recommendations for cars/suv

[Neto]

it's interesting to me, that very few people have recommended domestic vehicles.
i've been hearing a lot of subaru forester, a lot of toyota, a lot of honda.

i think that in this thread, neto and ohio jones were the only ones w anything good to say about domestic cars. i liked my malibu, i mean, at 19 years, it still gets 29 mpg. and would seriously consider another one, except that i think that a small suv would work better for me. i haul a lot of tupperware to vendor events, and it seems to me that i need to factor that into my decision.

the good thing is, my car is currently running, and so i have time to search for the perfect vehicle.

It is, at best, about a 3rd level application of Scripture, but if regarded as a Biblical principle, I think that the message given to the Jewish exiles (to Babylon) teaches that we should "seek the success of the 'city' in which we find ourselves". So I always try to buy products of the country in which we are living. So in Brazil, we drove a vehicle built in Brazil. They do not have any vehicle whose top level company headquarters is located there, so we had a VW. The operation there is, I suspect, largely locally administrated, and all of the cars sold there are manufactured there.

It gets muddy when you start talking about "American made vehicles" now-a-days, because many foreign companies manufacture the vehicles for the American market here in the States. But there is the difference of how much of the profits flow immediately out of the country. Chrysler is no longer an American company in the sense that it is now owned by an international (mostly European) corporation. So I tried to keep pretty low-key on my endorsement of that company, but I am definitely not a "Ford guy", and not into Chevrolet, either. I went along with the purchase of the Honda as a compromise with my wife, who comes from a "Ford family", and also because we liked it more than others we looked at or test drove. (We also looked at a couple of Chevrolets, and drove a couple as well.) The Honda salesman was also not in the least pushy, like the typical car salesman. I actually didn't test drive it myself. We asked him to do it, and the entire time we were out on the road with it was a constant flow of information on the car, as he demonstrated one feature after another. No, I don't like all of the automation. And sometimes when I walk through the garage (even without the dongle) it is quietly humming to itself - something at the rear right side. I have not been able to pinpoint the source of the noise, nor has anyone on the Honda forum I joined been able to tell me what it is. I kinda' suspect it is the fuel pump keeping up the pressure or something like that, but as I mentioned, no one seems to know. One thing is for sure, you cannot just leave one of these newer cars set for extended periods without having the battery run down over time. The old cars, when you turned off the key, EVERYTHING was powered off. Not anymore. It's a constant battery drain. (Our house here is the same. There are appliances all over the house that have constantly lit LEDs and what not. I look back at our house in the Banawa village with nostalgia - there, everything was off at night. (Well, there WERE a couple of LEDs on the solar array charge controller....)

One of the Dodges I need to sell is a Dodge Journey. It is a cross-over, built on the Dodge Stratus class. On that one, I thought I was getting an American car, but after signing, saw that it was manufactured in Mexico, and came across the Gulf into Florida, where we bought it. Oh, that's something I would say as well - Unless you are buying a vehicle that is no more than a year or two old and has been very well maintained at a good car wash, don't buy one from the Salt Belt.

[temporal1]

so what's your recommendation for a good used vehicle?
either a 4 door car
or an suv, small to mid size

and why do you recommend that one?

I might turn the question around and start from the other end. First find the person/ shop who will be doing the maintenance and repair and find out which vehicles they most commonly work on.

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

[PeterG]

This guy offers a lot of sound advice on his YouTube channel.

he doesn't shut up.
just get to the point
i couldn't watch him.

True. I watch/listen to most things at 2x speed.

[Neto]

so what's your recommendation for a good used vehicle?
either a 4 door car
or an suv, small to mid size

and why do you recommend that one?

I might turn the question around and start from the other end. First find the person/ shop who will be doing the maintenance and repair and find out which vehicles they most commonly work on.

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

This is good advice. Maybe find two possibilities you really like, then ask your agent to prepare estimates for both. (Doesn't have to be an actual vehicle, just the model info should allow them to get a ball-park figure to you. Our agent used to be able to do this sort of thing quickly, but I think she's been given too many policies to take care of now. I wouldn't want to ask about a whole list of vehicles, as it takes them time to do this.)

Another thing that affects insurance rates is the primary driver for each vehicle. Maybe keep the old one awhile yet, use it in bad weather, and list that one as your primary vehicle. This may save insurance fees, and also save your 'new' car from the winter salt & brine. (If they use that sort of thing where you live.)

(Just don't ever ask ME how to sell a vehicle via private sale. I'm the worst possible for that task. For one rusted out minivan we had, I cut it all up with a saws-all, and hauled it to the scrap yard - with an S-10 pickup - just a number of loads.... Well, I also sold some parts through an auto forum.)

[ken_sylvania]

I might turn the question around and start from the other end. First find the person/ shop who will be doing the maintenance and repair and find out which vehicles they most commonly work on.

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

This is good advice. Maybe find two possibilities you really like, then ask your agent to prepare estimates for both. (Doesn't have to be an actual vehicle, just the model info should allow them to get a ball-park figure to you. Our agent used to be able to do this sort of thing quickly, but I think she's been given too many policies to take care of now. I wouldn't want to ask about a whole list of vehicles, as it takes them time to do this.)

