| Author |
Message |
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 12:07 pm 
It took me a long time to narrow down to these three:
Mazda CX5:
Best gas mileage. Love the exterior look and has almost every feature I want. Very highly rated. Comes in first on almost every site I have checked.
Toyota RAV4:
Most comfortable and love the interior look. Lacks multiple plugs, esp. for the back seat ipod users.Has side mirror blind spot sensors plus rear cross traffic sensors.
Subaru Forester:
Don't really like the look inside or outside, but has a pet barrier cage thing. Also has no side mirror blind spot sensors. Really highly rated.
Tossed out Honda CRV cuz no blind spot sensors and has hard seats. But this was top runner for a long time.
Any input, thoughts, suggestions, opinions would be appreciated. We need to wait and see if my husband's company is going to get their contract renewed, but that news may come down this week. Since it is near the end of the month we may have to move fast to take advantage of the end of the month advantage that a dealership may offer.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 2:06 pm
I am on my 2nd Rav4..... LOVE IT! My first was a 1996 Rav that I bought used with 19k miles on it. It was over 100k miles when I decided to trade it in... for no other reason than I wanted a new one with a sunroof. My current one is a 2011 Rav 4 Sport model. On some road surfaces, it is a bit noisy, but that doesn't bother me at all because I like to listen to the radio loud. I've taken many road trips with it. It's very easy and comfortable for travel. In fact, my friend, who has a Ford Escape (with a lot of features) always lets me drive long distances because she says my car is so comfortable. Mine does not have the blind spot sensors, but I've never had any issue with that.
I have been responsible for 4 other people buying Rav4's after they rode in my 1996 Rav. I will say that I'm a Toyota person. Since 1977 I have had 4 Toyotas with hardly any issues as long as I took care of all the maintenance according to recommendations. The Toyota dealership is less than a mile from my house, so it is very convenient for me, a single person, to take my car in for oil changes, etc.
I've never driven the Mazda, but I'm sure that it is nice as well. My sister has a Forester, which she loves. Personally, I think it has a bit of a 'hard' look to it, with not much personality... if I can say that about a car. I like to drive a car that reflects some part of my personality, which a Rav does for me.
The only thing that I would suggest is to check if the cars have, what are called, 'run flat' tires. That means that they do not have spare tires because you can run on them for up to 50 miles when they go flat (or something like that). After my research, I wanted a spare tire for the type of driving that I do, so I worked with the dealership to make sure that I got a Rav 4 with a spare tire.
Good luck! And go with your gut feeling!
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Holly
Member
07-21-2001
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 2:22 pm
I've been with Mazda for over 10 years now and they'e the best cars I've ever had! And the dealership has been great with me too.
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Landileigh
Member
07-28-2002
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 2:28 pm
Julie, I've been watching your search for awhile now.
#1 go with the car that is the most comfortable. You are the one who has to sit in it and drive kids around. Especially with having to drive so far for Ryan.
#2. you don't see the outside of your own car while you're driving it. Only when it is sitting in your driveway. what does it matter what it looks like?
#3. pet barriers can be added to vehicles. You can put just about anything onto the vehicle you actually want. same goes for the plugs - use extension plugs with multiple inserts. that's what we do. we have one charger plug that 2 USB's can go into.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 8:14 am
Thank you all!! I do think I will go with my gut, but my gut isn't quite making its mind up!! But I do think I am starting to lean. What I need to do is sit in each one one more time and let my butt decide!! ;)
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 12:44 pm
Well then, just found out my husband's company did not get their contract renewed, so looks like I don't need to decide after all.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 5:31 pm
Uh oh...that sucks big time!!  
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 11:20 pm
It's okay, Julieboo. You know how to live both cutting edge survivor and middle class dilettante. You will be just fine. Just fine.
((((Julieboo))))
Um, I probably would've gone with the Rav4.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 8:08 pm
Where did you buy your last used car? Dealership, small used car lot, an individual? We need to buy a good used car soon.
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Eroica
Member
07-28-2005
| Monday, March 20, 2017 - 7:10 am
Bought one in February from a dealership. Am pleased with their service. They gave me a free year of service. Purchased a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe with only 10,000 miles.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Monday, March 20, 2017 - 9:57 am
I bought at a dealership. They had gone through all the safety checks and testing, so I didn't have to do anything. I know people that have used CarMax to buy a car and been really happy going that route too.
I would not buy from an individual without taking it to a mechanic to be checked out first. I would not trust a small car lot. You take your chances with those.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - 5:59 am
We bought/leased new after two bad deals from individuals - one a mechanic we trusted. We were going to do used from a dealer, but the lease was so much cheaper per month AND it included free maintenance for 2 years. The car was for DS and he'll be done with college by the time the lease is up. Then he can decide to sell or just turn it into a regular car loan and keep it. He loves the car (Toyota Scion), so he's planning on keeping it.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, March 22, 2017 - 9:04 pm
We bought a 2015 RAV4 from the local Toyota dealer a year ago. I LOVE it.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Thursday, March 23, 2017 - 5:06 am
Teach, with having the lease, did your car insurance go way up?
My brother was going to lease a car for my mother. I forget what kind. An Asian brand. The payments were really cheap, like $100 a month. But the insurance was so ridiculously high that it was a no go. My brother said it was more than his two cars put together. The reason we were told was because if the car gets even into a minor accident, they basically total the car. Sure doesn't make you feel safe. It had like a million airbags in it. Lol!
He ended up getting her a used truck from a friend that is in beautiful condition. We lucked out.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2017 - 2:08 pm
No - my son is 22, and the insurance for PL/PD on his old used car was $60 a month; it went to $120 a month - so it doubled, but it covers everything! We didn't think that was too bad. He's always had a good student discount, and we have Horace Mann insurance (available to educators only and typically quite a bit cheaper as we're considered a low-risk group).
ETA: Michigan is a no-fault state so our rates are some of the highest in the nation.
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