Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My dear husband told me last week that I can get a new vehicle, anything I want, within reason. I was elated.
My dilema is that I have not kept up with the newer versions of vehicles and am at a total loss of what to do.
So, I thought I would let my friends at CD help me out by helping me with the different types of cars/suv/and crossovers.
I did drive a Ford Edge today and liked it. Also looked at a GMC crossover.
So, my dear online friends, would you - - - could you tell me what you have, if you like it and why; if you do not like it and why. Also, any new crossover owners out there? I really do want some room and am looking at these and suv's a bit. not sure of anything at the moment though.
So, i am depending on lots of answers here so I can go out and try out the top ones you guys have.
thank you..and am looking forward to this as I get to go out and drive all of 'em!
Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky girl..Tryin'to get ole' blue out of the closet, aintcha Anyway we are talking new vehicles here, and your hubby said get whatever you want? Okay, is he paying? I have driven everything from a horse and buggy to my present Monte Carlo ss. First Chevy I ever owned and I like it. Has all the safety stuff and luxuries. Usually I am a truck or SUV fan. Last vehicle was a Dodge Ram ext. cab. This is the first car I have had in years and years. My advice is test drive everything (I did a Viper once, but they made the salesman go with me) Blue has a heavy foot so always have to use cruise control.
I'd go w/ the Suburban. As the owner of one and have had one prior I LOVE IT!!! I've never had an issue w/ reliability either (you can have a lemon from ANY manufacturer). I also have a BMW 3 series (the new model) and LOVE IT!!! BUT!!! You can NOT put a normal size ice chest in the trunk (found this out the other day). Therefore I will NEVER get rid of my Suburban. We travel a lot too and head out the lake house often and tow the SeaDoo's. Only two kids but w/ all of their stuff and our stuff and the lake stuff......... we need ALL the room. Even when we fly and rent a car we have to make sure it will work for us. I rented a Lincoln LS one year and thought it would have plenty of room for 4 of us and our luggage. HA! Kids get in and then hold this. As my husband told me, "we went to the airport IN A SUBURBAN!". So now we rent nothing but minivans or suv's. Even the small suv's do not have a lot of cargo space. I know of several people that went to look at even the Ford Expeditions and when looking at the cargo space realized they could only get the babies stroller back there ON IT"S SIDE and nothing else. Here is the best thing to do. You know what you normally take on road trips or for your sons baseball games. Load it all up in your car and your son (and all of his personal tech gadgets) and go looking at new rides. Have them line up the models your interested in in a row and start putting it all in. Which one fits the best? Which one gives you the most room?
Your mom may not always have her Suburban and it may not always be available to use when you want. You did not mention what year your moms Suburban is? The newer models get much better gas mileage and also come with the Flexfuel option so you CAN save on gas now w/ them. Oh, and on my Suburban's I've never been upside down. We had a 99 that we ended up trading in 02 for the current Suburban and we had equity in it. Same w/ the 02 Suburban now but it is paid for and w/ 75K miles on it and she still looks good as new w/ no issues at all.
Buy ANYTHING, except a General Motors vehicle.The quality/reliability of just about everything they build is subpar!!
Do you have any facts or proof to back this up? My family has always driven GM and never had a problem. If you are going to make a blanket statement i would like to see facts to back that up. GM has several makes and models...........Saturn, Pontiac, GMC, Chevy, Buick, Hummer, Saab, and Cadillac...........you can't tell me all these cars and trucks are crappy!
Me too. I've had nothing but Chevy products since I got rid of the 80 model crap from Ford that I had back then. That thing did not last 2 years, lol. I currently have 5 Chevy products in my personal garage not to mention the numerous GM heavy grade commercial products we own (and I'm not talking the HD series either but MUCH LARGER trucks). Right now we have a 68 Camaro, 69 Camaro, 90 Chevy p/u, 98 Chevy p/u and the 02 Suburban. Not a problem w/ any of them. I'd also like to know why you consider BMW to have such a bad rap? I have one of those too and have nothing but GREAT things to say about it. I studied the consumer reviews heavily before I bought it and the only ones that were neg were lamebrains and really had nothing to do w/ the automobile itself. As for GM I have personally had Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC and not a problem one that was more than normal for any vehicle.
