I need a new car...

SeñorAmor

Currently I drive a 98 Neon. Despite being an overall meh car, it has served me well the past 6 years. Now it is time for your good buddy Senor to purchase a different car. Unfortunately, I don't really know anything about cars.

I want to future-proof myself with this purchase. I own a home, and me and the wife are talking kids (probably sooner than later). I'm leaning toward a minivan since they're economical, good on gas, have tons of space and relatively safe. We have minivans at work, and I really enjoy driving them. My friends have chastised me for wanting a minivan, suggesting instead an SUV. I'm not necessarily against an SUV, but as it stands, I think the minivan would be the more logical choice. I am open to all suggestions, however.

I would like to spend no more than $10,000 on a different car (whatever it may be), but I am flexible if I can find a good deal. Not knowing anything about cars, I'm not really sure what's good and what's bad, and what I absolutely need in a car, and what is just extra fluff that I shouldn't be paying extra for. My wife and I are getting a big chunk of change back from our taxes and it's going right toward a new vehicle for me. I'd prefer a used car to keep costs down, but I'm not against buying new if it's worth spending extra.

Help me find a car, H/A.

Thanks in advance.

Casually Hardcore

Part truck, part van, all tough.

Astrovan.

TexiKen

Jeep Grand Cherokees post 2005 are worth a look. They do what a minivan asks yet a man can drive it without feeling he left his penis at home

Subaru Forresters can fit kids in the back.

But look at it this way though; if you are going to have kids, do you want to buy a used Van/SUV that, at the price you have, will be more prone to repairs/breakdowns? You know what's worse than a breakdown? A breakdown with a 4 month old in the back of the car.

Quoth

Not sure what exactly you'd need a minivan for unless you intend to have more than three kids, but I heartily endorse the Honda CRV. My mom has had two so far, one used and one new, and they have both served her well. They are surprisingly roomy inside and can hold a ton of stuff. I transported an entire room's worth of furniture from Ikea in that vehicle. I don't like the new one, but the last model before they changed it is good stuff (2006/7 I think?).

RUNN1NGMAN

Quoth wrote: »

Not sure what exactly you'd need a minivan for unless you intend to have more than three kids, but I heartily endorse the Honda CRV. My mom has had two so far, one used and one new, and they have both served her well. They are surprisingly roomy inside and can hold a ton of stuff. I transported an entire room's worth of furniture from Ikea in that vehicle. I don't like the new one, but the last model before they changed it is good stuff (2006/7 I think?).

I second the CR-V. The wife and I just bought one because we're expecting our first kid this fall. It's pretty sweet. It has a lot of safety features, and it's very affordable for the features it comes with. We actually bought ours new for less than what used ones are selling for.

Corvus

Depending on how many kids you're planning on having, and when you plan on having them, a mini-van could be overkill. I'd urge you to check out the fuel economy ratings for whatever you consider, driving a bigger vehicle than you really need could eat up a lot of money in fuel costs. A smaller SUV or "Crossover/CUV" could work equally well for you as a mini-van. Two adults and one kid don't really require the space of a van unless you typically move large amounts of cargo around as well.

I'm considering buying a new car myself, and Consumer Reports has some magazines that walk you through all the things to consider before you buy a car. I bought the New Car Buying Guide but I think there may be one for used cars as well, and the steps for figuring out exactly what you need may be helpful for you.

Iceman.USAF

Used accords are pretty sweet. Easy to maintain as well.

Jasconius

GM is hurting pretty badly and if you don't care about factory warranties and shit, you can probably get something for quite cheap from them. (Pontiac, Dodge, Jeep, etc)

Dunadan019

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

Quoth wrote: »

Not sure what exactly you'd need a minivan for unless you intend to have more than three kids, but I heartily endorse the Honda CRV. My mom has had two so far, one used and one new, and they have both served her well. They are surprisingly roomy inside and can hold a ton of stuff. I transported an entire room's worth of furniture from Ikea in that vehicle. I don't like the new one, but the last model before they changed it is good stuff (2006/7 I think?).

