DH was in an accident and his 2004 Honda Pilot is a total loss. (He walked away with only minor cuts and bruises, thank God!)
Between the promised insurance payout and cash savings, I can spend $20,000 for a new vehicle without incurring any debt. We could take out a loan and buy something much more expensive, but it wasn't in the budget for another few years and might mean we can't afford to send our little guy to the preschool we'd chosen for next year.
Will I get "that much" more safety buying something new at the top of our possible price range, or will we do just as well with a late model used car that seems to have all the safety features that I want?
We live in New England and DH must go to work regardless of weather conditions, so AWD or 4WD is very important to him. I want both stability control and traction control.
He's considering a step down in size from the Pilot (seats 8) to a CR-V or Nissan Rogue or Subaru Forester (2009+ redesign.) We sometimes carried 6 people, but rarely, so we could rent a car for those few times we need that much passenger capacity... (I drive a little Nissan Versa, so it is nice to have one larger vehicle for family trips, though there are only 4 of us.)
We did some test drives yesterday, and DH prefers the Nissan Murano, but the one he likes is the most expensive car we're seriously considering. ($33k for a 2009 with only 5000 miles on it.)
His next favorite drive was the 2010 Nissan Rogue, followed by a 2007 Honda Pilot, then the 2010 Honda CR-V. (We're very open to a late model used version of the Rogue or CR-V, but it was simpler to just test drive the new ones that were ready to go. We'll test drive any particular used model before buying, of course.) We haven't made it to the less-conveniently located Subaru dealer yet, plus DH isn't very enthusiastic about that brand, for some reason.
Do you get more safety above $20,000? Or would we only be paying for more comforts?
Thanks for whatever help anyone can provide.
--willo
Between the promised insurance payout and cash savings, I can spend $20,000 for a new vehicle without incurring any debt. We could take out a loan and buy something much more expensive, but it wasn't in the budget for another few years and might mean we can't afford to send our little guy to the preschool we'd chosen for next year.
Will I get "that much" more safety buying something new at the top of our possible price range, or will we do just as well with a late model used car that seems to have all the safety features that I want?
We live in New England and DH must go to work regardless of weather conditions, so AWD or 4WD is very important to him. I want both stability control and traction control.
He's considering a step down in size from the Pilot (seats 8) to a CR-V or Nissan Rogue or Subaru Forester (2009+ redesign.) We sometimes carried 6 people, but rarely, so we could rent a car for those few times we need that much passenger capacity... (I drive a little Nissan Versa, so it is nice to have one larger vehicle for family trips, though there are only 4 of us.)
We did some test drives yesterday, and DH prefers the Nissan Murano, but the one he likes is the most expensive car we're seriously considering. ($33k for a 2009 with only 5000 miles on it.)
His next favorite drive was the 2010 Nissan Rogue, followed by a 2007 Honda Pilot, then the 2010 Honda CR-V. (We're very open to a late model used version of the Rogue or CR-V, but it was simpler to just test drive the new ones that were ready to go. We'll test drive any particular used model before buying, of course.) We haven't made it to the less-conveniently located Subaru dealer yet, plus DH isn't very enthusiastic about that brand, for some reason.
Do you get more safety above $20,000? Or would we only be paying for more comforts?
Thanks for whatever help anyone can provide.
--willo