Oh, the Room Makes It Worth It

We had our fourth child over the summer and needed a second vehicle that would seat at least seven comfortably with two Britax carseats now in the car. Our other car is a 2007 Volvo XC90, which is feels like a sports car now by comparison and is wonderful to drive, but very cramped with the two carseats.

We had looked at F250 Diesels on and off for about four years and I had always talked my husband "down" from the decision. At this point though, it made sense from a needs stand point on the available interior room in this vechicle. It also made sense from the standpoint of being able to fuel it with biodiesel that we could make on our own at a near point in the future to reduce normal fuel costs. These engines were made to last for hundreds of thousands of miles and are easy to work on, so it made sense from the longevity standpoint. We like to pay a car off, do our own repairs, and drive it until it's wheels fall off.  

We bought it used with 76,000 miles on it. It's a Limited, which has all the bells and whistles and most importantly to the kids, a theater system in it! It was in excellent condition from a dealership. We are getting 15-18 miles around town and about 24-25 mpg on the highway. We took it back and forth to Disney--about 1000 miles one way---last month and it was a great experience with both the performance of the vehicle on the road, but even better to have so much space in the car for seating, moving around, and for carrying luggage in the back. On top of all of our luggage, we also picked up a generator at a Lowes on the way back and still had tons of space. What a luxury.

If you have a large family, this is a much better option than a gas Suburban or the same vehicle in a gas engine for both the room and the ability to use a green fuel and better mileage. I would definitely recommend using a diesel fuel additive (about $3.25 to treat 50 galons, and available at Wal-mart) to boost performance and fuel economy.