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I have a Jeep Wrangler. For me, for here, it is perfect. Snow, mud, mountain roads with a 90 degree incline, no problem. It goes anywhere.
We've had many Jeeps over the years. To me they are a bit truck-like, but it's been awhile, so we'll probably look at them. We have no weather issues here, and our days of going, "mudding" are long gone.
Well since you love your Highlander-like someone else mentioned I'd go with a Lexus rx-350-which is an upgraded Highlander. I think the rx-350 model started in 2007 so you should be able to trade up to around a 2009 for 20,000. I have the RX-300-(15 years old as well!) and want to trade to a newer one however the newer ones we are looking at usually have more miles than the one we want to trade. My husband does all the mechanical work on our cars and many parts from the Highlander are the very same as the Lexus RX.
Thanks for the suggestion, but I wouldn't ever buy a used car that old. A two yr old with low mileage, maybe.
I would look to something like the Kia Soul which sits higher and offers easier egress, similar to your SUV, but at the preferred price point, and with many safety features. I'm not a fan of the Altima, either, but for under $20k, you'd be looking pre-owned or at a Civic. If you are open to pre-owned and want a sedan, I'd look at a Lexus ES as it is a very good car, based on the Avalon (another good consideration) in this generation, and on a shorter Camry platform in previous generations. I like it better than the Camry because the ES does not have some of the same issues as the Camry, notably the transmission issues that the V6 Camry has had, since the ES was from Japan and used a different supplier.
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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)
A nice barely used Jeep Wrangler- perfect all season vehicle, improved ride and they seem to hold their value better than most cars. Wranglers do not look out of place in any environment from the golf country club to the beach, snow roads and tractor pulls.
The only draw back is slightly limited interior space unless you get the 4 door version.
A Jeep Wrangler would be a very poor choice for the OP. It is not easy to get in and out of for my wife, and she has no mobility issues. It makes for a terrible long trip vehicle, which the OP plans on using the new vehicle for. It gets horrible mileage and has very clumsy handling. I only have one because I belong to an off road group and we go out every week into the desert, where the old mine roads can only be traversed with a Jeep. Were it not for that, I would never own a Jeep.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Perfect car for retirees is petty subjective, but.... I know many who really like their Subie Foresters, especially those in countries that get the Boxer Diesel (that would not be the USA, yet)
Minivans... Seem to get great reviews and use by seniors. They can be bought, driven, insured, replaced, and maintained VERY inexpensively. They are actually very nice for road trips and trips to lumber yard and nursery. I like to add a refrig, and domestic water heater and portable outdoor shower (for camping / beach). My recent minivan cost $900, and will last me at least 10 yrs, I only buy 'Sport' model vans... Sway bars, bigger brakes and cooling.
But.... Driving my 40 yr old 50 mpg car that will go 1200 miles per tank of FREE cooking oil is tough to beat financially. I bought it for $35 (yes, the WHOLE car... Running). I occasionally have to replace the tires, but I get them for $5 each at the junk yard. (Of course I buy in pairs, and not cheap tires like BF Goodrich. I buy only performance H rated and above).
Hubby and I are retired and we need to buy a car. As many of you, we have arthritis and a hip replacement, so cannot be twisting ourselves into pretzels getting in and out. This car will be for trips, so needs to be comfortable, with plenty of legroom. We are keeping an SUV, so this car will be a regular 4door.
We are on a very tight budget, so would like under $20k, if possible.
What car do you have like this that you are happy with?
As you can imagine, we are looking at cars like, Camry, Jetta, Accord, Malibu, Fusion. We're trading an Altima, which has been less than stellar.
I think you will be pleased with either a Subaru Impreza or a Subaru Legacy.
If you use the Altima as a trade in, you might be able to get a really low end model Accord, Camry, etc for $20k. However, I recommend you raise your budget if you want a brand new car of that class or downsize a little and look into the smaller versions of those cars. The Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla are good. I am only 5'4 and 100 lbs but they were very comfortable and roomy for me! Lol
The new Civic is actually pretty quiet too for its price range.
No matter what you get, whether it's new or used, I advise you to stick to Honda or Toyota because they have the best reliability rates and are cheap to fix and maintain. Think twice about the pros and cons of getting a hybrid too because they might be expensive to buy, but they can save you gas in the long run. Concurrently, if you do mostly highway driving, a normal gasoline powered Accord, Camry, etc, will give you good gas mileage anyways.
I drive mid-size sedans constantly as rental cars. My 5th generation Outback is much more spacious than the usual list of sedans like Camry, Altima, Accord, .... A 6th generation Legacy sedan version of my lifted Legacy wagon. A base model Legacy can be had for a bit below invoice around me. That's $21,500. Most people would spend $3,000 more to go up one trim level to "Premium" and add the EyeSight adaptive cruise control & anti-collision system on top of that. You could probably find a 2015 used for sub-$20K.
Thanks, all. We'll be out kicking tires this week, about 9 different dealers, and I talked to the financial planner about the cost, so we've got some wiggle room on the money part.
I'll let you know what we find out.
To answer your question, yes I have the perfect car. It is an Audi A4 with a manual transmission. Is it your perfect car? Probably not. I suggest a Nissan Altima for you. It is big and bulky, just what you need.
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