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It's me, the one with the panic attacks associated with car buying, I'm back.
Now I'm thinking Hyundai Santa Fe. I test drove one today. It's a comfortable ride, not choppy or bumpy. Handling is decent. Nice big tires and V6 engine to get me over the Rocky Mountains, and lots of space in back. I like the way the back seat lie flat.
I'm thinking of driving from L.A. to Boston. I want to stop along the way, and enjoy life. And I don't want to settle down right away. I want to live in Vermont for a while (maybe) and head down to Asheville, NC.
I need to put all my clothes and traveling gear in the back, along with my dog and my cat. I think maybe I can find a used Santa Fe at a decent price. I need the power seats for my back though... lumbar support.
My truly favorite car is the BMW 325i, but I'm concerned that although fun to drive, it's got a low clearance and need separate set of wheels and tires for the snow ($800). Santa Fe with get me over mountains and across deserts.
All the suv's drink gas. Is there one that doesn't?
The Ford Escape Hybrid, "100% SUV" and 33-36 mpg City.
I've owned 4 "3-series" bmw's and they are by far the most fun cars I've driven. Except in snow. I would probably suggest a 330xi or something four-wheel-drive instead of the rear-wheel drive if you're going to drive a bmw in the Northeast.
greenie
make sure to look it up on either NADA or one of the other used car pricing sites
i don't know all the options it had but a general look see showed the 2002 v6 retail at $9500 trade was $7300 so $10k sounds high
In a lot of cases dealerships make a much bigger profit on used than new.
One thing to consider especially since your going to be doing some heavy driving is look into getting an extended warranty compare the price of the warranty to the extra cost of buying a "certified" used (which you can only do if you buy the used from the model dealer) both of these can cover the car to $100k miles
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