Vehicle help please

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is going to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

i'm looking through the consumer report catalog, seems like its mostly new cars, but there are a few spots that talk about older cars.

it did recommend this websight: http://www.bankrate.com/ for comparing loans. doesn't give much for alaska, but might for everywhere else.

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Originally Posted by chickwhorips

i'm looking through the consumer report catalog, seems like its mostly new cars, but there are a few spots that talk about older cars.

it did recommend this websight: http://www.bankrate.com/ for comparing loans. doesn't give much for alaska, but might for everywhere else.

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Good luck in actually finding the rates offered on bankrate.com. One time I saw a great rate at a friend's bank (not my own). Called him with a serious inquiry...and he didn't know where the rate came from. It wasn't "bait and switch" it was simply some clerk who answer an inquiry but didn't know what they were talking about.... UGH!!!!

Also, I'm looking at the April '07 issue of Consumer Reports. It has an issue on "Used Cars to Avoid". I'm looking at the magazine...not one of their specialty publications.

I'm an online Consumer Reports subscriber. Here's their list of best used cars:
Acura Integra
Acura MDX
Acura RL
Acura RSX
(except ‘06)
Acura TL
Acura TSX
Buick Regal
Chevrolet Prizm
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda CR-V
Honda Element
Honda Odyssey
Honda Pilot
Honda Prelude
Honda S2000
Infiniti FX
Infiniti G20
Infiniti G35
Infiniti I30, I35
Infiniti QX4
Lexus ES
Lexus GS
Lexus GX
Lexus IS
Lexus LS
Lexus RX
Lexus SC
Lincoln Town Car
Mazda Millenia
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Mazda Protegé
Mazda3
Nissan Altima
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Pathfinder
Pontiac Vibe
Scion xB
Subaru Forester
Subaru Impreza
Subaru Impreza WRX
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry Solara
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Echo
Toyota Highlander
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Matrix
Toyota Prius
Toyota RAV4
Toyota Sequoia
Toyota Sienna
Toyota Tundra

And Worst Used Cars:
BMW 7 Series
BMW X5 (V8)
Chevrolet Astro
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Express
Chevrolet S-10 (4WD)
Chevrolet Venture
Chevrolet Uplander
Chrysler
Town & Country (AWD)
Dodge
Grand Caravan (AWD)
GMC Jimmy
GMC Sonoma (4WD)
GMC Safari
GMC Savana
Infiniti QX56
Jaguar S-Type
Jaguar X-Type
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sedona
(except ‘06)
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover LR3
Lincoln Aviator
Lincoln Navigator
Mercedes-Benz CLK
Mercedes-Benz
M-Class (V8)
Mercedes-Benz
S-Class (V8)
Mercedes-Benz SL
Nissan Armada
Nissan Titan
Oldsmobile Bravada
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Oldsmobile Silhouette
Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac Trans Sport
Pontiac Montana
Pontiac Montana SV6
Volkswagen Cabrio
Volkswagen Jetta
(turbo, gas)
Volkswagen Jetta (V6)
Volkswagen
New Beetle (4-cyl.)
Volkswagen Touareg
Volvo XC90 (6-cyl.)

snap are those the 2007 or used?

i made copies of the pages in the magazine that had the best new and used. they sorted them by price which was very nice.

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Originally Posted by chickwhorips

snap are those the 2007 or used?

i made copies of the pages in the magazine that had the best new and used. they sorted them by price which was very nice.

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I also subscribe on-line. It's used models that are proven dependable over many model years. To quote them:

"These models, listed alphabetically, have performed well in Consumer Reports road tests and have had several years of better-than-average reliability according to our survey respondents."

The longer a model has been around without major design overhauls, the more likely it is to be very reliable. For instance, Mercedes has frequent design changes and as a result, they have dependability problems. BUT, Sienna mini-van (like Silver's) has had cosmetic changes, but not major mechanical redesigns...therefore, it's dependable. Avoid the first model year after a redesign...the bugs may not be 'ironed out'.

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Originally Posted by SheFly

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is going to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

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Shefly....that's what I have....a toyota sienna. I love/hate it. I love how it does everything that I need it to do, but hate the image it has. But practicality wins, and my precious Madone goes inside!!!!

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

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Originally Posted by emily_in_nc

Agreed. I drove a Forester for four years, and my DH always complained about how tiny it was on the long trips we take. With suitcases and a dog kennel, it was packed. If we took bikes in it, we had to stack them on their sides and there was no room for luggage or dogs then. The Element is much, much roomier, and bikes go in upright!

Plus, my Forester needed a new transmission after four years, and I was plagued by a "check engine" light that just couldn't be fixed for any length of time. I put a lot of miles on that car, but that just didn't seem right. The dealership where I live were jerks too, so I've sworn off Subies, even though I like the company's values.
Emily

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My husband and I both have Subarus of roughly the same age and mileage, which we love as cars, and it's how we met so I feel we "should" always have a Subaru. Mine is a WRX wagon which I got when they first came to the US. Great to drive, and Subaru's AWD + snowtires combo is rock solid in winter (not that we had much of one this year). Anyway, long story short, I just got an Element a few months ago, and I love it too. The Subaru wagon simply cannot carry bikes + gear, kayaks + gear, camping gear and 2 people, even though this to me does not sound like that a crazy load. I disliked being forced to choose between biking or kayaking when we'd set out someplace. Even without two people's stuff, I had to arrange my bike into the interior since we have the kayak racks on it.

