<prompt> Human: Wife drives a Chrysler Sebring on which she owes 6700 dollars. We just adopted 3 children age 4 to 8. We need a larger family vehicle and I am set on a 4x4 suv. I plan on using our tax return money to pay her car off within the next few weeks and then saving as much as possible until February 2015 and then trading in a paid off car or sell privately and making a decent down payment on a new vehicle. She wants to trade in now with little to no down. What is my best course of action.Edit. I get it! 4x4 BAD! Its a want. Im kind of a country boy and I dont currently own a 4x4. Maybe when I get a new truck in a hundred years Ill get a 4x4. Wife still hates the idea of a minivan so probably still gonna be an suv. But I could get the best of all worlds with the pathfinder hybrid 4x4.Assistant: Youve given us basically 0 information on your budget and other financial information. What do you currently drive? We need a larger family vehicle and I am set on a 4x4 suv.Why? Do you live in a snowy climate? Are you not able to safely drive a regular car in the snow? Do you need to tow something? Do you need to climb steep inclines? Are you thinking CRV or Suburban? Human: I could absolutely get by without 4x4 but we live in Florida and we get hurricanes. I want a vehicle large enough to accommodate my family and able to navigate any terrain we might encounter in an evacuation  <response>: I could absolutely get by without 4x4 but we live in Florida and we get hurricanes. I want a vehicle large enough to accommodate my family and able to navigate any terrain we might encounter in an evacuationLet me get this straight. You want to buyfinance a big SUV that you wont actually need most of the time, burning up extra gas and wearing down expensive tires along the way, on the chance you need to evacuate your family? Really? I will give you some credit though. Ive never heard someone justify an SUV based on the off chance that a smaller vehicle would float away in a storm. Thats a new one...thanks for the chuckle though! 