WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING YOUR NEXT FAMILY CAR
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Concept
car buying process
The “car buying process” is the sequence of steps from researching vehicles to negotiating price and completing financing. For families, the key is matching the vehicle to real needs (seating, safety, budget, and total cost) before committing.
Concept
buyer's remorse
Buyer’s remorse is when you regret buying a car right after you get it. It usually happens when the car turns out to be more expensive than expected or not as good for your family as you thought.
Concept
slowing down the process
They’re saying don’t rush into buying a new car. Take your time so you don’t end up regretting it later.
Concept
minivan
A minivan is a roomy family car made for carrying kids and gear. The point here is that the speaker thinks moms shouldn’t feel forced into one specific type of car just because they have kids.
Car
Volvo XC90
The Volvo XC90 is a family SUV with three rows. It’s often chosen because it has room for kids and car seats, but rear-facing seats can still make the front-seat area feel tight.
Concept
child seat fit / space constraints
How well car seats fit in a vehicle matters a lot for families. A car can feel cramped with a rear-facing seat, but it may feel much better once the child moves to a forward-facing seat.
Car
Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is a minivan made to carry people comfortably, especially families. It’s designed with roomy seating and easy ways to get in and out of the back seats. People talk about it when discussing which vehicles work best for everyday family use.
Part
cargo cover
A “cargo cover” is a panel that goes over the trunk. It can help keep things from sliding around and can make the trunk area easier to use.
Term
car seat swaps
“Car seat swaps” means switching to different car seats or reinstalling them as your kids get older. It can change how easy it is to use the back seats and how much room you have.
Concept
car seat setup
“Car seat setup” is how your child seats are arranged in your car. Where they’re placed and how they affect the front and back seats can make a big difference in day-to-day usability.
Car
Toyota Grand Highlander
This is a Toyota SUV that has three rows of seats for families. The point here is whether the back row is actually easy and safe to use for kids’ car seats and boosters.
Concept
keep the car for three years
They’re suggesting you don’t always have to own a car for a decade. Buying and selling sooner can help if your family needs change quickly.
Concept
lease
A lease is like renting a car for a few years. You make payments based on how much the car is expected to lose in value, then you give it back (or sometimes buy it).
Concept
miles
Leases usually come with a limit on how many miles you can drive. If you go over, you may have to pay extra at the end.
Concept
pre-owned car
A pre-owned car is a used car someone already drove. It can cost less than buying new, but you should check that it’s been maintained well.
Concept
mileage
Mileage is how much the car has been driven. Higher mileage usually means the car is worth less, because it’s more used.
Concept
depreciation
Depreciation is how the car’s value goes down as it gets older and more miles on it. If you buy after the biggest drop already happened, you usually lose less money later.
Concept
buy a new car
Buying a brand-new car and selling it soon usually costs more than people expect. New cars drop in value quickly at first, so you can lose money fast.
Term
double stroller
A double stroller is the kind that holds two kids at once. It takes up a lot of room, so it can be a good test for whether a car’s trunk is truly big enough.
Concept
test drive
A test drive is when you drive the car yourself before buying it. It helps you see if it’s comfortable and easy to live with, not just if it looks good on paper.
Concept
research
Research means looking up information about cars before you go shopping. It helps you avoid wasting time on cars that won’t fit your needs.
Term
rotating car seat
A rotating car seat can turn so you can put your child in more easily. That can make it much simpler to use the back seats in a bigger vehicle.
Concept
CPSTs
CPSTs are trained experts who help parents install and use child car seats correctly. They’ve seen lots of different cars and setups, so they can spot what will actually work.
Concept
choosing a car seat with a lower profile
Choosing a lower-profile forward-facing car seat can improve comfort by reducing how much vertical space the seat occupies. In practice, a lower seat position can increase the effective legroom available for the child in the third row.
Concept
real world trial and error
They’re saying you can’t always tell if a car seat will fit just from the description. You often have to test it in real cars to see what works.
Car
Volkswagen Atlas
The Volkswagen Atlas is a family SUV with three rows. It’s smaller than some big SUVs, but it can still work for families depending on what you need.
Concept
filter by how many kids they have
They want you to sort car reviews by how many kids the reviewer has. That way, you can see what the car is like for families similar to yours.
