My Grandparents Need A New Car

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KillerMRK2
They're going to be buying a new car really soon, and it needs to meet these requirements:

1. Must be White

2. Must have decent rear leg room

3. Decent turning radius

4. Hands-Free Calling

5. Fairly reliable

6. Under 25K.




Already on the list:

1. Nissan Altima 2.5 SL



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I've been trusted with this, so I hope I don't make the wrong choice.
 
2008 Ford Taurus. This is the safest passenger car you can buy. 5 stars in all catagories...and the boot/trunk is HUGE.
 
Grand parents, ey? Well, that leaves you with a Buick LaCrosse/Impala (junk), a 3.5L Chrysler 300 (pretty good), a Taurus Limited FWD or SEL AWD (amazingly competent now, and one of my newly favorite cars), a Hyundai Azera SE (which is just a bit over the 25k line, but that's not counting incentives. Probably the best of the group, but the 500 has made incredible headway, and I think it is bigger).
 
The Azera and Taurus are my prime nominations. If they aren't prejudice against foreign cars then suggest the Azera. But if they are safety nuts then suggest the Taurus.

On the Taurus, next week I think I'm going to do a dealer trade in a Taurus--which will be the first time I drive the new version with the better D35 engine.
 
I've been thinking about the Taurus, but I'm not sure if my Grandma sees the need in a 6 cylinder, also, is hands free available? I've only seen it stated explicitly on cars with OnStar and the Nissan.
 
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NEXT!
 
If I was looking in the class it would pretty much come down to the Buick LaCrosse (not a bad car...) or the Ford Taurus (a much better car, despite its so-so looks). You can get a pretty nicely equipped Taurus for right around the $25K mark, and if they're looking for hand-free talking, tell them to wait for the FordSync program to start kicking. Thats going to be a $400 option, but it will hook up to almost any electronic device with BlueTooth, not to mention an iPod or Zune with ease as well.

It is important to point out that Buick tied with Lexus for this year's JD Power reliability survey, so reliability wise, they are very hard to beat. Unfortunately Buick does not offer a hands-free setup (thats what OnStar's cell phone service is for...), but its neck-and-neck with the Ford when it comes down to pricing.

I'd drive both back-to-back and let them decide. If they want to look at foreign cars, particularly Toyotas or Hondas, don't let them go alone. The dealers here love to "feed" (for the lack of a better term) on older folks, and given that not many of them know what they're looking for, they get talked into unnecessary stuff.
 
Thats good. I was at the Toyota dealer a week or so ago poking around and I almost killed a salesman after the stuff he was saying about the RAV4 and Highlander. He told an outright lie when he said the RAV4 received "Car of the Year," furthermore when he said the RAV4 with the 3.5L V6 gets better mileage than the VUE XR (which they were comparing), not mentioning that the fuel mileage standards changed in 2008, likely putting the Toyota in the same league with the Saturn.

I was absolutely pissed, to say the least. This, by the way, was the same salesman who told me he "Couldn't talk about the Tundra because he wasn't certified to," and ran off... I often wonder if he gets a lot of complaints about him, because he is very pushy, and puts out a lot of misleading information. Granted, salesmen are supposed to twist the truth a bit, but that was too much.

...I was very happy when the old folks left without taking anything with them...

I've been meaning to go back there and ask that guy why my 12 year old VW feels like its built better than their new Scion xB, furthermore, why it gets better fuel mileage...
 
YSSMAN
Thats good. I was at the Toyota dealer a week or so ago poking around and I almost killed a salesman after the stuff he was saying about the RAV4 and Highlander. He told an outright lie when he said the RAV4 received "Car of the Year," furthermore when he said the RAV4 with the 3.5L V6 gets better mileage than the VUE XR (which they were comparing), not mentioning that the fuel mileage standards changed in 2008, likely putting the Toyota in the same league with the Saturn.

I was absolutely pissed, to say the least. This, by the way, was the same salesman who told me he "Couldn't talk about the Tundra because he wasn't certified to," and ran off... I often wonder if he gets a lot of complaints about him, because he is very pushy, and puts out a lot of misleading information. Granted, salesmen are supposed to twist the truth a bit, but that was too much.

...I was very happy when the old folks left without taking anything with them...

I've been meaning to go back there and ask that guy why my 12 year old VW feels like its built better than their new Scion xB, furthermore, why it gets better fuel mileage...
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Oh dear, that is quite bad. Did you give him a look atleast? Just you know the :odd: look?



