OK, so I'm alone. i have a '99 Saab with over 100,000 miles. It's a sedan and doesn't hold as much as I'd like. I was going to get a honda crv, 4wd but I just don't want to deal with what might happen if I get a new car, so I just put 2 new tires on, and signed up for an oil change every 4 months. I'll hang onto this one til it dies, I just dont' want to deal with the issues that might come up (for wure will come up) if I go car shopping.
My favorite car is the 2009 Rolls Royce Phantom, and I just love it because it has it's own memory care unit, behind the passenger seat. And as soon as I wake up, I think I will go out and see if they will take my 2004 Buick Lesabre in trade...
Just bought a new 2009 dodge grand caravan (still have 2 small kids at home:0) My DH was told to stop driving a year ago and I knew I had to sell his car but dragged my feet for an entire year (he always sold our cars). Lucky for me I dragged my feet just long enough becasue his car qualified for "cash for clunkers" so I traded in his car and mine and walked out with a new van and lower car payment ...all by myself. (I felt very good about that)
I bought my DW a new 1992 Chevy Cavalier for her 55th birthday. That was 17 years ago. I still have her and we still drive the Cav. Not a great car, but a decent one. It has served us well. I have a newer Dodge pickup that I used in my contracting work. Try to not drive either of them too much.
I drive a 2002 F250 diesel for a towing, and it has the extened cab. It has steps on it so the wife can get in with out much trouble. The other car is a toy car. 2002 Porcshe Boxster S it has 36,000 miles on it. I purchased this for my wife for xmas. It was soon afterwards I discovered she should not be driving. It is a great car with the top down.
moorsb - reminds me of my first Christmas present from my husband, who was a mathematics professor: a four volume boxed set of "The World of Mathematics." *I* never opened it!!
oh, no it's up on the top shelf of one of the six floor-ceiling bookcases in his "office", all filled with books, so it'll take awhile for me to get to it. Only 30 boxes moved down from the attic to that room for me to go thru - actually I've gotten through about half of them so far! Hello, Craigslist!
Those gifts sound just like what my father-in-law used to buy for my mother-in-law. Every Christmas she got whatever new gadget came out. One year he gave her an in the egg, egg scrambler. He thought it was fantastic and hard-boiled a bunch of eggs he had scrambled inside and showed everyone. That was the last straw for my SIL. The next Christmas she took him shopping and told him he could no longer buy her stuff he wanted. :)
Briegull ---- I know you think I bought the car for myself. I really did want to get her a dream car because I knew it would be the last car she would ever drive. She has always wanted a convertible. It is an automatic transmission, why would I buy that?? Do I sound guilty??? Hell it is a great car and will do 185mph. I am forced to drive it as it gets better gas mileage than my truck. I will suffer with the decision I made. Anyone want to race?
My beloved Element even has a sunroof. I can either manually tilt it open or remove the entire glass roof-but it's too heavy for me to do alone. I treated it to a beautiful hibiscus decal on her back window. Bed Bath and Beyond has a spinner with the most beautiful decals I have ever seen.
And of course, I have to be original one at this: I drive a 1999 Chevy Suburban (aka the Aircraft carrier) with about 150K miles. Left over from where the kids were at home and we used to go camping or carted half the school to games. It is pretty handy when we need to transport garden stuff, it takes a full pallet of mulch or soil bags, placed there by the fork lift at our nearest Home Depot (DH second home). It was also very handy last year before and after hurricane Ike to transport supplies, and since it is a 4x4 to get around after the hurricane left the roads full of debris. We also have a 2007 Chevy Equinox with OnStar, if hubby gets lost he can always press the button and get help. The beauty of it is that they will download the directions to the car and patch the call through to me, if necessary. If he gets into real trouble, they will call for emergency assistance and the car has a satellite locator, so they know where it is at any time.
