Five Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Family Car

Today’s post is written in partnership with Esurance. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Are you in the market for a new family car? Read below for the Five Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Family Car!

Our current family car, Black Beauty, has been with us for over a decade. It was actually my husband’s car out of college. From road trips to Mackinac Island during our dating years to the drive home after our wedding, BB has been a part of some of our fondest memories. I still remember my husband rolling up to the hospital entrance and carefully placing our tiny babes in the backseat as we rode home together for the first time as a family of 3 (and then 4). We’ve been lucky that throughout these years, BB has held up with minor maintenance.

Needless to say, we’ve racked up over 250,000 miles and she needs a rest. Since we haven’t had a car payment in years, we’re trying to be mindful of shopping smart to save money without sacrificing some of our must have features in a family car. The most important factor is doing our research in car options. As we dive head first into the search for our new family car, these are the things we are thinking about before finalizing our purchase.

1.) Third Row Seating

With two car seats, we need an optional third row for extra seating when we have family or friends ride along with us. We have it in our car now and it’s a feature we can’t live without in our future family car. We live near both sets of grandparents, my brother and SIL visit home often to see the kids and we have friends with kids our age. Even though it’s not all the time, we need a third row option for those times we’ll have extra passengers. We haven’t yet decided if we’ll be going with a van or an oversized SUV, but it’s something that we’ll be cognizant of as we browse car options.

2.) Trunk Space

Trunk space is a huge need for our family. In addition to the baby/kids’ gear, we have two dogs that we road trip with throughout the year. Add in our weekly grocery shopping trips? Trunk space is definitely an important feature for our family car. And duh, Target is my mecca. I need all the room for all the things from Target.

3.) Gas Mileage Efficiency

We know that we’re going to be buying a gas guzzler just based on the fact that we need a bigger, oversized SUV or Van. But, even in these car categories, we’ve found that there are significant differences in gas mileage efficiency. This will be the number one factor that we’ll be mindful in addition to the monthly car payment we may be taking on. We’re hoping to find something that won’t break the bank at the gas station, while providing the space and safety we need for our family.

4.) Safety Rating & Features

From safely fitting multiple car seats, to side air bags and overall safety ratings and features; this is a very important factor in how we’ll decide on our next family car. Being parents of small children, we want to make sure that we’ve done our due diligence when it comes to car safety.

5.) Optional Kid Friendly Features

We’ll definitely need Automatic start and keyless entry, as they are features we use daily with our current car. Cup holders in second and third row seating and sun shades are also optional features that make life with kids much easier. Some optional things that we’re considering for our next family car is a built-in DVD Player and/or some sort of entertainment for long car rides.

What are some of the features and must haves that you need in your family car?

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