New car recommendations

robbertbobbert

New member
DH's '99 Corolla is is on its last legs, it'll need replaced in the next year. He wants a dad car, I think he should stick with a sedan. If/when we get to kid #3 we'll reconsider the car situation. He commutes more than I do, but still not much. Maybe 20 minutes each way.

What are we looking for?

-No kids yet, but we plan to TTC within the year.
-We're planning up to 3 kids, so 3-across friendly is preferable.
-We do have a large dog, but he wouldn't necessarily need to be transported in this car WITH kids. Dog fits in the back of my car fine.
-I drive an '07 CRV. I plan to get a van if/when we get to kid #3.
-We are looking for used, maybe in the $12,000-14,000 range, less is great though.

DH really, really wants a Forester, which I would also love to have but I remember hearing they're not good for 3 across. Also I'm not sure if we want to pay that much upfront when we don't even have any kids yet and my car would be the primary vehicle anyway.


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Mommy!

Active member
If you are looking for a sedan, I love my 2006 Ford Crown Victoria. The last model year made is 2011. Here in Canada (probably in the US too) they are fairly widely available as used police cars, from regular dealers as well as auction. Fun to drive, nice and powerful, reliable, generally cheap to insure, you can fit three on anything across the back, three top tethers and two full sets of latch. Massive trunk that holds more than many minivans do behind the third row. Around here you can buy them very nice for about $5K to $10K.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
What about something with a trunk for the dog? Subaru Outback? Station wagon, but doesn't look like a mom-mobile LOL
 

katymyers

Active member
I'd definitely go with a wagon if I were you. We're looking at replacing my husband's Jeep Patriot with a wagon soon. We're looking at used BMWs because my husband works there and can buy one at the dealership's cost as well as get parts and labor at their cost so it wouldn't be something I'd recommend to others but there are plenty of other choices that would be more affordable. I think Subaru would be a good one to look at.


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robbertbobbert

New member
We would love a Subaru! Would an outback be recommended over a forester? If he gets a wagon we would probably want something we don't need to replace when it comes time for a 3 across.

I was thinking he should get a sedan for budget and fuel reasons, his car would be a secondary vehicle.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
We would love a Subaru! Would an outback be recommended over a forester? If he gets a wagon we would probably want something we don't need to replace when it comes time for a 3 across.

I was thinking he should get a sedan for budget and fuel reasons, his car would be a secondary vehicle.

They're actually really really similar. I said Outback because it has a wider back seat.

ETA: A wagon isn't going to cost much more than a sedan, but will be a lot more usable.
 

SavsMom

New member
They're actually really really similar. I said Outback because it has a wider back seat. ETA: A wagon isn't going to cost much more than a sedan, but will be a lot more usable.

Get an Outback! I have had both the Forester and Outback and while they are both great, the Outback has more rear passenger room and a bit of a smoother ride as well as a quieter cabin. Price wise the Outback isn't too much more but is well worth it.
 

aporthole

Active member
I also vote Passat or Passat wagon. The newest generation (I believe 2015 and newer) has overlapping seat belt that can be prohibitive to 3 across but prior to that model year, there is no overlap and the back seat is very roomy.

There should be plenty available in that price range.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
If you want something really cheap that's, um, not quite as manly, there's always the good old Ford Focus wagon (only made until 07, don't know if that's too old...). No headrest in the middle, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure you'd have a new vehicle before potential #3 was out of a HBB ;) .

There's the Elantra Touring which is kind of halfway between a station wagon and a hatchback. A bit like a Matrix or Fit, but with a little more trunk space.
 

aporthole

Active member
If you want something really cheap that's, um, not quite as manly, there's always the good old Ford Focus wagon (only made until 07, don't know if that's too old...). No headrest in the middle, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure you'd have a new vehicle before potential #3 was out of a HBB ;) .

There's the Elantra Touring which is kind of halfway between a station wagon and a hatchback. A bit like a Matrix or Fit, but with a little more trunk space.

The Focus wagon doesn't have head restraints at all in the back seat.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
The Focus wagon doesn't have head restraints at all in the back seat.

The newer ones have them outboard, unless that's just a Canadian thing or maybe a trim level thing. But I forgot about OP's price range -- I doubt she's looking as cheap as a Focus :)
 

robbertbobbert

New member
We found a 2010 outback for $14,000 with 50,000 miles on it that DH is in love with. We're not quite ready to buy yet but that's an awesome deal, so we may go look at it.
 

robbertbobbert

New member
I think Subaru is pretty similar to Honda and Toyota. Not Chevy/Ford cheap but not VW/Audi/BMW expensive either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's good to know.

We live in WA and there are TONS of Subarus up here. Seriously every third car up here is either a Prius or a Subaru.
 

robbertbobbert

New member
WELL the plan has changed drastically. DHs car up and died much sooner than expected and it is unsafe for him to continue to drive it. He's been taking my car to work as much as possible, but I had an appointment on Thursday and he took his, his 20 minute commute took 75 minutes :(

We are also looking to buy a home at this time and want to avoid making a huge purchase before it closes and having another large payment every month.

So at this point we are trying to find a car that is as cheap as possible, but safe and reliable enough to get us through the next six months. We can pay about $1,500 upfront but will need to finance the rest.

Any suggestions for finding a car like this? We found a few 2005-2007 Corollas with about 150,000 miles on them for $4,000. There's also a Kia sedan DH is interested in that's $3,000 with about 130,000 miles.

Where do we take the car for an inspection before we buy? How do we get the dealership to let us do this? I assume Craigslist is off the table as we don't have enough cash on hand.
 

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