Well, we're really glad she's alive.
On June 5, she was driving her 2007 Ford Edge on Union Ave. (busy 4-lane city thoroughfare) in Memphis, having just left work, when an 18-year-old in an Expedition crossed the double yellow line and slammed her, head-on.
She suffered a broken sternum, 8 busted ribs, double pneumothorax (air in thoracic cavity), fractures in cervical vertebrae, and a broken and lacerated left hand (metacarpal), along with the worst contusions I've ever seen (she is 75 and has thin skin).
Good news is that she is a very strong, positive person with strong faith as well, and has done about the best job I can imagine of dealing with all this. She's healing about as well as could be expected, and is even starting to try typing again (she's a professor at UTHSC Memphis, so she types a lot).
So, I thought I'd start a thread here and get some discussion going about what to suggest that she get to replace her Edge. She's not a "car person" and doesn't keep up with what's available, but she knows that I do, so she's asked me to help her choose a replacement vehicle.
My concerns are helping her choose something she'll like and be happy with, and helping her get a good deal on whatever she goes with.
She's been perfectly happy with the Edge, had had zero problems with it in the 10 years she had it, and I think it did an admirable job in protecting her in a very bad crash (I have photos and tried to upload them but I'm now seeing that PhotoBucket wants me to pay for a subscription in order to be able to host photos now). So, she very well may go with another Edge. We're thinking something a few years old with low miles, and in good shape.
The vehicle will be used for transportation to and from work (approximately 30-min. commute), and just running around town for errands, etc. 95% of the time, she won't be carrying any passengers.
She is open to something smaller, like the Escape, but I'm going to suggest that she actually get in one and drive it, since it would feel quite a bit different from what she's been used to for the past 10 years.
She's open to pretty much any brand; it's just going to come down to whether she likes it, overall rep for quality and safety, and what kind of deal she can get. She bought the Edge new, but we're aware now that you pay a pretty big depreciation hit on a brand-new vehicle, which is obviously a personal decision; if you want the latest and greatest, or, want the newest design and features, you might want to go new. But she's thinking she'd rather let somebody else take that hit and get something that's used with 20 or 30 thousand miles but still in very good to excellent condition.
I remember reading here that with some vehicles that have very high resale value, it might not make a lot of sense to buy one that's 1 or 2 years old because it won't save you that much over a new one. So, my question is, what are some of the vehicles in this category that you can get a great deal on?
On June 5, she was driving her 2007 Ford Edge on Union Ave. (busy 4-lane city thoroughfare) in Memphis, having just left work, when an 18-year-old in an Expedition crossed the double yellow line and slammed her, head-on.
She suffered a broken sternum, 8 busted ribs, double pneumothorax (air in thoracic cavity), fractures in cervical vertebrae, and a broken and lacerated left hand (metacarpal), along with the worst contusions I've ever seen (she is 75 and has thin skin).
Good news is that she is a very strong, positive person with strong faith as well, and has done about the best job I can imagine of dealing with all this. She's healing about as well as could be expected, and is even starting to try typing again (she's a professor at UTHSC Memphis, so she types a lot).
So, I thought I'd start a thread here and get some discussion going about what to suggest that she get to replace her Edge. She's not a "car person" and doesn't keep up with what's available, but she knows that I do, so she's asked me to help her choose a replacement vehicle.
My concerns are helping her choose something she'll like and be happy with, and helping her get a good deal on whatever she goes with.
She's been perfectly happy with the Edge, had had zero problems with it in the 10 years she had it, and I think it did an admirable job in protecting her in a very bad crash (I have photos and tried to upload them but I'm now seeing that PhotoBucket wants me to pay for a subscription in order to be able to host photos now). So, she very well may go with another Edge. We're thinking something a few years old with low miles, and in good shape.
The vehicle will be used for transportation to and from work (approximately 30-min. commute), and just running around town for errands, etc. 95% of the time, she won't be carrying any passengers.
She is open to something smaller, like the Escape, but I'm going to suggest that she actually get in one and drive it, since it would feel quite a bit different from what she's been used to for the past 10 years.
She's open to pretty much any brand; it's just going to come down to whether she likes it, overall rep for quality and safety, and what kind of deal she can get. She bought the Edge new, but we're aware now that you pay a pretty big depreciation hit on a brand-new vehicle, which is obviously a personal decision; if you want the latest and greatest, or, want the newest design and features, you might want to go new. But she's thinking she'd rather let somebody else take that hit and get something that's used with 20 or 30 thousand miles but still in very good to excellent condition.
I remember reading here that with some vehicles that have very high resale value, it might not make a lot of sense to buy one that's 1 or 2 years old because it won't save you that much over a new one. So, my question is, what are some of the vehicles in this category that you can get a great deal on?