I had a Chevy Impala which I likes but Mary couldn't get in and out of the back seat and neither could her brother who is heavy and has bad knees. We actually shopped for a new car based upon them getting in and out of the back! The car that I settled on and bought in May is a Mercury Sable. It is not as big as the full sized Mercury but the back is accessable, the trunk is enormous and the seats fold down if you have a large item.
Wouldn't you know that Ford, in its wisdon is discontinuing this model and has downsized the sister car, the Tauris. I guess that they have something against success!
I have sold the Prius and now my Starlet will need new tires before the winter if I keep it that long. Thinking of trading it in for something a little more comfortable. Does anybody have any experience with the Toyota Yaris or Auris? Or a Honda hybrid?
Jeanette, I am considering a Subaru Forrester. I drove one yesterday and really liked it. My criteria is visibility, leather seats, ease in backing, easy to get into and out of, all wheel drive because I need it in winter. A couple years ago before Paul passed I considered the Prius. He couldn't get his feet into it. I have leather seats now and they are easier to slide in and out of. I sat in a different car yesterday and "fell in" it sat so low. Be interested in hearing other thoughts about cars. Your dh is still moving well. I have not tried the ones you mentioned but pay careful attention to how easy it would be to get your dh in it whenever he gets to the point of having you assist him with moving. My concern NOW is for me - and the future.
I love my 2003 Buick Le Sabre. It is the third one I have had.We just gave DH's 98 Buick Regal to our 22 year old granddaughter. She said it is the best car she ever had. I will keep the Buick for as long as I can. It is comfortable, a smooth ride and gets good mileage.
Jeanette, we own a Prius and love it. But people here have often mentioned that bigger cars work better for those in later stages. Isn't the Yaris smaller than a Prius? I'm not sure it would be a good choice.
This past spring I traded our 2002 Malibu in for a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Van. Lifting Jim's wheelchair in and out of the trunk has gotten to be to much for my bad back. I love it, it's fire engine red, very comfortable AND IT KEEPS THE BOYS SEPARATED, LOL. Of course my beloved Chevy Trailblazer went into the lake, Live (thank God) and Learn.
Gave my 1990 blue Miata to my daughter and now drive DH's 2003 Lincoln Town Car. We only have 52,000 miles on it, and the town cars last forever, so I guess this is it. Gas mileage around town pretty poor, but we love the comfort and don't drive enough to make a tradedown worth what it would cost.
Traded my Buick Rendezvous because it was too high for DH to get into. Got a 2005 Cadillace DeVille. Big, wide doors, leather interior, has everything I could want, including OnStar. DH can get in and out of it with no problems. It only has 48,000 miles on it; gets around 25 mpg on highway, not so good in Town. I guess it depends on how the LO is as far as walking, turning, etc., as to what would be better for you. But I do think bigger is better!
TOYOTA HERE! I got my first Toyota in 1971 in Okinawa. IT was a 2 cylinder air cooled engine..started up in the rain and made it up the hills..it had 68000 klicks on it..When I came back to the states I ended up with a 1974 Sexy European car..the Merc Carpri..nice little job..but went back to Toyota and have been loyal to it ever since. I had a GT Celica and then a 1984 Supra which is had for 20 years..How I loved my fast mover..( looked like it was going fast standing still), Now hubby has a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer which has been a dandy truck. He no longer drives it and I am quite comfy with it. I have a 2004 Toyota Scennia. I love it for taking Ebonie to the vet, and for grocery shopping etc. Hubby likes it too..nice and roomy, he can see out well and it is comfy. I'll stick with Toyota ( or if the fairy godmother comes my way I'll go for a Lexus..by the way my van has a Lexus engine in it and it is quiet!)
