Sister needs a daily driver. Whattya think?

drpreposterous

drpreposterous

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Hey, everyone.

I told Sis I ask the wise heads here to recommend a good daily for her.
Minivan on last gasps. Kids are teens, so minivan not strictly speaking necessary, but room for 4. Budget $5 to $12k. Considering anything from a quad cab to a sedan as long as it meets these...
Paremeters:
1. Stone axe reliable. Really reliable.
2. Room for four
3. Cheaper to repair
4. Safe (no tiny cars). MPG is not vital.
whattya think?
 
drpreposterous said:
Hey, everyone.

I told Sis I ask the wise heads here to recommend a good daily for her.
Minivan on last gasps. Kids are teens, so minivan not strictly speaking necessary, but room for 4. Budget $5 to $12k. Considering anything from a quad cab to a sedan as long as it meets these...
Paremeters:
1. Stone axe reliable. Really reliable.
2. Room for four
3. Cheaper to repair
4. Safe (no tiny cars). MPG is not vital.
whattya think?
Click to expand...

See if you can find a low mileage Crown Vic in decent shape. Better yet a Mercury Marquis or even a Lincoln Town Car.
 
Honda Civic, 2006+ (so you don't have a timing belt to change)

And a Crown Vic/Mercury isn't a bad choice either.
 
jct said:
Toyota Camry, Honda Accord
Click to expand...

Why is it that whenever someone asks for a recommendation for a used car, these two names always come up? Despite all the brain washing and conditioning we get from various media outlets, they really are no more reliable than most American cars. And when they break, they are much more expensive to repair. Also, how are you gonna haul four people and their luggage on a 300-mile trip in comfort in one of those ****-boxes?
 
Can't go wrong with an older car which isn't loaded with computers, electric everything and the rest of that crap which can make life difficult, perhaps a crew cab Dodge?, nice and simple mechanics.
 
My vote is a mid mileage, 40-70,000 mile Volvo S60, or S80. Plenty of room and trunk space. Leather and power everything. Volvo’s tend to be forgotten and are a lot cheaper then it’s competitors. Have seen a lot of original builds go into the high 2XX,XXX miles without a hitch.
 
Does she prefer FWD? My wife and I are both VERY happy with her 2006 Charger SXT 3.5L and 2010 Avenger RT with 3.5L. The Avenger is a smaller car but with the 3.5L it gets around in the winter like a tank. The Charger is one of the nicest riding newer cars I've ever owned but my wife wanted FWD for winter, hence the Avenger.

Cost of ownership of foreign cars is usually higher.
 
Why not another mini van? In that price range you can find a nice used one with good miles. Not a lot to maintain and decent gas mileage too.
 
If she lives in snow country, a 4wd crew cab pickup. Room for four persons comfortably and with a canopy on the back room for pretty much anything else in the way of gear. Also today's pickup trucks are generally better built than most cars and will last longer and be more repairable. Downside is a large vehicle that will not get very good mileage. Teenage drivers less likely to kill themselves when they hit something.

Dave
 
drpreposterous said:
Hey, everyone.

I told Sis I ask the wise heads here to recommend a good daily for her.
Minivan on last gasps. Kids are teens, so minivan not strictly speaking necessary, but room for 4. Budget $5 to $12k. Considering anything from a quad cab to a sedan as long as it meets these...
Paremeters:
1. Stone axe reliable. Really reliable.
2. Room for four
3. Cheaper to repair
4. Safe (no tiny cars). MPG is not vital.
whattya think?
Click to expand...

If she wants another mini van, a Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Caravan were both reliable units and there a lots of used ones still around.
Regardless of what she buys, I would not recommend anything in a hybrid, too many potentially complicated and expensive repairs down the road.

Dave
 
Ripinator said:
Why is it that whenever someone asks for a recommendation for a used car, these two names always come up? Despite all the brain washing and conditioning we get from various media outlets, they really are no more reliable than most American cars. And when they break, they are much more expensive to repair. Also, how are you gonna haul four people and their luggage on a 300-mile trip in comfort in one of those ****-boxes?
Click to expand...

I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t turn a honda away. Those little buggers run forever. Moms ‘03 awd CRV has blown me away. Thing handles better then a jeep in the snow, and she can’t kill it. We’re talking a car with almost 300,000 miles. Its maybe had 5/6 oil changes in its life.... only thing they have replaced other then maybe 2 brake sets, is the clutch. Sway bar links are all gone, and rattles away going down the road, but amazingly it still starts, and goes every time. It just started to show rust this last year or so in the doors. Something else pretty impressive for a salty MI vehicle its while life...
 
Yeahrightgreer said:
My vote is a mid mileage, 40-70,000 mile Volvo S60, or S80. Plenty of room and trunk space. Leather and power everything. Volvo’s tend to be forgotten and are a lot cheaper then it’s competitors. Have seen a lot of original builds go into the high 2XX,XXX miles without a hitch.
Click to expand...
But when that do crap out, parts are usually pretty expensive with the Volvo. Just like VW, cheap to buy, but parts are expensive. IMHO
 
Ripinator said:
Why is it that whenever someone asks for a recommendation for a used car, these two names always come up? Despite all the brain washing and conditioning we get from various media outlets, they really are no more reliable than most American cars. And when they break, they are much more expensive to repair. Also, how are you gonna haul four people and their luggage on a 300-mile trip in comfort in one of those ****-boxes?
Click to expand...

I would go with toyota, honda's from what i understand they are easy to steal and you need five different sets of keys to figure out which one will start the ignition...
 
I wish there were a forum rule against even asking these questions. In the used market there is no right answer. You might as well ask which fast food dumpster to eat from.

My instinct says Carl's Jr, but francise 1609 hired a guy with tuberculosis last week, so skip that one...

I've gotten to the point where unless I'm personally inspecting the car, I recommend an overpriced foreign pos that requires unobtainium parts. Chances are it was rebuilt from scrap and when it fails they'll be soured. Good. There are no free lunches.
 
A Daewoo with an ISIS flag in the rear window. Terrorists wouldn't use them for important disco bombing missions if they were unreliable.

... is how dumb these arguments sound.
 
70bigblockdodge said:
A Subie is a good choice
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F298A508-A264-4A7D-9506-E7AD00D6AD33.jpeg
 
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