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Front wheel drive minivans doe pretty well in the snow. My daughter drives one here in S.E. MI and she only has problems duing the worst conditions where you do not want to be out an anything but 4x4 or not at all. She has trouble with snow/ice maybe 3-4 times a year and it is not serious trouble (Stuck for an hour, take 3 hours to complete a 40 minute drive, etc).
Whatever brand you are looking at, figure out whether parts and service are available in your area. It could make a huge difference in how much you enjoy your car.
You bring up a good point about service/parts availability. Those who live in metro areas (especially major ones on the coasts) just assume that there is a dealer for every car out there within a 50 mile radius. What they don't realize is that there are huge swaths of the country where the only available dealer service/parts source is Ford or GM. Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and Nissan aren't exactly rare, but some like Subaru certainly are and in areas where there aren't dealers, good luck finding indies that know how to work on them.
Be careful if you consider a Honda (Maybe Kia, Toyota or Mitsubishi too). It depends on where you live.
My father in law was visiting us in his Honda Civic or Accord (forget which) when the starter went out. The part was dealer only. The nearest dealer was an hour away. The dealer charged $150 for the starter and $100 to install it.
It cost $250 plus about four to five hours of our time to get it done (2 hours driving and 3 hours waiting).
By comparison, last time the starter went out in my wife's van, I bought a rebuilt starter for about $40 and installed it in less than an hour.
My Jensen Healey needs a valve job. I have to send a head to California to get it done right and then ship the car to Georgia to R & R the head. No one in our area knows how or wants to do this job. (I have no interest in DIY again, it is a miserable job). As a result it has been sitting in my driveway for several years waiting for me to save up and make arrangements.
Whatever brand you are looking at, figure out whether parts and service are available in your area. It could make a huge difference in how much you enjoy your car.
In almost any city today, you can get a Honda or Toyota serviced. It doesn't have to be a dealer. Even if a part is Honda-only, the garage will get it. And of course the Honda or Toyota is less likely to need service.
And no one would buy a Jensen Healey for their college kid so your example is extreme.
Subaru and Volvo would be mass-market vehicles that would have parts availability issues and a lack of independent mechanics in some areas of the country. I would not think that a Honda or Toyota would have the same difficulties, even if just using a generic Japanese mechanic.
Glad to hear that you love Maine! My friend had one of the original Odysseys and absolutely loved it for the practicality, before the Odyssey became larger. I can certainly understand keeping it, since it's more practical to you than it would be for a college student.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
In almost any city today, you can get a Honda or Toyota serviced.
(IT JUST MIGHT TAKE 5 HOURS OF YOUR TIME AND COST $250 FOR A STARTER.)
(WHERE DID YOU GET THIS DATA? I SEARCHED A COUPLE OF RANDOM CITIES THAT CAME TO MIND AND NONE OF THEM HAD A HONDA DELAERSHIP.)
It doesn't have to be a dealer. Even if a part is Honda-only, the garage will get it.
(IF YOU CAN WAIT A WEEK. THE CHEVY STARTER WAS AVIALABLE FOR $40 AT THE AUTOZONE THAT IS ON MY WAY HOME. THEY HAD IT IN STOCK.)
And of course the Honda or Toyota is less likely to need service.
(HOW MUCH LESS LIKELY? 1%? 3%? MY F.I.L'S HONDA WAS 0% LESS LIKELY TO NEED A STARTER THAN OUR CHEVY WAS. THEY BOTH NEEDED ONE. )
And no one would buy a Jensen Healey for their college kid so your example is extreme.
(THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF MY EXAMPLE. THE POINT OF MY EXAMPLE IS THAT THERE ARE CARS THAT ARE DIFFICULT OR EXPENSIVE TO GET PARTS OR SERVICE IN MANY AREAS. THE POINT OF MY EXAMPLE IS THAT THE OP MIGHT NOT WANT TO GET A CAR LIKE A JENSEN HEALEY, OR A HONDA, OR A SUBARU IF HE LIVES IN A PLACE WHERE PARTS AND SERVICE ARE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN FOR THOSE CARS. THIS IS A VALID POINT. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE TRYING TO ARGUE THAT THE OP SHOULD BUY A CAR WITHOUT CONSIDERING WHETHER HE CAN GET IT SERVICED IN HIS AREA. PERHAPS YOU JUST WANT TO ARGUE
INCIDENTALLY, YOU ARE INCORRECT. I KNOW AT LEAST ONE COLLEGE KID WHO HAD A JH. IF YOU LIVE IN LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY, OR PHOENIX OR ATLANTA WHERE IT IS EASY TO GET PARTS AND SERVICE FOR THEM, IT IS A REASONABLE CHOICE. THEY ARE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, UNIQUE AND FUN TO DRIVE. WHY WOULDN'T A COLLEGE KID WANT ONE? IN FACT THEY ARE BETTER SUITED FOR A COLLEGE KID THAN AN OLDER PERSON BECASUE THEY ARE SMALL AND HARD TO GET INTO.
