This goes along with my STS thread. I need to find a DD for my wife to use for work duty, and for family use over the weekends. Here's what I'm looking for:
- MAX price of $3500. I'm a professional-grade negotiator, so figure something advertised around $4500 or less.
- Good fuel economy. I define this as city mileage in the real world of 23mpg or better, and highway of 27 or better.
- MUST comfortably seat two adults and two kids. One of which is in a rear-facing car seat for at least another two months. For this reason I'm leaning towards a larger car, which is somewhat at odds with my fuel economy requirement. I also want to keep the kids knees out of my back as much as possible.
- RELIABLE. I don't need my family broken down somewhere while I'm at work. Low cost to repair is also a factor. I work for Nissan dealer and I get employee pricing on whatever repairs can be done there. Which I am not sure the STS would qualify for (Nissan dealer)
Current thoughts:
- I like the looks, size, and potential fuel economy of the STS. Big and comfy, strong performance, decent enough fuel economy (I THINK). Looking for more input on this one in a separate thread. 2000-ish models fit the budget.
- 1993-2000 Nissan Altima. This one should be a slam dunk. They are way under budget for the most part, I can get them fixed very cheap, and they usually don't break anyway. I'd perfer something a bit nicer though, and they are barely large enough. Besides, I don't like the looks of the '97 and up models, and the earlier ones are simply getting old.
- 1996-2000 Maxima. These fit somewhere between the Caddy and the Altima in every respect. The only problem is that most of these seem to have been "rode hard and put up wet". We looked at several before getting our current 2002 Sedona a few months ago, and they were all very rough.
- Mid '90's Accord or Accord wagon? I'm just not all that thrilled with them, but maybe I'd like them better if I drove one. I have spent some time in the '95 Accord I bought my mother, and it's......... ok. Maybe I'd like a V-6 better?
- 2000+ Chevy Malibu or Impala? Probably not, but throwing it out there.
NO TAURUS.
Any thoughts on these, or something that matches the price and criteria listed above that I neglected? Maybe there's a Suburu big enough for us?
Mike