I second the CR-V. The wife and I just bought one because we're expecting our first kid this fall. It's pretty sweet. It has a lot of safety features, and it's very affordable for the features it comes with. We actually bought ours new for less than what used ones are selling for.

i third the CR-V, it atleast deserves a look.

wasted pixels

A minivan (let alone an SUV) is almost never a sound investment for a young family. A lot of people buy them because they theoretically need the room, but seriously... are you planning on hauling around seven people on a regular basis?

If you really do need some extra cargo space, why not consider a wagon? You get the performance, fuel economy, and convenience of a car, but with plenty of room for towing around bikes, strollers, cellos, whatever gear your kids end up needing to drag around. My fiancée and I bought a 2007 Focus here recently for under $10,000 (nicely equipped -- sunroof, leather, power everything), and despite my reservations about owning a wagon (and a Ford), it's been great. Small enough to be manageable during city driving (in Toronto, no less), and about as much usable storage space as the minivan I used to use for gigs.

Hell, I saw a 2005 Volvo V50 wagon for $11,000 the other day at a dealership. Something like that would have safety, reliability, creature comforts, and a bit of prestige all wrapped up in a tidy, affordable package.

Thanatos

You really don't need a minivan, especially if you haven't actually had kids yet. I mean, once they get up to six or seven, and you want to haul around the whole hockey team, okay, maybe. But when they're just babies? Hell no. And even when you do get that old, having the minivan is basically drafting yourself into being the official "my kids and their friends" taxi. A smart parent buys an economy car (which can comfortably seat three kids in the back) and uses that. At least until the kids are starting to get older.

TexiKen

Hyundai just released the Elantra Touring in the US. It's an Elantra but a wagon. It's been successful in Europe for years and would probably be right up your alley:



Also, the Mazda 5 would be fine as well, it's on the same platform as the Mazda 3 but has room in the back. If you need a minivan that's a mini-minivan:

Drakmathus

scion xB, yes the toaster one. Plenty of cargo space, they are technically station wagons but have the layout of a minivan (captains chairs and the like), easy to get in and out (even with babies), good viewing from the driver's seat. They lack pep but you're able to merge fine. As long as you're not planning on racing whatever you buy it should be okay. You should be able to get one under 10k easily. They're made by Toyota and the engine in them has been used on lots of Toyota models so parts won't be hard to find in junk yards or dealerships.

if you want to buy new, the Nissan Cube is coming out in NA in May and will compete directly with the Scion xB.

http://www.nissanusa.com/cube/

You're correct in choosing a minivan over an SUV. For the most part a minivan will have more room, better towing and better fuel economy than an SUV of the same size. I would go with a minivan or station wagon personally.

Captain Vash

HONDA ELEMENT.
do it.
just do it.
They're lean, mean, and have more room then you'd expect.

Balgair

Ford Fucking Fiesta.
(4 door, in your case.)

If you've watched the most recent season of Top Gear, you don't need me to convince you. Not in the UK? Import it.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OczVzyBBD6I

TexiKen

Ford Fiestas aren't coming out until 2010 here.

If you go that small pick a Ford Focus

Ziac45

I would say go with a jeep, in my experience they are rock solid cars with a decent bit of room.

Balgair

Ziac45 wrote: »

I would say go with a jeep, in my experience they are rock solid cars with a decent bit of room.

I really doubt the OP would be interested in the gas mileage of a Jeep.

Nothing against Jeep, I drive a wrangler myself...it's just not very practical.

stigweard

Seriously stay away from Astro / Safari. Sure, you can get insane mileage out of the engine / body if you treat it right, but they are expensive to maintain.

SeñorAmor

Ok, good thoughts against the minivan and for the crossover suv and other alternatives. Kinda now steering away (pardon the pun) from a minivan.

Keep the ideas coming.

