OT - Car Shopping

[albanycuse]

VW is like Jeep - they look pretty nice, but they always have problems. I had a Volvo 940 for 18 years and 164K miles before it died. Since then, I've gotten two Hyundai Sonatas - a 2007 six cylinder and a 2011 4 cylinder turbo. I have had great success (knock wood) with both cars - no rust, no problems. The 2007 has 102,000 miles on it. Both get good mileage. The 2o11 gets 35 MPG+ on road trips, and around 26 MPG in town.

You cant compare VW to american garbage. I have a Acura MDX for the past 7 years , i drive it everywhere, it has 165,000 miles and still drives brand new. Engine and transmission= perfect. When i decide to buy a new one im still keeping this beast.

 

[SU2NASA]

Well, my 16 yo 1999 Acura TL has finally died, at least to the extent that it needs a transmission repair & I have decided not to put $$$ into that old a vehicle. That vehicle owes me nothing.

We are a 3 car family - we have a Honda Pilot that fills the needs for a large SUV and a "dog vehicle". My wife has her Acura RDX selected by her own preference. I need to replace the TL.

I am not sure between a sedan or a small SUV. If I went the small SUV route, I would want AWD. Since I already have 2 AWD vehicles a sedan is a definite option.

So far I have looked at Ford, Mazda, Hyundai, and Honda. Amongst what I have looked at my favorites so far are the Honda Accord and the Honda Crosstour. I am presently leaning towards the Crosstour AWD because I think it will be big enough to serve as a replacement for my 10 YO Pilot down the road and still give me sedan like driveability for my present needs. The negatives on the Crosstour are not as good gas mileage as I might prefer and that it is supposedly not as "refined" as the latest Accord, but other than the new Accord having a slightly nicer instrument cluster I am at a loss to know what those refinement differences might be. I definitely intend to check out the Acura TLX before making a decision.

My price range is up to the low 30's.

If anybody has a Crosstour out there I would really appreciate input on the vehicle. I am also looking for input about any other vehicles that I should be checking out as I hope to make a decision very soon, so I may not have time to check out everything.

Thx in advance for any inputs...

Screw it, add another $20K to your budget and lease it.

 

[cusetown1]

Probably could get a good deal on a Chevette.

 

[cto]

I love my Lexus RX350 smallish SUV (my 5th Lexus since the Lexus brand was introduced 25 years ago). Nothing ever goes wrong with them... the service operation (at least here) is wonderful... and they keep their value well. I've never carried dogs in it, but I have carried Christmas trees and all kinds of furniture, and it does the job well.

Lexus has just come out with a slightly smaller version of the RX.. that is called the NX. You might want to check out both versions.

 

[pearl31]

Probably could get a good deal on a Chevette.

Solid ride.

 

[cusetown1]

Solid ride.

Yup really is. Back in high school I ghettoed one out with bumping speakers. Look at this bad boy.

 

[Ghost]

Yeah I looked at 2015 VWs yesterday and they still don't have a USB which was the #1 must have for car buyers in 2014; talk about being out of touch with the consumer. They do have a SD slot in the glove compartment but I was a bit surprised.

I know - shocking, right? It seems like something you couldn't possibly miss on. Pretty big oversight.

 

[Ghost]

VW is like Jeep - they look pretty nice, but they always have problems. I had a Volvo 940 for 18 years and 164K miles before it died. Since then, I've gotten two Hyundai Sonatas - a 2007 six cylinder and a 2011 4 cylinder turbo. I have had great success (knock wood) with both cars - no rust, no problems. The 2007 has 102,000 miles on it. Both get good mileage. The 2o11 gets 35 MPG+ on road trips, and around 26 MPG in town.

When I get Hyundais for rentals they always drive pretty smooth - similar to Mazda. Pretty fun to drive overall - although I typically feel like the Sonata or the one directly below it (Elantra maybe?) has a bad blind spot.

 

[Ghost]

I love my Lexus RX350 smallish SUV (my 5th Lexus since the Lexus brand was introduced 25 years ago). Nothing ever goes wrong with them... the service operation (at least here) is wonderful... and they keep their value well. I've never carried dogs in it, but I have carried Christmas trees and all kinds of furniture, and it does the job well.

Lexus has just come out with a slightly smaller version of the RX.. that is called the NX. You might want to check out both versions.

Luxury cars are funny - they seem to drop to about that 10K spot, and just sit for years and years. If it's relatively new it doesn't matter if it has 120K or 250K miles, still going to be about 1o grand.

 

[TexanMark]

I know - shocking, right? It seems like something you couldn't possibly miss on. Pretty big oversight.

What iz zee problem? You Americans are ridiculous...we gave you a cupholder and a CD player in the '13 model.

 

[xc84]

I had one of these. It was a standard and had only 3 forward gears so it revved pretty high on the highway. The engine was great and I never had any issues but the suspension sucked and I was always replacing something related. I have to say though, it had great traction in the snow...I guess just the right weight on the front-drive wheels.

Nicknamed it the "lay" care for obvious reasons.

 

[OburgOrange]

I had one of these. 3995$ brand new, cost 7$ to fill it up, could drive it for two weeks between fill ups, and it was a beast in the snow -FWD. at the time there was a Cadillac dealer in Rochester, I believe, that gave you a free Yugo with a Cadillac purchase!

 

[Bortukal]

Interestingly, Deadspin has a post today about shopping for a car. Might be helpful.

 

[Orangello]

 

[SUintheVille]

i'd look into a circa 2009-10 lexus es 350 sedan or rx crossover with about 50k. comfortable, stylish and practically zero maint. probably set you back 20K tops.

I have an '07 Lexus ES 350. Great car.

 

[zhanjuzi]

In the midst of running my 2nd "previously owned" geezer-mobile, a discontinued Buick LeSabre, into the ground (the first one made it to 210k before the went belly up). This one, a 2004 Custom now at 110k , is holding up a little better (e.g., all the power windows still work).

My philosophy on wheels is reasonable comfort on the cheap. Next used car will probably be a used Buick LaCrosse.

The extra cash saved from purchasing used cars goes towards vintage purchases in stocking my pride and joy wine cellar .. its all about priorities and the intangibles associated with truly liquid assets.

 

[Ghost]

In the midst of running my 2nd "previously owned" geezer-mobile, a discontinued Buick LeSabre, into the ground (the first one made it to 210k before the went belly up). This one, a 2004 Custom now at 110k , is holding up a little better (e.g., all the power windows still work).

My philosophy on wheels is reasonable comfort on the cheap. Next used car will probably be a used Buick LaCrosse.

The extra cash saved from purchasing used cars goes towards vintage purchases in stocking my pride and joy wine cellar .. its all about priorities and the intangibles associated with truly liquid assets.

Oh, I see what you did there. Nothing gets past this guy!

 

[tbonezone]

well check out the new JAMES FENIMORE "MINI" COOPER 2015 deerslayer edition. room for all your ruminants.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

In the midst of running my 2nd "previously owned" geezer-mobile, a discontinued Buick LeSabre, into the ground (the first one made it to 210k before the went belly up). This one, a 2004 Custom now at 110k , is holding up a little better (e.g., all the power windows still work).

My philosophy on wheels is reasonable comfort on the cheap. Next used car will probably be a used Buick LaCrosse.

The extra cash saved from purchasing used cars goes towards vintage purchases in stocking my pride and joy wine cellar .. its all about priorities and the intangibles associated with truly liquid assets.

Saturday, I went shopping for a couple bottles of Cain Five.

The guy suggested I get a bottle of the Bevan Oakville instead.

All I can say is "liquid velvet".