Car buying advice (plus rant), if you don't mind.

[Seraph]

We currently have a secondhand 98 Chrysler Cirrus. Its done well for us, except for the fact that every single time we've had to get repairs done, it's tremendously expensive due to the way the car is built. (Skip to the other bold part to avoid the rant about this car. Yes, I need to vent.)

When we were given the car, we found out a few months later that the tire rod (not sure if thats the right name) was twisted and it was a miracle it even drove, and that the engine had an oil leak. $600 to fix rod thingy, paid $2k a couple years later for the oil leak when it got to the point it was causing massive problems.

Turns out there's ANOTHER oil leak that the repair guys missed. I'm sure didn't help things when a couple years back, we flipped a deer over the hood, and then last year we slammed into a guardrail. Either way, car is on its last legs, a two hour trip to visit family this weekend was majorly problematic, the car idled strangely if we had to stop for any reason, smelled HORRIBLE (yes, burning oil. yay.) and left giant clouds of white smoke behind us.

(Okay, vent is over. I'm sorry, I really detest our car.)

We have a trip in late July that we are going to have to drive eight hours for, and there's no way the car will survive it.

We're gonna have to buy a car within the next month, now, so if anyone has any advice...please, we'd love it. We need a nice, roomy car for a family of four, so if you even have some recommendations, that would be awesome. We'll be abusing a connection my father in law has with a car dealership, so hit us up.

[Heksubah]

My '06 Scion xB was a dream car. Brand new was very reasonable at the time (15k-ish). They are amazingly roomy, though take up little space. I'm 5'11" and I could sit in the back with the front seat all the way back and have extra room. No other car gives me that. They are made by Toyota so they have the good safety ratings and get good gas mileage (though the older models seem to do better on that than the newer).

[kpzra]

I loved my Impala, up to the point it was totaled in an accident. Even then it protected me VERY well. I was rear ended but a douche going ~50 and I wasn't hurt. I loved the 30mpg for the commute I did to work.

Other than that I haven't looked at cars in a while. Is it specific brand dealer?

[Seraph]

My '06 Scion xB was a dream car.

Hubby just said "I'm not driving a shoebox." LMAO Guess scions are out.

I loved my Impala, up to the point it was totaled in an accident. Even then it protected me VERY well. I was rear ended but a douche going ~50 and I wasn't hurt. I loved the 30mpg for the commute I did to work.

Other than that I haven't looked at cars in a while. Is it specific brand dealer?

No specific brand, they sell whatever. We've twice now had people recommend Toyota Highlanders, so those are going on the list of cars to check out.

[Andara Bledin]

... the tire rod (not sure if thats the right name)...

That's a tie rod. You were really close, tho. It's part of the steering mechanics.

paid $2k a couple years later for the oil leak when it got to the point it was causing massive problems.

Never wait on oil leaks. Unless you're planning to junk the car, they get exponentially more expensive to fix, and if you're really unlucky, you can destroy your engine.

I've had massively expensive oil leak repair bills; thankfully, no damaged engines, however.

We have a trip in late July that we are going to have to drive eight hours for, and there's no way the car will survive it.

Have you researched the possibility of renting for the trip?

I'm particularly partial to Dodge vehicles, which is what we tried to get; what we ended up with, however, was a Nissan Altima, which we both love. It's roomy, comfortable (Nekojin is 6'2" & 280... not a small guy), gets impressive mileage for a 3.x liter V6, and hasn't required a single repair (other than replacing the battery) in the year and a half since we acquired it. We do mostly city driving, but we take longer trips (2-6 hours) a couple of times a year.

^-.-^

[freeatlast]

I had a 2003 Pontiac Vibe which I loved. Will easily hold 4 people and has cargo area in back. Great gas mileage. I would still have it, but lost my job and could not afford to keep it.

[AccountingDrone]

I have mentioned before how much I adore my diesel 2006 jetta that out of the box gets a dependable 40-43 MPG, is nicely comfortable and even holds 2 adults in the back seat and has a reasonable amount of trunk space. $16K at carmax around 3 years ago with 64K miles on it. Beautiful, clean almost new condition for a just off lease car.

[Andara Bledin]

Unless you are all below-average height people, I would suggest against a Jetta for a long trip. Been there, done that, and 6 hours is 5 hours more than I want to spend in one. For reference, I'm 5'8" with a 34" inseam (for leg length comparison). The seats fit my 5'3" mother much better than they fit me.

Smaller cars are absolutely the better choice if you're primarily picking up something that is going to be for getting around town, and they can be made to work for longer trips if they fit your frame. However, if you don't fit the seats, you're going to be feeling it before an hour is up, and it just gets worse the longer you go. It's the driver that's most important; passengers can shift.

^-.-^

[42_42_42]

We have a Toyota Camry and it's got plenty of room. My husband is fairly large (height and girth) and he can sit in the front or back perfectly comfortably.

[PawnPrincess Ardra]

I love my '05 Ford Focus :-) I've been really really eyeing the Ford Escape recently as well. Hubby's Chev guy, but only the trucks, he's happy with his 02 1500

[Greenday]

I love my '05 Ford Focus :-)

I've never owned one, but when I was getting my first car, one Ford dealership kept trying to push a Focus onto me. I ended up with a Z24 Chevy Cavalier, but the Focus was pretty roomy and comfortable but being a 17 year old, I went for the sportier car.

My mom drives a Hyundai Sonata. She's rarely had problems with it. Another really comfortable car, especially for long trips.

I enjoyed my friend's Chevy Cobalt. Good on mileage, very reliable. Smooth ride. Never went with her on any long rides though.

[Der Cute]

I've got an '05 Camry, 3 can sit in the back seat just fine and the trunk is ROOOOOMY. Like 3 dead bodies roomy. 4 if you do some dissection.

[morgana]

I have a 2000 Ford Taurus with close on 160,000 miles on it. Runs great, I've probably put less than $600 in repairs on it in the last two years. Radio's shite, but that's what the MP3 player's for, right?

Oh, and I regularly take it on 350-miles-in-a-day drives to visit my mom and siblings.

[Seraph]

Woot, thanks all for the list of stuff we'll bee keeping an eye out for. We're probably gonna make a trip out to the FIL's lot soon, and be using it as a springboard.

Husband doesn't want to rent a car for the trip, he's kinda dead set against it, and is wanting to ask his mother if he can borrow her SUV for a week. /criiiiinge Oh, this is gonna be fun.

[ArcticChicken]

My family has good luck with Honda's in general.

My aunt owns a 2000 Honda Odyssey with 202k on it. Had to spend a few thousand getting it fixed up last summer, and still has a couple of issues (it vibrates excessively between 65 and 75, and one of the rear windows doesn't always open or close), but it's in remarkable good condition for a car that's been used like it has.

My Mom has a first generation Honda Civic hybrid that still runs like new, I don't remember how many miles are on it, but she had a 50 mile commute twice a week for years, in addition to running us kids around.

My cousin has an '09 Honda Fit, I can't speak to its durability yet, by it's remarkable roomy. My cousin is 6'6" and comfortable driving it, and there's plenty of legroom in the back. If you're willing to stack things, you can fit quite a bit in the boot, and the seats fold entirely flat for larger stuff.