Looking to move to a cooler climate (Bozeman, Shelby: to buy, camp)

[nowhereman427]

Subarus are suppose to be very reliable and I am guessing they work great in the snow?

[Reziac]

Apparently. I haven't driven one. The only one I've been around had survived a lot of neglect.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Apparently. I haven't driven one. The only one I've been around had survived a lot of neglect.

wELL that's a good sign.

[historyfan]

If you have to travel when the road conditions are bad, 3/4 ton or 1 ton 4 wheel drive pickups are vehicle of choice. If roads open but seriously horrible, extra weight in front of & riding above rear axle in these pickups will get you through most anything. We have Dodges and Fords.

The low profile of cars is factor when semis pass on 2 lane highways and throw snow over and right at windshield of a car. A pickup is higher and out of that ground blizzard effect.

Excellent all season or snow tires are an important thing to have on any vehicle used in the winter.
Slowing down and not being a nitwit is the best advice for trouble free winter driving. Just because you can go X miles per hour does not mean it is judicious. And some days it is best to stay home and off the highways.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by historyfan

If you have to travel when the road conditions are bad, 3/4 ton or 1 ton 4 wheel drive pickups are vehicle of choice. If roads open but seriously horrible, extra weight in front of & riding above rear axle in these pickups will get you through most anything. We have Dodges and Fords.

The low profile of cars is factor when semis pass on 2 lane highways and throw snow over and right at windshield of a car. A pickup is higher and out of that ground blizzard effect.

Excellent all season or snow tires are an important thing to have on any vehicle used in the winter.
Slowing down and not being a nitwit is the best advice for trouble free winter driving. Just because you can go X miles per hour does not mean it is judicious. And some days it is best to stay home and off the highways.

We are not in a rush by any means. Safety and comfort come first. So most locals do own 4 wheel drive pickups? More of these than Subaru AWD vehicles?

[Senah]

Many people own AWD or 4WD vehicles, but this is also an income thing. You can go 3 hours back to camping spots in National Forests with bad roads and see Toyota Corollas there. Like others said, as long as you keep your vehicle well maintained, get all season tires (or switch out to studs, which I don't bother to do), and rotate your tires etc. you should be fine.

Lots of Subarus and they do fine in the snow. You see as many of them in the parking lot at ski resorts here as anything else combined.

One thing I would caution - perhaps wait until you get here to get the vehicle. Many different vehicles don't have dealerships anywhere nearby, so if you don't buy something sold in your town, you could end up driving 3-5 hours every time you need a check up (this is especially true now that most cars have computer systems and the shops don't invest in adding and learning a system for cars they don't sell).

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Senah

Many people own AWD or 4WD vehicles, but this is also an income thing. You can go 3 hours back to camping spots in National Forests with bad roads and see Toyota Corollas there. Like others said, as long as you keep your vehicle well maintained, get all season tires (or switch out to studs, which I don't bother to do), and rotate your tires etc. you should be fine.

Lots of Subarus and they do fine in the snow. You see as many of them in the parking lot at ski resorts here as anything else combined.

One thing I would caution - perhaps wait until you get here to get the vehicle. Many different vehicles don't have dealerships anywhere nearby, so if you don't buy something sold in your town, you could end up driving 3-5 hours every time you need a check up (this is especially true now that most cars have computer systems and the shops don't invest in adding and learning a system for cars they don't sell).

sO Then buy the new vehicle in California?

[Senah]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

sO Then buy the new vehicle in California?

No, the point is regardless of where you buy it, you need scheduled maintenance and if there are no places around to get that, you end up trying to figure out when to time a possibly 4-8 hour drive to get this car maintenance done. Forget about if something is broken. For example, I have to drive my Mazda to Billings to get it checked out/fixed because that is the closest dealership, and my friend has to drive to Spokane for her vehicle. It is really worth thinking about.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Senah

No, the point is regardless of where you buy it, you need scheduled maintenance and if there are no places around to get that, you end up trying to figure out when to time a possibly 4-8 hour drive to get this car maintenance done. Forget about if something is broken. For example, I have to drive my Mazda to Billings to get it checked out/fixed because that is the closest dealership, and my friend has to drive to Spokane for her vehicle. It is really worth thinking about.

Well at least Billings has Fictner Chevrolet.

[NW Crow]

It is a matter of experience and taste but I have mostly used non-dealership repair shops because the dealerships tend to charge 25-50% more and I actually have had more problems with them trying to escalate repairs or doing sloppy, ineffective work or not finishing when they said they would. But it depends of the dealer / shop, some good and not in each group.