[USER]

Wanting advice?
I’m wanting to get a newer car. I’m a single working parent with 2 young kids and my current car is paid off but at 165,000 miles.

I’d like to get something with more seats so I can tote more kids and am wanting something used but not a lot of miles and will plan to keep for probably 10 years.

I’ve been looking at Honda pilots and I’m wondering what is the best to do?

I’m planning on selling or trading in my car (2016 Honda crv) but is it best to buy from a dealership and trade in or buy from an owner and either get a cash loan and pay off and have mechanic check it out?

I’m really looking for the easiest option because I don’t have a lot of free time.

The only current debt I have is my mortgage ~183,000
I can comfortably but 5000 down

[Sarah]

it doesn’t seem necessary at this time. But you did say it was a want vs need. So, then it’s up to you based on your financial goals.

I think it’s better to sell to a private party (should get more money) but IMO it’s safer to buy from a dealer vs a private party.

[Bryan]

single parent wanting to tote more kids?… hmmmm.
I’d look for something lightly used. Hondas are great. Find one with around 150k miles. that is nothing on a Honda.

…wait. that’s what you already have.

I think you are wanting someone to tell you it’s ok to buy a new Pilot.

you can do whatever you want, but the best financial decision would be to keep driving what you got.

[Christina]

I’d keep your CRV until you absolutely need to replace it. There is no reason to spend money on something bigger for the occasion “more kids”.

Keep up with maintenance and your CRV can easily last another 50-100k miles.

[Kyle]

If you were to buy a newer car, you are definitely on the right track with the Honda Pilot.

I traded in my 2012 CRV (same generation as your 2016) with 140k miles.

Dealer gave me 5k, they turned around and listed it the next day for 12k. Could have sold it private party for 8-9k pretty easily.

[Wolff]

You’d be better off renting a mini van on the occasions you need more seats, than taking out a loan to buy another different car.

[Jeffrey]

We traded in our 10 year old Dodge Caravan for a used 2018 Honda Pilot a couple years ago. We bought it from a Honda dealer.

We’re a family of 5 and the 3rd row seat is definitely nice, but you can probably fit 5 in the CRV right?

We’ve been happy with it, but we drove the Caravan until we had saved enough to pay cash for the Pilot. (About 25k).

We haven’t had a car payment in 20 plus years.

If you can hold out until you have more cash, you save a bunch of money in interest payments and don’t have a monthly payment or at the very least have more for a larger down payment and a smaller monthly payment.

[Doug]

I own a Asian auto repair shop. I will echo what others’s have said on here, keep that 16 CRV as long as possible. Find a trusted, independent repair facility and keep it maintained.

If you absolutely have too get a bigger vehicle, I’d recommend a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna or Toyota Highlander.

Get one that is 7-10 years old.

The newer vehicles are becoming much more complex, and many are only offering Hybrids.

[Author]

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