Car Shopping
So...D and I are going car shopping. With one car 10 years old and the other 13 years old and neither of them with functioning air conditioning in this very, very hot summer, we think now is time to pull the trigger on a "new" car.
"New" is in quotes because we're looking for a used car. Neither of us feel it's the right thing to do to buy a new car and pay for the serious depreciation that happens as soon as you drive it off the lot.
What we're looking for is a vehicle that can give us all room to sit, even in the back row. We have a Chevy Cavalier and a Dodge Ram with a quad cab right now. Neither of those have a ton of room in the back row, and both were bought several years before any of our kids were born. Also, it would be nice that, if we drive around not only our own kids, but their friends, then we have room for them as well. Oh yeah, and also room for their "stuff" in the back, should we need to also be carrying "stuff".
So ... our criteria:
7-8 passenger vehicle
Used
Working A/C
Good reliability
Inexpensive to make repairs, if needed
Inexpensive maintenance
That's all we really NEED. Wanting, on the other hand ... well, it would be nice if it had:
Additional power outlets for DVD players
AUX in for iPod/mp3 player
Backup assist
And the rest would really just be gravy and/or extras we don't even really want (like a built-in DVD player...the girls don't always want to watch the same thing at the same time).
We've looked at a lot of vehicles, include the Mazda CX-9, Kia Sorento, Toyota Highlander and more. We've talked to car rental places, we've talked to 4 different mechanics at independent garages, and I can't even count the number of hours we've spent perusing reviews and comments and blogs online about vehicles. We've even posted on Facebook to ask friends and coworkers their opinions. We started with a rather large list of vehicles, but I think we've narrowed it down to four and of those, I think two are front-runners. They are:
Chevy Traverse
Ford Flex
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Veracruz
We've heard good things about all of these vehicles and about their companies. Obviously, we've also heard bad, but all things considered, it's good. The Honda is good all around, it seems. Its only stumbling block is the price. Hondas aren't cheap. Hyundai looks pretty good, though their customer service seems to be the most lacking. That coupled with the fact that the Veracruz is extremely new, so there's not a lot of hands-on experience out there on that vehicle. Of the top four, I'd say it's #4. The Ford Flex is the one I like a lot. I think it's a good car and I like the exterior of the vehicle as well. D, on the other hand, doesn't like how it looks. Mechanically it's a decent car and Ford has improved a ton over the past 5-6 years quality-wise, and hey, they didn't take any of the bailout money from Obama. The Chevy Traverse is the one D likes the most. Heard decent things about both the vehicle and the company. The Traverse is actually the only crossover vehicle that any of the car rental places use, because they want a car that doesn't break down easily and is cheap to fix and maintain. All that sounds pretty good to me!
So this Saturday we're going to go test drive at least a couple of these cars (the local Chevy and Ford dealerships are across the street from each other and Honda is three blocks from them). I'm writing all this because it seems to me that every in-depth review I've read of these cars is from people who drive cars all the time. I don't find that terribly useful sometimes, because they talk about things like body roll, feeling a hesitancy to the transmission, etc. But how does that feel to someone who is used to nothing newer than 10 years old? I'm going to post here myself to give you exactly that. I have a feeling even the worst of these vehicles will feel absolutely amazing to me! I'll definitely post here once I know! I'm even going to try to make it as full-featured as some of the professional reviews, just from the point of view of the layman with old cars (and not old in a good way).
TTFN!
"New" is in quotes because we're looking for a used car. Neither of us feel it's the right thing to do to buy a new car and pay for the serious depreciation that happens as soon as you drive it off the lot.
What we're looking for is a vehicle that can give us all room to sit, even in the back row. We have a Chevy Cavalier and a Dodge Ram with a quad cab right now. Neither of those have a ton of room in the back row, and both were bought several years before any of our kids were born. Also, it would be nice that, if we drive around not only our own kids, but their friends, then we have room for them as well. Oh yeah, and also room for their "stuff" in the back, should we need to also be carrying "stuff".
So ... our criteria:
7-8 passenger vehicle
Used
Working A/C
Good reliability
Inexpensive to make repairs, if needed
Inexpensive maintenance
That's all we really NEED. Wanting, on the other hand ... well, it would be nice if it had:
Additional power outlets for DVD players
AUX in for iPod/mp3 player
Backup assist
And the rest would really just be gravy and/or extras we don't even really want (like a built-in DVD player...the girls don't always want to watch the same thing at the same time).
We've looked at a lot of vehicles, include the Mazda CX-9, Kia Sorento, Toyota Highlander and more. We've talked to car rental places, we've talked to 4 different mechanics at independent garages, and I can't even count the number of hours we've spent perusing reviews and comments and blogs online about vehicles. We've even posted on Facebook to ask friends and coworkers their opinions. We started with a rather large list of vehicles, but I think we've narrowed it down to four and of those, I think two are front-runners. They are:
Chevy Traverse
Ford Flex
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Veracruz
We've heard good things about all of these vehicles and about their companies. Obviously, we've also heard bad, but all things considered, it's good. The Honda is good all around, it seems. Its only stumbling block is the price. Hondas aren't cheap. Hyundai looks pretty good, though their customer service seems to be the most lacking. That coupled with the fact that the Veracruz is extremely new, so there's not a lot of hands-on experience out there on that vehicle. Of the top four, I'd say it's #4. The Ford Flex is the one I like a lot. I think it's a good car and I like the exterior of the vehicle as well. D, on the other hand, doesn't like how it looks. Mechanically it's a decent car and Ford has improved a ton over the past 5-6 years quality-wise, and hey, they didn't take any of the bailout money from Obama. The Chevy Traverse is the one D likes the most. Heard decent things about both the vehicle and the company. The Traverse is actually the only crossover vehicle that any of the car rental places use, because they want a car that doesn't break down easily and is cheap to fix and maintain. All that sounds pretty good to me!
So this Saturday we're going to go test drive at least a couple of these cars (the local Chevy and Ford dealerships are across the street from each other and Honda is three blocks from them). I'm writing all this because it seems to me that every in-depth review I've read of these cars is from people who drive cars all the time. I don't find that terribly useful sometimes, because they talk about things like body roll, feeling a hesitancy to the transmission, etc. But how does that feel to someone who is used to nothing newer than 10 years old? I'm going to post here myself to give you exactly that. I have a feeling even the worst of these vehicles will feel absolutely amazing to me! I'll definitely post here once I know! I'm even going to try to make it as full-featured as some of the professional reviews, just from the point of view of the layman with old cars (and not old in a good way).
TTFN!