Concept
test drove it
A test drive is when you actually drive the car before buying it. It helps you figure out if it feels comfortable and easy to use for your everyday life.
Term
blinker
A blinker is your turn signal. Some cars make a noticeable sound when you use it, and for some people that sound can be annoying enough to matter.
Concept
New York auto show
The New York Auto Show is a major event where automakers display current vehicles and often preview upcoming models. For shoppers, it’s a chance to see new family-focused features in person and compare options before buying.
LIVE
Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly.
You know, whenever I do these consults,
they're like, I'm looking for my next car.
Like I want to keep it 10 years.
And I'm always just like, why?
Like why do you want to keep it for 10 years?
Because for all the reasons I just told you,
we're either gonna have to probably go way bigger
than maybe what you're expecting,
or you're gonna have to make some concessions
because it's really hard for one car
to meet every single need that you're gonna have.
And Liz, your mom time off, starts now.
Welcome back to the carpool podcast with Kelly.
It's just me today, guys.
And what we weren't gonna do an episode,
but I don't know, I just kind of felt like doing one.
And I'm kind of into like making
like really like cornerstone pieces of content,
like just like really juicy pieces of content
that like people can refer back to whenever,
especially because all of like the social media platforms
are becoming so much more searchable these days.
I kind of talked about this recently.
Like people are now going on like Instagram
to search like, you know, Grand Highlander.
So I want to just make sure I'm like making
way more specific content.
Like in the past, I feel like I've just always relied
on YouTube to kind of be like,
that's where our content lives,
everything else is just for fun.
But I'm realizing that people aren't really
going to YouTube as much.
So that's the scenic route to tell you
that today's episode is gonna be all about
like what I think families need to know
before starting the car buying process.
You got to remember, I do these consultations
every single week and I see so many
of the same situations over and over again.
And since I'm so limited on the amount
of consultations I can do a week,
I thought like, I'm not trying to gatekeep anything.
Like let me tell you everything that I think
about the car buying process for families,
the mistakes I see, what they need to know
before starting the process,
what they need to keep in mind during the process
to ultimately make the best selection for their family.
My biggest fear is that people buy a car
and get buyer's remorse.
Because one, ew, what a yucky feeling.
Two, a very expensive mistake to make.
And three, that makes me then worry
that maybe your kids aren't as safely installed
in the car as they possibly could be.
Because what something I see is like,
if a car doesn't make it easy,
a lot of families will just move kids
to the next phase before they're ready.
Whether that be like moving them forward-facing,
moving them out of a booster, putting them in the front seat.
So I just think if we can really take our time
with the car selection process,
we will have less buyer's remorse.
Buyer's remorse sucks.
I mean, I saw it all the time when I was selling cars.
Like people would come in and be like,
I've only had this car here, but like it's just not working.
I want to get out of the car.
And they're in a bad financial spot.
Because basically, if you don't know,
if you like haven't, and we're gonna like,
we're gonna strip this down to the basics, okay?
I mean, honestly, if you're not car shopping,
this might not be the most interesting conversation for you.
But that's why I want to have it out there.
So then if someone searches in the podcast app,
like car buying tips, I'm hoping that we come up, okay?
So anyway, what happens is if you buy the wrong car,
and then you try to get out of that car too early.
So like if you go to the dealership,
you get a 60 month loan, you don't put any money down,
or you put a little bit of money down,
you drive the car for a year, it loses so much of its value.
You go to the dealership to try to trade it in,
you don't always have equity.
In fact, sometimes you have inequity,
especially when trying to get out of a car
much earlier than you expected.
And when you have inequity, that basically means
you have to take the remainder, like the difference
of the loan to the value of the car,
and then tack it on to the next loan.
And sometimes, you know, I'm able to talk people out of this
to be like, listen, I know you don't like the color,
but like you gotta deal for a little bit.
But sometimes, especially with growing families,
like so many of you, it's kind of a matter of like,
yeah, no, you don't have a choice.
Like you bought the wrong car, this can't fit your family.
Like we have to upgrade.
So that's really what I wanna try to avoid with my audience.
Like I just want the car mom crew to be like,
the smartest car shopper, I want us to have like
the lowest percentage of buyer's remorse.
Because we're just like that educated.
So I think when it comes to like
picking your next family car.
One, I'm all about slowing down the process
and trying to make your current car work,
which is like the opposite answer
that everyone expects me to say.