Another thing that affects insurance rates is the primary driver for each vehicle. Maybe keep the old one awhile yet, use it in bad weather, and list that one as your primary vehicle. This may save insurance fees, and also save your 'new' car from the winter salt & brine. (If they use that sort of thing where you live.)

(Just don't ever ask ME how to sell a vehicle via private sale. I'm the worst possible for that task. For one rusted out minivan we had, I cut it all up with a saws-all, and hauled it to the scrap yard - with an S-10 pickup - just a number of loads.... Well, I also sold some parts through an auto forum.)

Wouldn't that be an act of deception to tell the insurance company the older vehicle is your primary vehicle if you are usually driving the newer one?

[Judas Maccabeus]

so what's your recommendation for a good used vehicle?
either a 4 door car
or an suv, small to mid size

and why do you recommend that one?

I might turn the question around and start from the other end. First find the person/ shop who will be doing the maintenance and repair and find out which vehicles they most commonly work on.

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

That is a good thing to know. In my city, the insurance companies won’t insure a Hyundai or Kia unless you are already insuring one.

[Neto]

.. and, insurance agent. it can be surprising how different models, years, etc., affect ins premiums.
before purchase, i call to ask what i’m getting into, ins-wise.

This is good advice. Maybe find two possibilities you really like, then ask your agent to prepare estimates for both. (Doesn't have to be an actual vehicle, just the model info should allow them to get a ball-park figure to you. Our agent used to be able to do this sort of thing quickly, but I think she's been given too many policies to take care of now. I wouldn't want to ask about a whole list of vehicles, as it takes them time to do this.)

Another thing that affects insurance rates is the primary driver for each vehicle. Maybe keep the old one awhile yet, use it in bad weather, and list that one as your primary vehicle. This may save insurance fees, and also save your 'new' car from the winter salt & brine. (If they use that sort of thing where you live.)

(Just don't ever ask ME how to sell a vehicle via private sale. I'm the worst possible for that task. For one rusted out minivan we had, I cut it all up with a saws-all, and hauled it to the scrap yard - with an S-10 pickup - just a number of loads.... Well, I also sold some parts through an auto forum.)

Wouldn't that be an act of deception to tell the insurance company the older vehicle is your primary vehicle if you are usually driving the newer one?

I was thinking of my own case when I wrote that. As I said above, I have two Dodges, and I need to sell at least one of them. Or maybe I DID say both of them - I go back & forth on that, because my other vehicle (not counting our family car, which my wife drives mostly, except on trips, which are infrequent) is a RWD pickup, and I haven't driven it hardly at all during the entire winter. (We purchased it last Summer, June or so, and I've only had to fill the tank one time so far. I think it's now down to 3/8 tank.) I also do not use it for work, because I often need to haul things inside the vehicle, and the Dodges both get better gas mileage than the PU. So the older vehicle really IS my primary vehicle, year around, actually. I guess it comes down to what types of tasks you need to drive someplace for, and what type of vehicle is best suited for that. If I was a widow or single lady, I would probably, like my wife, be really into gardening. (I am as well, actually.) And I would not want to haul bags of peat moss, bull country, starter plants, etc in my nice vehicle. I do myself avoid hauling water softener salt in our good car, so aside from the very rare road trip, most miles are actually in one of the work vehicles. I don't know if a person would need to figure exact annual mileage to make it an honest choice. Local trips are (at least around here) at lower speed, on curvy, narrow, dirt or gravel backroads, so even less total miles may amount to more time on the road, and as I was suggesting the older vehicle for winter driving, that is also the most likely conditions for an accident. (They say that most accidents are within a mile or so of home, so some folks suggest moving often. )

[temporal1]

insurance companies keep track of mileage, it’s unlikely anyone will fly too far under their radar.
i have a low annual mileage discount. i’m not close to their line of demarcation.

[justme]

I might turn the question around and start from the other end. First find the person/ shop who will be doing the maintenance and repair and find out which vehicles they most commonly work on.

i'm not sure who will be doing the work.

i used to go to the dealership that i bought it from, but after i got a job 40 miles from the shop, it became very difficult to continue there. i almost had to take a day off work just to get an oil change. i will probably be getting my next vehicle from them.

i then started to use a mom/pop shop, very good, but they were also difficult to get into, i was used to calling the dealership and having an oil change within 3 days. now i was having to sched the oil change like 2 weeks out. plus, i'd have to drop off the car, and have mom take me to work, and pick me up and then leave work early and still almost not quite make it back to the shop before they closed.

i now mostly use a place that i don't trust for big stuff, but they get me in in a day or so for oil changes and light bulb changes, and i can leave work at normal time. it's right on the way. and i don't have to miss work. they give me what i want, and so i give them my business.

i was telling them at my last visit there, i'm ready to look for another car. color doesnt matter, the wilder the better. except white, i don't want white. and one of the guys started laughing, well, if you get a white car, bring it in and we can paint flames on it. well, now, that just might be an option!

[Neto]

insurance companies keep track of mileage, it’s unlikely anyone will fly too far under their radar.
i have a low annual mileage discount. i’m not close to their line of demarcation.

I wish ours did, because I put less than 1,000 miles on one of my vehicles last year. (There is no annual State vehicle inspection here, either.)