My mom’s looking for a new vehicle and I thought I’d solicit ideas from the smart folks here at the SD. So here’s what she needs…
She’s a traveling nurse (in her 50s if that matters), so she’ll be putting loads of miles on the car (she’s had jobs all over the eastern US, from Maine to Louisiana and soon she’ll be headed west to California). She moves about every 3 months, and carries all of her stuff with her, so she needs something with a lot of cargo space. I know she wouldn’t want a truck.
I don’t think she’s ever bought a new car before (her current vehicle is a Chevy Blazer, I think, that cost her about $500). There was a short period of time when she was driving with a broken seatbelt and a door that she had to hold shut. All us kids worry about her and have been pushing her to get something new. It seems like she may finally do it.
Also any tips you could provide would be helpful- new or used, buy or lease, foreign or domestic, length of warranty. So come on, Dopers… show off your car knowledge and help my mother pick out her new car!
I would want my mom in a reliable car where she can just turn the key and go. She would want a degree of comfort. She probably needs pretty good gas milage. She obvioulsy needs a car that can handle MANY miles. She probably needs a car that very little maintenance other than oil changes.
I think a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry would be the two best choices. the Honda would be less expensive and the Toyota would be more comfortable. Both should get an easy 200.000 miles with just oil changes and tires, although scheduled maintenance would be reccomended. Toyota makes a great minivan if she must have the room of a van.
Those are good vehicles, but this is someone that needs a lot of room, according to the OP. Camry and Accord are sedans and the Outback is a small station wagon.
If she needs a lot of room, look at the Honda Oddessy or a Toyota Land Cruiser. The Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander are also roomy and not as pricey as the Land Cruiser. Stay away from American-made vehicles if she is going to put lots of miles on it; they just don’t hold up that well.
Does she want an SUV, minivan or a really big sedan?
I dont know if money is an issue but i’d buy rather than lease. At least if you buy you can resell the car after you’re done with it.
The toyota RAV4 is pretty low cost and gets 30mpg highway miles. Plus it is a small SUV so she can carry alot of crap in it.
Of course instead of getting an SUV she can just get a sedan and attach a luggage carrier to the roof and some kind of uhaul-esqe wagon to the back. That will give her more than enough room to carry things.