But especially if you like are pregnant with your first
and you have your Toyota camera for college,
my best advice is to keep driving the Toyota camera
you've had since college.
Like it's fine, it's gonna work, it'll fit one car seat.
And it will give you time to kind of understand
what your future family is going to look like.
Cause it's also not really a blanket statement.
Like I can't say what's the best car for three kids
because moms have different needs.
And we have different preferences too.
And I really set out to start the car mom
to keep mom's preferences in mind.
Like I didn't like that I felt like the industry
was just telling moms, okay, you have three kids,
you have to drive a minivan.
Sorry, this is your only option.
I wanted to live in a world where I was like,
well, how can we just make these SUVs better?
Like what if a mom doesn't want to drive a minivan?
I feel so passionately about this
and not that there's anything wrong with a minivan,
of course, but I feel so passionately about
keeping like a mother's preferences and choices
in her car buying process.
Because they just feel like when you become a mom
you give up so much of your identity, you know?
You give up so much of yourself.
You give up your body, your social life.
Sometimes you give up your career.
Sometimes you like make sacrifices in your marriage.
You're fun.
Like it's just, it's so difficult that like I just want
to try to keep like the car,
something that you still have a choice in to some extent.
Now, whether that be you want the minivan, that's great,
but I want to show moms that like, no,
we can make this SUV work or hey, car manufacturers,
you know, a mom of four could drive this SUV
if you would just change this one little thing.
So I'm really just trying to give families
as many options as possible.
Like that's my goal in life.
So anyway, I feel like slowing down the process
and slowing down, I know it's like so hard to just be like,
no, I want a new car, I want a new car,
but you don't want to make the wrong decision
because it is such an expensive decision
that I just, I don't want you to get in.
Also a car is like hard because it's not only like
you regret it one time, like if it's the wrong car
and you're paying 700 bucks a month,
like every month you're pissed, every month you're pissed
because you're like, that sucks.
Like this car is not the one I want at $700 a month.
I can't get out of it.
We're not doing that.
So again, slowing down the process,
like I always ask my consultations,
so why do you want a new car?
And if the answer is, Kelly, cause I'm sick of it
and I have the money, then I'm like, okay, let's go.
But if your car is working
or if your car is not working great,
but you're in a small window,
I think that's something to consider, right?
So like I had a consultation this week
and it's a mom of two.
She was in a Volvo XC90.
She had a five year old and a two year old.
And she's like, it's just so tight,
like with that rear facing seat behind my husband.
And I'm like, no, I get that.
But like, are you, do you like the size of that car?
She's like, no, I love the XC90.
I'm like, well, you know,
the two year old is gonna go forward facing.
Like she could technically go forward facing now.
I mean, I would maybe wait,
like I like to try to wait till three if possible.
But like that'll fix that problem.
So then do you still want a new car
or do you not want a new car?
He's like, really, it's like,
could you do one more year of inconvenience
to like keep the current car that you have?
And it was just kind of like a different way
for her to think about it.
Because, you know, and I also see similar situations
when I have like moms of like three or more.
And sometimes they're like, you know,
it's just so hard to like get these three kids buckled.
And I'm like, I just, I was like,
I totally hear what you're saying.
And I think there's definitely cars
that like could make your life a little easier.
But I just want to be clear,
like it's hard to get three young kids in a car.
Like whether we're in, whether we're doing three across
in like a Ford Edge or you get the Honda Odyssey,
like there is still challenges.
So it might be easier in the Honda Odyssey,
but it's not going to be, it might be less hard.
I'll say that it's, it might be less hard,
but it's not going to be easy.
I think it's a really important mindset shift
for families to have.
And I always tell people like,
let's put a dollar amount to that, okay?
So like, let's say you have a,
you have a paid off Ford Edge,
you're thinking about doing the Honda Odyssey.
Okay, the Honda Odyssey is, you know, your budgets,
you could spend up to $40,000.
Your Ford Edge is paid off
or whatever the situation is.
I'm like, I think like the Honda Odyssey would be,
what, like 40, 50% easier, maybe 60% easier.
Maybe it would be a lot easier,
but is that worth an extra $40,000 to you?
Just to make it a little easier.
Sometimes the answer is yes.
And I love when the answer is yes.
I'm fine with either answer.
