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bestcee

bestcee

In love with places I've never been to
Joined
Dec 18, 2013
Messages
19,337
It looks like we are shopping for a new car.

So, what do you drive?
What do you like/love about it?
What do you hate about it?
 
I take the train.
I love that I don't have to drive. (see my tagline??)
But sometimes I have to wait for it to arrive.
#superhelpful :giggle

But seriously, good luck! How exciting :)
 
We are a family of Fords. For the longest time we had toyotas, and they were the best car for resale value and repairs for many years, however as the quality went down we switched back to American brands. I drive a Ford Edge, which is a little bit bigger than the Escape. It was my first new car in like ten years so I went all out on the package with sun roof, GPS, touch screen, keyless entry.... I love it.
 
We have a Kia sedona, which I love, except that I am driving a mini van. Lol

I love the buttons to open the sliding doors on each side, because I remember manually having to do that when I was little. I love the button to heat up the front seat(s). I wish we had the dual driver automatic feature, where each person's key would automatically adjust the mirrors and seats to the specific driver's settings because, well, I am 5'1" and hubby is 6'5"-- and because it's the only vehicle, we alternate a lot. It typically is included only in the deluxe version of cars, so we weren't spending the extra $10K on that. Haha.

We went mini van because we have two in car seats, we were considering having a third, needed the space for 3, plus a double stroller and our dog. I love the space, but hate the stigma of being a "mini van mom" which is just me being silly (I know).

Before this van... we each had a vehicle. Husband drove a Honda Civic and I drove a Honda fit. I liked both of those driving wise, but we just didn't fit well if the 4 of us were in it. The stroller didn't fit well in either trunk, and definitely no dog.

Husband now rides a motorcycle to and from work most days.
 
I am no help, but I may be looking for something soon, so I'm following lol

I do love my car!! It's a Suzuki Kizashi SLS and there is really nothing I don't like about it at all, they just don't sell it or any Suzuki's in the US anymore. I've had it for 5 years and the miles are getting high because I have a long work commute, and I'm getting worried about finding parts/getting things worked on as it gets older. But it's a great car...headed seats, back up sensor, sunroof, bluetooth, all wheel drive, cute and sporty (for a 4 door), I never have to take the key/fob out of my purse or pocket (all keyless)...and it's paid for lol. I have never owned a car this long in my 30+ years of driving, so I must like it.

We also have a gorgeous and loaded black 2012 Camaro SS. Awesome car, but sometimes I hate driving it because I'm too worried all the time that it's going to get a ding or something lol. And it's really not all that practical here because it sits in storage all winter...snow=Camaro does not go. It is pretty sweet, though. And because it sits in storage, we also have a 1996 Toyota 4Runner. Now, that thing is fun to drive. No worries about dings or scratches (it has lots already), it'll go through anything, and it still runs great!!

Good luck!!
 
We're on our second Volvo. I had a long commute before we moved a year ago, so my husband was big on the safety issue. Overall I love the car - the one I have now is an XC90, and we've had a few more issues with it than my S60, but if I had my way, I'd get another XC90 when we were ready for a new car again.
 
I drive a 2014 Chevy Equinox. DH drives a used, early-2000s Impala (IDK which year cuz I don't drive it lol). My Equinox is our first new car purchase and since it was to be my car (we only had the Impala when we lived in Houston cuz DH took the bus to work), I got to have 90% of the say in it.

LOVE:
1. This is always my top req for a vehicle: it fits me (I'm tall). I didn't want an SUV but I literally couldn't get my legs under the steering wheels of most sedans. People are getting bigger but cars are shrinking (so are airplane seats/leg space... but I digress!). And since it's a midsize SUV, it's easy for me to put DS in and out of his car seat without bending and contorting myself to see what I'm doing.
2. The ride is smooth. We drove 13 hours to MI from our home in one day and I didn't feel like I was being tortured.
3. Gas mileage is pretty good for an SUV. It beats DH's Impala.
4. Did I mention it fits me? :)