Dog

Have you considered a crossover/wagon like the aforementioned Touring? One of the guys at work drives a Matrix and loves it. I've also heard good things about the Highlander hybrid, but thats probably out of your price range (but nicely futureproofed)

PeregrineFalcon

How about a Kia Rondo?

Crossover wagon, little bigger than the Elantra Touring (about Mazda5-sized), pretty solidly equipped, and it doesn't have sliding doors so it's not a "minivan."

Would suggest you think about getting it with the I4 though, the V6 doesn't net you much additional power (175hp vs 192hp, IIRC) and it's old tech for Hyundai/Kia. Belt driven cam, interference design, solid lifters.

Smurph

Where do you live? A decent SUV with available part time four wheel drive is worth the gas mileage hit if you live in a snowy area, especially with kids in the back. I would look at user Trailblazers, Envoys, and Grand Cherokees. Tons of room and likely to be under your price range.

JustinSane07

I'm surprised no one's said it yet but the Nissan Altima is a good car for a small family. It's a mid-size 4 door sedan with lots of head room and good features.

tsmvengy

I suggest a wagon like the ones listed above (Mazda 5, Elantra Touring) and will add the Subaru Outback. Since it has AWD the mileage isn't as great as other cars the same size though.

I suggest against a minivan or SUV since gas prices are bound to go back up in the next few years.

PeregrineFalcon

Smurph wrote: »

Where do you live? A decent SUV with available part time four wheel drive is worth the gas mileage hit if you live in a snowy area, especially with kids in the back. I would look at user Trailblazers, Envoys, and Grand Cherokees. Tons of room and likely to be under your price range.

Or he could just get a smaller car and snow tires. FWD, four snows, and cautious driving beats the shit out of an SUV on all-seasons set in I R INVINCIBLE mode. The Subaru on snows would be one hell of a winter vehicle too - but the idea that "if you get snow you NEED AWD" is a bit Chicken Little.

I'd strongly suggest against the econobox size. Even the Altima might get a little crowded for long journeys. I grew up with younger siblings, and if you're going on a road trip, there's no goddamn way you're comfortably fitting two kids, their associated cargo, plus stroller/strollers into a small car.

bowen

Falcon is right, you don't need an SUV for winter driving. As long as you're safe, driving within your means, and keep a good set of snow tires (and find a good car with AWD or something).

But having an SUV is fucktastic for winter driving. For as long as I'm in upstate NY, I will never not have an SUV or truck.

PeregrineFalcon

bowen wrote: »

having an SUV is fucktastic for winter driving

Is that ... is that a good thing? Like "fucking fantastic" or "fuck-tastic" as in a swapped epithet for "shit-tastic?"

I'll guess the latter.

tsmvengy

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

Smurph wrote: »

Where do you live? A decent SUV with available part time four wheel drive is worth the gas mileage hit if you live in a snowy area, especially with kids in the back. I would look at user Trailblazers, Envoys, and Grand Cherokees. Tons of room and likely to be under your price range.

Or he could just get a smaller car and snow tires. FWD, four snows, and cautious driving beats the shit out of an SUV on all-seasons set in I R INVINCIBLE mode. The Subaru on snows would be one hell of a winter vehicle too - but the idea that "if you get snow you NEED AWD" is a bit Chicken Little.

I'd strongly suggest against the econobox size. Even the Altima might get a little crowded for long journeys. I grew up with younger siblings, and if you're going on a road trip, there's no goddamn way you're comfortably fitting two kids, their associated cargo, plus stroller/strollers into a small car.

This, seriously. SUVs are not the be-all and end-all of snowy driving. I drove a fucking '92 Honda Civic with no snow tires (just all-seasons) for multiple snowy winters and never had an incident. It's called driving cautiously.

Related story: I one drove home to Maine from New Haven, CT in a snow storm, on the interstate the whole way. The 3-lane highway was reduced to two since people were blazing paths far apart from each other in the snowy conditions. I saw so many people in their giant SUVs blow pass me as I'm driving 35-40mph in my Honda. I later saw a significant portion of those people stuck in the ditch.

