, our kids are getting bigger every day. I almost was sure I wanted to buy one a few weeks ago to replace the old Montero (when I was puzzling out my own transmission deal), went as far as to drive one- I’d been told “hey, it’s just a Mazda3 with 2 extra seats grafted into the way back.” Not so much- they also apparently shifted the driver’s seat forward 3 or so inches to free up some legroom for the back rows. It drove nice, but I was totally crammed into it, much more than I was with the Mazda3 I used to have. As an 80% size minivan, it’s great if you’re 80% size people, but we’re not. :(

I also drove a new Flex, just to see if it was any better/nicer/ different than my wife’s car. Way more whiz-bang stuff (onboard WiFi!, multiple glass panels on roof!, cooler in the glovebox!, etc), but the car is virtually exactly the same on the inside in terms of space. TaurusX is good bang for the buck, then- you get all the space, but none of the stupid crap you don’t need. All that to say: I went home and got a high five from my wife when I reminded her what we paid for her car vs what a new flex costs.

Other than that, you’re looking at the big SUVs to move 5 people and their stuff. Minivans are just too expensive to start with these days- even a 5-year-old one will still be $10-15k+, just because it started depreciating at $32k, which is just bonkers.

couple year old CX-9? mazda6 wagon might be in that price range

Strizzo wrote: couple year old CX-9? mazda6 wagon might be in that price range

CX9 is pretty pricey and also pretty inefficient.

Mazda6 wagon doesn't have three rows, which is pretty important.

Good shots, though.

Used Volvo wagon with 3rd row seat.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Used Volvo wagon with 3rd row seat.

No kidding. Let's not forget that thing blew up the transmission too! Not enough cargo room with the third row up and the wife said the kids were too young for the flip up row anyway.

difference on the volvo is used trans can be had for under $150 any day of the week and as little as $40 at the right JY ;-)...

but yes your crew needs something bigger then the volvo wagon...

Total came to $62.63 with taxes for a part which the shop broke and the warranty company would not pay for. They even paid for he lost coolant and the tow to the shop. Amazing things, these warranties. I think the rental was only covered up to $35/day so I'll owe something like $3/day for 6 days on that.

Pretty damn good considering the possibilities you were facing at the start of this thread. Really glad to hear it worked out!

Now the obvious question. You gonna sell it ASAP?

Klayfish wrote: Pretty damn good considering the possibilities you were facing at the start of this thread. Really glad to hear it worked out! Now the obvious question. You gonna sell it ASAP?

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/transmission-swap-slightly-unconventional/37419/page1/

Maybe... can't afford a Taurus X yet, can I afford what we talked about in the link?

No, because the wife is going to be pissed if you take her car off the road for a month.

Starting to think that a 5 or 1st gen Ody with a trailer hitch and a cargo carrier may be the answer. The Taurus X's are still pretty unattainable in price.