Need ideas - Car for DH!

o_mom · Oct 24, 2012

Need some thoughts on these vehicles (below). DH's 2006 Accord was rear-ended and it is looking like they may total it. We don't have a settlement yet, but my best guess on book value would be $10-12k. ETA: Just heard from insurance they are totaling it

No number yet.

I'm not sure how much we can put in on top of that since we just bought a new Odyssey less than three months ago.

Most likely looking at a max of $15k.

What he is looking at so far:

Accord again - would try to get a slightly newer one, maybe 07-08. He had an EX-L, but we would probably drop down to an EX to get in the price range.

Civic - are they significantly smaller than the Accord? They don't really look it, but I know they are supposed to be. We might be able to go slightly newer/less miles/better trim than the Accord.

Camry/Corolla

Mazda 5 - I'm pushing this one, but DH isn't as enthusiastic.

Ford Fusion - outside chance we could buy a 2010 Hybrid from a relative looking to replace it.

Anything else to look at? Long-term reliability is a high priority along with safety.

We have three kids - two in boosters, one still harnessed. I'm guessing that will be our setup for the next 2 years at least. My 9 yo is tiny and nowhere close to 5-stepping. 5 yo is SN and will remain harnessed for the foreseeable future.

DH has a daily 50 mi round trip commute with longer (2hr each way) business trips probably every 6-8 weeks. Our main kid-hauler is the van. We usually divide and conquer on the weekends and very occasionally we need to fit three in his car.

atw · Oct 24, 2012

Big vote for Camry/corolla here. Nothing but good cars with our toyotas.

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SnoGurl · Oct 24, 2012

Vote for the Corolla. I drive mine 160 km (100 miles?) Round trip to work, and it is phenomenal. There is lots of room in the back seat and a ton of trunk space as well. Never had an issue with it, and don't imagine I will have one. My mom has a camry, which is also a great choice, but hers is a 2003 so I am not as familiar with the newer ones.

jgomez411 · Oct 24, 2012

DH has a Civic. I like it but then again we only have one child. If we had more than one, I think it would be cramped (I don't know if your husband ever has kids in the car but just a thought). It gets awesome gas mileage though. Prior to buying the Civic we looked at the Fusion which I loved but it was a bit out of our budget. It seemed pretty roomy inside though and the trunk was actually really big.

o_mom · Oct 24, 2012

jgomez411 said:
DH has a Civic. I like it but then again we only have one child. If we had more than one, I think it would be cramped (I don't know if your husband ever has kids in the car but just a thought). It gets awesome gas mileage though. Prior to buying the Civic we looked at the Fusion which I loved but it was a bit out of our budget. It seemed pretty roomy inside though and the trunk was actually really big.

He will usually have one or two in his car, mainly on weekends or occasionally he picks up one from activities during the week. If he needs to take all three, we just trade cars. He does not have to do any school pick up or drop off, so the rare time we would need three in there would be if something happened to the van. Since the van is brand new, that should hopefully be minimal.

The gas mileage is a huge factor, for me anyway, lol. I just googled and it is actually about 50 mi round trip daily - updated it in the OP. I think we will have to go drive some Civics and Corollas this week.

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o_mom · Oct 24, 2012

SnoGurl said:
Vote for the Corolla. I drive mine 160 km (100 miles?) Round trip to work, and it is phenomenal. There is lots of room in the back seat and a ton of trunk space as well. Never had an issue with it, and don't imagine I will have one. My mom has a camry, which is also a great choice, but hers is a 2003 so I am not as familiar with the newer ones.

I'll have to get him into one and see if I can sell it.

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hertweck · Oct 24, 2012

I had an 08 Fusion that I loved. 30 MPG and just handled well. Held our family of 5, me, my husband, two teenagers and a toddler with no complaints about crowding in the backseat, which is a miracle with the teenagers.

. Trunk space was huge. It got totaled last December and I miss it everyday.

Melanie · Oct 24, 2012

We have a similar car set up. I drive the kid hauler and DH has a 00 Civic. Aside from needing brakes at 20k miles, we've been very happy with it. It gets great gas mileage. We have the coupe. The sedan would be much easier to get kids in and out. The coupe also has a hump in the middle of the back seat and the sedan's seat is flat. 2 kids are easy, even with Frontiers. 3 would be very tight.

We found that a year or two old Honda was pretty much the same price as new. IIRC, we paid right around $15k out the door. It was new and that was 2 years ago.

My SIL drives a Corolla. It's around 5 years old now and it's been a great car. The back seat might be a little wider than the Honda. I know a skinny 13 yo, skinny 17 yo and reg size 17 yo can fit in the back seat.

