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New car suggestions


purplekow

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As I mentioned here a few weeks ago, I had a run in with a deer and despite my best efforts to have the insurance company fix the car, I relented to their request that the car be totaled.  So now, I have to buy a new car in a bit of a hurry.  

I am renting a Honda small SUV which seems to be a nice fit.  I had a Chevy Cruze which I now realize was too small for my comfort though I liked it well enough.  

I have little interest in a car other than it be reliable, and comfortable enough to fit a fat old man.  I had only 30000 miles on my 5 year old car which was totaled and a mere 70000 miles on my car before that which I had for 9 years.  

As far as cost, I want to buy new, have 16000 from the totaled car and would prefer not to spend more than 45000 total.  

Friends have suggested a Tesla which could work in view of my low mileage but really it seems like too much hassle to get set up and used to finding electric stations.  So my requirements are  new, comfortable, relatively inexpensive, reliable, probably gas and readily available as I have only a week or so of insurance paid car rental.  

No other requirements   

Anyone happy with a car that will fill my limited needs?

Edited by purplekow
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I like my Buick Encore. It is on the small end of the subcompact SUV spectrum, but it has a lot of interior room, especially headroom.

19 minutes ago, Lucky said:

I like my Mazda CX-5. It's rated well at Consumer Reports. It's my second one and both have served me well.

 

I looked at the CX-5 and liked it, but the Encore had more headroom so I bought it instead. Still, it is a nice car.

 

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I’ve only ever owned Hondas; love them. Currently drive the Pilot but have also had the Passport, CRV (don’t recommend; not enough pick-up) and Accords. All very comfortable and reliable.

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I believe Tesla has the highest recall rate of all car brands. So I would be careful with that. 
 

I tend to stick with American-based car brands for patriotic reasons. My last three vehicles have been the Chrysler 300. It’s large, very comfortable, and none of them have given me an ounce of trouble. Chrysler stopped making the 300 late last year but you can still find some models on dealer lots. 
 

I bought mom’s Honda Accord from her two years ago as she doesn’t drive anymore. I use it as my second vehicle to knock around town and run errands. It too as been very reliable but I really hate the car.  It sits far too low to the ground for me and it’s a tight fit when inside. Also a loud and rough ride. I personally would never get another one. Having said that, lots of people love the Accord and it sells well. 
 

with so many people driving pick-ups and SUVs (that sit higher up) you don’t want to be in a vehicle that sits too low. 

Happy car shopping!!

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Come to think of it, I did own a Cadillac for a few years; loved the ride but was too self-conscious. Not much for flashy status symbols.

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3 hours ago, borgerback said:

Look at Kia/Hyundai/Genesis (especially the Genesis - super premium interior, reasonable price).  The Koreans have come light years in the last decade in terms of NVH and reliability.  Still a bit weak on the dealership/service experience, but Genesis is looking to change that.

My brother and sister-in-law have been buying Kias since 2011 and love them. Their minivan looks, sounds, and runs like it did when it was brand-new (it's 13 years old) and my brother's Forte runs great, despite my nephew having had a couple of accidents  in it. My brother L-O-V-E-D his Optima, but it got rear-ended and totaled and, for gas mileage purposes, he replaced it with the Forte.

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A year ago I traded in my old Mercedes SUV for a new Nissan Rogue, and I have no regrets. It is comfortable, handles well, gets good gas mileage, has all the new tech but the controls are very easy for me to understand and use, and it cost me about $35K. Check out the reviews for it on Consumer Reports, which recommends it.

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On 2/14/2024 at 12:06 PM, borgerback said:

You are why Buicks and Oldsmobiles used to be popular.

Buicks were traditionally driven by doctors and Oldsmobiles by little old ladies who wanted a Rocket to propel them.
GM destroyed the latter’s mystique when they started substituting other motors into the Olds without telling consumers. They were sued by a little old lady and lost not just the case but a good deal of the brand value. Olds eventually was discontinued. 

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I love my Toyota Corolla.   This is my fourth one and they are very reliable cars.    I have a Hybrid 2021 and wish I would have bought the ICE model now.   I found out after I bought it that our state recently improsed a $100 a year surcharge on Hybrids and $200 on Electric cars because we weren't paying our "fair share" of taxes, even though I only drive only about 7K miles a year.   This extra tax, conbined with the extra cost of a hybrid vs. ICE, doesn't really make snese money wise since I don't drive much. 

With an electric car you can get up to a $7500 tax credit on  some electric cars but it's not a refundable credit, so if your total federal tax bill isn't what the credit is, you give up the difference.   I wanted a Prius Prime that has a 35 mile electric range and then switches to hybrid since it had a $7500 tax credit at the time, but there was a long wait to get one so I went with the Hybrid.   The bar next door to my condo has a charging system that is free for their patrons and I'm friends with the GM and eat there a lot and she told me I would have been free to charge the car car there anytime so it would have been nice not paying for gas for city driving and having a hybrid car for the occassional long trips   

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