We couldn't part with our 4Runners (I mentioned in another thread that was our plan), but we did buy a Prius. And we did change the oil filters in the 4Runner which is now giving us more mpg - nice bonus that was.
The Prius - love, love my Prius. I am in my 3rd week of ownership - it takes just a bit to get it to where you are averaging higer miles. I am now at 42 mpg and expect that figure to go up quite a bit more. Get this - I have dirven just over 500 miles and I am still on my first tank of gas!! The tank holds 11.9 gallons. I fill up in the morning.
I currently own a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali and a 1986 Porsche 911 Convertible. The Yukon Denali is my everyday commute SUV then I have my Porsche for weekends. I had a Ford Escape Limited before I bought my Denali and I had a TON of problems with it, none with the GMC.
People ask me why I bought "some crappy GM" when I could've bought a new BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, etc and I always reply "Can that Mercedes haul 5-6 people?" I mean in my job I need to have a vehicle that can haul clients comfortably and a sedan wouldn't accomplish that.
It all depends on your wants, needs, and budget. A small or crossover SUV will set you back $20K-$30K, a mid-size SUV will usually be $25K-$40K, and a large SUV will usually run between $30K-$50K. You need to ask yourself if you NEED a huge SUV because these things ARE gas-guzzlers and it gets to be tough on your wallet after a while but some of us need to just suck it up and pay it. You also need to decide on the luxury level, you can either go with a fairly spartan Ford Expedition for $30K or you can get a fully-loaded Lexus GX470 for $70K, it just depends on what you want in your SUV and what you're willing to spend to get it.
What exactly do you plan on hauling/towing; this may be the deciding factor? If you need to tow 8000 lbs, you certainly won't be buying a small SUV. What are you needs?
The one mid-size SUV that I absolutely LOVE is the Lexus RX350 but it wasn't practical when I remembered that I needed something that could haul more passengers. But that Lexus has EVERYTHING and it was reasonably priced with the base model right around $40K (beware options quickly push that price up). If you liked the Ford Edge make sure to take a look at one of those RX350's and I'm sure you'll love it!
I currently own a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali and a 1986 Porsche 911 Convertible. The Yukon Denali is my everyday commute SUV then I have my Porsche for weekends. I had a Ford Escape Limited before I bought my Denali and I had a TON of problems with it, none with the GMC.
People ask me why I bought "some crappy GM" when I could've bought a new BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, etc and I always reply "Can that Mercedes haul 5-6 people?" I mean in my job I need to have a vehicle that can haul clients comfortably and a sedan wouldn't accomplish that.
It all depends on your wants, needs, and budget. A small or crossover SUV will set you back $20K-$30K, a mid-size SUV will usually be $25K-$40K, and a large SUV will usually run between $30K-$50K. You need to ask yourself if you NEED a huge SUV because these things ARE gas-guzzlers and it gets to be tough on your wallet after a while but some of us need to just suck it up and pay it. You also need to decide on the luxury level, you can either go with a fairly spartan Ford Expedition for $30K or you can get a fully-loaded Lexus GX470 for $70K, it just depends on what you want in your SUV and what you're willing to spend to get it.
What exactly do you plan on hauling/towing; this may be the deciding factor? If you need to tow 8000 lbs, you certainly won't be buying a small SUV. What are you needs?
The one mid-size SUV that I absolutely LOVE is the Lexus RX350 but it wasn't practical when I remembered that I needed something that could haul more passengers. But that Lexus has EVERYTHING and it was reasonably priced with the base model right around $40K (beware options quickly push that price up). If you liked the Ford Edge make sure to take a look at one of those RX350's and I'm sure you'll love it!
I drove a Ford Edge today and simply loved it, then looked at the crossover GMC had. the difference in price was 7000.00 so not too bad on that, with the GMC a bit more loaded but minus the sun roof which I am firm about having.
I posted earlier on what I haul, , mainly kids and baseball equipment, but I do travel quite a bit and usually can fill up my moms full sized suburban and I do mean have it packed.
