car advice

[aly]

We need to get a new (used car). The Volvo station wagon is now on her last leg and we need to figure out what to get. We need to be able to transport our bikes and/or two German Shepherds. We do dog rescue, so we need room for cages, puppies, etc. I'm currently having to commute over 50 miles to work (hopefully this will be over soon and I'll be able to ride my bike to work again) so we need decent MPG. I would like a car that doesn't cost a fortune to fix. We love the Volvo, but it seems to need another pricey repair every week. Maybe it's just the one we have?

So, all this and we need to spend less that $9,000. Anyone have any great suggestions? Thanks!!

[melissam]

aly,

My first thought was a Honda Element. Great for hauling dogs, bikes, and a lot of other things.

However:
- I don't know what kind of gas mileage they get. I'm going to guess low 20's -- not sure if you consider that decent gas mileage. There's a lot of Honda Element drivers on this forum who can tell you what kind of mileage they get.
- I don't know what they're going for in the used car market.

Happy shopping!

- Melissa

[KnottedYet]

I've known a couple folks with similar hauling needs who really liked their older Honda Odyssey minivans.

[tulip]

SUBARU PEOPLE....where are you??

[KnottedYet]

I have had an '86 Subaru, '96 Subaru, and now an '05 Subaru.
Love my Subies, but I'd never manage to transport 2 dogs and 2 bikes or dog crates inside any of my wagons. Not in one trip, anyway! I got my large dog crate in my Legacy only by taking it apart.

Hondas have always been good to me, too.

[HillSlugger]

I love my Subaru outback but it's a bother to put a bike inside and its tailgate is poorly designed for a trunk rack. A Forester might be better, but I have no first-hand experience.

[FlyingScot]

Yeah Foresters!!!!!!!! I have an O8 (previously had an 01) manual transmission. MPG highway about 27-28. Man can this car haul gear. You should be able to get a used one in your price range and they run forever. One caveat if it's a 98-01 make sure the headgaskets are okay as this was a major but fixable problem in these cars. Otherwise they are usually trouble free. check out www.subaruforester.org for more info. Feel the Subie Love!!!!!:D

[Tuckervill]

If I had to drive 50 miles every day for work, I wouldn't drive my Element. 23 MPG. (I have a Civic at my disposal, though.)

For all that other stuff, I'd definitely get an Element, though. I've rescued more than a few dogs around town and didn't worry a bit about carsickness or anything like that, because of the floor in E not being carpet. That was a definite drawback to the Forester.

However, finding an Element used at a price to justify not getting new was tough when I bought mine in 2006. I ended up getting a new one because they were only $1000 more than the used ones available.

If you do go with an Element, don't bother not getting AWD. The people I know without AWD regret not getting it.

Karen

[Blueberry]

I have an Element and love it. However, the gas mileage is not great - best I've seen is about 21, and it usually gets 19-20. If you have dogs inside, you'll probably need to mount the bikes outside. Roof is very tall (I wouldn't want to try it), which leaves a hitch mount.

Just things to think about...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My husband keeps meticulous mileage records on our 2006 Element.
He says we get about 22mpg normal driving, and up to 26mpg on highway.

[berkeley]

We love our Element too. We average 26 MPH hwy, 23 around town. Perfect for hauling dogs.

I don't think either the Forrester or the Element will have low used car prices, though. The Element is probably too new to have really "older" used cars especially.

[emily_in_nc]

I have a 2004 Honda Element (AWD, automatic) and get about 25 mpg, but most of my driving is on the highway, very little city driving. I had a 2001 Subaru Forester, but the transmission went bad after only 4 years (and, admittedly, close to 100K miles; I have a long commute, and it was our travel car as well), so I traded it in on the much-roomier Element.

If I were buying now, with gas prices what they are, I think I'd look long and hard at hybrids, but since we need a lot of space for hauling boat gear, bikes, dog (and crate), etc., it would have to be a larger one, like a Highlander or Ford Escape; for commuting one of the smaller ones would be great, but I can't afford a car for every purpose (a bike for every purpose is different! ;))

Good luck with your choice!

