Car buying advice needed

Or the Volkswagen version...

I don't think there is such a vehicle. The closest fit would be a Cadillac Escalade.

If you want the most vehicle for the least money head on down to your Chrysler dealer and look for a new 2009 PT cruiser. Last I checked it has a lifetime power train warranty (2010 models don't), even the base model has all the features 90% of people want, about the only thing it doesn't have is cruise, you have to buy the Limited PT to get that. It's got as much interior room as most of the small SUV's, it's quiet, it has a WONDERFUL ride, I get 23 mpg in my 70% commute, 30% local driving and on a long run on the freeway the other day it was up over

The downside to the Limited is that it has lower profile tires (so it's ride is probably a little firmer) and it costs more. You might get a good deal on a used one since Chrysler products don't hold their value too well, but you won't get the lifetime warranty (It's not transferable).

I bought one during the cash for clunkers program and I was VERY skeptical that I was going to like it very much but I was down to the last couple days of the program and nothing else I would consider was cheap enough. Now that I've put 4000 miles on it I feel like it's one of the most under-rated car buys out there and it's really been a pleasure to drive as my daily commuter and putt-around car. It's much quieter and better riding then anything else you can get at almost any price, it's as quiet as my 2007 crown Vic and rides just as nice, and the interior finish is actually nice looking unlike the cheap dull plastic interiors you'll find on most other vehicles you can get for the same price. Oh, and the manual PT seats are more comfortable then the 6 way electric ones in my crown Vic. The main negative is that it gets about 3 or 4 mpg less then most of the newer vehicles of it's size but you'll pay a lot more for them or will have some other tradeoff. The other thing some people complain about is that it doesn't have enough power. It's got enough but it's no race car. Do yourself a favor and go drive one.

Well that leaves out our Dodge 07 Caravan. WW

this might ride a little better than your average wagon

Personally given your preferences I'd look for an old Malibu wagon or similar, but I like older cars, and I'm cheap.

nate

I wouldnt buy a Chrysler product under any circumstances right now, nor would I buy a GM as things sit at the moment. Even before Fiat took Chrysler, some of their V6 offerings and autotrans just really sucked elephants.

I dont know what Ford has in your area of interest, but if I wanted a domestic (?), I would look at their offering. Otherwise, Honda and Toyota both have SUV types of cars that offer good quality, good ride, good economy.

Thanks Ashton, Definitely will try one out. Plus, I've always liked the body style.

Ivan Vegvary

Before the Chrysler lifetime warranty gets pushed, make sure you tell the buyer to read the fine print. I've seen more than one person run away from that program once they read all the stipulations of it and all the hoops they have to jump through for it to apply. Also, I'm still trying to determine the definition what the word "lifetime" here means. If I were buying a Chrysler product, that word could mean very little. At any time Fiat could say we don't have that word in our Italian language and when opinion polls drop from any political administration, they could flip-flip overnight.

OP could look for a Chrysler/Dodge van coming off lease in the $15000-20000 range.

Head to your local library and read the latest edition of "Car and Driver", it has an article on eight small SUV's with specs and performance data and their rankings of the eight. Good Info

I've read it. All you need to do is follow the maint schedule AND when it's 5 years old, +- a couple months, you need to take it in for an inspection. With some of the money I saved on the PT I bought an extended warranty (warrantydirect.com) that goes 10 years/101000 miles and will cover anything the original non-powertrain 3/36 warranty doesn't cover. For an extra $50 I also bought an extra rider that will cover anything the manufacturer would have covered should the manufacturer go out of business. With ALL costs included I paid less then $14000 out the door for a nice vehicle that is completely warranted (less $100 deductible per visit) for the next decade/101000. My experience with these extended warranties is that I get about 80% of the cost back in repairs during the warranty. So the remaining few hundred, which comes to maybe $75 a year buys total piece of mind and I don't personally have fix anything, unlike on my other 3 vehicles that are long out of warranty.

Any vehicle where you have to rely on a warranty isn't worth owning.

On Jan 17, 2:53 pm, Ashton Crusher wrote:  With some of the money I saved on the PT I bought an

You bought an aftermarket third-party warranty? LOL. About 99.9% of these go under the minute their expenses exceed income. Good luck.

Warranty has been around a long time, probably 15 years or more. I think they have pretty much figured out how to make the business work. I do agree that there are a lot of shady ones and the funny thing is, they usually charge more then warrantydirect does. But I suspect they have much higher commissions for their high power sales staff so they have less money actually going into the reserve fund, if any.