Dislike:
1. The trunk space is actually less usable than DH's Impala cuz you can't just shove stuff length-wise into the trunk. We have to fold the handle down on DS's stroller to make it more compact/not as long. That's annoying simply cuz when I'm loading the trunk I want to hurry and get the heck outta the parking lot. In the Impala, I fold the stroller and stick it length-wise into the trunk, no problem, and can fit other stuff next to it. With the Equinox, I feel like I'm playing a game of Tetris: the stroller goes here, so the Gap bag can go here, and maybe the pillows can go over here... With an SUV, you have space UP, but what the heck can I put on top of a wobbly stroller? The trunk is nowhere near as wide as the vehicle itself, so I could barely fit a small dresser (great garage sale find!) on its back--and the SUV isn't super tall so I couldn't fit it on its side, which was annoying cuz I'd purchased 2 lol.
2. This may not be a problem for me but it may be a problem for others: there's no third row. I don't like how you basically have to jump over the middle row to get to the back of most 8-person SUVs, and talk about no trunk! The Tahoe isn't that much longer than the Equinox, but you're fitting a whole extra row in it, which means you're eating up trunk space. I have a friend who bought a 2015 Tahoe cuz they have a dog and the dog can have the third row all to herself. It's a Great Dane so she needs all that space lol.
3. I don't love that it's an SUV. I'd love an Audi TT convertible but... I don't fit in it.
 
Probably no help at all - I'm a pickup gal. Have been all my life. Being single it wasn't a problem till I had finished enough therapy to actually trust folks and make friends. Then the friends had kids/grandkids and well, I have a 4 door Dodge Ram 1500. I would prefer the biggest size (?3500) but my budget won't allow it, yet.
I can haul said friends and kiddos and still drag 3 houses of trash (or move them, or fetch bird seed in bulk) but in winter on our rare icy days it can be tricky. So, I get several hundred pounds of playsand to put over axle, then donate it in spring. It will be extremely heavy as it soaks up rain and melted snow but refuses to dry out.

PS I get invited to all the best yard sales and thrift store sales just in case they need to haul something. The meals they treat me to . . . .
 
I absolutely love my Acura MDX. I bought it new in 2002 and am still driving it!!!! It has 184K miles on it and I am ridiculously hard on it. I'd buy a new one tomorrow if I could.
 
we have a Toyota Auris Hybrid and we love it. we have place for the children and the car trunk is big !
 
We have a yellow (my favorite color) 2012 Ford Focus. It has a hatchback & sunroof. I like it for zipping around. I wanted a Mazda Protégé, but hubby worked for Ford at the time, so it was pretty cheap & I special ordered it. It's the right height for me since I'm only 5 feet tall. Both boys were in car seats when I got it & it was great only lifting from my waist. The Escape was much harder for me to do all that. The trunk is decent, but not great. I much preferred the Escape for grocery shopping & camping. But, I use the Focus for those things now. Both boys are in booster seats now & it's roomy for all for of us on long road trips. The gas mileage is good. The back gets really dirty fast, I'm told this is because the car is very aerodynamic. I've had 2 Fords, 1 Mazda, 1 Chevy, & one very short-lived used Saab. Hands-down the Chevy sedan was my favorite. The Mazda was best for zipping around & parking in San Francisco.
 
Since October 2004, just before my second child was born, I've been driving a Toyota Sienna minivan. We were considering just getting a sedan, but my husband's aunt wisely told us we'd appreciate the space of a minivan when the kids got older, and I remember that often because we went on to have a third child and I enjoy being involved in driving my kids and their friends to activities and events. We've transported furniture and stuff too, conveniently.

When we were shopping for a new vehicle in late summer 2004, we found the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna were neck and neck in quality. Someone told us that every year one would add a feature and the following year the other would copy. That year the Sienna happened to be one step ahead. Otherwise we might have chosen the Honda because we were already happily driving two Honda Civics. One of those Civics, a 1998, is still with us!

