Would you trade for something else?

[mom2two66]

So, we have a 2007 "gas hog" Suburban that is paid for. We used to have a travel trailer we pulled with it but no longer have that as we never had time to use it. I want to trade straight across for something newer, with less miles and gets better gas mileage. Hubby isn't so sure. To me it's a given, the thing costs way to much! But, we are a family of 4 and my son plays baseball, therefore, we need space for gear. So, I am open to ideas. Should we go for mid sized cars and if so what has lots of trunk space or opt. for something like a crossover? How do I persuade the hubby?

Thanks!

[jas]

sounds like you still need something with space for all the sports items. You could go a little smaller with like an Explorer size. That is what I have. I really don't need that much space anymore but it is paid for and even with gas going up it is still cheaper for me than another car payment.

I don't know how much you pay or use in gas now as compared to something just a little smaller. For the biggest gas savings of course you would have to go way smaller, but I don't know how well that would fit into your families needs.

[Contrary Housewife]

Our 2007 Accord is very roomy, as in full grown adults can sit comfortably in the back, and has a trunk you can stash several bodies in. It would easily hold baseball equipment.

And it gets 30+ mpg.

[bumplett]

If I were you, I'd opt to keep the paid for Suburban.

that's jmo.

[Spirit Deer]

Not enough info.

If you put a lot of miles on it, it might be worth the cost to trade. If you don't, then maybe not.

If you track your current gas mileage and fuel costs, you can easily run the numbers and figure out if it's worth it. You would know what it's costing you now to drive the miles you typically drive. Then, if you can find out the real world mpg of a car you might be interested in, you can run the same formulas and figure out what the fuel costs would be for that. Keep in mind the mpg ratings the manufacturers use are usually pretty optimistic, so you would probably get less savings than you figure if you use their numbers. Don't forget to add in the cost of the car itself, and be realistic about the value of your 'Burban. With gas prices up, the value of trucks tends to go down in spite of what book values claim to be. We bought our truck when gas prices hit $4 the first time, at a busy dealership where it had sat for months, for well under book value. I think we were lucky enough to hit the bottom of the market. You would have to research what the current market is for trucks, and look beyond KBB values.

[mom2two66]

Thanks for your help. I am still leaning towards trading it. I wouldn't be against driving something like an Accord but have really never checked the trunk to see how much room there is. We do put miles on our vehicle as my son plays traveling baseball. The farthest we have traveled for a tournament is 4 hours but I doubt we will do that again. Mostly we travel an hour away. We only played 3 tournaments here in our town. So we put a lot of miles on our Suburban which means lots of gas. I basically told my husband we can work with it.

Decisions, decisions decisions!

Thanks!

[Frugal Sooner]

First of all, when you say 'trade' I hope you're not talking about a car lot? I'd stay away from those!! You will get less for your trade than it's worth, and pay more for another vehicle than it's worth. That difference is called 'profit' to the dealer.

Private sales are not about profit, they're about getting rid of what they have at the least amount of loss possible.

First, see how much you can expect to sell that Suburban for using kbb.com, edmunds.com. Then put it up for sale by owner. When you have sold it and have the cash in hand, go buy another used car from another private owner. There's always deals out there when you know what you're looking for, and cash talks.

Any other route and you'll get too little and pay too much.

My .02 cents.