I do not pull anything, we don't do those vacations anymore as we have found that once we hit the river or lake, someone needs us and we have to repack and haul all the stuff back home in a jiffy. Now we usually go to water parks, beaches and the like.
I do haul around flowers, chiars, outdoor furniture or whatever grabs my fancy while out shopping.
It is nothing to have a load of kids to take to baseball games. So, that takes up quite a bit of room.
I had looked at Ford Escapes and liked them, a neighbor has one and loves hers and can cram a bunch of things in it, she is an interior decorator and has loads of things in hers.
Of course, we do have a truck if I do need to seriously haul things so I do have that option and that can help on my decision on what to get.
I had thought I might want a car, but I simply cannot seem to make the car concept work out with all the baseball stuff and all my luggage when I travel. So, I thought small suv and then have been seeing the cross over vehicles and they have made an impression, but I am not getting in a big hurry, want to find something that fits me to a tee.
LOL, some one mentioned in an earlier post that I should take all the stuff I might be hauling and try it in the vehicles, and I simply love that idea, don't know what the dealership would think but hey I like it.
Buy ANYTHING, except a General Motors vehicle.The quality/reliability of just about everything they build is subpar!!
Do you have any facts or proof to back this up? My family has always driven GM and never had a problem. If you are going to make a blanket statement i would like to see facts to back that up. GM has several makes and models...........Saturn, Pontiac, GMC, Chevy, Buick, Hummer, Saab, and Cadillac...........you can't tell me all these cars and trucks are crappy!
ALl you have too do is look at this years issue of Consumer Reports (The Annual Auto Issue). Look at the ratings for MOST CHEVROLET, GMC, BUICK and PONTIAC vehicles. Reliability is NOT one of GMs strong points. There are some exceptions. A PONTIAC VIBE has good ratings (of course it is basically a Toyota Matrix). I will give GM credit for GOOD transmissions. That's about it. Saab ratings are not good either. To anyone who wants to buy a G.M. product--FINE!! I personally will spend my hard earned money on a proven reliable make/model. This excludes G.M., for me.
I would never buy an SUV. They are expensive to buy, even more expensive to own (gas guzzlers) and very bad for the environment (think of your kids' futures). I know lots of people who think they need all that space and like the feeling of ruling the road, but they are actually less safe than many sedans (rollover problems). As for space, it's true that if you have a lot of space, you will fill it up and wonder how you ever did without it. But if you don't have that space, things will fit just fine. I carry a lot of junk in my Corrolla's trunk for my own kids.
I love my Corrolla and I've had it for 5 years. I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off, which should not be for a while. Gas efficiency, low price, safety, and reliability were top factors for me when I bought this car, and it's great. Cars lose a lot of their value the minute you drive them off the lot, so I would not recommend buying an expensive car (especially if you are financing it).
You first should pick what kind of car you want, large, medium, or small SUV, seden, minivan, coupe etc.
Then choose the brand you like: HOnda, Toyota, GM, Ford etc.
Hope you find one that you like!
I drive a Honda Pilot and absolutely love it. In today's time though with gas prices, make sure you are aware of the mileage it gets!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyway we are talking new vehicles here, and your hubby said get whatever you want? Okay, is he paying? I have driven everything from a horse and buggy to my present Monte Carlo ss. First Chevy I ever owned and I like it. Has all the safety stuff and luxuries. Usually I am a truck or SUV fan. Last vehicle was a Dodge Ram ext. cab. This is the first car I have had in years and years. My advice is test drive everything (I did a Viper once, but they made the salesman go with me)
Blue has a heavy foot so always have to use cruise control.
for 4 of us and our luggage. HA! Kids get in and then hold this. As my husband told me, "we went to the airport IN A SUBURBAN!". 
So now we rent nothing but minivans or suv's. Even the small suv's do not have a lot of cargo space. I know of several people that went to look at even the Ford Expeditions and when looking at the cargo space realized they could only get the babies stroller back there ON IT"S SIDE and nothing else. Here is the best thing to do. You know what you normally take on road trips or for your sons baseball games. Load it all up in your car and your son (and all of his personal tech gadgets) and go looking at new rides. Have them line up the models your interested in in a row and start putting it all in. Which one fits the best? Which one gives you the most room? 
