3rd vehicle

[gwl79902]

I am playing around with the idea of getting a 3 rd vehicle for the family. Wife has an 04 4Runner that round great and she will not part with it. I have a 04 chevy silverado, good truck and has tons of life in it but I hate to drive in town in it.

SO ideas I am playing with are:
I have always wanted a jeep
Regular cab 2000's toyota 4x4 pickup
Small car like a Mazda 3 cheap
Regular cab short bed silverado

Just day dreaming but would love to hear ideas

 

[Where's Bruce?]

[video=youtube;wHJTZ7k0BXU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJTZ7k0BXU[/video]

 

[Carlin59]

The wife and I run three vehicles and it works well. Small SUV for her/ Ski weekends, economic commuter for me, and a Nissan Xterra for my hunting vehicle/bad weather/hauling/borrow for friends/other car in the shop vehicle. Works well since the commuter car and Xterra are paid off and older. Really like having options.

 

[flyinsquirel]

Corolla. Cheap, simple, reliable.

 

[MuleyFever]

But, why do you want a third vehicle?

 

[elkduds]

We have a 3rd car so we can put one in the shop and keep rolling. Ours are older so we maintain/repair them diligently. I can put smooth miles on the commuter which saves adventure/utility miles for the 4x4. And I can sell one without finding the perfect replacement beforehand.

 

[gwl79902]

Muleyfever asks a good question and hard to answer. I can make up some ok reasons for a third vehicle but comes down to I just want one. Right now I have a take home rig and only drive my truck once or twice a week. I will retire in about 2 years and will drive more then.

The other side of me says buy more tags and go on more hunts!!! Or go fishing more, spend the money on fun rather than more stuff to care for

 

[bojangles808]

cheap commuter accord or corolla

 

[tttoadman]

I love my chevy cruze. Pretty cheap and simple.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

My wife and I own two accords and a dodge diesel pickup. Ideally, I'd like to have a car with great gas mileage, a four wheel drive SUV, and a truck to pull whatever.

 

[colersu22]

I have been debating the pro's and con's of getting a third vehicle as well. My dodge 1500 only gets 11MPG and driving 50 miles round trip plus paid parking is getting pricey, not to add that parking when free in Seattle is not ideal for a full size lifted truck. I have been looking at different cars but would really like a 86-88 or 89-93 Toyota standard cab with a 22re and 4x4 so I can use it for commuting and also a take hunting so I don't tear apart my nice truck.

 

[Squirrels]

Small car for you to commute in is the most economical choice and make the most sense with what you have. I have an 04 4 wheel drive truck, wife has a car, I bought a corolla about 16 months ago and it gets around 40 mpg. I have put less than a 1000 miles on my pickup since, put 25k on the corolla since buying it. Bough my wifes camry (new) the same day I bought the corolla. We drive the corolla just about 98% of the time when we go somewhere together and she has only put 11k on the camry since we bought it due to that fact. Regretted selling her explorer to get the camry at first but the money saved in fuel was well worth it the day she got a promotion and her commute tripled.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

i'm in the exact same boat. i currently drive an old xterra with 218,000 miles on it everyday and my wife drives an older honda civic. rather than trading one of these cars in and getting nothing for it, i'm looking to buy her a nicer car that is her everyday driver and used for family/vacation/weekend stuff. i'll start driving her civic back and forth to work everyday which gets crazy good gas mileage. xterra will get reserved for hunting, going to the dump, bad weather, etc. the money just saved from me driving the civic instead of my xterra back and forth to work everyday puts a good dent in a car payment. and if one car goes down we're covered. 3 cars makes complete since to me.

 

[Billinsd]

My wife and I both have 2017 civic hatchbacks. Cheap, base model was $22,000 out the door!! We love them, 38 mpg city/hwy and I have a 2002 Tacoma with 130,000 miles for hunting/camping and going to Home Depot.

 

[Billinsd]

i'm in the exact same boat. i currently drive an old xterra with 218,000 miles on it everyday and my wife drives an older honda civic. rather than trading one of these cars in and getting nothing for it, i'm looking to buy her a nicer car that is her everyday driver and used for family/vacation/weekend stuff. i'll start driving her civic back and forth to work everyday which gets crazy good gas mileage. xterra will get reserved for hunting, going to the dump, bad weather, etc. the money just saved from me driving the civic instead of my xterra back and forth to work everyday puts a good dent in a car payment. and if one car goes down we're covered. 3 cars makes complete since to me.

That's like me. The civic is also much cheaper to maintain than your Xterra.

 

[rayporter]

we keep 2 big ol diesel trucks and a cheap car that is to drive to town, it is just to keep as much mileage OFF of the trucks as possible.

replacing or repairing the trucks is costly and we try to avoid that to prolong the life of the trucks. the car is considered expendable.

 

[IdahoElk]

I was in the same exact spot,wife has a 04 4runner, I had a pickup that I loved to drive around town but hated to take on long rides(opposite of you). I sold the truck, bought another 4runner and a trailer so I could get lumber and stuff, Couldn't be happier.

 

[gwl79902]

All good points. I agree keeping miles low on the most expensive rig is a good idea. My truck is ok for hunting, hauling my rv, and all the truck stuff. It is not a 2500 diesel but it works. I also only paid 15000 for it 4 years ago and it has 100000 miles. It will last us years. I did not add in that I have a 8 year old boy and I am 50 so I will be young when I retire and will still have a young boy to hunt and fish with.

I think what I may do is just put money away and when I retire pick up a toyota pick up or 4Runner and pay cash then. In the mean time just drive my truck when I need to and spend money on trips

 

[outdoor_matt]

Corolla. Cheap, simple, reliable.

This is exactly what I would do. The fuel savings are enormous, and the maintenance costs are very minimal.

 

[handwerk]

We've had and extra car or two since our kids started driving years ago, and now they've all moved out and we still keep an extra car around to save on gas, as our other rigs are 2011 4runner and 2006 tundra, plus I write mileage off for work so it makes good dollar sense. What you get would depend on where you live, for us getting around during our 5+ months of winter plays a big part in our decision. If I was in your shoes I'd get something that starts with either toyota or honda.