I hate that. We were at the Nissan the dealer, and my dad and I were blocked by a "rotund" manager at the door, who wouldn't let us leave without leaving our phone-number, or the old lady who attacked us at a Cadillac dealer whilst sitting in an Escalade. :scared:
 
I did the thing where I was looking at a car, completely hunkered down, and then stood full-upright, turned, and looked right at him and shook my head. Then I proceeded to have an exceedingly loud conversation with my brother about how wrong he was out on the lot, and then just to piss everyone off at the dealer, had a phone conversation with my Grandparents about the new Highlander inside the vehicle inside the dealer with the manager standing less than 10 feet away about how disappointing it was.

I'm not nice when I shop for cars, particularly when the salesmen (or women) aren't nice. I always find it so shocking that the domestic guys, and hell, even the PORSCHE guys are nice enough to say what they like and don't like about the car... And even when they know you aren't buying, they'll still stand around and talk to you about it for 20 minutes.

Personally, thats what builds a great dealer reputation. Just recognizing that you're there, even saying "Hi" when you walk in the door is something special. If half the dealers in town would act like they did at The Collection (Ferrari, Maserati, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, Lotus) when I was down in Miami, they would have me as a return customer time and time again.

Granted, I know a few guys at a few of the dealers, but there isn't any reason why the folks at Toyota of Grand Rapids and Fox Honda, the two worst dealers when it comes to sales service in town, can't at least act reasonable to every one of their customers.

Hand-on-heart, Saturn of Grand Rapids, Fox Mazda/Acura, and Fox Porsche easily have the best sales folks in town.
 
I've found our Porsche dealers to be horrible. I was looking for a new company car and the company director had decided that as we had had a good year he wanted to buy himself a Porsche. The local Porsche dealer also owned a Subaru dealership next door so I decided to tag along figuring that we might be able to work a deal if he bought a Porsche and I bought a Subaru. We drove into the dealership in my company car (a two year old Holden Commodore SS, worth NZ$60,000 new) and parked out front. We were dressed in suit and tie, as we had gone from work, and looked generally presentable.

We walked into the Porsche part of the dealership. There were about 4 or 5 sales people standing around. One was on the phone, another reading the paper and the other three were milling about.

My boss went and sat in a Carrera and said to me that he liked it but was really looking for a Carrera 4S. On overhearing this comment one of the sales people laughed and said to another sales person next to him that he was sick of "dreamers" coming and sitting in his cars.

The other sales people completly ignored us for the next 10 mins until we left in disgust.

The funny thing is that we went down the road to the local BMW dealer and they were so helpful. My boss ordered an M5 and he was so pleased with the service that I got a 330i Touring as a company car.
 
-> Have you considered the Toyota Avalon, I know its a bloated Camry, but its a very decent car that has stupid (in a good way) amounts of rear leg room. That very car is an underrated vehicle, but according to most magazines it beats the domestics on their own full-size car game. Plus reliability and resale value are top notch. You don't need a Lexus if you have this simple cruiser. :)👍

Toyota%20Avalon.jpg


-> I could also consider the Hyundai Azera, but it doesn't have hands free calling. :indiff:

azera.jpg


-> Acura TL (especially the Type-S) is also a good alternative, but thats a little bit pricey, you can skip on that. ;)

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-> You can also go with the VW Passat, but I don't know...:indiff:

5vwPass1M_m.jpg


:)
 
...Too bad most of those cars don't fit in under the $25K price limit, but the VW may be able to squeeze in, barely, with the 2.0T and the six-speed slushbox.
 
-> Oh! I overlooked that $25K limit, my apologies. So skip the Avalon (unless if you get a very good deal to a certified pre-owned one), and the TL. :)

-> The Azera SE is a decent buy though.

Tophaticent-> Is certified pre-owned ok?
 
The Passat, which comes with a pretty big list of standard features, will run a little more than $25K with the six-speed automatic. I don't think they have a hands-free system available on their cars, however, but I'm uncertain of how much of a deal-breaker that is. But, the 2.0TFSI is a great engine, but it requires premium, and I'm uncertain what the long-term reliability will be by comparison to say the 1.8T, which was spotty to say the least.
 
Toronado
With incentives you could get a 2nd teir Azera. The Avalon and TL are way out there though. :odd:
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I'd go used on that **** all day long. You can definitely pick them up for under $25k used. As for grandparents with a TL, especially a (pictured) Type-S... that's a different story.
 
