"New" Vehicle Advice

[tistheseason]

What about the Zip Cars? Our friends in town LOVE them! But I guess they wouldn't be practical heading to the beach house.

Several of my friends have bought Volvo SUV's lately and love them. (getting great deals on used ones just 2-3 years old) Consumer Reports gives them great ratings for safety and low repairs!

 

[Diane4145]

ATL is scary, on Interstates!

I lived there in the late 80's and was a victim of 2 accidents, within a 9 mo period! They were both fender benders, but, I quickly became a believer, in WHIPLASH!:angry: My neck and back have never, been the same! Kids were in the car with the last one and unaffected, thank goodness! Could've been much worse, for sure! BTW, Beach Runner, I want to be, your kid!;-) Sounds like your daughter AND fiance, have both earned it!

Yep, if I drove in Atlanta I'd want a tank too!

I always liked the Audi 6 - it gets high marks from consumer reports and I always think of Volvo for safety.

Hyundai has been gaining popularity.

 

[Beach Runner]

I lived there in the late 80's and was a victim of 2 accidents, within a 9 mo period! They were both fender benders, but, I quickly became a believer, in WHIPLASH!:angry: My neck and back have never, been the same! Kids were in the car with the last one and unaffected, thank goodness! Could've been much worse, for sure! BTW, Beach Runner, I want to be, your kid!;-) Sounds like your daughter AND fiance, have both earned it!

Glad the kids weren't hurt, but sorry about your whiplash. Coincidentally, years ago my Mom had two fender benders causing whiplash in a 9 month period in ATL. The second one was when she had just picked up her new loaded Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (arguably the Mercedes S-Class of the late 60's) at Capital Cadillac back when it was on West Peach. She got on the connector at Spring, and someone immediately rear-ended her. We kids felt so sorry for her because she was crying like a baby, so we started crying too. BTW we didn't have on our seat belts -- we were too busy climbing around the car checking out the optional equipment. Loved the airline trays behind the front seats -- we immediately knew they'd be perfect for drive-in dining at The Varsity.

We've pretty much decided on a Toyota Highlander SE (our daughter says the wood grain on the Limited is "makes her nervous" -- think it's an artistic preference -- fine with us ). All of the ratings I've seen for it are great (yeah, there's the recent "issues" with Toyotas, but my cousin at the dealership won't let her pull out of there without checking that out). We have had four Toyotas that have been low maintenance, even with high mileage (thanks to many, many trips to SoWal).

Thanks for all of the advice, y'all.

 

[Surfrider28]

German engineering is overated....for the money....especially any new MB. Also newer toyotas aren't as good as they use to be. If you are getting a used Highlander look up Toyota 3.0..these engines tend to sludge up causing major in engine failures.

 

[believer]

Why do you have to buy them a "new" car?

 

[Beach Runner]

Why do you have to buy them a "new" car?

We're having trouble finding a used Highlander SE, white (safest color) with leather interior, a sunroof, and with low mileage that is reasonably priced. The new ones aren't much more than the used ones we've found, and the warranty period is longer on a new one.

 

[RiverOtter]

We're having trouble finding a used Highlander SE, white (safest color) with leather interior, a sunroof, and with low mileage that is reasonably priced. The new ones aren't much more than the used ones we've found, and the warranty period is longer on a new one.

A couple of thoughts:

Find a good Auto Broker. I know one here in Chattanooga. She has saved my brothers thousands buying Toyotas / BMWs at auction.

One thing I learned about Toyota SUV's. Unlike their American counterparts, finding one with leather is tough! All the dealers I spoke with just said "we can add leather aftermarket for $1,000". My brother ended up doing that and his 4Runner looks great. I had to see it to believe it

 

[Beach Runner]

A couple of thoughts:

Find a good Auto Broker. I know one here in Chattanooga. She has saved my brothers thousands buying Toyotas / BMWs at auction.

One thing I learned about Toyota SUV's. Unlike their American counterparts, finding one with leather is tough! All the dealers I spoke with just said "we can add leather aftermarket for $1,000". My brother ended up doing that and his 4Runner looks great. I had to see it to believe it

Thanks. Yes, we've seen some aftermarket leather. It looks good. Not a deal breaker.

 

[Scooter]

Whatever you do DO NOT BUY A BMW X5. My husband has one and it's in the shop more than it's out. Worst car ever. I believe we've paid for it twice!!!!!

 

[Beach Runner]

Whatever you do DO NOT BUY A BMW X5. My husband has one and it's in the shop more than it's out. Worst car ever. I believe we've paid for it twice!!!!!

All my BMWs have required many maintenance trips. No problems, it's just that the service light comes on about every three months. Back before BMW offered free maintenance for up to 50K miles/4 years, I remember taking my new BMW in for a normal service (oil change, tuneup). The bill was, like, $850. I told them, "Are you sure this is the right bill? There's nothing wrong with my car! It just needed an oil change and a tuneup." I started crying and said, "Just keep the car. We can't afford this." I called hubby and he calmed me down. So when my current BMW got close to 50K miles, we bought the extended maintenance. It saved us about $1000 on the first use.

So no BMW for daughter from us.