Just got news that my Grandma was playing bumper cars again and totaled her 03 Buick. Is there such thing as a cool/interesting car that is safe and reliable for an old person? Looking to spend around $10,000 on something built between 02-07 or so.
Just got news that my Grandma was playing bumper cars again and totaled her 03 Buick. Is there such thing as a cool/interesting car that is safe and reliable for an old person? Looking to spend around $10,000 on something built between 02-07 or so.
A chauffeur-driven one. Maybe a bus pass?
None. Time to sit down and have THAT talk. There was a thread on this recently, but to recap, AARP offers driving courses/schools that can help ease the driver it's time to hang up the keys--or if they are still capable of driving, to help sharpen their skills.
Next to a deadly illness discussion, it is one of the hardest discussions to have--the loss of independence.
When should the late great Paul Newman have hung up his helmet? He was last on track at 83. Handing in the car keys is different for everyone. With my father it happend by age 70, others could be 60, 90 or 100. Don't jump to conclusions
Get her another Buick so we will know who to give plenty of room to.
My Grandmother finally stopped driving at 83. The only reason she did is she was the only one left at the retirement center with a car. She got tired of always hauling her friends to Walmart.
Keven wrote: Just got news that my Grandma was playing bumper cars again and totaled her 03 Buick. Is there such thing as a cool/interesting car that is safe and reliable for an old person? Looking to spend around $10,000 on something built between 02-07 or so.
What is Grandma's history? Maybe that talk is warrented? Anyone can have an accident. But if there is a repeated history...
BTW, he DID have a chauffer. Let's see, OP said Grandma's playing " bumper cars again" Let's just ignore that
Ditto. Maybe it is time to hang the keys up. But really would like to know Gma's side to why the accident happened. It could have been one of those unavoidable accidents that can only be avoided by staying home deals. Plus was the trip warranted or was it just a drive to get out of the house? Health issues?
Brian
Ignore the above posts. Your grandmother needs a Miata.
Yeah hanging up the keys is different for everyone. My grandma is mid 80's with no accidents (or should I say, none since she hit middle age and stopped driving like a crazed person) but she is the first to admit her vision isnt' good enough to drive anymore. But if it's a repeated series of accidents, it might be time... I'm just glad to be in a city full of younger people. The last place I lived was like retirement village, driving was a constant lookout for a certain age of drivers! Though surprizingly, much less frightening than driving here... Here is more fun, though 
When I die, I want to go like my Grandpa did, quietly in his sleep, not screaming in sheer terror like his passengers.
my Mom is 86.. still drives... not well.. doesn't like to drive, but since Dad died last yr she's had to learn/relearn a lot of things.... she's had one fender bender and backed into a ditch once... as she continues, she's getting better, probably won't matter much longer, drivers license renewal in 2012
then my duties with go up exponentially
It's none of our business whether or not grandma needs to quit drivign. I say Focus.
I just had to answer that exact same question. The answer (in a new car) was Subaru Legacy or Suzuki Kizashi.
She got the Subie cause she'd never heard of Suzuki. So I'm gonna say an older Subie would be a good choice.
The door openings are good and wide so that it's easy to get in and out and the 4WD helps protect in inclement weather.
Quality has been pretty good as well.
My father is 90, and still drives, but because he and my Mom have "needs" they never go further than 1 or 2 hours away from home. My father even has a part time job of sorts that requires he drive about 20 miles one way a couple of times a week. My Mom voluntarily stopped driving about a year ago as macular degeneration "caught up" with her suddenly. She always figured that since women outlive men that she was going to be stuck driving my Dad around.
I've been "bumped into" 3 times in the last 10 years...in ALL cases I was stopped and the other driver usually said "they did not see me". I agree, if folks are running into Grandma, that's a bit different case than if she is running into other cars, houses, people.
BTW, we had a case here a week ago, a driver was involved in an accident where they ran a car off the road, hit a jogger ON THE SIDEWALK, and then stopped when they hit a house. The driver was thought to be TEXTING WHILE DRIVING, and had no idea he(?) or she(?) (for some reason, the newscast was kind of sketchy on the details) had run a car off the road or hit a pedestrian.
The best thing to do is get a good reliable car so that you at least wont have to worry about her being stranded on the side of the road. You will have enough other things to worry about.
Yeah, Toyota Camry is what both my own mother and my mother in law drive. Both are over 80 and act entirely differently. MIL will call if she goes to the grocery store and wont drive at nite. My mom wont let us know where she is and thinks that it is great that the Wally World and Walgreens sends workers out to her car with her when she goes to shop late in the evening. I get calls from family and friends to keep me posted on her "errors".
I understand that no one wants to admit their vulnerability and lose their independence but having an aging parent is not fun and the decisions are difficult.
My grandma has a Camry which she loves. She can get in and out of it easily even with her bad knees and it handles better then a Town Car and gets better gas mileage.
I'd say she should get another '03 Buick. I assume she's used to it so how the car drives, the locations of the controls, etc. will all be familiar to her.
Try the box vehicles.
My brother-in-laws father needed to replace his Mercury Villager minivan. This 80yr old man picked a Niisan Cube for himself.
I know another guy in this age range who's son replaced his LeSabre with a shinny new Chevy Malibu. What his loving son failed to realize is that these old boys find these typical sedans too low to easly get in and out of.
The tall boxes and the cars in the "Scion Class" typically have big wide doors and chair-like ride height. The squareness of the body results in well defined edges of the vehicle. Be mindful that some have better reward visibility than others.
Scion Xb gen 1&2
Nissan Cube, Versa, Sentra
Toyota Vibe, Pontiac Vibe
Kia Soul
Honda CRV or similar cute-utes
red5_02 wrote: It's none of our business whether or not grandma needs to quit drivign. I say Focus.
It is if she plays "bumper cars" with me.
I hope "the talk" comes soon. 
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/2117582559.html
As a victim of an elderly driver three months ago which totaled my Acura and could have very well killed me I'd say have the talk if it's not the first occasion.
I also second the Subaru notion.
Z06 Corvette. Someday, she will quit driving, eventually she will pass on, and it will be something cool coming out of the garage for the estate sale, instead of a Gramma beige 4door Focus with an automatic.
Oh Lord, I apologize for makin' light of Grandmothers.
Streetwiseguy wrote: Z06 Corvette. Someday, she will quit driving, eventually she will pass on, and it will be something cool coming out of the garage for the estate sale, instead of a Gramma beige 4door Focus with an automatic.
^This, absolutely.
Just don't forget the throttle stop, as you want to protect your inves...oh, this is horrible.
HOWEVER, agree with earler posts, if car is going to be replaced, go boxy with easy ingress and egress. Especially egress
You'll need to log in to post.
