Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

Okay - wife and I may go car shopping today, and could use some advice.

As I may have mentioned in the past, my stepson, who is 19, has special needs and is pretty low functioning. We have a caretaker who watches him after school and pretty much whenever we need her. She genuinely cares for our son and is practically part of our family. She's a godsend. She herself has two grown kids who live with her, a grandchild, a niece, and other family members she helps look after and ferry around town on countless errands every day.

She does all this in an old, beat up, Saturn, the confines of which are very tight for the many occupants. Long story short, my stepson can get very agitated at times under these circumstances and behaves in a way that is starting to become annoying at best, and dangerous at worst, as our caretaker tries to drive while controlling him.

We are strongly considering buying her a 3-row vehicle of some sort that would make her life easier. We're thinking a budget of $5-$10k, preferably somewhere closer in the middle. From our brief search online:

• A Pilot with 150k miles at a very reputable dealer.
  
• A Ford Freestar with curiously low 37k miles.
  
• Odysseys and Sienna with tons of miles.
  
• Other non-Toyota and Honda vans (T&C's, Caravans, Quests, Sedonas) with lots of miles but not tons.

Figured I could get some good advice here - for the budget, a nice sedan is very doable, but doesn't really gain anything. What are the sleeper deals for a 3-row SUV or minivan? Any particular models/engines to stay away from?

Thanks!

qbrozen

ehh... for the money, wouldn't you rather a 'vette?

stickguy

Ok, that vette comment has to be aimed at road burner, not breld!

stickguy

Cheap 3 row? Tough call. The free star is the minivan? Probably in shop a lot.

Go to Tampa and get a grand marquis?

Lots of minivans will be miled and beat to crap. Pilot could be good, if trans is solid.

Can you find a late run 2000 vintage (4 door) Quest? Those were real durable.

suydam

An older Odyssey even with tons of miles can last a very long time. The Ford minivans don't have a good reliability rep.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Ok, that vette comment has to be aimed at road burner, not breld!

ha. yeah, he snuck his post in ahead of mine.

nyccarguy

Normally I'd say yes, but a Mustang GT350R has (15 lbs lighter per corner) Carbon Fiber Wheels, Magnetic Ride Control (I think the GT 350 has the Magnetic Ride Also), & both cars have a snarling 529 hp naturally aspirated V8 with a redline of over 8K. The man has very specific needs:)

qbrozen

breld said:

Okay - wife and I may go car shopping today, and could use some advice.

As I may have mentioned in the past, my stepson, who is 19, has special needs and is pretty low functioning. We have a caretaker who watches him after school and pretty much whenever we need her. She genuinely cares for our son and is practically part of our family. She's a godsend. She herself has two grown kids who live with her, a grandchild, a niece, and other family members she helps look after and ferry around town on countless errands every day.

She does all this in an old, beat up, Saturn, the confines of which are very tight for the many occupants. Long story short, my stepson can get very agitated at times under these circumstances and behaves in a way that is starting to become annoying at best, and dangerous at worst, as our caretaker tries to drive while controlling him.

We are strongly considering buying her a 3-row vehicle of some sort that would make her life easier. We're thinking a budget of $5-$10k, preferably somewhere closer in the middle. From our brief search online:

• A Pilot with 150k miles at a very reputable dealer.
  
• A Ford Freestar with curiously low 37k miles.
  
• Odysseys and Sienna with tons of miles.
  
• Other non-Toyota and Honda vans (T&C's, Caravans, Quests, Sedonas) with lots of miles but not tons.

Figured I could get some good advice here - for the budget, a nice sedan is very doable, but doesn't really gain anything. What are the sleeper deals for a 3-row SUV or minivan? Any particular models/engines to stay away from?

Thanks!

See if you can find a low-mile Mazda MPV. I have also seen some Mazda5 for under $10k. Not sure if that is big enough for her needs, though.

I have to imagine it really needs to be a van, right? an SUV just makes it difficult to get into the 3rd row. If you decide an SUV is still doable, I would look for a FWD XC90 2.5T. But that is probably next to impossible to find. We really liked our Pacifica, but I would avoid any that had the old 4-speed trans, which means only the 4.0 and 6-speed combo, which also usually means lots of other extra options that can break.

Something we were just recently looking at was the old-style Caddy SRX, which can be had with a 3rd row. I ran across a few with 70k-90k miles for $7k-$9k.

breld

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Ok, that vette comment has to be aimed at road burner, not breld!

ha. yeah, he snuck his post in ahead of mine.

Okay good. 'Cause I really respect Q's input, so I was about to go and totally change my search criteria.

stickguy

MPV is a great idea too. There is a nice SRX near me but won't help them.

henryn

If you’re thinking “people hauler”, my vote has to go to the minivan. There is nothing more practical.

My favorite is the Honda Odyssey, but their resale value is unbelievably high, I seriously doubt you can find one in your budget with anywhere close to reasonable miles.

Dodge or Chrysler minivans are much more affordable on the used market, but there is a reason for that, unfortunately.