I just think people sometimes think
a car is going to like make everything easier.
And I'm telling you, as someone who does this,
that's not always the case.
And sometimes you just need to have an understanding
of like, no, kids in cars are just hard.
Kids in car seats are hard.
Maybe your current car is working.
I've also done a lot of,
I've done a lot of series on Instagram,
which I probably need to make like
a dedicated YouTube video to this.
But we did a series called Ride It Out.
And it was all about how you can make your current car work
by just maybe changing your car seats
or even like your seating positions of your kids.
And we talked about all sorts of things,
like car seat hacks to get better third row access,
being able to do three across.
What else do we do?
How to get more leg room,
how to have more trunk space
by just getting a cargo cover.
Like basically just ways to make your current car work.
And I really enjoyed doing that series.
So now that I'm talking about this,
I definitely think I wanna do like a long form video of that
because there are so many just car seat swaps
that you can make to make your current car work.
And I just think there's not enough education on that.
And I'm not even saying like,
let's delay the purchase by like three years,
but like, I think if you look at your car seat setup,
no matter what, like no matter the ages of your kids.
And if you ask yourself like,
well, where are the kids gonna be in a year?
And will I make a different decision in a year
than I will today?
And should I just wait that year?
Because it's really, really hard about growing families
trying to buy a car.
And when I say growing, I mean in size or in numbers.
Like sometimes even if you just,
you're set with your three kids,
but they're obviously growing,
meaning like they're changing the phases
of the car seat setup.
It's really hard for families to nail down on a car
because basically what you're asking
is a car to perform differently every single year you own it.
Because every year or every 18 months,
someone could be going to a different car seat.
Someone could be needing to sit
in a different seating position.
Your needs could be changing.
You could be adding another baby.
So I'm telling you, it's really hard for families
to figure out what their needs are gonna look like.
So that's why I say like, before you buy the car,
look at your car seat setup,
and then where are you gonna be in a year?
And would you make a different decision based on that?
I think that's like really the most important thing you can do.
If you do feel like I need a car, like it's just time.
I love forecasting your family's growth.
And this is, I always get kind of like
a little pushback on this one
because I know it's so difficult.
I know that growing your family in numbers
a lot of time is in God's timing,
but I still think it's an important exercise
to just like really sit down and do.
And that's also why I'm saying delay, delay, delay.
Like try to make your current car work
until at least the number.
I like to try to make the current car work
while your family is still growing in numbers when possible.
Or you might have to go a lot bigger
than what you're expecting.
And I love using my example,
and I know it's like a little dramatic,
but so in 2019, George was born.
Like let's say I would have like gone out and bought a new car.
Would I have bought a Ford Expedition Max?
No, but then I ended up having four kids in five years.
So can you imagine if I would have gone out
and bought like a Hyundai Palisade?
And then like two years in, I'm like, oh my gosh,
like now we're pregnant with three,
like this is just getting too small,
at least too small for me.
I could have been upside down in that car.
And then I would be having to make like such a jump
and kind of start over where it's like,
if I would have just bought an Expedition
from the beginning, it would have been fine.
So I also don't like the sentiment that like,
you know, a minivan for one kid is dramatic.
Like people tell me that all the time.
I'm like, no, you tell me you wanna have three kids quickly.
Like I think that's a very smart buy.
So I think it's either,
I just think that's a really important exercise.
And when you're talking about forecasting
your family's growth, again,
it's not just in how many numbers,
but it's in like, okay, you've got your four kids
or you've got your three kids.
Where is everyone going to sit every year
you plan to own the car?
And I know this is difficult to do,
but it's such an important exercise.
And if we look at like the press car I have this week,
this Toyota Grand Highlander,
okay, this car has a jacked up third row for car seats.
It actually has great leg room.
I actually really liked this car for like older families,
but I'm telling you the third row is jacked.
You only have one tether.
The lower anchors are really hard.
It's very hard to put a booster in the third row
because the third row is so narrow
because they tried to cram three seats back there.
Where, I don't know if I would buy this car
for a family that's gonna have two in car seats
and then one in the third row.
There's also no car seat friendly way to access
the third row.
So I think that would be like a car
that you could just kind of take.
I think that that's just an example of like,
the third row maybe not meeting all the family's needs.
And I'm always talking about how like,
I don't care how many seat belts they say it has.
