New car for my wife.

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Apr 17, 2004
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Texas Hill Country
My wife took a job with the federal government, serving veterans at the Department of Veteran's Affairs. She's really done well and is ready to get her first brand new car. We have always driven stripped down low mileage cars purchased from local dealers. Never new.

I used to be pretty brand specific, and loved Toyota, we owned several that went a long time. Now we are less brand specific, and we are looking for nice features, and a quality feel. We only want to keep a car to 100k miles then get rid of it. Pretty much anything new will run until 100k miles and I can get there with extended warranty.

My key item for her is SAFETY. We have had three collisions in the past three years, and we are a little jossled to say the least. San Antonio, and Dallas traffic is like a demolition derby. We were rear ended twice by non insured drivers, once in hit and run fashion.

Second item is size of vehicle. I am 6'5'', and we frequent the Texas Coast, and loading up a cooler and some lawnchairs, with a few friends. Needs to sit two people, maybe 3, and a couple suitcases.

We are also planning to take non winter trips to Colorado. I don't need all wheel drive, front wheel drive is fine.

My limit is $35000 out the door including extra warranty.

1.) GMC Terrain- We loved the size of it, and it seemed like a nice car. Roughly $30k, and we can get a 72 month 100k warranty added for $1700-$2000. GMC dealer is upscale compared to Hyundai, and they are a fair dealer (Cavendar GMC Buick)

2.) Buick Envista- We have yet to see this one at our dealer, but we did look at an encore and did not think it was big enough at all. My wife likes the looks of this car, I don't think it will be large enough for our needs.

3.) Corolla Cross- Dead reliable, but seems too much like every one of our old cars (Matrix, Camry, Corolla). May not be large enough for our needs.

4.) Mazda CX5- Wife thinks it looks too much like our current Tuscon, and I agree. Probably the highest quality car out of the group but may be too bland.
 
Mazda. If it taked many years to get it to 100,000 miles you should seriously considering getting it undercoated by a very good undercoating rust prevention company and getting it touched up each year. Some sell a package deal will you bring it back each year for quite a few years. The weak points of the Mazdas or the in the past they have been prone to rust. Other than that I wouldn't mind owning one myself but if I did I would have it also rust proofed.
 
Hi Justin,

Thanks for asking our opinions regarding your upcoming purchase decision. I believe the GMC Terrain as well as the Chevrolet Equinox are due to be redesigned next year. This means that the 2024 models are "last year generation variants". If you like that vehicle you may be able to get a good deal as inventory starts to become depleted. Just a thought.
 
My wife took a job with the federal government, serving veterans at the Department of Veteran's Affairs. She's really done well and is ready to get her first brand new car. We have always driven stripped down low mileage cars purchased from local dealers. Never new.

I used to be pretty brand specific, and loved Toyota, we owned several that went a long time. Now we are less brand specific, and we are looking for nice features, and a quality feel. We only want to keep a car to 100k miles then get rid of it. Pretty much anything new will run until 100k miles and I can get there with extended warranty.

My key item for her is SAFETY. We have had three collisions in the past three years, and we are a little jossled to say the least. San Antonio, and Dallas traffic is like a demolition derby. We were rear ended twice by non insured drivers, once in hit and run fashion.

Second item is size of vehicle. I am 6'5'', and we frequent the Texas Coast, and loading up a cooler and some lawnchairs, with a few friends. Needs to sit two people, maybe 3, and a couple suitcases.

We are also planning to take non winter trips to Colorado. I don't need all wheel drive, front wheel drive is fine.

My limit is $35000 out the door including extra warranty.

1.) GMC Terrain- We loved the size of it, and it seemed like a nice car. Roughly $30k, and we can get a 72 month 100k warranty added for $1700-$2000. GMC dealer is upscale compared to Hyundai, and they are a fair dealer (Cavendar GMC Buick)

2.) Buick Envista- We have yet to see this one at our dealer, but we did look at an encore and did not think it was big enough at all. My wife likes the looks of this car, I don't think it will be large enough for our needs.

3.) Corolla Cross- Dead reliable, but seems too much like every one of our old cars (Matrix, Camry, Corolla). May not be large enough for our needs.

4.) Mazda CX5- Wife thinks it looks too much like our current Tuscon, and I agree. Probably the highest quality car out of the group but may be too bland.
I have dealt with GMC for a decade and in my area they’re awful. So not sure about their service in other parts of the country.

With your budget even though I don’t like the car, CR-V?

Meets your criteria except budget…Tahoe RST performance package (gives the 6.2 13 more HP and 7 more ft lbs) . Got my eye on that and figuring it out…keep saying we only live once. Why spend a boatload (30k+ is that) and not go all in?
 
Outback? You basically get small SUV mileage with midsize SUV space, and midsize luxury SUV safety. If you look at the IIHS deathrates, it does very well, and you'd be surprised at some vehicles that don't do well. The previous GM small SUV's Trax/Encore had around 10 times the death rate of the Outback. Certain manufacturers seem to go for a solid structure, like the germans, and not designed only to do well in tests. Subaru, Honda, most of the Toyota's, seem to as well. But some don't, and the GM korean imports of the last gen weren't great, and we'll see if the new ones are better?
Subaru's are also designed to see out of as well, which is nice compared to some vehicles.
 
Outback? You basically get small SUV mileage with midsize SUV space, and midsize luxury SUV safety. If you look at the IIHS deathrates, it does very well, and you'd be surprised at some vehicles that don't do well. The previous GM small SUV's Trax/Encore had around 10 times the death rate of the Outback. Certain manufacturers seem to go for a solid structure, like the germans, and not designed only to do well in tests. Subaru, Honda, most of the Toyota's, seem to as well. But some don't, and the GM korean imports of the last gen weren't great, and we'll see if the new ones are better?
Subaru's are also designed to see out of as well, which is nice compared to some vehicles.
That what I thought and convinced the wife over a Crosstrek.. Had one and dumped it after a year. The new design is pretty horrid compared to the excellent 2011 chassis, rear seat terribly uncomfortable in the lower (read: affordable) trims and then build issues At SIA Indiana. Rear axle geometry chewed both the rear tires to the cord by 18K miles. Then horrendously noisy - but adequately powerful engine. Don't even ask about Subaru horrendous Touch screen HVAC controls and infotainment GUI. Should be called Touch SCREAM !
- Ken
 
Get the corolla cross, if you plan on putting more than 100k miles get the hybrid if it isn't marked up. But you say it might be a little too small so the slightly larger honda hrv could be an option.
 
I just remembered, when I sat in the Mazdas at the auto show the bottom of the seat did not come forward enough to be comfortable, I'm 6'4 so that could have something to do with it but you should definitely sit in them and decide whether you like the seats before you consider buying them
 
I’d say the last two. If you don’t care about looks then the ugly Corolla Cross would be the best one. I’ve seen some of those already at 40 and 50k and doing great. The Mazda seems to be a solid choice too but I don’t have any experience with that particular model. I’d avoid the first two at all costs.
 
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