mrs beagledave and I are going car shopping soon. Right now we have a Nissan Sentra that we like…and my wife’s '89 Ford Escort which has 1 foot in the grave (good riddance)
We now have a baby also to figure into the equation. Our basic needs…bigger than the Nissan (at least the Escort was a hatchback with fold down rear seat for hauling stuff)…and four door.
If we get a sedan, it would have to have fold down rear seat to haul stuff…
Otherwise, station wagons seem like a consideration. I’m not immediately drawn to a min-van, but wouldn’t rule them out. SUVs are not really under consideration for us.
So…new baby…need for hauling occasional stuff…what say you dopers?
I absolutely LOVE my Saturn LS. NOT SL. Four door, mid-ish sized sedan, back seat folds down (2/3 and 1/3) and accesses the (very decent sized) trunk. Pretty safe, according to Consumer Reports. GREAT salespeople, very good follow-up care on minor details.
I came to this Saturn from an SUV, and the only capacity difference I have noted is in vertical space (not precisely head room, but space to slide things like dressers and mattresses in). I have been very pleased altogether with the Saturn, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. My only nitpick at ALL is no pretty colors.
FWIW, I really think mini-vans and SUVs are nothing more than tall station wagons, space wise.
You might check out a Saturn, they have a wagon or maybe a Subaru Outback. Honda makes the CRV which is more Jeep sized than full blown SUV like a Tahoe or Suburban. Just a couple of ideas to get you started. Good Luck.
Volvo 240 station wagon. Mine handles great, comfortable rear seat folds down, holds a ton of stuff. Got a roof rack, too. Get one with a V6 so you can add a trailer hitch and pull small trailers.
Spendy, though. It’s currently missing an O2 sensor, and some other sensor which, being dead, killed the O2 sensor. Price tag: $750 to replace them both. It runs without them, so the heck with that.
Subaru Forester all the way. It has plenty of room and is one of the safest cars around, with the way the frame is built and the various airbags and all. Plus, it is classified as a car rather than an SUV, which helps on insurance, I believe.
I NEVER even considered the possibility of buying a non-American car, but this summer we got my wife a Forester (Japanese), and myself a Hyundai Elantra GT (Korean). Both are GREAT cars. (I now have to work part time on weekends to pay for them, but it beats paying repair bills all the time…)
If you’re looking at Nissans, how about an Altima? They are roomier and do have the fold down seats, but they aren’t all that much more expensive. The next step up is the Maxima, which are nice, but definitely over the $20k mark, if that’s a consideration.
In Hondas, the only thing a step up from the size of the Sentra (analogous to the Honda Civic) would be the Accord, also in the $20k range. Excellent cars, consistent top 5 bestseller and they seem to last forever if you care for them.
In that same size class, there are also the Toyota Camry and Oldsmobile Alero, definitely comparable, also in the $20k neighborhood, but you may not want to discount the mid-size sedan from Hyundai which looks awfully good, and is somewhat lower in price.
Our after-the-baby-came car was a VW Jetta. I loved that car. We drove it till parts fell out on the parking lot at my husband’s work and we decided it was cheaper to junk in than fix it.
beagledave, the Saturn LS is a good idea. The sedans are good competent vehicles and the wagon version of the LS is a good small-family hauler.
Besides that, don’t discount the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. The sedans and wagons are excellent all-round vehicles and while the styling is a little zoomy they’re great cars. I put 120K on a Mercury Sable and am currently on my fourth Taurus (counting my wife’s cars). I can’t recommend them highly enough. Plus, with the auto industry in the dumper right now the dealers are practically giving them away.
If you simply must have an import, try the Subaru Forester or the Toyota Camry. Both are excellent cars and the Camry is fully redesigned for 2002 with more content at a better overall value/cost ratio.
No sweat, beagledave. In that case I have one word for you. . .
Taurus! Taurus! Taurus! (and I don’t mean a movie about Pearl Harbor)
Your friendly neighborhood Ford dealer should have zillions of billions of Tauruses that just came off lease and are for sale as certified used cars. You get a decent warranty (most of the new car warranty, actually), a pampered car since the folks who leased them had to turn them back in good shape, and a really good price because of the depreciation hit that new cars always take.
Plus they’re damn fine cars. I’m tellin ya, give them a look.
I’ll add another vote for the Subaru wagons (Outback, Forrester, etc) unless you need a NAV. For some reason they’re not an option.
I’m looking for the same general thing but I need to get something with a NAV system, so now I’m down to choosing between the Volvo or Audi wagons or the tiny Lexus SUV (that is really a jacked-up wagon).
I love my Volvo S70. It was the first sedan I bought when I could no longer squish my son and car seat into the back seat of my Laser (AWD. Turbo. sniff, sniff, I miss that car).
The S40 is just as nice and less expensive too.
Yep. Nothing screams “married father guy” louder than a Volvo.
Sunflower, (Mrs. Longhair) drives a 2001 Toyota rav4. It is a wonderful vehicle. good cargo space, good milage, and it handles well. She leased a 1998, and turned it in for the 2001. Never a problem with either vehicle.
Go for the Subaru. Nothing beats em in dependability (hey, it’s a Japanese car, what do you expect?), and they have pretty good performance to price ratios. You could get a WRX wagon, and rocket the sucker from 0-60 in 5.8 when the wife/kids aren’t around ;), and for $25k, can’t beat it
Yeah, me too! When we were shopping for our Beetle, I kept wandering over to the Jetta Wagon. I tried very hard not to drool. I look at my Aerostar, which I like a bunch, and I almost wish someone would total it so I could get me a Jetta Wagon. But the Aerostar is paid off and the next car is supposed to be for my husband (he’s driving the Beetle till we turn it over to our Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] when she leaves for college) so I’ll just be an adult and suck it up and try not to pout…
So, beagledave, why don’t you get a Jetta Wagon in my honor?
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Now is your chance to make a difference in the life of an infant. Can you live with yourself knowing that this precious beaglebaby may have to be transported about town in an inferior transportation vehicle? Do you wish to make a change for the better? Take this opportunity to impact the life of one child in America…better to contribute towards beagledave’s car fund than to curse the darkness. Rush right over to www.help-babymaeve-get-a-cool-ride.com and make your pledge. the beagle family says thanks!
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