I'm getting a new car, help me go shopping!

[Auntie2Avi]

I currently have a 1998 Pontiac Montana Transport. It has been a great car, I inherited it from my mom. It has needed a ton of repairs in the past 2 years and now needs a new radiator. My parents have told me that they will help me buy a new car. My budget is $25,000. The car needs to be compatible with a DC (now) and a Regent (6 months-1 year from now). I am looking at Toyota's and Honda's. My three top cars are the Camry, Rav-4 and CR-V. I do not want a used car. I am used to having a minivan and I like being up high, but I think a Camry might be good also because it is a sedan and would get better gas mileage, especially if I splurge for the Hybrid.

Any BTDT advice? I need help, and soon because the mechanic said my car should not be driven because it could just stall if the fluid gets too low from the radiator leak so I am going to be driving my sister to work and taking her car this week.

Thanks!!

[brightredmtn]

No advice but I am car shopping too and looking at very similar cars! I'll be interested in seeing your responses!

[Namegirl]

Mazda 5 :thumbsup:

[jen_nah]

Saturn Vue

[Defrost]

Yeah... I do love my Mazda 5! I'd probably go with another VW if I only had one kid to transport, though. I love our Golf, too! It's a diesel & gets 40mpg.

[mimieliza]

I would go with the Camry or a Honda Accord. I loved my Accord (I had an '04) and the back seat in these mid-size sedans is positively luxurious for installing seats. I had a Safeseat 1, with the handle down, behind the front passenger with acres of legroom in my Accord - I loved it! Can't do that in my Forester. :)

[amy919]

I love my Ford Freestyle - the crossover, not the minivan. People always get them confused. They did not sell well because, IMO, Ford did a crappy job of marketing them. But the car/truck/van/station wagon combo is great for me. It fits my needs perfectly. It drives more like a car than a truck and you sit higher than in a car, but lower than in a truck or minivan. It's really an in-betweener.

Since they're scapping the name and re-marketing it as the Taurus X, Freestyles are popping up all over the place for great prices to get them off the lots before the Taurus Xs come out.

I love that it's got plenty of room. I feel like I have more usable interior room in this car than I did in my Explorer. Car seats are a dream to install. You can get it with either the captain's chairs in the center row or a bench seat in the center row to seat either 6 or 7 passengers. It's not big like a minivan, but with the captain's chair set up in the center row, I can easily take out the rear center console and have more cargo space and that minivan access to the 3rd row. I specifically got the 6 passenger because I know I'm going to start itching for number 3 at some point and I wanted a car, but not a minivan that would allow me easy access to the 3rd row.

[azgirl71]

My Mom has a Rav 4. I love it as does she. If I did not need space for my dog crates when they go to the kennel I would get one. Great on has too she says.

Down fall is I think you could only get one passenger in the rear with Avi's seat installed. I have a MA in my Moms car right now, but did not pay much attention to how much room was left. I rode back there with DD. Not sure we could get anyone in the middle comfortably. DD's MA is installed RF outboard behind the passenger seat.

[bearwithmoi]

I'd go for the Camry. Not exciting, but you don't have to worry about cargo shifting or flying. There is no cargo barrier available for the RAV-4 or the CR-V. I hate the back seatbelts on the RAV-4, I think there was a post about it recently. Inlaws rented it and we just could not figure the seatbelts out when we wanted to put a RA in the center.

We actually test drove the Camry and liked it.

[Niea]

CR-V!

I have an '07 and absolutely love it. Safe and sporty. It also definitely fits a DC (see my siggie). I haven't tried a Regent, but I don't see why it wouldn't fit either.

[mom2riley]

I would go with a CR-V or Rav-4. I to like being up higher and have made many failed attempts at buying a car for better gas mileage. I always end up wishing I would have just got a vehicle that rides higher. I am now in an Escape and LOVE it. So since you like riding up higher I wouldn't compromise.

[lovemytwosweeties]

I don't have much to add since I haven't been car shopping in a while but I believe the Highlander is built on the Camry platform - if so, maybe consider that too.

[Patriot201]

Well, you pretty much can't go wrong with a Honda or Toyota. The new CR-Vs are very nice! If you are willing to consider a new 2007 (maybe a dealership car?), you can probably get a CR-V or Toyota 4-Runner. Those are both great cars!

[Connor's Mom]

I would go with a CR-V or Rav-4. I to like being up higher and have made many failed attempts at buying a car for better gas mileage. I always end up wishing I would have just got a vehicle that rides higher. I am now in an Escape and LOVE it. So since you like riding up higher I wouldn't compromise.


Neither the CR-V or the Rav-4 or particularly high. The Rav-4 is not much higher than a regular car.
I had a CR-V in the past and hated it. The seats where like sitting on cinder blocks and I had upgraded seats. And it is pretty small if you are looking for a roomy car. I had it for about a year and sold it. I, in the search for a new car last week, test drove a Rav-4. While I loved it it was much too small. Our Regent would have been a very tight squeeze. And the cargo room is much smaller than one would assume. It was fun to drive but was totally impractical for us due to the size.
I ended up buying a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer. Sticker was $28,000 but after incentives (that run through the 22nd) it came out to $23,000 plus I bought the 100,000 mile extended bumper to bumper warranty with a $0 deductable (and I can get it serviced at any Chevy dealership) for $1400 and the Gap Policy for $450. It was a great deal and my payments come out to less $400/month. It is beautiful too. Desert Brown Metallic with Ebony Interior. It also came with 1 year of free Onstar and 3 months free XM service (integrated satellite radio). LOVE IT!

[babidius]

We just bought a used CR-V over the Summer and I love it. I would have loved a new one but we were on a budget and found a sweet deal on an 02 with low mileage and it's loaded. It seems much higher to me coming from driving a Nissan Altima. Right now we have 2 rear facing seats, a Boulevard for the 21 month old and a Safeseat for the baby. I'll probably get another Boulevard when Kelan outgrows the safeseat.

You can probably get a really good deal right now since it's the end of the year!

[natysr]

We've been super happy with our Honda Civic Hybrid. It is actually quite roomy.