Cars - what kind?

Sunny

Sunny

SF VIP
Location
Maryland
I'm starting to think about getting a new car. It's pretty flabbergasting with all the choices and technical details they have now. I do know I want most of the new safety features;
what I don't know is what kind - SUV, crossover, or coupe. Regular or hybrid? So far, I'm thinking about a Toyota Camry (my old Toyota Camry is still going strong after 18 years, and if it had the newer safety features, I'd keep it for another 18), or a Honda CR-V because of the higher seat height.

One friend pointed out that I've been driving a car without the new safety features for umpteen years and have never had an accident, so maybe I'm being bewitched by what is not really necessary? Maybe I'm just bored with Old Faithful? Is that enough of a reason to get rid of a car?

I tried looking up those two cars on the Costco cars web site, and on Consumer Reports. Both web searches resulted in annoying immediate phone calls (which I did not ask for) from local dealers. All I was trying to do was SEE where the local dealers are!

Any ideas on the subject, or experiences you care to share?
 

I have a Jaguar S type and will be changing to a I year old Jaguar XF next year. That way I avoid the huge loss once you drive off the garage forecourt that you get with a brand new car.
 
Sunny said:
I'm starting to think about getting a new car. I tried looking up those two cars on the Costco cars web site, and on Consumer Reports. Both web searches resulted in annoying immediate phone calls (which I did not ask for) from local dealers. All I was trying to do was SEE where the local dealers are!Any ideas on the subject, or experiences you care to share?
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A couple of good web sites for getting car information are Kelly Blue Book, and Edmunds.com. Most web sites try to get you to give your name and number, so you have to be careful what you click on to avoid a bunch of nuisance calls. A Toyota Camry is a good choice for a mid size sedan...good track record for reliability, and it is perhaps the most "American" made car out there anymore....with a U.S. parts content of 85%, and assembled in the U.S.

If you just want a dealer locator, go the to manufacturers web site...Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, etc., and you should see a "Dealer Locator" option near the top, and you will just need to enter your zip code to find the nearest dealers. One you have a dealer located, go to their web site, and do a search on New Inventory, to see what they have in stock, and the specs/prices, etc. Again, don't enter your name, etc., on any windows that pop up, or you will begin a new round of sales calls.
 

We have a two year old Hyundai Elantra. Before that we had a Sonata, one step above the Elantra. We went back to the Elantra because there really wasn't much of a difference that mattered to us. When I put the passenger side seat back there is plenty of room for my legs which I have to stretch out because of my bad knees. The back seat goes down so there is plenty of room for groceries or suitcases when we travel to see my daughter. The service and warranty is great and the gas mileage is unbeatable. On the downside, a bit low to the ground if you happen to have trouble getting in and out. We don't. Also when we had our SUV it was nice to sit higher up. The trips we take aren't as long as a few years ago so we don't really mind it. Best of all,the price was right.
 
Easy for me.

Open the trunk, fold down the seats. Is there a large flat expanse of floor that will take my power wheelchair?

Job done, all the other bells and whistles on't matter!
 
Sounds to me like your first stop should be the Toyota dealer to test drive a new Camry!

I think my next vehicle will be a small AWD wagon of some sort, maybe a Subaru.
 
The cars we've owned and really like over the years are Honda Accord, Subaru wagon, and currently have our old '96 Jeep Cherokee (not Grand) and an '07 Dodge Nitro....no complaints about any of these cars. I agree though, a higher seat is desired as we age, the Nitro is nice and high. Ever think of a Smart Car? :D

I always smile when I see these.

C3CO9EVXAAAcqyU.jpg
 
I would recommend looking into a subaru awd, outback, forester etc. They have a good safety rating which would mean lower insurance. Even used ones in good condition are a good value. Plus the excellent traction in bad weather conditions......
 
Do NOT buy just on the advice of others. We each have our own experiences and opinions. Our driving habits, accessory preferences, physical size, etc. may be significantly different than yours. Most every manufacturer builds good vehicles today. There is entirely too much competition for a manufacturer to remain in business if they put out Pintos and Corvairs and Edsels.
You have excellent experience with Toyota. Toyota has very good consumer ratings. Both should assist in giving you some confidence that the vehicle will provide good service for you. Some of us have a little difficulty getting in and out of passenger vehicles as we age. The smaller SUV's will often provide easier entry and exit and do give you some AWD assistance in adverse weather conditions.
We have not purchased a new vehicle in decades. We always find one with around 10,000 miles and let someone else take the depreciation hit. With 10,000 +/- miles, if there are any early "bugs" those have probably already reared their ugly heads and been corrected by the dealership.
I would also never purchase a vehicle from anything other than a full line dealership. Looking at Craigslist, Joe's Used Car Sales, etc. is simply looking to get taken to the cleaners. Get on line and look at Yelp, Google, and Facebook reviews. Other customer's experiences can provide excellent history of a specific dealership.

Good luck!
 
aeron said:
Do people not stop to think that every imported car that they buy exports jobs and adds to the national debt?
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A recent article in Car and Driver magazine said that the Toyota Camry is perhaps the Most American car currently available....with over 85% US parts content, and assembled in the US. Several of the US branded cars, especially the economy models, are assembled in Mexico with parts coming from several different countries. The "Name" on the car doesn't mean that much anymore, if you are spending less than $30K.
 
aeron said:
Wales is a part of the UK. I use my best endeavours to buy British whenever I can. If not then i buy EU.
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But there are no British cars, except those made at Malvern, well beyond the financial reach of most.