Good luck.

breld

Thanks Q and all for the advice. I certainly agree the van is the way to go and that's where our focus is. I did initially think of a Mazda5, but it may be too small - though no worse than her current rides for sure. What year did they stop the MPV?

I was wondering about some of the XC90's I saw listed, but figured they would be a mechanical nightmare - didn't pay note to whether they were the FWD 2.5T - probably particularly hard to find here in CO.

Fortunately, our caretaker does have a family friend who works on cars - not sure how good he is, but considering she's been driving her old Saturn, and her daughter drives around an old Dodge Avenger, he must be decent!

We'll probably look around today and I'll post back with potential options.

Thanks!

graphicguy

Might find this interesting....

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/5-things-no-one-tells-you-about-owning-a-used-luxury-ca-1582610274

breld

You know, come to think of it, our caretaker LOVED my Mazda3 when I had it. Just thought it was the best looking car - she has made no such comment about the S4, S3, 535i, etc.

Maybe the Mazda5 would be a good way to go.

stever

After miling up my Quest, I got an '09 Grand Caravan that was miled up and have put 32k on it in 19 months (157k now). I think most any of them would be fine except the Ford.

The MPVs haven't been around for years and I rarely see them. They were a bit "clunky" for our tastes when we were shopping for a new van in '98. They quit making them in '00.

If the kiddo does TV, maybe a RES option would be good?

qbrozen

MPV was around quite a while after that. Per wikipedia, 2006 was the last year in north america. My wife test drove an '03, so I know at least that late is true. 2002 is when they changed to the 3.0 engine, so I'd probably focus on '02-'06.

stever

Ah, misread Wiki's intro and see they went to FWD only. That explains why the one we looked at was a bit clunky feeling. That one was 4WD (that was back in our AK days). Didn't have sliders either as I recall.

qbrozen

Not sure where in CO you are, but here you go.

breld

A little bit of a trek - Pueblo would be about a 2 hour drive, but that is a nice example at what seems to be a good price.

Maybe we'll check out an MPV closer by just to see one.

Thanks!

qbrozen

And a nice looking 5'er.

Here is an iffy one. Wrong wheels on it but those may be the right ones in the boot?? Don't know what's up.

stickguy

Steve, you might be thinking of the old truck based style. The tidy sized slider door minivan went through at least 2006. I found a nice 2006, 66k, for $7,500 close to me. Which doesn't help much.

Don't see much near Colorado Springs, though that might be wrong search area!

Anyway, I really like those. All the flexibility without the barge!

stever

Yeah I am. The MPV really dropped off my radar after that.

I was interested in them back in the 90s because my mom was driving a Protégé into the ground and that car ran like a top. Considered buying it when she gave up driving, but she was a smoker....

Michaell

stickguy said:

Steve, you might be thinking of the old truck based style. The tidy sized slider door minivan went through at least 2006. I found a nice 2006, 66k, for $7,500 close to me. Which doesn't help much.

Don't see much near Colorado Springs, though that might be wrong search area!

Anyway, I really like those. All the flexibility without the barge!

Colorado Springs is the wrong direction. Westminster, Thornton, Boulder, Greeley, Fort Collins are closer to @breld

qbrozen

Listings near Pueblo:

I know zero about these, but 60k miles? Can't be all that bad, can it?

100k isn't too bad.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Listings near Pueblo:

I know zero about these, but 60k miles? Can't be all that bad, can it?

100k isn't too bad.

Both of those links show "this car is no longer for sale"

qbrozen

weird. I tested them. Hmmm... alright, guess I'll use the full link this time:

Sedona

Odyssey EX-L

Mr_Shiftright

I know of a nice 2002 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with all the options coming up for sale pretty cheap through an estate sale. But this is in California, so you'd have to ship. On the plus side I can check it out for you prior to purchase. Probably around $3,000.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

weird. I tested them. Hmmm... alright, guess I'll use the full link this time:

Sedona

Odyssey EX-L

Yep, those work. I like the Sedona for the miles.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

I know of a nice 2002 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with all the options coming up for sale pretty cheap through an estate sale. But this is in California, so you'd have to ship. On the plus side I can check it out for you prior to purchase. Probably around $3,000.

Ship?

You do remember that Mr. and Mrs. @breld flew to Chicago and drove their Audi TT back to Colorado.

A Jeep in December is the perfect SF to Denver road trip vehicle.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but by the time you add plane fare, gas, food, lodging---just better to ship it. It would probably cost $800 or so. No reason to ship enclosed.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

ehh... for the money, wouldn't you rather a 'vette?

Vettes have never really appealed to me; I've looked at a few but never got the urge to buy one. A new Z06? Maybe, but I think it's quite a bit more than a GT350.

Mr_Shiftright

Going from a BMW to a Vette requires some serious re-mapping of the psyche.

stickguy

I liked the 2006 MPV better. Similar miles and price, but that is bigger! And 2,000 miles closer.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Going from a BMW to a Vette requires some serious re-mapping of the psyche.

I would imagine that's the same of going from one to a Stang, though. I did just that very thing, of course, going from a 135i to a mustang GT. It wasn't that shocking for me, personally.