That does not mean that's many passengers.
Like Toyota, KIA trying to advertise these
as like seven or eight passenger cars.
I'm like, LOL, let's do it then.
Show me the video.
Show me the video of you putting seven people in that car.
Like it's literally a joke.
It's false advertising that makes me so mad.
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So I also think another thing
families should really consider is,
you know, whenever I do this consult,
they're like, I'm looking for my next car,
like I want to keep it 10 years.
And I'm always just like, why?
Like why do you want to keep it for 10 years?
Because for all the reasons I just told you,
we're either gonna have to probably go way bigger
than maybe what you're expecting,
or you're gonna have to make some concessions
because it's really hard for a car to meet every single,
it's really hard for one car to meet every single need
that you're gonna have over the next 10 years.
So I'm always just like, why do you want to keep it 10 years?
And this also can get a lot of pushback on,
but I think if you just take a second
to like listen to my reasoning,
you'll kind of start to agree with me.
So if you don't want to keep a car,
I think families should open up the possibilities like,
what if I just kept the car for three years?
Now, people are gonna be like,
but you're wasting so much money.
And I would tell you you're not
because you're gonna do it my way,
and my way is very smart.
So you have two options to keep a car for three years.
One, you lease.
Leasing is a great option for growing families.
Leasing gets you in a brand new car
with the latest technology for a lower payment.
Leasing smacks, and leasing is cheaper
than making a bad decision, like for sure.
So if you don't know how many kids you're gonna have,
if you don't know what your needs are gonna look like,
but maybe you need a new car,
well, I love the idea of like, let's lease,
let's figure, let's give ourselves three years,
let's figure out how many kids you're gonna have,
and then let's sink our teeth into like, you know,
a six year loan.
Like let's just like slow it down for a second.
Now, if leasing, whether it's just too high of a payment,
or you drive too many miles,
the other option is you buy a very pre-owned car.
And I am always talking about the benefits
of pre-owned cars, they smack.
Like it's kind of like, it's kind of like the biggest hack
to getting a new to you car very often.
Because if you go and get a car with 100,000 miles on it,
that's, you know what, five, six, seven years old,
you drive it for three years,
you put 10,000 miles a year on it,
okay, now it has 130,000 miles,
like it's literally probably worth maybe 20% less.
Like you paid that off.
Like it's actually a very good way to keep equity,
to buy higher mileage cars, drive them for a short time,
and then trade them back in.
Because so much of their depreciation
has already happened on the first driver,
it was their problem.
Now it's not your problem.
So this is another good way to buy a shorter term car.
You should not go buy a new car
and be like, no, I'm gonna get out of it in three years.
That's a bad idea.
You're gonna lose a lot of money if you do it that way.
So your options, if you wanna try this short term thing,
you lease, or you buy really pre-owned.
Now, I love pre-owned cars.
I'm always talking about how 100,000 miles
is not too many miles.
And I do these consultations all the time,
and they're like, I want used, my budget's this,
don't want over 40,000 miles.
I'm like, what are you,
why are you putting that mileage restriction on it?
Here's a great exercise to do.
How many miles do you drive a year?
The average is 10 to 12.
So let's say you drive 10.
You just told me you're probably gonna keep this car
for five years.
Okay, you're gonna put 50,000 miles on a car,
that's nothing.
I put like 25,000 miles a year on a car,
just for the reference, I drive a lot.
So if we get a car with 100,000 miles,
you drive it for five years,
you add an extra 50,000 miles to it,
it has 150,000 miles, that car's still kicking.
That car is still kicking.
Cars are designed to make it to 200,000 miles.
Now, that doesn't always happen.
And you know, at the end of the day,
there is still some risk involved with a pre-owned vehicle.
But you could also make the argument like,
a car with 100,000 miles on it, what does that have?
A lot of proven reliability.
Like that or the new car off the lot,
that's having a bunch of computer issues,
like you make the pick.
I'm not a betting woman, but like I pick,
if I had to pick which car was gonna make it
to 200,000, I'd probably pick the one
that has 100,000 on it, that hasn't had any major issues.
And you can check this on the car facts.
So that's another really good way for families
who decide they need a car, don't always go into it
with like, I wanna buy my 10 year car.
Like I really don't think it's a good idea.
Sorry, I don't think you need to do that.