The British car worker, like the steel worker, coal miner and docker, priced themselves out of world markets many years ago, just like Detroit is doing now.
 
Laurie said:
But there are no British cars, except those made at Malvern, well beyond the financial reach of most.

The British car worker, like the steel worker, coal miner and docker, priced themselves out of world markets many years ago, just like Detroit is doing now.
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There are cars that are built in the UK with mostly UK components just as there are cars built in the US built with mostly US components. There are also cars from European manufacturers such as the VAG and the PSA groups

Personally I avoid foreign built ANYTHING if i can buy either British or European goods. To most of us in spite of the very foolish BREXIT decision by around a third of the population of the UK Europe and the UK are synonymous in this respect at least.
 
I just broke down last month and bought a new car, another Toyota Corolla to replace my old one that had just turned 14 (what is that, 98 in human years??).

The last four cars I've owned have been Toyotas (a pickup, a Tercel, a Camry and a Corolla). I've faithfully taken care of them and they're faithfully taken care of me. I briefly flirted with a Hyundai and a Honda but I couldn't bring myself to be unfaithful....lol. I thought of moving up to a Camry again but the Corolla suits my needs to a T. I had wanted another one with no frou-frous, but you can't even find one anymore without most of the bells and whistles, so now I have bells and whistles and, y'know? it's really nice to have them!

The buying process was almost pleasant (I HATE buying cars)......I got the price I wanted, they gave me the price for my old car that I wanted and we all ended up happy. Hopefully, I won't have to do that for another 14 years.
 
aeron said:
There are cars that are built in the UK with mostly UK components just as there are cars built in the US built with mostly US components. There are also cars from European manufacturers such as the VAG and the PSA groups

Personally I avoid foreign built ANYTHING if i can buy either British or European goods. To most of us in spite of the very foolish BREXIT decision by around a third of the population of the UK Europe and the UK are synonymous in this respect at least.
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Dress it up how you will. To use an old analogy, if I build a car in a stable it ain't a horse!

You could build a Toyota in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle itself, it'll still be a Japanese car.
 
Laurie said:
Dress it up how you will. To use an old analogy, if I build a car in a stable it ain't a horse!

You could build a Toyota in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle itself, it'll still be a Japanese car.
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Which is precisely why I use best efforts to avoid anything built outside of the UK or Europe and avoid anything from the middle East or the far east like the plague.
 
I make my choices starting with what I want from the car. When we did a lot of travel we had mid size SUVs to tow our small travel trailer. After we sold the trailer, we traded for a convertible. It is the 17th convertible we have owned between the two of us over the years. We are really enjoying it. It hauls our groceries and other chores, and my sister loves it when we go for a visit.
 
Sunny said:
I'm starting to think about getting a new car. It's pretty flabbergasting with all the choices and technical details they have now. I do know I want most of the new safety features;
what I don't know is what kind - SUV, crossover, or coupe. Regular or hybrid? So far, I'm thinking about a Toyota Camry (my old Toyota Camry is still going strong after 18 years, and if it had the newer safety features, I'd keep it for another 18), or a Honda CR-V because of the higher seat height.

One friend pointed out that I've been driving a car without the new safety features for umpteen years and have never had an accident, so maybe I'm being bewitched by what is not really necessary? Maybe I'm just bored with Old Faithful? Is that enough of a reason to get rid of a car?

I tried looking up those two cars on the Costco cars web site, and on Consumer Reports. Both web searches resulted in annoying immediate phone calls (which I did not ask for) from local dealers. All I was trying to do was SEE where the local dealers are!

Any ideas on the subject, or experiences you care to share?
Click to expand...


What new safety features are you thinking about?

I was forced to buy a car in 2015 because my Saturn's transmission gave out. I didn't want to waste the depreciation on a brand new one. I looked at American cars first, because I'd prefer to buy American, but I could not find one that I could really afford that didn't feel like it was held together with chewing gum and baling wire. I found a Kia with low mileage and the safety features I felt I had to have. It serves me very well, looks brand new and gets great mileage. I don't drive a whole lot anymore (don't need to) and do almost no highway driving and don't see a car as a status symbol or anything like that. I just want to get safely from here to there. Were I in your situation, I'd just keep the Camry I had -- cars are expensive as hell, insurance and license costs go up, and I'm not crazy about getting used to a different car; also I knew I'd never use a lot of the fancy stuff on many of the models. I'd rather keep my money to use on things I enjoy more than driving to the store and back.
 
Some of them are: the backup camera, which shows on a screen what is happening when you back up ; the blind-spot detector (beeps or flashes when a car enters your blind spot); the alarm that sounds when you inadvertently cross into another lane; the rear view mirror that automatically dims when a car behind you is shining its bright lights; the built-in GPS, mandatory for someone like me with no sense of direction; and many other items that I probably don't even know about yet.

Thanks to all for your advice. This is an interesting and useful discussion. I will probably be visiting my local Toyota dealer within a few months.
 

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