The Sienna has been very good too. Just recently rolled over to 100K miles, it has had no problems. The seats are easy to reconfigure and very comfy. Storage is plentiful. Ride is smooth. I've never had any complaints about it. I can even parallel park it. :D

Good luck with your search!
 
2002 VW Golf TDI..ancient now I know but I still love it and it gets great mileage 35-41mpg.

It was all I wanted, diesel, sun/moon roof (I need options!), great stereo. What I didn't get was black.:( At that time, to get a black model we would have had to pay for it first as they were being sold to South America first. I was pretty disappointed in the white but really it's a much better color for our hot humid summers.
 
jesskab said:
We have a yellow (my favorite color) 2012 Ford Focus. . . .
Click to expand...

Yellow is my favorite color too. :D I've occasionally pondered whether I will want to get a little yellow car someday when my kids have flown the nest. :) I love the ease of parking and maneuvering small cars like our old Honda Civic I still occasionally drive, but feel safer in traffic in my minivan because it's bigger. Maybe that is a big plus for having a YELLOW little car: it's more noticeable!
 
I drive a 2006 Honda Element. Sadly they do not make these anymore and there are a lot of people upset by it! The main reason for getting it was to haul the puppers, but I LOVE it in general. Had I known they were going to quit making them, I would have upgraded the year they stopped.

I affectionally call it my "toaster"! I have no idea what I would get now. I know I would probably look a Subaru Outbacks and Foresters, but other than that I haven't a clue!

DogsCar-1.jpg
 
@michelepixels Because I ordered it, we had no idea what shade of yellow it would be since it hadn't been released yet. It's called yellow blaze & it's almost school bus yellow. As much as I love yellow, I think I prefer little red cars. I've had one blue, 2 red, & 1 green. I always hated the green, but it was the only model on sale. I do wish we had two cars, but there's no budget for that. I liked when we had the one little car & the mid-sized SUV. That combo was perfect for our little family of 4.
 
I'm enjoying my 2014 Honda CR-V (we purchased it used). We have had good luck with Hondas. This is our third. The last one was a 2005 Accord, which was lovingly "handed down" to my daughter. It has been a fantastic car. My hubby was insistent that we avoid something with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), so that made it more difficult to buy new last fall as it seems that all the manufacturers are going that route.

I might be loving it so much because I had been driving our 2004 Buick LeSabre (inherited) for several years. Such a boat, but nice highway ride.
 
Lots of options!
We had been driving a 2005 Toyota Corolla. We are currently borrowing my mom's Tahoe, and it's way too big for the 3+dog of us.

But our next vehicle is going to be bigger than the corolla, because my poor 6ft1 husband needs more leg space.
 
We have a Subaru Legacy - made in Indiana. We really love it.

We keep our cars forever. The last two we had to more than 100K miles. It needs to be sturdy and last. We looked for a car with low repairs, good safety ratings, and decent insurance rates.

Pros:
Amazing visibility. Easy to see out all windows in all directions.
Great legroom in front and back of car.
All wheel drive - which is super in Illinois winters.
Car feels and drives sturdy.
Good gas mileage.
Top safety ratings.
#1 recommended car last year by Consumer Reports.
Top trade-in values.
Mid to low range insurance rates.
I don't see myself coming and going on the road. (We had originally wanted a Ford Fusion, but would see 2 or 3 in every parking lot we went to. We don't see nearly as many Subarus.)

Cons:
Only thing I wish the car had was a little more "techy" integration with my android phone. But honestly, I'm not in the car to play with apps, I just want to hear my music/audiobooks and drive, so this was in no way a dealbreaker for us.

car.JPG
 
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bestcee said:
Lots of options!
We had been driving a 2005 Toyota Corolla. We are currently borrowing my mom's Tahoe, and it's way too big for the 3+dog of us.

But our next vehicle is going to be bigger than the corolla, because my poor 6ft1 husband needs more leg space.
Click to expand...
Lol...my 6' husband does not like to drive my Golf and when he's had to, I always have to adjust the seat. However...I have checked and our legs ARE the same length! his height is in his long trunk.
 
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