I am embarrassed to say I did not know what a Jensen Healey was until I googled the name. I have seen them before--just didn't know what they were called. They are very attractive! Maybe I'll have to send him back to school with the van and I'll get the sports car recommended by the experts here.
Our son appreciates unique/vintage/quirky but won't have time or extra money for repairs. He's in a mid-sized town and an hour away from a major urban area, so he should have access to most car dealers, including Subaru. It's an important thing to consider, and I appreciate the point being brought up here.
When we bought our last vehicle, we considered every possible option--pre-owned luxury sedan, new inexpensive American mini-SUV, and everything in between. We ended up with our Outback (bought brand new). It's been nearly 10 years since that time and a lot has changed since then. We tend to hang onto our cars for a LONG time.
I think we'll drop the HHR and PT Cruiser off the list, and add the car I have a major crush on--the Mini Cooper! I see several up here in Maine.
The early Coopers had issues with brakes, and I recall more than one or two with leaky sunroofs, from people I know who had them. The base models are also pretty slow, overall. Avoid at all costs any CVT transmissions as they were not good, and are several thousand to fix when they fail. As with any BMW, the maintenance is key, so if you found a good example with full service history and had an independent shop for repairs, you should have decent reliability -- perhaps not quite Honda or Toyota level reliability, but unique fun car reliability. An independent shop would be recommended because the dealers charge high rates for service, two that I use when I have to (one in NY and one in DC) charge $130 and $125 an hour for labor, at book rates, which is not uncommon for BMW.
If you are considering a small hatchback, I would look at the newer Rabbit and Golf as they seem to be pretty reliable for Volkswagen. I think that the Rabbit/Golf would be a tad more reliable, overall, compared to a MINI, but I would also try to find a good independent VW shop.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
I am embarrassed to say I did not know what a Jensen Healey was until I googled the name. I have seen them before--just didn't know what they were called. They are very attractive! Maybe I'll have to send him back to school with the van and I'll get the sports car recommended by the experts here.
Our son appreciates unique/vintage/quirky but won't have time or extra money for repairs. He's in a mid-sized town and an hour away from a major urban area, so he should have access to most car dealers, including Subaru. It's an important thing to consider, and I appreciate the point being brought up here.
When we bought our last vehicle, we considered every possible option--pre-owned luxury sedan, new inexpensive American mini-SUV, and everything in between. We ended up with our Outback (bought brand new). It's been nearly 10 years since that time and a lot has changed since then. We tend to hang onto our cars for a LONG time.
I think we'll drop the HHR and PT Cruiser off the list, and add the car I have a major crush on--the Mini Cooper! I see several up here in Maine.
No need to be embarrassed. They were only made in 1972-1976 (although I have only seen or heard of 1973 - 1975) and there are less than 3000 of them left in the US, so I am told. They are not expensive. They are not particularly fast, but they are quite fun to drive and they can be made lots more fun with relatively little cost. You really need to live in one of the places I mentioned to drive a Jensen Healey, or you need good skills and a lot of time on your hands to DIY. They are really neat cars and fun to drive, but they are old and break and a typical mechanic cannot do many of the repairs. Being a Jensen, I have to drive a Jensen, but they are not a good option unless you live nearby a place to get parts and service. and you should have a back up car.
That is probably true of any 40 year old car.
the Mini Sport or whatever it is called is a great car. It has 0-60 in something like 5.7 or 5.8. Because they are so small they corner well.
I like the original mini's better than the new ones, but I like all of them. They are a blast to drive.
Subaru is not particularly reliable, nor do they get good mileage. They are not super safe either (just averagely safe), but they are good in snow mud and rain, carry a lot and are reasonably neat looking. (Plus did I mention - two sun roofs!)
Last edited by Coldjensens; 11-02-2011 at 06:55 PM..
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My friend had one of the original Odysseys and absolutely loved it for the practicality, before the Odyssey became larger. I can certainly understand keeping it, since it's more practical to you than it would be for a college student.
I have seen them before--just didn't know what they were called. They are very attractive! Maybe I'll have to send him back to school with the van and I'll get the sports car recommended by the experts here. 
but won't have time or extra money for repairs. He's in a mid-sized town and an hour away from a major urban area, so he should have access to most car dealers, including Subaru. It's an important thing to consider, and I appreciate the point being brought up here.
We ended up with our Outback (bought brand new). It's been nearly 10 years since that time and a lot has changed since then. We tend to hang onto our cars for a LONG time. 
