wifes car is totaled, need ideas for replacement

My wife was rear ended in her scion xA this morning. The car is totaled so I will need to find something pretty quick. We are both pretty shook up right now, I'm not really having any luck thinking of what else to get so I could use some ideas. She loved the xA because it fit her well (she is fairly short, prefers taller seating for visibility) also because it was simple and rock solid reliable. Other than consumables I've never had to touch it. However it is a fairly bad highway vehicle, high wind would blow it around to the point it was sometimes hard to control.

So in a new (used) car we are looking for something with a tallish seating position, reliable, also something larger than the xA (looking at having kids soon, xA is way too small for all the kid stuff). It must be safe, also thinking AWD would be a huge plus (we get lots of snow/ice). Budget is $10k max. Wife does not want a large SUV (tahoe, expedition,etc).

I know subaru is the default answer here but the cars in our price range are going to be NA EJ 2.5's in the 100k mi range. In our family there are 3 of them and every single one has had head gasket problems and I really have no desire to deal with that nonsense.

So what else am I left with?

CRV? high resale, probably only going to find one that has high miles or is beat for $10k

Rav4? same as the CRV plus they are just.. blah

Liberty diesel? don't know much about them but I imagine they could be unreliable?

Volvo xc70 or xc90? I like the idea of these but are they reliable?

Matrix/vibe? kinda blah, IDK

ford escape/mazda tribute/mercury whatever? I don't know anything about these.

RDX? maybe? don't know what condition I would get for 10k

Kia something? coworker has a sorento that has been nothing but garbage, thats all I know.

Whatever we end up with I plan on keeping it for a long time so it really needs to be reliable. I don't care about resale value.

Throw some ideas out there because I'm not thinking clearly.

Miata.

BAM! First answer!

....but, seriously: Rental.

You said it yourself, you're not thinking clearly. Bite the bullet on the rental for a week( better yet make insurance pay for it) to clear your heads and do some shopping. Who know, you might be able to rent something she likes and would buy.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: ....but, seriously: Rental. You said it yourself, you're not thinking clearly. Bite the bullet on the rental for a week( better yet make insurance pay for it) to clear your heads and do some shopping. Who know, you might be able to rent something she likes and would buy.

Yeah we are picking one up tomorrow. Insurance is paying.

Suzuki sx4 if you don't care about resale and will drive it into the ground. My mom had one and it wasn't too bad to drive.

nepa03focus wrote: Suzuki sx4 if you don't care about resale and will drive it into the ground. My mom had one and it wasn't too bad to drive.

I'm a mobile tool dealer (Shameless Plug) and I've had 3 customers comment on lack of parts availability for fairly new Suzuki cars. I liked the specs on the SX4, but I'd be worried about keeping it on the road.

Cue the Mazda5 Mafia..

bluej wrote: Cue the Mazda5 Mafia..

a buddy has one. he likes it

bluej wrote: Cue the Mazda5 Mafia..

I was thinking about this. What am I looking at for 10k? Any inherent issues with them? I love the utility factor

Your in Lincoln Nebraska, so something with a little bit of ground clearance and reliable...Subaru Forester if she wants a cute ute, Legacy/Outback if she doesn't. Impreza/Outback sport for a cool little something

My Mazda5 didn't survive Louisiana roads, not sure how they would do in snow. If I was back in TN I would probably still have it.

Wait this is the wifes car. Pick out what ever you like from our suggestions and go get what ever it is she wants.

The two won't necessarily be the same.

Flight Service wrote: Your in Lincoln Nebraska, so something with a little bit of ground clearance and reliable...Subaru Forester if she wants a cute ute, Legacy/Outback if she doesn't. Impreza/Outback sport for a cool little something My Mazda5 didn't survive Louisiana roads, not sure how they would do in snow. If I was back in TN I would probably still have it.

If it's anything like Minneapolis- he'll do fine. A 5 is a big 3, and I've owned Mazda3's and their kin for the better part of a decade at this point.

Coming from the xA, I think the Matrix/Vibe, particularly the AWD version, would be a good option. Enough bigger to be big enough, but not so much as to have to adjust to a whole new level of fuel consumption. And by comparison it may not be a speed demon but it should be more sporty and not less.

2nd generation Prius. You sit surprisingly high. It is bigger than an Xa. 47 MPG

Jeep Patriot fits your needs. I just went through this with another GRMer who was shopping. Way better than you may think they are, just avoid any with a sunroof and have the ball joints checked. Otherwise, they are easily comparable to the Forester but substantially less expensive.

If a guy who never bought domestic before could see the benefits of owning one, you know they can't be that bad.

My wife drives a 2012 Kia Soul+

Fantastic little boxy wagony type thing. Good on gas, and the 2012 and newer get 6spds in both auto and manual trim.

Kia Soul
Scion xB or xD

nepa03focus wrote: Suzuki sx4 if you don't care about resale and will drive it into the ground. My mom had one and it wasn't too bad to drive.

D'oh beaten...was gonna say the same thing.

zx5 focus with the 2.3L duratec and a set of snow tires. save the extra 5-6K for when you want something much bigger once the kids have their own crap to haul to practices, friends houses etc.

Given your criteria, I'm partial to a Jetta. Good aftermarket following, roomy for tallish people, comfy for trips with kiddies, 200,000 miles is not out of the question.

Put snows all the way around and you can go places some 4WD goes. Bigger than an xA and had a bunch of air bags.

http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/4175432370.html

If going VW it's hard to argue against a well maintained TDI (either golf or jetta wagon)

I'm a ginger and I burn easily... that's why I can't buy a VW. The orange glow of the CEL would keep my face sunburned.

My vote would be for a Soul or even an older Elantra Touring/Kia Rondo.

As for your co-workers Sorento:

Garbage =

Not garbage =

914Driver wrote: Good aftermarket following, roomy for tallish people, comfy for trips with kiddies, 200,000 miles is not out of the question as long as you don't mind keeping your wallet empty and like driving rental cars

FTFY

My wife has owned the last two generations of Honda CRV's (2007 and 2013) and they have served her as well as our family really well. The AWD has been nice here in the Northeast and these cars have a ton of interior volume for such a relatively small exterior foot print (read- my wife can park this without hitting other nearby obstacles). The rear doors open up further than most which has been a big help with getting our new born into his car seat. Great reliability, no repair issues outside of the usual routine maintenance, and excellent resale value.

My only complaint about the CRV is how numb the driving experience is. The steering offers no feedback whatsoever however, this highly insulated and un-engaging driving experience is perfect for my wife while at the same time makes for a comfortable and relaxing ride on long road trips. I personally would be bored to tears daily driving a CRV. I tried steering my wife towards the Mazda5, especially after having a great ownership experience with my Mazda3 however she couldn't get past the minivan stigma.

Klayfish wrote:

914Driver wrote: Good aftermarket following, roomy for tallish people, comfy for trips with kiddies, 200,000 miles is not out of the question as long as you don't mind keeping your wallet empty and like driving rental cars

FTFY

YMMV, but this is my second one; no issues.