Also think like, how fun to get a new car in three years.
That like, then will fit your family better,
will help with your lifestyle better.
And there's so much to think about
in terms of not just like where everyone's sitting,
but like what that car is gonna look like
for your lifestyle, like the amount of trunk space,
the drive, you know, do you have older kids
and are you gonna maybe keep this for a 16 year old car?
Like there's just so many aspects to consider.
So, you know, before we even start the process,
I think it's like, slow down,
can you make your current car work?
Okay, if you can't, how many,
let's try to forecast our family's growth.
Like what is the next five to 10 years look like?
Does it make sense to buy a 10 year car right now
or should we just try to find like a three year car for us?
Just like get through this phase.
Because also, you know, I tell families like,
especially families of like young kids
and like really like bulky seats.
I'm like, you're trying to buy,
like you're gonna, you're trying to buy a car
for the hardest phase of your life right now.
Like in three years, all of these issues we're having about
like has to have ceiling vents
because my kids are ear phasing,
has to have trunk space because I have a double stroller.
Like in three years, those issues could be gone.
And then it opens up an entire new world
of possibilities for cars.
And I think it's really important to think about like,
I don't like the idea, like,
when I think about choosing car selection,
I'm like, what car is gonna give you the best satisfaction
for the, for the, how do I word this?
Which car is gonna give you the best satisfaction
for like the most amount of years, right?
Because like choosing the car that's like gonna fit your needs
amazingly the first two years,
but then there would have been other options
that would fit it for the next five years.
That's a trade-off, you know?
So just really something to think about.
Like, am I gonna buy a car today
that's gonna like smack for the next two years
with the car seat tilt and the ceiling vents
and the great trunk space?
And then, but maybe I wanted another option
when the kids were older, just something to think about.
And also just give yourself permission to say like,
no, kids in cars are hard.
Kids in car seats are very hard.
It'd be hard in any car.
That's what I wanted to say.
Okay, so that's just a little bit about like,
you know, the car selection process.
And just how I really think families, you know,
of course need to slow it down.
And then when they do start buying,
I think this is a really, or when they start test driving,
I think this is also where things just kind of go south
with families, not even just families with anybody,
because the problem with dealerships is people get sold.
People get sold all the time.
I would sell people all the time,
not even because like I was trying to be sleazy,
just because like it is very hard to go to a car dealership
and not want to buy the car.
So I think that, again, I want to really avoid buyer's remorse.
So like my number one piece of advice is like,
I actually don't really think you need to start driving
the cars until you're ready to buy.
I think it's a very dangerous thing to,
it's like, it's very tempting, do you know what I mean?
Like it's, and I know you all think you have the willpower
and probably a lot of you do,
but I'm telling you a lot of you don't,
because I can't tell you how many times
I would have customers come to the dealership
and be like, I'm not buying today, I'm just test driving,
like I'm not doing anything for months.
And then we just happen to have the perfect used car,
like it's a unicorn in their eyes, it is brand,
it's new to them, like it drives amazing.
The dealership tells you they're running a special,
they tell you that your trade's worth the most
it's ever gonna be, and all of these things could be true.
And then what ends up happening is like,
then you get sold and you buy a car
without maybe totally thinking about it.
So my best advice is just like,
I really wouldn't start the process until you're ready,
because like then if you're ready
and like you're prepared to do it,
you won't have that sense of like,
oh my gosh, like I just totally got sold,
like put yourself in control there.
But I do really think test driving multiple cars
can be helpful, but I also think there's something
to be said about like, I was kind of compare
like buying cars, like shopping for a wedding dress,
and like how you feel in a car is a very important reason
on if you should or should not buy the car.
And I don't really, I'll never tell a mom like,
okay, like who cares how you feel on it?
Or like that doesn't matter, like,
or explain to me why you're feeling that way.
You will know, I think us moms also,
we will know very quickly if the car is for us or not.
So I do really like the idea of like setting that list
of like, I think you need to test drive.
I think three cars is plenty of cars to test drive.
I think you can do enough research
to get cars on and off your list.
I always like to start with the car
I'm the least excited about.
So like, one, you're kind of building on like,
you know, your comparisons.
And two, you're less likely to make a mistake
if like there's a car that you're super excited about
that you haven't test driven yet.
So that's kind of how I would do it.