RB - the base Stingray still trounces a GT350, though, so not sure why it would need to be a Z06.

breld

Looked at two cars so far:

'09 Routan SE with only 51k miles.  Nice condition for just under $10k.

'05 odyssey ex-l with just under 100k miles.  Just over $10k.

for the miles and condition, the Routan is really appealing, but I don't know anything about it, other than the obvious that it's a Chrysler van.  One owner Carfax with no issues.

thoughts?

corvette

Low mileage Freestar might not be bad, especially if there is a family member who can repair it.

stickguy

Routan is just a Chrysler with some VW trim pieces and plastic caps. Still, seems like a good deal.

The odyssey is exactly what we owned. A 2005 EX-L.

qbrozen

Which engine and trans in the Routan? I think they were all 6-speed by '09 but I can't be sure. What options are on it? In our '08 chrysler van, before even 90k miles, We had the power 3rd row break, the DVD player crapped out, and the AC refrigerant all leaked out from somewhere I never did quite figure out before trading it. All that said, we did trade for a very similar '14 model since the wife loved it despite its problems. There was also a coolant leak but I solved that myself with plumbing parts from home depot.

berri

Low mileage Freestar might not be bad, especially if there is a family member who can repair it.

Boy, hopefully they had resolved all of the Windstar issues by then because mine was one of the bigger lemons I ever owned.

breld

It's the 3.8 v6 with the 6 speed.  No power third row so I guess that's good.  

breld

Okay - we went ahead and bought the Routan. At 50k miles under $10k, we decided it was hard to pass up. It's the one-price sonic dealer where iluvsephia was looking at the scions. I was able to get them down a little to $9,500, so we pulled the trigger. We also had our sons caretaker look at the car and she just loved it. Thanks for the help today!

suydam

Seems like a good idea. Hope it works out!

kyfdx

breld said:

Okay - we went ahead and bought the Routan. At 50k miles under $10k, we decided it was hard to pass up. It's the one-price sonic dealer where iluvsephia was looking at the scions. I was able to get them down a little to $9,500, so we pulled the trigger.

We also had our sons caretaker look at the car and she just loved it.

Thanks for the help today!

Only in CCBA, do we look for excuses to buy cars for other people...

stever

Our '09 "Routan" last year was $10.5 and it had 125k on it.

As I recall, with the VW you don't get the Stow and Go seats. That's probably a good thing since this one is going to be a people hauler. Ours seem fine but some people think the folding seats are too thin for comfort.

Congrats!

stickguy

Hey, I tried to crowdfund the BMW convertible for me. Still time people.

nyccarguy

@breld - Mazel-Tov & congrats on the Routan punch!  Another VW/Audi product for the bread family!

Mr_Shiftright

Another punch any way you slice it.

nyccarguy

What is our total for the year?  Who is close to guessing?

Sandman6472

Drive the Dodge/Chrysler minivan twins at work all the time and they have been pretty o k to be honest...Hertz does have a whole lot of 'em in the fleet. Getting in more and more new Sedona's which I absolutely love driving but even the last generation Sedona was very good but one needed to be careful with the accelerator as it was extremely light, any slight touch and boom, one was down the pike. After a couple of times behind the wheel, I learned how to feather it so the vehicle was more controllable. We also have a few Quest's and they do drive nice enough, just don't like the large rectangular shape of them...wouldn't call them ugly, just unattractive. Sienna's are one of my favorite minivans as they just do it all right...ergonomics are almost perfect and they accelerate very smoothly.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Got to finally get my hands on a newish '16 Elantra GT, only had 3200 on the clock and for some reason, I really really liked it! Reminds me a lot of my Golf, a small wagon-like vehicle which I do like driving. Even though it was a base model with the bolt on wheel covers, it wasn't plain looking in the least though the ones clad in the alloys are really nice looking. The seats were very good with nice materials and great padding...the side bolsters did a great job of hugging me though not in a bad way. The minute I saw it, I told my lead driver that I had to drive it and luckily, it was a rentable vehicle. Silver over black, a nice combo.
Have seen a few of the similar Kia Forte 5 doors and like them also though they look to be a bit larger which just maybe an optical illusion. Have a feeling that the Elantra and Forte are almost identical underneath as would make sense since I'm also assuming the same with the Accent and Rio. Hyundai/Kia are doing a lot of good stuff lately but think they need to do some homework on their interiors and the colors that they use a back lighting. purple's and red's are kind of ancient , very 1990's and they need to come into the 21st century in this respect. Too many hard plastics to be honest, they just look a bit on the cheap side! Best to put some more expertise and dollars to bring them closer to their rivals as Honda and Toyota as well as Mazda do a great job with theirs. All modern looking with the newest tech and soft touch panels all around. Maybe it's just me but I notice these little things since I do drive a lot of vehicles now. I tend to look around more and touch all the surfaces as I compare them to our personal vehicles. And must admit...our A3 and Golf have very very nice interiors as do most German iron I've seen.

The Sandman