Being the mommy and all, ask her to check out the crash tests and safety features of the cars she is looking to buy. This may sway her decision.
-Les
Being the mommy and all, ask her to check out the crash tests and safety features of the cars she is looking to buy. This may sway her decision.
-Les
Whatever.... you're obviously right and no one else could possibly be right. My apologies for tarnishing honduhs perfect record and impeccable, untouchable cars.
Wow. Who would have thought that the most impassioned car argument ever to see the GRM board would be about two vanilla asian SUV's.
DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow. Who would have thought that the most impassioned car argument ever to see the GRM board would be about two vanilla asian SUV's.
QFT
This is more fun than some of those pesky political discussions.
DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow. Who would have thought that the most impassioned car argument ever to see the GRM board would be about two vanilla asian SUV's.
Vanilla never tastes good for very long, chocolate is much better and more satisfying, but vanilla is cheaper....
Mom has a new CRV. Great vehicle, and Honda reliability speaks for itself. Even I have been unable to kill the ones that I have owned! Sure the warranty is a little shorter but who cares? You won't need it.
A good friend of mine works for Hyundai, training dealers and making warranty repair decisions. He tells me that the Koreans are making vehicles every bit as good the Japanese. They still have to prove it to the general public, so they offer a longer warranty mostly for marketing purposes. (Goshen's idea BTW. Genius)
The cool thing is that whether you buy a Honda or Hyundai (or Kia or Toyota) you are getting a great vehicle for the price that will easily run 100,000 miles without breaking a sweat. We live in a great time automotively-speaking!
I was in a similar situation, and in my case I went with a used Kia Rondo. I can seat 5 and still carry a ton of stuff. With 12K miles, I spent just over $15K and still got a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. Awesome.
Well we went and looked at 20 SUVs on Saturday. My 3.5 month old son had infinite patience while riding in his car seat all day, being put in and out of SUV after SUV (Carmax, just went down the row).
Surprises of the day:
We didn't like the Ford Escape in any version.
The Kia Sportage had amazing space in the rear and was nice inside. The sister Tucson was just as roomy. Extremely impressed with both of them. Shocked even. Baby and stroller fit well. Side curtain airbags are a plus.
The RAV-4 has a side opening rear door, that is a no-go for me.
The Pontiac Torrent got our attention. Never even heard of it. Did research on it and it definitely has our interest, but we didn't drive it. I know it is a GM, but the pricing might be right. It is a tall Malibu.
Drove the 2010 CR-V. Wife liked it, I thought it rode like a buggy. I sat in the back with our son and I swear I felt every bump in the road. Lots of room though and the engine is peppy. Son was mildly upset during the test drive.
Drove the Santa Fe. It rode solid and smooth. I know it is bigger but it just felt more "together". The rear cargo space is obscene, and there is a trunk UNDER the cargo area. Very nice. The rear A/C vents are a nice touch. Son slept like a log for the test drive.
Looked at the Rondo, didn't like it at all. Very tall but still felt cramped.
The Chevy HHR is a PT Cruiser clone. I liked it but the wife hated it with a passion.
We looked at two sedans: the Accord and the Camry. The Accord had a narrower trunk opening (hard to put a stroller in). The Camry had a wider trunk overall, the stroller not only went in easy but slid all the way to the back.
My wife liked the Magnum. I frick'n love the Magnum. The stroller fit in the back lengthwise! The wife wants me to look into them, I'm worried unleashing her in a car with 340hp. It is quite the fantastic family wagon though, obscene cargo space.
We got a lot to think about in one day. The guy at Carmax was used to this thing, we just walked down the line opening rear doors. If the baby fit in the back and the stroller went in easy, THEN we asked what the SUV was and looked at the details. Funny how car shopping with a child in mind changes things.
Datsun1500 wrote:pinchvalve wrote: I was in a similar situation, and in my case I went with a used Kia Rondo. I can seat 5 and still carry a ton of stuff. With 12K miles, I spent just over $15K and still got a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. Awesome.Might want to check that. The 10 year 100K warranty is for the first owner only. If you bought it used, you don't have it....
CPO's do get the 10/100
What, no X3s at Carmax? 
I remember those car-shopping-with-toddlers days. Yeah, priorities change when you're trying to cram a bunch of kid stuff into a vehicle on a daily basis. If there's a plan for a sibling, quit fooling around and just get a minivan. You'll thank me later.
Yep, CPO purchase from a dealer carries the full warranty balance. That's why I suffered the snake-oil salesmen instead of the friendly no-haggle used-car lot down the road.
pinchvalve wrote: Yep, CPO purchase from a dealer carries the full warranty balance. That's why I suffered the snake-oil salesmen instead of the friendly no-haggle used-car lot down the road.
See... here, it's the opposite. The dealer has less snakeoil/shadyness than ANY of the used car lots. Let me rephrase.... they may ACT like they have less, but every one of those lots are ripping you off...
pigeon wrote: What, no X3s at Carmax?
This.
I know you said she's anti, but drag the wife along and drive some minivans, take the baby with. They are the vehicle of choice for multi-kid moms and families all over for a reason- getting kids in and out with a minimum of fuss is the benefit. If she has an issue with the look, well, that's what they make dark window tint for. In reality, the latest couple of crops of minivans has enough gadgetry on them to sway a lot of people past the look, and a few of them don't even look that bad to begin with.
I'm in the market with you, sort of, so this thread is relevant to my interests. I'm still shopping for a trade-up for my '05 Mazda3. I've had it for 3 years, and while I'd like to keep it, in another year or two my kids will be reaching up from the backseat to strangle me for wedging them in there like sardines.
I saw your next car yesterday. You said that wagons are a possibility, right?
I saw a Mazda 6 wagon on my drive yesterday. It looked rad. All kinds of hot. You should get one.
What about a Mazda5?
Back from the dead!
We bought the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. 4-cylinder, automatic GLS base model with no options other than what the dealer left in the vehicle (floor mats, cargo mat, iPod connector). Ended up getting it from Rick Case Hyundai in Duluth. Paid $22,357 for it total. Pretty good price for a brand new model.
The Cash 4 Clunkers program really blew used car prices out of whack. I couldn't find a used Santa Fe with really low miles for much less than $20k. At that point I might as well spend the extra $2k and have a brand new car.
We'll have it for the next decade or so and we're so unemotional about the purchase it is almost weird. So much research and homework for the process to be done. I like it, the wife likes it, so that's what counts. So non-Grassroots, but I think my purchase of the Duster makes up for it.
slefain wrote: We bought the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. 4-cylinder, automatic GLS base model with no options other than what the dealer left in the vehicle (floor mats, cargo mat, iPod connector). Ended up getting it from Rick Case Hyundai in Duluth. Paid $22,357 for it total. Pretty good price for a brand new model.
You'll like it, although I wonder if the 4-banger is going to prove to be adequate. We have a 07 Santa Fe FWD with the 3.3L that we bought new and it's been very good over its first 25,000 miles. Not exactly stirring the soul when driving but quite capable both on the highway and hauling around large packages.
You'll need to log in to post.