Also, I would try to do it all on the same day.
I think that's very helpful.
So, and I think that's just like a good investment
in your time.
Like I would, when you're ready to buy a car again,
that's why I'm saying I wouldn't do this like a year out.
I would say, okay, you know,
we're ready to buy a car in the next 30 to 60 days.
Let's start test driving.
And I would go and I would start
with the car you're least excited about
and then just try to knock them all out in one day.
I would try not to bring the kids.
And I know that's like, that means getting a sitter
and that's not gonna work for everybody,
but you'll have a better experience
if you don't bring the kids.
And then of course, like, you know,
making sure that you're trying out your car seats
is so important.
However, the more that I get into this nitty gritty
in the weeds of like the car seat world,
which like honestly is like
mind of my least favorite worlds to be in.
Like that's why I have a team of CPSTs
who work at the car bomb.
I have two great CPSTs who work for me right now.
And like, I'm so grateful for them
because like I couldn't possibly keep all this information
in my head.
The car seats are so complicated.
Like for as many choice words as I have
for the auto industry,
I have an equal amount of choice words
for the car seat companies.
I really think they make it very difficult.
Sorry, I do.
Because there are so many times I see a family
like wanna get rid of their car because of issues
where it's like, if they just changed the car seats,
it would fix the issue.
And there's just not an amazing way for me to deliver
like all of these little like tips and tricks
that we have in a mass market way.
And that's something like that me and my team
are really working on because there are so many things
that I'm telling you, change the problem overnight.
Third row access, we could change it overnight
with maybe a rotating car seat.
More legroom, we could change it overnight
with maybe a car seat with a lower profile.
Like there's just all these little like tips and tricks
that just take years and years of experience,
which is why I think having multiple CPSTs on the team
is so important because we've all seen different things
and we can all like pull on those shared experiences together.
So one of the things we're doing on the website
that I'm the new website that will hopefully launch
in a couple of months is we're gonna be able
to give recommended car seats for the car.
And we have thought of everything.
Like in these recommendations, they are so thoughtful
because they're going to try to address
some of these issues.
I'll give you a really specific example,
but the Grand Highlander I'm driving this week,
it has great third row legroom, it really does.
But the problem with almost all of the midsize,
three row SUVs is they don't have enough legroom
for a lot of forward facing car seats
for that kid to sit comfortably.
Forward facing car seats can have a higher or a lower profile.
And what I mean by that is like, how tall is the seat?
Like how much is the base?
Like how tall is the actual seat?
Because a taller seat means that you have less legroom
because then the kid's legs are knees are like
pressed up against the back of the seat.
So you might think like, this car has no legroom.
And I'm like, no, it's the wrong car seat.
Choosing a car seat with a lower profile,
so a car seat that sits lower to the vehicle seat,
that's gonna give you so much more legroom
and make it so much more comfortable.
So again, in the Grand Highlander,
I drew these two comparisons,
which I am gonna post all this content,
but I had the upper baby row,
which is a convertible forward facing car seat.
It has like one of the highest profiles out there.
But a lot of families are like,
oh, I have an upper baby Vistell.
I'm just gonna get the upper baby convertible car seat.
Okay, now they're ready for the third row.
I've got two more kids.
Oh my gosh, this car isn't big enough.
And it's like, no, that's the worst car seat
to put in the third row of that car.
Choosing something like, what did we do?
We even just did the Greco Slim Fit 3LX.
Such a lower profile gave that kid so much more legroom.
And we have examples like this for every single car.
So that's why this website redesign has taken so long,
because this information is not out there.
It's not something that can be chat GPT'd.
It takes real world trial and error.
And I'm very proud of me and my team
for what we've accomplished with this.
I think the website we're building
is really gonna change the car selection process for families.
You're also gonna be able to review your car.
And this was so important to me
because since the inception of the car now,
I've always said like, okay, I get that it's my voice,
but like, we have to figure out a way
to elevate other mother's voices
because they have different opinions than me.
And I want those opinions to be heard.
You know, I have four kids and I cannot imagine
being in a car smaller than the expedition.
But Sam, who's a CPST on our team,
she has four kids, her kids are the same ages.
And she is so happy with her Volkswagen Atlas.
And like, I could never be in an Atlas.
I would need more space.
But that's just my personal preference.
And she likes a smaller car
and that's her personal preference.
