I need a new car --- What should I get?

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My friend has a Prius and she loves it. I like the way they look, but haven't ever driven one. Then again, I'm not in the market for a car.

A Camry isn't gonna have that much more room than the Prius, is it? Unless they've gotten roomier/larger - I haven't seen any lately. I thought he needed some room... :scratch:
 
Btw, I will never buy anything an American car....ever. I work to hard to waste my money on them. I've tried being patriotic by buying a Saturn. NEVER again. Nothing but problems with American cars. Sad.
 
RedrocksU2 said:
Well, I am 6'4", and I fit perfectly.

Leather interior:drool:

Enough room for 5.
:hmm:



Vegas trip?
:hmm:
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Room for 5, true. But I sensed he wanted more room, or room for lots of stuff, since he was full with a baby, wife, and holiday gifts/travelling stuff and looking to expand the family in the (perhaps) near future.

And I'd never buy an American car either. Just never liked them. Always liked European or Japanese. Have owned 2 Toyotas and a Honda.
 
If you decide to go with an SUV like a 4Runner, keep in mind that the some child seats don't fit in the third row seats.

This is a pain in the ass because you have to remove the seat from the 2nd row so you can fold down the 2nd row to let the 3rd row out. Some SUV's, like the Explorer have two folding seats in the 2nd row so the carseat can be left in but you will have to remove one safety latch to let the 2nd seat down.

Personally, I like SUV's because loading/unloading kids/stuff are a hell of a lot easier....especially for folks with back issues.

Good luck.
 
Bonochick said:
Wow, that's surprising. I do a lot of my driving through town (takes me about 20 minutes each way to work, and I run errands on Saturdays), and I still get good mileage. Every time I've done the math, I've never been below 20 MPG.
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i know! i have a corolla and i do alllll city driving, i rarely go on the interstate. i usually just drive ~5-6 miles a day (no joke, my work is about three miles from my house). i did the math and i never go below 20 mpg either, not even in the summer when i'd have the a/c on. i've my car since april and i still haven't come near the miles needed for an oil change, even with driving it to and from nashville once! :lol:
 
KhanadaRhodes said:

i know! i have a corolla and i do alllll city driving, i rarely go on the interstate. i usually just drive ~5-6 miles a day (no joke, my work is about three miles from my house). i did the math and i never go below 20 mpg either, not even in the summer when i'd have the a/c on. i've my car since april and i still haven't come near the miles needed for an oil change, even with driving it to and from nashville once! :lol:
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:applaud:

I have a corolla too, and it gets excellent gas mileage and I'm pretty sure it'll live longer than me :lol:
 
I have always had either a honda or a toyota... and swear by them.. Great cars that last forever.. What is probably one of the best features besides good gas mileage is that having high mileage on these cars means pretty much nothing so don't worry about that. I bought a 5 yr old honda accord (it was a 1980 2dr hatchback with a sunroof) back in '85 with 74k miles on it and it ran like a dream for over 15yrs and was still in great condition when I sold it with over 176k miles on it for 1,000 bucks to the first person who looked at it. I bet it is still running.. Also, minimal if no maintenance.. Just a occasional tune up and oil change and that is it.. Also, Nissan, Mazda and Subaru (all japanese cars) are reliable as well.

So if your budget is about 20k then maybe a used toyota or honda (a year to 5yrs) is the way to go.

Start searching via :www.autotrader.com/ , www.cars.com , www.edmunds.com/ , www.CarMax.com.

I would say some kind of used compact to mid size SUV like: toyota highlander, Honda Pilot, Honda Element, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Xterra, Subaru Forrester or Outback, Acura RDX or MDX, Mazda CX-9.


Another option, is a car auction (dealer one), research this cuz it's been a while but I got one of my hondas this way. I was living in cali and I remember the auction being somewhere in rosemead or something.. Usually, you get a decent price and you get to test drive the car on the lot and fully check it out.


that's a start for ya and hope it helps... :D

good luck!
 
pepokiss said:
you need a DeLorean... :drool:
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:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:




DOC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



you mean this?

backtothefuturecar.jpg
 
The new Camry is significantly bigger (especially the interior room) than previous years, but it's still a sedan - not exactly the best solution for a growing family. I'd suggest a larger hatch and/or wagon.