M5Power
I'd go used on that **** all day long. You can definitely pick them up for under $25k used. As for grandparents with a TL, especially a (pictured) Type-S... that's a different story.
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I would agree, but I'm not sure if the thread starter meant new car in a literal fashon.
 
Hey :) Im british sooo :D a jaguar X-type or a S-type.

You want to go used and from A jag dealer with the extra warenty

I found a 2004 Jaguar S-TYPE 3.0L V6 - $23,900

With 39,567 on the clock.
 
Hey i just had a look on pontiac site.

Pontiac Grand Prix - 23,995

Thats in ivory white, with sunroof (extra)

Will have lots of rear leg room and has a

36,000 miles/3 year warenty
5 years warenty/100,000 miles.





Hear are two:
2005 Volvo S80 2.5T . 2004 S80 2.5T

Massive legroom in the back and will go on for years.


New subaru Legacy.

Its brand new and base model. White and have one of the best cars for price range.


Top of the range Kia Optima My family have drove them for the last 5 years. Cheep and cheer ful driving with the all important WHITE :)


BMW 530I Lovly car and its German so will last for ages.

I know every one thinks grandparents or old people drive them but hear is a lovly example of a 2004Cadillac Devill and a 2005 Deville Lots of room in back. you could fit my grandad in the back of that.

The german Audi A4 White and only $22,000


Top of range Toyota Matrix. Small engin so good on fuel. Its a Mini-MPV (mini van)

Hey two Vw passat's:
2003 Volkswagen Passat Wagon W8 4MOTION
2003 Volkswagen Passat Sedan GLX 4MOTION

I know the Wagon is silver but still looks nice. German and reliable.
 
I dunno...do they really want British Reliablility?

I was gonna endorse a Buick, but the Taurus is sounding like a strong deal, and I might not exclude the Mercury Sable from the list, either, if they don't like the "Bold" look of Ford.

Oh, KC, Might not wanna Double post. We have "Edit" Buttons.
 
Excuse me british reliability......... Lol we build cars to top quility. Ever heard of bently. Ill try not double post. found a few more cars.

KC
 
No offense Killer, but British reliability is and always has been a joke here in America. It isn't that your cars are bad, as they are all quite nice and I enjoy them throughly, but simply put they just don't hold up... Particularly the older models. Sure, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are different creatures compared to what they were ten years ago, but you can thank the Germans for that. Same goes with MG/Rover, but the Chinese are changing that as well.

The only "British" brand that still conforms to the old issues is TVR, and they're half as British as they used to be (unfortunate, yes).

Does that mean I wouldn't buy a Jaguar or an Aston Martin? Hell no, they are two of my favorite brands in the world, no matter how good or bad their cars may be. You buy them because they're British, not as sedate as the Germans, not as outrageous as the Italians, and certainly a fair bit more sophisticated than the Americans.

...But, I'd still avoid the Jaguar X-Type and S-Type like the plague. My uncle has an S-Type, and it hasn't faired well up here in Michigan. Granted, he works for Ford, so everything is free (pretty much), but that nevertheless is an excuse for shoddy build quality.
 
Killer Cobra
Excuse me british reliability......... Lol we build cars to top quility. Ever heard of bently. Ill try not double post. found a few more cars.

KC
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Please, Please, tell me you are kidding.



Also, Most of the other cars you listed aren't really "reliable" or even "fairly reliable".




They haven't bought the car yet, and I'll try to open them to any choice available.
 
uh, this might have changed a lot but 4 years ago when my mother, brother and I went out looking for a new car we test drove a prius and with my mom in front (she is 5'9") and me in the back (5'3" ATT) i could practically lay down with my knees bent facing the front seat. though that was 4 years ago and may have changed. that and i'ts 32 grand so idk.
 
Yeah, this never happened because my grandma hasn't sold a house in a long time. So for right now she'll be driving her tired 97 Camry. Also, she just wanted a normal sedan.
 
BayConRong
uh, this might have changed a lot but 4 years ago when my mother, brother and I went out looking for a new car we test drove a prius and with my mom in front (she is 5'9") and me in the back (5'3" ATT) i could practically lay down with my knees bent facing the front seat. though that was 4 years ago and may have changed. that and i'ts 32 grand so idk.
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You forgot the biggest problem: Its a Prius.
 

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