So this is what I'm talking about where it's like,
guys, I'm not the clickbait influencer to be like,
here are the top five best cars.
I don't do that.
And I don't do that because I understand
that it's just my opinion.
And that families come in different shapes
and different sizes and have different preferences.
So with the new website,
we're doing a logged in experience.
And I know people are like,
ugh, really Kelly, I have to log in.
But there was no other way for us to be able to get people to,
it was the only way that made sense
to be able to review a car.
And our review platform is gonna be so amazing.
And I'm really calling on all of you guys
to please, please, please help me build this out
because this is only as good
as the number of you who leave reviews.
I kind of built the review platform
to kind of look like a renther runway or like a newly
because when I would shop on those platforms,
like no offense, I don't give a rip
what a girl who's five three says about the outfit.
Like that means nothing to me.
I need to hear from the tall girlies how it fits.
So I wanted to do something similar with the cars.
So when you go to a vehicle page,
you'll be able to filter by how many kids they have.
We might add more filters in the future.
Like I would like to add like, you know,
you have like toddlers, older kids, younger kids.
I don't exactly know what the other filters will look like.
I'm definitely open to feedback on that.
But for now, you could go to the Grand Highlander,
you could filter by three kids.
And then you can also filter by their experience
with the car.
And here's what I mean by experience.
If they bought it, if they test drove it,
if they just sat in it,
I wanted to be able to offer that
because I think it's really valuable
for you to be able to hear about
who are the moms of three who test drove the Highlander
but didn't buy it.
And why didn't they buy it?
I thought that data was very valuable.
So it's not only reviewing cars that you have,
but also reviewing cars that you passed on
and why you passed on them.
And I want people to be as honest as possible.
And like any reason is enough for me.
If you were just like,
I mean, I've heard some insane reasons people don't buy cars,
but I find it fascinating.
I had one consultation a couple of months ago
and she's like,
I don't like the sound of the blinker.
And I was like, girl, okay, we'll pivot.
Like, you know what?
If that, I'm never gonna tell a mom
that her deal breaker is silly.
Like I'm just not, I'm gonna say,
I'm gonna maybe push back and be like,
so is that really a deal breaker?
But if she tells me yes,
I'm gonna be like, okay, moving on.
So I think the review platform is really gonna be helpful
in giving you guys like real world examples
of how these cars are working for real families
that look like yours.
So it just can't express enough.
Like I need, when this launches,
like I need you girlies to show up and show out for me
because it's just gonna be really important.
So anyway, that is gonna be,
it's gonna wrap up my solo podcast today.
And this was really fun.
Just like a little like carbine tips and tricks
from your girl, Cal.
Time to think about how anything else.
Oh, New York auto show is coming.
If you want me to,
if you wanna do a private tour with me,
which like, why wouldn't you?
It's so fun.
You can get tickets.
Just like Google like New York auto show
private tours of the car mom.
It'll come up.
You'll find it.
I believe in you.
And that's our episode guys.
So now we have this new cornerstone piece of content.
So like hopefully when someone's like,
hey, I'm starting the carbine process.
Like what should I think about?
I can like send him this podcast episode.
You know, this is kind of just what we're always trying to do.
So guys, thank you so much for listening to the Carpool podcast
and we will talk to you next time.
Bye.
Thank you for listening to the Carpool podcast
with Kelly and Liz.
Make sure you're subscribed
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And if you enjoyed riding with us,
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About this episode
Kelly lays out a family-first game plan for buying a car without triggering buyer’s remorse. The core advice: slow down, try to make your current car work, and forecast how your car-seat setup and family size will change over the next year (not just today). She explains how trading early can create equity problems, why “7–8 passenger” claims often don’t hold up, and when leasing or buying pre-owned for a shorter window makes sense. She also previews a new website with CPST-backed car-seat recommendations and real family reviews.
Original notes
Kelly is in for a solo episode today and this one is great if you are thinking of buying a car for your family. Drawing on her years of consulting experience, Kelly shares everything you need to know before heading to the dealership. She'll break down what to know before you go, what to know while you're there and the most common mistakes you could make. Can you make your current car work? What are your plans for the next 5 years? She'll give you all the questions you'll need to ask yourself before deciding which car is right for you.
The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz
The Car Mom LLC / tentwentytwo Projects
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