My sister needs to trade up her FWD Impala. It is getting a little long in the tooth with 186k on it.
Budget is $15k or so (a wee bit flexible). She and her husband are NOT wrenching type people. They are the kind of folks who replace the oil every 5k if they remember, then take it to the shop when it makes a horrid noise only to find out they have ground the outer surface off the brake rotor down to the vanes because the last time they checked the brake pads was NEVER.
A couple true stories: They drove a pickup towing a 30' travel trailer for possibly 3 years without ever noticing that the transmission was stuck in 3rd because it was in limp mode. I noticed it took them a long time to get moving and didn't sound right. Of course, the dash was saying "trans range restricted" and my BIL said, "yeah, it has said that for a couple years now."
True story: they bought a Ford Freestar with an oil leak and ignored the low oil light long enough that the engine seized.
Another true one: My nephew called me and asked why the Impala wasn't steering right. It felt different to him. I directed him to check the fluid, how to check the tie rod ends, look for tread wear that indicated an alignment issue. I finally drove down to look for myself and discovered that the front right tire was at 12 psi.
This is what we're dealing with. I love my sister's family with all my heart, but their level of vehicular awareness is somewhere between dunce and non-existent.
Needs:
- Family of four; two boys age 18 and 15, so one is driving and the other will be soon. Needs to seat 5+ (their family plus maybe a friend or two)
- Think also that this may become the eldest kid's college car next year. Maybe not give it to him to take to college, but possibly the chariot that moves him into college.
- Daddy is a music performer with a keyboard, sax, PA system, etc, so CUV, SUV, wagon... something they can use for gigs, pack all their stuff to go to the airport, make road trips, etc. They don't pack light.
- Performance is not something they care about, MPG is somewhat of a concern
- FWD/AWD. The AWD is not a necessity, but it could be nice for the two young drivers and PA winters.
- They tend to buy a car and drive it until it is completely dead (which for them isn't very long)
- Our dad is financing the purchase for them and he has a small influence, but I'm proud of him for stepping out of his 'murican-only stance. He suggested a Suby Forester. Proud moment. Having said that, a nod to something that has a bit more American money tied up in it would get bonus points but don't let that sway your input. If your unanimous answer is Yugo, I could convince him that Yugoslavia is like the South Carolina of Eastern Europe and he'd be ok.
Suggestions?
Aren’t Toyota’s basically made in America? I bet you can fit a bunch in a Camry trunk.
Toyota is about as American as it gets anymore. But for a grown family and hauling ability I’d go with a rav4. My sister has one, they don’t pack light. And while her children are younger than 15 they are both in car seats and require bags of feed, spare clothes, diapers, and an arsenal of toys for any and every trip. Available as hybrid if you’re after mileage. Available AWD. Reliable as gravity.
...You’d almost think I worked for Toyota.
Grand Caravan/Town & Country
WIth the need to carry 5 and some cargo, I'd be looking for a van type thing. I'd suggest the last of the Mazda5, I forget what year it was but it wasn't that long ago.
mtn
MegaDork
3/22/19 8:06 a.m.
You want something that can truck on with 0 maintenance. With that in mind, a C-Max plug in hybrid if it has enough cargo space. The motor should need 0 maintenance, in theory.
Otherwise Town and Country/Grand Caravan.
I’d second Camry. Maybe a used Prius V.
RAV4 may not be a bad idea, but weren’t there certain years known for oil consumption? Best to check and avoid that year range.
Optima/Sonata are made in Alabama now, the Sorento/Sante Fe in Georgia. Both will offer everything they are looking for. The newer Optima/Sonata have huge trunk space for a midsize. At least 4 on the DHS (Dead Hooker Scale)
Since the main thing the car needs to do is survive neglect, I'd go for something with the most primitive lump of cast iron under the hood you can find, which on a relatively new FWD car or minivan is probably going to mean some flavor of GM pushrod V6. Maybe a Chevy Uplander or one of the other examples of the last of GM's "true" minivans.
My knee jerk thought was Camry as well, but they don't want a trunk. Derek's musical equipment for his gigs doesn't fit in the Impala trunk and it's also a bit of a pain loading and unloading heavy stuff. SUV, CUV, or wagon would be best.
Did the Camry come as a wagon recently?
AngryCorvair said:
bus pass
Haaa.... if you saw where they lived you would understand my laughing. I think the nearest bus stop is probably 10 miles away. They would have better luck setting up a network of cows with saddles for public transportation.
No Camry wagon recently. The Camry wagon is sort of the Highlander or Rav4 (both great choices.) Certainly the Toyota Avalon wagon is the Venza.
The answer of Prius V is pretty good. Does all but has no thrid row. I does have an amazingly room back seat.
I see minivan being the real answer here.
MadScientistMatt said:
Since the main thing the car needs to do is survive neglect, I'd go for something with the most primitive lump of cast iron under the hood you can find, which on a relatively new FWD car or minivan is probably going to mean some flavor of GM pushrod V6. Maybe a Chevy Uplander or one of the other examples of the last of GM's "true" minivans.
I would agree, but their 6.0L in the K1500HD, 3.8L in the impala, and whatever is in the Ford Freestar have all suffered under their punishment. I'm thinking a sewing machine like a Camry would have fewer failures for them to ignore.
mtn
MegaDork
3/22/19 9:36 a.m.
Curtis said:
My knee jerk thought was Camry as well, but they don't want a trunk. Derek's musical equipment for his gigs doesn't fit in the Impala trunk and it's also a bit of a pain loading and unloading heavy stuff. SUV, CUV, or wagon would be best.
Did the Camry come as a wagon recently?
The Sienna, Venza, Highlander, and RX are all oddly shaped Camrys.
Camry trunks are huge. Look at a $15K one (newer), but my 98 had the back seats fold down and you could put some seriously large stuff in there. Even without the seats folded down, the trunk is much larger than my LS400.
On the topic of Hybrids/plug-ins: Prius crossed my mind. Is there something equally bulletproof that is a tad larger? I'll poke around a V and see if they are big enough, but the Prius sedan my boss drives suggests that the wagon version might not be enough.
He could also bring his musical instrument when car shopping at the dealer. My friend brings his Glock when he car shops. He has to see if it will fit in the car. If the Glock won't fit, he doesn't want the car. Sales guys kinda look funny when he takes it out and tries it in the console, etc.
Wow I thought the Freestar was the only Ford ever built that couldn't die no matter how hard you try.
Tell them to get an E55 AMG and see how tough they really are 
Dr. Hess said:
He could also bring his musical instrument when car shopping at the dealer. My friend brings his Glock when he car shops. He has to see if it will fit in the car. If the Glock won't fit, he doesn't want the car. Sales guys kinda look funny when he takes it out and tries it in the console, etc.
Is he too fat to sit in a car while the glock is being carried IWB?
Rav4, Sienna or CRV.
It also sounds like a bit of effort to do maintenance will resolve 90% of this conundrum, but I'm sure you've already talked to them about that.