About 30 years ago we bought a new Plymouth. For months it wouldn't go over 30 miles an hour and it quit frequently. We called and called the company and never got an answer. We complained to the dealer, who checked it out and said nothing was wrong with it. I went into labor 13 weeks early, and we had to drive to the nearest hospital with a nursery for high risk babies. It was 30 miles away and we got there with the car sputtering and stopping the whole time. The baby was born and lived for only 12 days. The next time we went to car dealer, I got very upset and started to cry. He told me that I shouldn't get so upset over a car. That if I had ever had a really sick child I would know how insignificant a car was. I walked out. Very shortly thereafter, we bought out first Toyota. I will never buy another American car, regardless of whether people say they are better now. I'm sticking with Toyota.
when Ralph had to stop driving, I took our two cars in to the Lexus dealership and traded them for a new RX 330. I live in the mountains, so the all wheel drive is great for the snow. Now that Ralph is gone, I may spend the winters away from the snow. Florida and Texas where my girls live. A treat for me!! Been a long cold winter. I do like my Lexus.
Toyota lovers are very loyal to their vehicles. Despite all the recalls Toyota still has great sales. We have a Prius and I love it. Now that it is almost 10 years old I do fear the hybrid batteries going - they will not be cheap. But, it is nice not to worry about going thru DEQ! We have had Chevy, Datsun, Toyota, Mercury and Ford. We seem to stick with Ford and Toyota. The motor home has a Ford V10 in it - I refused to buy a motorhome with a Chevy engine. We had an Escort and Aspire and loved them both. This is our 3rd Toyota. The Ford hybrids have the same technology our Prius does as Toyota sold it to them when they came out with the new system in the 2006 Prius.
well folks i read most of these threads about all the different cars we drive and come to a conclusion.. we all have our personal favorite and nothing will change that. I do however own and rive a 2000 Dodge minivan. it roomy and plesant to drive. Gets good gas mileage and gets around good in the snow. It has 130,000 miles on it and runs great. bought it used paid a good price for it and love it. very dependable and cheap to insure. this is the third minivan we have owned and all were used. never have had expensive problems with any of them. The last one had 230,000 miles on it and was still going but became undependable so it went to the boneyard. DW loves this van because she can be comfortable and all the seats recline which even adds to her comfort. With the AZ problem (incontinence and bowel problems) we also carry a porta potty with curtains around it for privacy so in an emergency it is there. As long as she is with us a minivan fills the bill so thats my two cents worth.
If you do get a God-forbidden mini-van, be sure to get the key operated sliding side door. I traded-in my last mini-van for a Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which I love. But the one feature I really miss, is that sliding side door. It was great walking up to it with hands full of grocery bags, pressing the button and voila! Plus the sliding feature is nice because no matter how close someone parks next to you, you don't have to worry about getting the door open.
Mini-vans are not so bad - they get a bad wrap because of the whole soccer mom stereo type. But I bet if you asked the long-legged teenagers that are sitting with their knees under their chins in the 3rd row pop-up seat I now have, they would pick the mini-van every time.
Mary, nine months later, I'm getting around to answer your question: I have a '92 Honda Civic, a cobalt blue (the colour that year), and I love it because it is comfortable, safe, easy to drive and economical on gas and repairs. It has about 41,000 klicks on it - I think that's about 24,000 miles. Quite a bit of paint scratched on the front bumpers as I miscalculate the dimensions of the parking spaces. Have had to replace the driver's mirrors twice for the same reason. I think they make the spaces too narrow. Oh, and one dent on the side - that was there when I returned to a parking lot two days after I bought the car.
I drive a 2009 Toyota Camry. This is our second Camry. I had been wanting one for years before I bought the first one. I went to the car dealer alone and picked out the car I wanted. It was a beautiful black car with gold letters and Toyota symbol. My husband drove our 1991 Oldsmobile to work and my car was the Camry. I loved it so much that when the Olds died we got another Camry, a silver one this time. By this time, my husband had retired and he was not driving very much, pretty soon not able to drive at all. So, we gave the older Camry to my daughter and her husband, who really needed a new second car. It is still beautiful to look at and they take good care of it. It still drives beautifully. In spite of the recalls, I love our Camry and when I need another car, it will be a Toyota again, maybe a smaller one.