Because of the resale value, I'd buy Honda or Toyota new and most other brands used.

atw · Oct 24, 2012

SnoGurl said:
Vote for the Corolla. I drive mine 160 km (100 miles?) Round trip to work, and it is phenomenal. There is lots of room in the back seat and a ton of trunk space as well. Never had an issue with it, and don't imagine I will have one. My mom has a camry, which is also a great choice, but hers is a 2003 so I am not as familiar with the newer ones.

Rofl. I should mention our old camry is up to 270,000 miles. Our newer '03 was up to 87,000 and was like new. Wonderful cars!

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o_mom · Oct 26, 2012

Anyone have thoughts on a Hyundai Elantra?

DH drove one today along with a Civic and found it to be pretty nice.

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bubbaray · Oct 26, 2012

I think the 2013 just won car of the year?

A coworker has a Sonata (2012?) and loved it. She also owns a Lexus convertible and prefers the Hyundai.

o_mom · Oct 26, 2012

bubbaray said:
I think the 2013 just won car of the year?

A coworker has a Sonata (2012?) and loved it. She also owns a Lexus convertible and prefers the Hyundai.

Thanks! They have a really good warranty - the local dealer adds another 10/100k on the mfg warranty, so it is out to 20yr/200k on the power train.

Melanie · Oct 27, 2012

o_mom said:
Thanks! They have a really good warranty - the local dealer adds another 10/100k on the mfg warranty, so it is out to 20yr/200k on the power train.

That's an awesome warranty. Just so you know-the Kia/Hyundai 10 yr 100k mile warranty is only for the first owner of the car. If you buy used it's something like 3 years 30k. They consider dealer demos and dealer loaners to be used.

o_mom · Oct 27, 2012

Melanie said:
That's an awesome warranty. Just so you know-the Kia/Hyundai 10 yr 100k mile warranty is only for the first owner of the car. If you buy used it's something like 3 years 30k. They consider dealer demos and dealer loaners to be used.

Good to know! Thanks. DH is now leaning new after looking at a few cars and pricing them. I think we can get in a new Civic or Elantra without too much pain. I will tell him that about the loaners/demos.

I'm also thinking ahead that in 7 years we will have a teen driver and either one would be a good 'starter car' when they are driving, so a warranty out to 200,000 would probably get all three of mine through HS or even college.

We looked at Corollas and they were just lacking in several areas compared to these two. The Toyota guy tried to tell us we could make up the difference in cost of a Prius in a year, but I think he was smoking something after I ran the numbers.

o_mom · Oct 27, 2012

Ugh - now he's looking at a Ford Focus. He actually ended up with one as the rental car when he returned the first one (it reeked). We drove it around today, but I felt like I was getting car sick in it. The passenger side was cramped, etc. I did manage to fit a Maestro and two literiders in the back, though.

Civic is off the list.

He's taking an Elantra for a 24 hr test drive on Monday.

rosey2007 · Oct 27, 2012

o_mom said:
Ugh - now he's looking at a Ford Focus. He actually ended up with one as the rental car when he returned the first one (it reeked). We drove it around today, but I felt like I was getting car sick in it. The passenger side was cramped, etc. I did manage to fit a Maestro and two literiders in the back, though.

Civic is off the list.

He's taking an Elantra for a 24 hr test drive on Monday.

I owned a 01 and a 07 Elantras and really liked those cars.

o_mom · Oct 30, 2012

I'm going to poke my eyes out with hot daggers...

Ford Focus is out, I think. I was really unhappy with the front passenger seating room. The backseat was wide enough for my existing seats (Maestro and two Literiders), but the center seatback/head rest was too short for DS1 to go backless. He is only about 50", so 7+ more inches before he is out of a booster. Also, Ford came out as the least reliable brand in CR yesterday.

Hyundai Elantra - DH brought one home last night. I much preferred it as a passenger. The backseat wasn't as wide. I could just squeeze the three seats in, but had to help DS1 buckle. Bubble Bums would probably take care of that, so I'm not too concerned. The center was much better. DS1 had 2-3" at least before he would outgrow that headrest and even I could sit there with adequate head support. Trunk is not small, but the opening is. DH isn't sure they will deal much on them, so he is concerned about the cost (still negotiating with insurance over the Accord). I'm all for getting one, though.

Now, he wants to look at: Kia Forte and Nissan Sentra.

I just want to go crawl in a nice warm hole somewhere (we are getting the outer edges of Sandy today) and come out when it is spring.

Need ideas - Car for DH!

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