It’s been a good run, but it’s about time to trade in the Ford Focus and get something new.
I’ve had my car for 10 years and it’s been doing great. Except for the fact that I have no a/c anymore, it takes a while to heat up and there are other minor things that happens over the years.
So what should my next car be?
It has to be a mid-sized car, or smaller SUV, as we now have Lily and all the stuff that comes with a little one.
I always wanted something that got 50 mpg or more, but I don’t think that’ll happen this time around as I don’t necessarily have to buy new. A car that’s a few years old, and in good condition, will work fine.
iPod integration would be nice, but not required. Or any geeky features for that matter.
I actually have a lot of ‘wants’ but very few needs.
What does it need?
- Need to be dependable. I mean who want’s one that’s not?!
- Good gas mileage. The more the better in my book!
- Family friendly. AKA Lots of room for crap.
- Reasonably priced. I don’t want to be paying it off for the next 10 years.
Yea, that’s about it for the requirements. I figure if I keep my requirements low, I’ll be able to find something easier.
So what do you like?
So far I’ve been told to say away from Volkswagens, even tough I kinda like the idea of them.
I’ve also been told that Subaru’s are nice, which plays nicely into my strange desire for a Subaru Outback Sedan. Don’t know why I want one, but I do.
Really I’m undecided on a new car/SUV and I’m open to checking out most anything.
What do you suggest?
We bought a Kia Rondo two years ago against a Hyndai Santa Fe, Suzuki LX7, and the Ford Taurus X. We didn’t want the minivan, but wanted the 3rd row seat if we were transporting kids. The Rondo won out at the end because of price and it’s MPG was a bit better. (though mileage appears to be better in cars overall these days)
The Rondo hasn’t failed us with the exception of some dashlight problems. It’s a decent winter car, and warms up fairly quickly. We were fortunate to get a lot of the features, including leather seats, heated in front, 6 CD changer, MP3 player plugin, cupholders are adequet. Putting on a hitch for some light towing (we camp alot, and have a small utility trailer) and that was pretty easy to do.
One thing we did, that I highly recommend is we bought a car that had low mileage, and was barely a year old. It was basically brand new when we purchased it, and still had 3 – 4 years of warranty and lots of miles left. We paid about 60% of what it would’ve cost us brand new.
Good luck… don’t rush yourself… and don’t take a car until you and your wife are sure of what you want.
Nissan Rogue’s are nice. and you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Rav 4 or a Honda CRV. but i think the one with the best ratings are the Subaru Forrester 🙂
I’m car hunting too 🙂
I’m a professional automotive master technician & here’s my 2 cents:They are right about VW’s- stay away!They may drive nice but you will pay.One out of five Subaru’s leak oil out of the engine after awhile & there will be a need to remove and reseal the entire engine.Not good.Forget Nissan,best imports are Toyota or Honda.If you had a Focus so long why not another Ford or domestic? They are cheap to buy and not that bad.
We want something a little bigger than the Focus. We are looking at the Fusion as a possibility.