$30,000 for an SUV/wagon - thoughts?

[Nataku]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

Guys, thanks again for the additional comments/suggestions.

We test drove an Infiniti EX35, and while it was fantastic in every respect, it was ultimately doomed by the small backseat, lack of legroom, and a trunk that was seemingly smaller than our Civic and about the same as our 330i. :confused Sucks, because I really enjoyed the car and the color combination and price were on the nose. Oh well.


About to head to work so I didn't get a chance to read everything in depth, so it may have been covered already. Is there any reason you left out the Infiniti FX?

My wife just bought an CPO FX35 and it's amazing. It's not huge but has adequate cargo room and lots of back-seat room. We took a road trip to Cincinnati this past spring with 4 adults in the car and everyone was very comfortable. The back seats recline too, which is nice.

 

[akatsuki]

Just buy a used G500.

 

[Benzito]

Don't know if you've excluded US marques, but have you seen the new Explorer? More of a traditional SUV in size / seating. I don't know what they are going for, nor when they will be released, and if that fits your time frame. They look nice from the photos.

Based on what you've described, I think you are right that the RDX is probably too small. It is like a four-seater car in an SUV body, but it doesn't really give you that much more room. And would you really go off-road in an Acura?

 

[Mr. Moo]

Guys, thanks for keeping this thread moving.

Nataku - I don't like the older body FX35's nearly as much as the new ones, and the new ones are in the mid 30's without much wiggle room.

Benzito, not really looking at American cars, but not discounting them completely. I had a '91 Explorer as a first car, and it was fine. My wife is likely more against US makers than I am.

Interestingly, we are going to be looking at an '06 Mercedes R500 (the sort of strange wagon/minivan hybrid) on Saturday morning. It is covered by a bumper to bumper warranty until 2014, so that is comforting. It appears to fit our needs to a tee... spacious, luxe cabin, good power, AWD, room to grow, etc. We'll see - never even been in one.

 

[Mr. Moo]

Originally Posted by blofeld

Maybe go check something like this out
There is literally nothing even close to that price around me.

Edit: that's in the Bay Area... lulz. OK, will put it on the list - thanks!

 

[NorCal]

My 2 cents as someone with the exact same needs as you. Go with the Forester or a tricked out Outback. The LL. Bean has leather and a v6 and you can always tear of the branding.
That or Toyota, Rav4 or 4 Runner.

Be warned although these are all suv/wagons they don't have nearly as much room as you might think. Throw a kid or two in there, maybe a dog and suddenly you are hard pressed to fit everything you need for a long weekend. THey only really fit two in the back and the wagon/hatchback area is smaller than it looks in all of these. We are looking at a four door truck to replace the suv. Maybe a Frontier or Tacoma but more likely a Tundra. You will use the extra room and it's nice having a truck bed.

 

[Nataku]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

Interestingly, we are going to be looking at an '06 Mercedes R500 (the sort of strange wagon/minivan hybrid) on Saturday morning. It is covered by a bumper to bumper warranty until 2014, so that is comforting. It appears to fit our needs to a tee... spacious, luxe cabin, good power, AWD, room to grow, etc. We'll see - never even been in one.

This was also on our list when we were looking for a car for my wife. I've seen them driving around and think they're pretty cool looking. She wasn't a big fan, though. Let me know what you think.

 

[Mblova]

Originally Posted by akatsuki

Just buy a used G500.

Yes.

 

[Cary Grant]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

Thank you all for your comments and ideas!

No minivans, please. Not quite there yet.

I looked at some more cars today and found that the Infiniti EX35, lightly used 2008 model, is also a contender. It has a million gadgets and almost 300hp/AWD, and seems like a good choice. The downside is legroom in the back (not a big issue in the foreseeable future) and smaller cargo hold (bigger issue). Sadly, the one I was interested in is a few $$ too much and the dealer won't back down (as of yet).

The Subie is definitely still high on the list. I was told by a local dealer that if we order one (instead of buy one off the lot), the price would go down to $29,700 with the $3,000 navigation package included. The lowest price I have seen on the lot is about $31,000 for a similarly equipped car, so that's a good savings. Does anyone know why the car would be cheaper if I ordered it instead of buying it off the lot? Doesn't make sense...

Moo- a friend had an EX35 for about 10 mo's and got rid of it. Inifinit has gotten very good at making sure the interior space is much smaller than it could be. They have a two year old and the infiniti didn't allow them enough space for all their gear for weekend road trips (especially the stroller).

There are a number of A4 Avants in the bay area around your price FWIW

http://cars.audiusa.com/next_gen/cpo

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Moo-

Sent You a PM, but we just got out of our Volvo s60, which we loved, and moved into a Honda CRV. Got a great deal and the car is perfect for what we need. I would stay away from buying used and lease. Our Volvo interior was WRECKED by our two kids...stains in the leather, car seats in the back, and if your buying to resell at some point, that would be a real pain. No matter how careful you intend to be pre-kids, its won't happen once they arrive. Honda is doing a great promo now (at least here they are) for 0 down with low lease payments. May even be able to swing a Pilot for even more room, but get killed on gas mileage. For us the CRV was perfect, not too big to park in Brooklyn, but so much more space.

good luck man.

 

[Cary Grant]

I'll second Ranger's advocacy of Hinda- we've owned several (iwfe currently has an Element, which, by the way, is VERY flexible, easy to clean little bugger and can be had new for much less than 30k. Take out or fold up the back seats and you can put a small house in the back.

 

[impolyt_one]

Wouldn't recommend an A4 Avant to Moo in the B6/B7 versions (which is what 30K buys), because of two things, (and I have owned one before) :
-It could be a 2009 but the platform is ancient, dates back to 2001. Reliability isn't stellar, either.
-It's ******* small inside; with the front seats cranked back for a 6' tall person, there's hardly anything resembling legroom in the backseat. It's a 4 seat car for fairly modestly sized people, and definitely not a road trip car if you have to sit in the back. The front seats also tend to be kinda narrow. I find the ergonomics of Audis to be infuriating compared to BMWs, which you come to fall in love with (as Moo seems to have done) and the handling and driving dynamics of Audis pale in comparison to BMWs. Unfortunate but true.

 

[impolyt_one]

Hate the Outback though, the Rubbermaid cladding on those and the Volvo XC70 are just silly looking. Rather than those, I'd rather have a 2008 Legacy 2.5GT wagon (with the WRX engine) loaded up the hilt (I think you can get bi-xenon and stuff like that on this car). It'd have a bit of pep and is fairly nice for a Japanese car; that generation won car of the year in Japan a couple times in a row. Should be rock solid reliable.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

Looks nice, but when it comes to kids, the more room the better, that just looks like a pain ********** to load a kid in a car seat in...back doesn't look all that big either...think he'll be better served with the headroom in an SUV rather than that of a wagon.

 

[impolyt_one]

really no smaller or less functional than the Outback he likes though, since it's the same car with different dressup packages. I haven't been in one but I'd imagine the size is between that of something like a 3 and 5 series BMW or an A4 and an A6.