Dog

However at the same time, driving cautiously in an SUV will result in just as few incidents. Let's assume that Senor isn't an idiot and at the same time isn't going to drive like an idiot. People who end up in ditches are driving aggressively when they shouldn't be 90% of the time regardless of the type of vehicle they are driving.

SUVs are fine, they will afford you lots of cargo space and regardless of what people say they are very good in inclimate weather (plus they are fun to drive). The drawback is that they are expensive and unless you are planning on plopping out three kids in the next couple years, might be too big for you. I'd still go for the Matrix/Touring/etc that have been recommended.

One time I was driving home from work in my Jeep during a snowstorm and saw lots of smaller cars on the side of the road, waiting out the conditions because they didn't feel like they could handle it anymore. I just kept driving by at 35-40 mph and had no problems, until I got home and was out of hot chocolate.

Wezoin

If in snowy area theres alot of good 4wd/awd sedans as well. A Subaru could probably be had in your price range, but I would think pretty much the ultimate car for you if you're in a snowy area (and even if not) would be a Jaguar X-Type Wagon. Comfort + alot of space + sportyish handling + very capable + should be able to find a 2003 - 2004 in your price range.

bowen

Yes you still can't drive faster than 35 most of the time in snowy weather no matter what vehicle. But the greater weight and traction sure is a nice advantage, unless you like keeping sand bags handy.

They're nice, and now is probably a great time to invest in one since the price is still relatively low because no one wants it (depending on how low the gas prices stay).

PeregrineFalcon

robothero wrote: »

However at the same time, driving cautiously in an SUV will result in just as few incidents. Let's assume that Senor isn't an idiot and at the same time isn't going to drive like an idiot. People who end up in ditches are driving aggressively when they shouldn't be 90% of the time regardless of the type of vehicle they are driving.

SUVs are fine, they will afford you lots of cargo space and regardless of what people say they are very good in inclimate weather (plus they are fun to drive). The drawback is that they are expensive and unless you are planning on plopping out three kids in the next couple years, might be too big for you. I'd still go for the Matrix/Touring/etc that have been recommended.

One time I was driving home from work in my Jeep during a snowstorm and saw lots of smaller cars on the side of the road, waiting out the conditions because they didn't feel like they could handle it anymore. I just kept driving by at 35-40 mph and had no problems, until I got home and was out of hot chocolate.

Whoa now, I never said that an SUV, properly driven and equipped, was a bad winter car. There's just no need to do what most people do and go "Oh noes there's an inch of snow on the ground, TO THE TAHOE" when a "lesser" vehicle will do just fine.

Far as "fun to drive" we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. :P

SeñorAmor

I live in WI, and despite the generally-awful winters, I've never had AWD and I highly doubt I'd ever really need it. The handful of times AWD would be nice, I can simply wait an hour and the roads will most likely have been plowed.

I've driven a shitty little Neon for Pete's sake, for the past 6 years and never gotten stuck or had any problems with inclement weather.

Couple things I wanted to touch base on and get some opinions...

1) Bad time to buy a car. I have heard from friends in the industry that now is a horrible time to buy a car because it's tax season and dealerships take advantage of people having excess money (like myself). I'm not sure if they go so far as to mark cars UP during this time, but I wouldn't put it past them. If this holds true, any suggestions on how long I should wait? My car is a POS and I don't want to wait too long.

2) Buying Kia. Any thoughts on Kias? I've always heard good things about them and they seem relatively cheap. If you're pro-Kia, any suggestions on models that would fit into what I'm looking for?

Again, thanks for all the help.

Count Funkula

I second the Scion xB, but don't get a used one. They were redesigned in 2008 and the new style is a completely different, higher quality car than the old design. New ones are only 16k, very roomy, good quality, lots of standard features and very safe,

http://www.scion.com

TexiKen

SeñorAmor wrote: »

I live in WI, and despite the generally-awful winters, I've never had AWD and I highly doubt I'd ever really need it. The handful of times AWD would be nice, I can simply wait an hour and the roads will most likely have been plowed.