After looking at current Subaru offerings, the Forester's never caught my eye, and the Outback seemed too... I dunno, plushy and not giving us much more cargo space for what we wanted. I did go to test drive the new Outback. Add some frustrating interactions with dealer service departments (though nothing major has broken on the car), and I started looking at other vehicles.

The Element really became my vehicle of interest because of it's flexible and large interior. I can put the bikes, upright with NO changes to the wheels inside it. I can put the kayaks on top. And we'll still have room to throw camping gear and whatever else in there, with just some seat changes. I'm most undecided about if I'll remove one or both of the seats for the summer, but we'll see. It also gets pretty good MPG for a SUV/boxy type car, no worse than my Subaru, and takes regular gas (WRX is premium fuel due to the turbo). It has AWD and I took it on a ski trip two weeks ago where it handled quite well in fresh snow roads (though I will want to get snow/summer tires once the stock ones are done). [I got mine preowned which is nice because I got a longer warranty this way.]

I'll be able to wipe out the dirt we will get in it with just some cleaning cloths. Sounds about perfect to me and I can't wait to have it fully loaded up. I named it Bento. :D

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Originally Posted by tygab

My husband and I both have Subarus of roughly the same age and mileage, which we love as cars, and it's how we met so I feel we "should" always have a Subaru.

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Interesting statistic: Subaru is the best selling car in America...kinda. Here's why: Subaru is not a "full line". They only have a few models targeting the customer niche they serve well, so their success in that niche doesn't get the notoriety it deserves since all the other manufacturers make so many more units. This is also why a Subaru dealership will also represent other brands as well.

Hope that's your fill of esoteric knowledge for the day!

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The Element really became my vehicle of interest because of it's flexible and large interior. I can put the bikes, upright with NO changes to the wheels inside it. I can put the kayaks on top. And we'll still have room to throw camping gear and whatever else in there, with just some seat changes.

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I still haven't put a hitch on mine, yet, but when I do, likely the bikes will go on the bike rack on the hitch, kayaks on top, and camping gear inside when we go camping. It doesn't rain much in the hot summer time around here, so bikes outside won't be much of an issue. It's those cross country bike trips (Oregon in 4 weeks, woohoo!) that need the bikes inside.

You can even build a PVC frame for a full-sized air mattress, which can fit in the back (seats out), and then sleep inside! I think directions are on the elementownersclub site.

Karen

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Originally Posted by silver

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

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I have a Honda Odysee 2004 model. I hate the "big" car feel, but like it for several reasons. We fold down the third row bench seat and remove one of the mid row bucket seats. My bike is rather small (650cc wheels) and rolls in very nicely. My husbands Trek is a comfort bike and is very tall with high handlebars. His fits in too, but we do have to eek it in because of the high handlbars, but once in, it stands up. We have bungeed cord a freestanding bikestand where the bucket seat was and we can set our front wheels in and the bikes don't fall over each other. We leased this vehicle. When it is time to look at another vehicle, part of me wants a more economical, small car because it is just DH and me, but the convenience of being able to keep my bike inside the car is too great. I don't like dealing with car racks. At 4'10", everything is a challenge to reach. I also like the van because I sit higher....

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Originally Posted by silver

Shefly....that's what I have....a toyota sienna. I love/hate it. I love how it does everything that I need it to do, but hate the image it has. But practicality wins, and my precious Madone goes inside!!!!

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

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The verdict from DH yesterday was positive - the TT tandem (which is longer than our regular road tandem) will go into the back of the van WITHOUT removing the front wheel (although he did have to turn the bars). I am heading to the dealer to write a big check later today.

The rear seats in the new model fold down, which is KEY for us. They do fold flat to the rest of the floor, so you don't take up any vertical room when they are down. Apparently the space that they fit into is where the spare tire used to sit - they have moved the tire UNDER the van to provide the extra space inside...

SheFly

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Originally Posted by snapdragen

I'm an online Consumer Reports subscriber. Here's their list of best used cars:
Acura Integra
.......
And Worst Used Cars:
.......
Volkswagen Cabrio
Volkswagen Jetta
(turbo, gas)
Volkswagen Jetta (V6)
Volkswagen
New Beetle (4-cyl.)
Volkswagen Touareg
Volvo XC90 (6-cyl.)

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Dang, and I was really looking at VW bio-diesel, Rabbit or Jetta and there they it is at the bottom of the bottom of the list, hmmmm

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Originally Posted by SheFly

The verdict from DH yesterday was positive - the TT tandem (which is longer than our regular road tandem) will go into the back of the van WITHOUT removing the front wheel (although he did have to turn the bars). I am heading to the dealer to write a big check later today.

The rear seats in the new model fold down, which is KEY for us. They do fold flat to the rest of the floor, so you don't take up any vertical room when they are down. Apparently the space that they fit into is where the spare tire used to sit - they have moved the tire UNDER the van to provide the extra space inside...

SheFly

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OH! pictures!! with the bike in of course! :)

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Originally Posted by tygab

The Element really became my vehicle of interest because of it's flexible and large interior. I can put the bikes, upright with NO changes to the wheels inside it. I can put the kayaks on top. And we'll still have room to throw camping gear and whatever else in there, with just some seat changes.

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Yep, that's us! We have the back seats out pretty much permanently so bikes can go inside upright, with plenty of room around them for luggage and gear, kayaks on top, and we're good to go. You also brought up a good point about the wipeable interior - I love it. I had bike grease stains on the carpet in my Forester's rear section.

I believe the Element also comes in a hybrid model now (confirmation, anyone?) I bought mine in '04 before that was an option. I would definitely go for it now if I were in the market, but I'll drive this one til it falls apart. :)

Emily