Emily

[aly]

Thanks! I've been checking out the options. Berekley's right, the element and the Foresters are likely out of our price range. It's unfortunate since I love both of them. I've wanted an element for a long time. However, I just bought a house, so I don't get to splurge on a car. I'm finding that hybrids are to come by and pretty pricey right now- I may go that direction in a couple years once I've rebuilt some sort of savings. BF says no to a minivan. However, checking out the options here somehow led me to the Toyota RAV4 (2001/2002). Anyone with experience?

[Chicken Little]

I have had mini-vans my whole life. Sometimes Honda, sometimes Toyota. They are not cool, they don't go fast, and nobody steals them. They haul everything, including a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Best thing about buying now is that the mini-van market is in the toilet. Get an AWD Honda and forget your troubles!

[HillSlugger]

We have an '06 Rav4. Get high 20's mpg on the highway, low-mid 20's around town. With one seat down I can put my bike in it upright if I remove the front wheel. I'm sure you can fit a few dog crates. The '06 was upsized so I'm not sure what the story would be with an older one.

[singletrackmind]

Or.....another Volvo!
Which version do you have?

[OakLeaf]

Loved my Subarus, but the reason I didn't get another one was the gas mileage :( - about 26 mpg overall for both my '98 Legacy and the '03 Outback. Now, if you live where you need all-wheel drive, they still get better fuel mileage than your other options, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend a 'Ru.

We hauled four dogs in the Legacy - two dogs plus half a houseful of stuff for our semiannual migrations in the Outback - and though we never put bikes on top, we did haul two kayaks on top, so bikes would not be a problem. The tallest dog crates would not fit, though.

[aly]

I don't think we really need AWD, so that's not a big issue. I like the Subarus a lot, but most seem to run slightly more than I want to spend.

We have a 850 T5. It's a 98. We actually really love the car. We just don't love getting it fixed constantly at Volvo prices. I almost bought a v70 XC, but I wasn't sure about the gas mileage. Then someone else bought the one I had my eye on.

[FlyingScot]

I just checked Yahoo autos and there are 161 Foresters available in the range of 7k-9k. Some have incredibly low mileage. The newest one was a 2003. the oldest was a '98. Unfortunately you are kind of stuck in a dilemma. You are pretty much going to have to decide which is more important...great gas mileage or the ability to haul stuff. I think you will find most of the smaller SUV's get around the mid-twenties on gas which really isn't too bad. I would seriously check out consumer reports on the vehicles you are looking at, especially if you are considering one with AWD. Believe me they do not all perform the same. I used to be a Honda girl but I have switched my allegiance especially after my car saved my life when I had to travel in a severe snowstorm to get to work...and I only live in OHIO!!!!

[Becky]

We need to be able to transport our bikes and/or two German Shepherds. We do dog rescue, so we need room for cages, puppies, etc. I'm currently having to commute over 50 miles to work (hopefully this will be over soon and I'll be able to ride my bike to work again) so we need decent MPG.

I guess the recommendation depends a little on the size of the kennel that you need to carry (and what else needs to go in the car).

We're on Suby #4 in our house, having strongly considered a Honda Element before buying an '08 Outback. We've had '92, '96, and '97 Legacy wagons, all of which have gone well over 100K miles, and all of them managed to get mid- to upper 20s in gas mileage in our mix of town and highway driving. The new car has a dash computer that calculates average mileage, and is consistantly reading 24-26 around town and some highway. We can hit 30 mpg on a long trip without the bikes on the roof. The bikes kill the mileage though- 24 on the highway.

As far as cargo goes, a 42" crate (folded) is a tight fit with the back seats up, due to the footprint of the cargo area. The older cars could take the folded crate easily with the seats up, but I never tried to put the crate in unfolded- would have required laying the seats down. Plenty of cargo room otherwise. Dog fits happily on the back seat, although it might be a tight fit for 2.

Good luck on the car hunt!

[mayanorange]

I have 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs and highly suggest a Pontiac Vibe- 08 or earlier, the 09 is smaller. The engine, drivetrain, frame, etc are all Toyota- same as the Matrix. I have an 08 and my parents have 2 now (05 and 08) and between the 3 of us, we all get about 31-38 mpg. When you flip down the back seat, it's all plastic with tie-downs like a pickup- perfect for dog crates and I've seen people rig it up for pickup type bike storage (see the Generation Vibe web forum). Has a factory roof rack, though I use a Thule Clip-On rack on the hatch for my bikes. The great thing is you get Toyota reliability at American car prices. Good luck!