I've driven a shitty little Neon for Pete's sake, for the past 6 years and never gotten stuck or had any problems with inclement weather.

Couple things I wanted to touch base on and get some opinions...

1) Bad time to buy a car. I have heard from friends in the industry that now is a horrible time to buy a car because it's tax season and dealerships take advantage of people having excess money (like myself). I'm not sure if they go so far as to mark cars UP during this time, but I wouldn't put it past them. If this holds true, any suggestions on how long I should wait? My car is a POS and I don't want to wait too long.

2) Buying Kia. Any thoughts on Kias? I've always heard good things about them and they seem relatively cheap. If you're pro-Kia, any suggestions on models that would fit into what I'm looking for?

Again, thanks for all the help.

1) It's not a bad time. The worst times to buy a car are January and June. The best time to buy a car, really, is December, with dealers wanting to clean inventory and try and make the last year look good. It is a myth that January is the best time to buy a car, because they want to start the new year off right. That's wrong. Basically, towards the end of every quarter is when dealers get desperate, as that is when they have to hit the quotas, so they do lots of things to get the sale.

And right now, no car dealer will mark up any vehicle outside of the Dodge Challenger or the new Chevy Camaro. Those are the only vehicles with a premium, and even the base model Challenger can be had with a discount right now.

All you need is good credit right now, and at least a $5k down payment (plus whatever your trade would be, $5 is $5 ). Especially Chrysler, who are going crazy with discounts, because they NEED the sales more than any automaker.

2) Kia is a fine brand. It is the car of choice for the illegal immigrant in Houston.

Kidding aside, ever since Hyundai bought them they have good quality. The Kia Spectra 5 is arguably their best vehicle:



If you want to spend more than $15,000, just step up to a Hyundai.

Also, the Saturn Astra 5 door hatchback is insanely cheap right now. At the dealer near me, it's $15,000 with everything but leather seats, that's before a $2k discount from GM . They should sell for $20k. And it's the nicest looking hatchback out there:




If you really want a deal, go for Saturn and Pontiac brands. These lines are going to be eliminated in a year or two, and if you are going to drive your car into the ground, you don't need to worry about the hit the resale value will have with a discontinued brand.

Captain Vash

The KIA soul looks bad ass.

which would be a huge factor were you me.

TexiKen

Here is the Soul, which comes out later in the year. It's to compete with the Scion XB and Nissan Cube:



The interior is love it or hate it. I saw it at the Houston Auto Show, and it's very....vivid inside with the red trim.

For the price, it might actually be right up your alley. It starts at $14k

badpoet

Those Saturn Astras are just great cars. They're a Belgian vehicle brought over. They're built quite solidly, fun to drive (corners like a dream) and they look great.

I too used to drive a Neon. I ended up buying a slightly used Nissan Sentra and I have to say I love that car. Its pretty damn roomy inside for a small car.

PeregrineFalcon

If they threw the newer GEMA 2.4L four into it, I would drive the shit out of a Spectra5 SX Manual. As it is, I think it's just a smidge underpowered for my taste with the 2.0L. However if you're not after a "sporting" vehicle, go check one out. They're killing the hatch for 2010 when the Forte comes around (which is getting the 2.4L) so you can probably get a pretty solid clearance deal.

... The Soul's out now, or at least it is in Canada.

RUNN1NGMAN

I think that if you're looking for a family car, something with a lift gate and decent cargo area is really useful. That rules out sedans, but wagons, crossovers, and small SUVs (like the CR-V and Saturn Vue) are great. When you only have one car, having something you can pack a lot of stuff into along with the kids or other passengers is really handy.

Full size SUVs are in most situations. They're really trucks, and unless you're doing something that actually requires a truck, like towing, there are other vehicles out there that do what they do more efficiently.