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!!!!!

[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!