If you want to buy new and keep it under $20k, then my suggestion would be the Mazda3 5-dr wagon. I own one and loooooove it, but besides my bias it consistently rates at the top of its segment and just seems like the best overall package. Styling, performance, interior layout and design - useable space - it's got it all. It's got above average interior room for its class and good cargo room (definitely noticeably more than a Prius), but it's best selling point is the performance - it has really great handling and a nice engine (not the best mileage, but at 26/32 it's no slouch either). It should be enough for a family of 4 though I admit it'd start getting cramped with 5. On trips it tends to start getting cramped with me and one other person + luggage, but that's only because my dog takes up the cargo space and the luggage goes in the back seat. :)

If you want to go used, then you could step up in size and get something like a Subaru Legacy or Outback wagon. Nice car - with a much bigger front row and much more cargo room than the Mazda3 - the bonus of AWD, and it's pretty sporty for a big wagon. Of course mileage goes down, but it's still not bad. You should be able to find an '05 model for around $15k, maybe even less.

Oh, and if you haven't yet, head over to www.edmunds.com and get to know it well. :) It helped me out immensely before I decided on the Mazda3.
 
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nissan_murano.jpg


Personally, this is my next new(ish) car: the Nissan Murano. :drool: I've test driven several & LOVE them! The only drawback is they have an all-wheel drive option but no 4-wheel option. I'm afraid I'd miss the 4-wheel capability of my Blazer (we used to go out on one of the local beaches during the summers), but the truth is, I've not used my 4-wheel drive in over a year. :sad:


ETA: Strangely, I noticed after posting my initial comment that this Murano was photographed on a beach. Which is a bit misleading because 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are not the same thing... all-wheel drive vehicles can't necessarily go wherever the 4-wheelers do. :shame:
 
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The Nissan Sentra seems to meet your criteria - under 20k new, 4-door, and around 30 mpg. And it probably won't become a dinosaur soon, like some of the SUVs mentioned here :wink:.
 
Thanks for the help, folks. I'll have more time to write & respond in a few days. We've been in the hospital with our little 7-week-old daughter since Thursday afternoon, so I haven't been thinking too too much about cars. She had a fever of 103 and was pretty ill, and because she's so young she had to get a whole sepsis workup----including a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) :sad:----and now we've been in the hospital with IV antibiotics until the blood, urine & spinal fluid cultures are negative for 48 hours. :sigh: She's back to her normal self now and we're just waiting for the cultures, which should come back late tonight. Ironically, we're at the hospital I work at and I have to work tomorrow...so I'm sleeping in the hospital room tonight, then showering and going down to work in the NICU. Work there for 30 hours; meanwhile, Addie and my wife will go home (fingers crossed) tomorrow morning, I'll go home Monday around noontime, smooch them all, sleep for a few hours, then finally have things back to normal. :huh: Oy.
 
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omg... utoo... that is just heart wrenching! I understand completely as a parent how it is to go through that when your kid is sick.. Been there! Hang in there, be strong and everything will be just fine...:hug:

We are here for ya... :wink:
 
The car discussion will still be here when she gets better, nevermind about it now.

I'm really hoping she gets to go home. It's always tough with young babies but it sounds like she's turned a corner, and you're a great family.
 
Thanks for the support, guys. :hug: Everything came back negative, so it's likely just some viral GI bug. Addie and my wife went home this morning around 11 and they're doing well--my mother-in-law came over and took care of the baby while my wife caught up on sleep, and Adeline's entirely back to her fun, smiley self....and the poops are slowing down. ;)

Here's a shot of her once she was feeling better:

IMG_1870.jpg


Thanks again, everyone!
 
Utoo said:
Thanks for the support, guys. :hug: Everything came back negative, so it's likely just some viral GI bug. Addie and my wife went home this morning around 11 and they're doing well--my mother-in-law came over and took care of the baby while my wife caught up on sleep, and Adeline's entirely back to her fun, smiley self....and the poops are slowing down. ;)

Here's a shot of her once she was feeling better:

IMG_1870.jpg


Thanks again, everyone!
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:hug: and :yippie: that she is doing better.. A adorable pic of her too... :wink:

you all take good care of yourselves and maybe and extra hug or two for adeline.. :D
 
So, now that Addie's all better and we're back to lugging things around....;)

After a ton of research, we've narrowed the field down to the Subaru Outback & the VW Passat Wagon. They're fairly comparable in terms of prices for used 2004-2006 models, and they both offer a ton of cargo space (some of the small "suv"s like the CR-V, etc., seem like they actually have less trunk space than our Prius).

Anyway, I've heard a ton of great things about the Outback, but not so much news at all about the Passat. Anyone with thoughts on either?
 
So, we got the Outback! Found a 2005 model that only has 13,000 miles on it---was a corporate fleet lease model that was regularly serviced and in great shape. Has a few bells & whistles, but not the highest-end available...still nice. Got it for 2K under retail and about 1K over trade-in....not too terrible. Tried to get it for exactly trade-in value, but the guy wouldn't go for it. Oh well!

Anyway, we like it & we're psyched. Now to just find some mountains, snow, or desert....:hmm:

2005.subaru.outback.29951-E.jpg
 
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