Informed for Life Scores?

[Mattypies]

I currently drive a 2004 Ford Freestar and I truly hate this vehicle. It makes my teeth hurt to even think about it. It does not make financial sense to sell so I started to look at other reasons to get rid of it!

I can not afford a new vehicle and my husband will only go for me finding something used at exactly the same price, so in other words I can switch it. On the other hand I would rather keep my van than to buy something that is not as safe.

I printed off the informed for life scores for the years 2003 to 2007 as a place to start and got the score for my van, 87 points (medium risk category).

So it seems to me that the way to increase the score is to incorporate side curtain airbags and ESC into the new vehicle. But I get so much confusing info from salesmen. It seems that for 2007 curtain airbags have become standard. I thought the CRV had curtain airbags as standard for 2003 + but the informed for life lists the CRV without side bags or ESC as above average risk for 2004, score of 143.

Where or how do I determine if I am getting a safer vehicle than I am currently in for a non current (used) vehicle? It does not have to be a van. Do the scores for airbags and side impacts refer to all passengers or are we talking front passengers only. I have a 9 year old that has just outgrown the height on the Parkway and needs a lbb so side impact is extremely important to me.

Maybe my van is the best I will get for non current. The Oddessy for the same year without side curtains scores 114.

I know I am rambling but any thought would be appreciated.

Heather

[southpawboston]

the CRV did not get standard SAC until 2005. my MIL's 2005 CRV has standard SAB/SAC and ESC.

[beeman]

And what is it that makes you hate the freestar?

[Mattypies]

Thanks for clearing up the CRV issue, 2 salesmen have told me that the equipment was standard starting 2003.

I hate my freestar because it lacks any amount of luxury. It is loud and rattly and ordinary. After only 2.5 years it seems so old and tired. The inside of the front windows constantly frost over. The other issue is that I consider it not safe; but now after looking through the numbers I may have been wrong on that account.

I do really like the folding 3rd row!

I may also just be over the whole minivan thing, I have owned 4. My 2 oldest step children are off at college and the youngest is in kindergarten now so it is mostly me driving to work in my big blue bumpy van.

Heatheer

[twokidstwodogs]

I have often found salespeople to be seriously confused about the safety equipment on the cars they are selling.

The scores on Informed for Life do vary somewhat from year to year because when there is not adequate crash test data for a given car, the man who operates the site will put in the average for cars of that type. And sometimes he does get things a little wrong. (Mind you, I am completely in awe of this gentleman and the kind of time and effort he has put into that site.) For instance, the site says that there is a 2007 Subaru Legacy wagon with electronic stability control. There is not; only the sedan has that as an option. So don't take that as absolute gospel. He's got a lot of cars to track, after all. Still, it's a great place to start.

The NHTSA crash test results list the safety equipment for a given model, though the site can be a little confusing to navigate. They may not have all models, though, and I'm not sure it's perfectly reliable either. (It too mistakenly lists the 2007 Legacy wagon as having stability control as an option.) You can get to it at www.safercar.gov. Here are the results for your 2004 Freestar:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/2774.html

Based on that site, it looks like the CR-V got a major safety overhaul in 2005, as Southpaw said. It previously had side torso airbags as an option for front passengers, but that was all. In 2005, it got electronic stability control, side curtain airbags for front and rear passengers, and side torso airbags as an option for rear passengers. Methinks that your salespeople are confusing the optional side torso airbags on the 03-04 models with side curtain airbags. Ideally, you'd have both for front passengers, but certainly you want the curtains too if at all possible.

If you really want a safety upgrade in a car, look for electronic stability control and, since you carry passengers in the rear seats, side curtain/head protection airbags that cover all rows of seating. Those two things produce a pretty significant safety advantage in just about any car, but ESC is particularly important for SUVs and vans. I would not buy an SUV, van, or other car with a high center of gravity without it. Side curtain airbags for rear passengers will likely be harder to find than ESC. An additional bonus would be a rollover sensor for the side airbags, but that will be harder to find in a used car.

[papooses]

Mine's a 2005 SES -- hate it as well :rolleyes: Much better than the '99 Blazer I had a few years ago ... but I miss my '05 Escape Hybrid that the dealership broke (which is why I'm stuck with the Freestar): I do love the way it installs carseats on the middle row :) Regardless, I'm hoping to move to CA ... for which I'll be surrendering my vehicle & using public transportation near the campus (now that Leila is the height of an average 7 year old I feel great about buses) :D

[Jeanum]

OT but what happened with your Escape Hybrid? How did the dealership break it? Sorry if a missed a previous thread, I'm just wondering what happened and also wanted to offer my condolences. :(

[papooses]

The timeline.... 1st thread (http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=4103&highlight=hybrid+escape) Atty Gen (http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=4484&highlight=hybrid+escape) Which vehicle? (http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=4512&highlight=hybrid+escape) Continued (http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=5495&highlight=hybrid+escape)
(THANKS for inspiring me to do this: there's more to the story again just recently, so I am finally writing my letters & badmouthing all over the media :mad:)

Never buy Maguire in upstate NY!

[Jeanum]

I was lurking on the board for quite some time before registering last year but don't remember reading about it all before. eek: Was it ever determined or admitted by the dealership about what specifically was done incorrectly at the oil change? Like did they put in too much oil, the wrong type of oil, or forget to put the filler cap back on or..? :eek: Not that it helps matters to know what the mistake was specifically, with the end result being so bad. I'm a nosy car geek who is curious about the post-mortem on the Escape. :o (((( Hugs)))))

Sorry to the OP for the threadjack. :o

[papooses]

I don't know the specifics -- just that they did a *normal* oilchange on a HYBRID engine.... (Was told not to go to JiffyLube because it requires special something & then they botched it themselves :mad:)

[emandbri]

I don't have any suggetions but I wanted to add that I'm totally with you on the freestar! I have a 98 sienna and in winter of 2005 I got hit on the way to school bad enough that it was in the stop for WEEKS and I had to have a rental. I was seriously worried that I would get a new rental and fall in love with it and stop liking my van! Not a problem, I had a freestar and couldn't wait to get my 7 year old van back! Everything about it seemed cheap and flimsy, it was really loud on the highway, and I had a bench seat but the stupid seat was kind of centered so the kids had to squeeze to get to the back! I called the rental place and asked about the seat and they said you were supposed to tumble it to get to the back but I couldn't do that with the car seat on the bench! What were they thinking!