Talk to me about sedans

[CommMom]

DH drives an 02' Regal. He loves the car, but lately it's started to have problems. It's been to the mechanic 3x in the last 2 months (for 3 separate issues). We're hoping to baby it along until we pay off our van, but are starting to get nervous about it. So I'm starting to think about what we might want to replace it with.

We'd rather have something full or mid-sized (no small cars) with decent trunk space. We don't really need an SUV (nor do we want the cost of one), though I guess a crossover might be an option if the price were right. Needs to fit 2 car seats and have good leg & head room. Nothing over 100k miles, would prefer it be as low mileage as possible. Good safety stats & features, obviously. Good gas mileage is a plus. We'll probably look at spending around $8k, might do more for the perfect car.

What should we be looking at? I haven't looked at cars in forever, so I don't even know where to start.

 

[beetlemama]

I would look at the toyota camry and honda accord. Not positive which years/mileage you'll get for $8K, but both brands are known to last forever. I also wouldn't discount the honda civic. It has gotten bigger over the years. I know we borrowed MILs for a 10 day road trip a few years ago and had two kids, all our luggage, a double stroller and a ton of room left over. And civics last forever; my friend finally just got rid of his 1994 civic two years ago with well over 200K miles!

 

[Guest]

The Corolla is the same as the Civic. The problem is, whether new or old, you really don't save much by going with them over the Accord/Camry. Gas mileage is different tho. That may or may not be a factor. For us, the extra space is worth the difference in gas.

 

[beetlemama]

The Corolla is the same as the Civic. The problem is, whether new or old, you really don't save much by going with them over the Accord/Camry. Gas mileage is different tho. That may or may not be a factor. For us, the extra space is worth the difference in gas.

My 6' tall DH can't fit comfortably in my aunt's corolla even without anyone behind him (just too little legroom and a poorly placed glove compartment) but can sit comfortably in his mom's civic. They are both 2007. MIL can also fit more cargo than my aunt can. They're similar cars but somehow the civic feels a lot bigger (having been in both frequently).