Topic: New Father needs "new" car...

[dorin]

Oh, one more thing...  No matter what you get, make sure that you get good winter tires.  Good winter tires are much better than any kind of AWD.

[ktm525]

Congratulations.  Baby is small and will fit into anything.  Get something that you yourself and spouse to be will enjoy driving.  It'll make driving around with crying baby in back much easier and enjoyable. 

 

Not true. The reverse bucket infant carriers can make it impossible to properly adjust the driver/passenger seat. With one baby seat you may be ok by mounting it in the center rear position but then most manufactureres don't suggest using the LATCH connectors for the middle..blah blah blah. The rearward facing seats are even worse for sucking up room. My advice is buy a rear facing convertable seat and take it with you when you are looking at prospective cars. The reverse seat is what killed the Audi A4 for me.

Good advice with the Volvo as then tend to have "teething" issues the first year. After that they tend to be quite solid, but the consumables tend to be a tad pricey. A good dealer is worth their weight in gold.  As for the cargo carrying ability they have no equal in the wagon world. Get a wagon with the integrated booster seats and you will never look back.

[mmorriso]

excellent point about car seat fitment.  check out car-seat.org for tons of information regarding this and as dr_spock recommended take a car seat with you when test driving.  this may lead you to expand your search to include compact SUVs.  not a bad thing as vehicles like the 06+ Toyota RAV4 and 07+ Honda CRV are very well sorted, safe, reliable, roomy, AWD option with lots available on the used market and they sould be easy to sell 3-4 years from now.

happy shopping!     

[toolatecrew]

I agree on the baby seat thing. We sold our 02 Impreza because the rear facing baby seat was a space issue. If you have a tall passenger rear seat space can be a real issue with the seat back contacting baby seat.

Just say no to 05 V50. I had one. Many teething problems. Out of warranty repairs pricey. Mine was not good.

[pg2676]

Hi all,

my fiancee is just about ready to burst, and so i'm in the market to get a "new" vehicle.

Looking for any suggestions/advice on the best route to go (i'm not a "car guy" at all, very limited knowledge on what to look for/watch out for).

here are the things we're considering:

- 15-25k budget
- safety and reliability are prime concerns
- prefer AWD since we live in Calgary and in the winter the roads are terrible
- looking for size/space, but preferably not an SUV (ideally a wagon/hatchback)
- we can go new or used, but likely will re-sell in 3-4 years (moving abroad), so re-sell value is important (and from what I understand, it's crazy to buy new since you lose a huge % of the value the minute you leave the lot)

the cars I've been considering are:

- mazda 6 wagon (test drove a '05, not bad i guess, looking for '06 or '07 but they seem hard to find in Calgary/Alberta)
- VW Passat or Jetta Wagon
- Toyota Matrix (was told by a friend that the VIBE is the exactly same car(built @ same plant), just cheaper... is this true? with pontiac out of business does that make them a better or worse buy?)

my ideal car (though a bit out of my price range) would likely be one of the newer (2-3 years) Volvo Wagons, but that purely from an aesthetic and "safety perception" pov, i have no idea if they are actually worth their relatively large price tags in comparison to the wagons i mentioned above.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Suzuki SX4 or Impreza. Either that or any small to midsize car or wagon with dedicated winter tires. Made a huge difference on my old Corolla and the wifes minivan.

[ocho]

Thanks a bunch to everyone for responding!

baby was born on Friday, healthy baby girl... still on cloud 9!

i think i've narrowed my searching down to the Matrix, Legacy or M5...  now to find a good car at a good price.

cheers!

[mrthompson]

Congrats!

[vdk]

Congratulations!

[mmorriso]

healthy baby girl...

get whatever car comes with a shotgun.

congratulations!

[stodge]

healthy baby girl...

get whatever car comes with a shotgun.

congratulations!

Good point! Leave room for the gun rack!

[spicaphone]

I am in the market as well for a new car and test drove the Matrix. With the 1.8 Lt  touring package it's nice and good on gas. I would  buy it if I could swing the cash. The volks I've had sooooo many bad problems with all 5 that I had from 3 bugs/ a fox /and jetta plus the dealer service that I will never go back no matter how much they have improved. All his final choices are good..Gotta test drive a few times.Congrats on new baby girl!

[The Mighty Duck]

Thanks a bunch to everyone for responding!

baby was born on Friday, healthy baby girl... still on cloud 9!

i think i've narrowed my searching down to the Matrix, Legacy or M5...  now to find a good car at a good price.

cheers!

  I mean, having a kid is almost as big a deal around here as buying a new car!

 

[Hank Horsey]

Congratulations, Ocho!

Because I think I might be your clone, I thought I'd give you the lowdown on my experience with my 2001 Legacy Outback (bought used two years ago).

I live in Calgary too and our baby daughter was born almost 15 months ago. Our Outback has been ideal except for one major problem, which I'll get to.

Pros: We have a good set of winter tires and with the AWD, it really is a secure car. The safety ratings are superb. It's reliable: I bought the car with over 200,000k and haven't had a single problem (and the newer models are even better).  One thing that's been a bit overlooked in this thread is cargo; the Legacy is like a friggin' cube van. On my 01 there's 42" between the wheel wells—you'd be surprised at the stuff I can fit in there that won't go in, for example, my brother's Mazda 5 (which is also a great car...you should consider that too). As you're about to find out, you can't go anywhere anymore without a big load of stuff: high chairs and strollers and saucers etc.

Now the bad part: although the headroom is great (I'm just shy of 6'5"), there are issues with the legroom—but only on the passenger side. The floor is unusually high on the passenger side of the Outback (not sure if that's true of the Legacy) which makes it feel a little cramped. Not a huge deal, it just means that I do all the driving. But the rear legroom is iffy too, and here's where it gets to be a problem: with a rear facing child seat, you can't slide the front passenger seat back all the way (as I recall this was particularly a problem after six months when she outgrew her first "newborn" car seat). So now the floor is too high AND too short, and it's a long drive to Edmonton to see the in-laws. (Plus, it's Edmonton.) The good news is that after a year, you can turn the seat around and you're back to normal. So my advice (for whatever car you test) is to take your child seat with you and count on losing an inch or two of legroom when you move up to the NEXT car seat. (Also, that Carseat Rage you feel every time you have to fumble to strap your daughter in? That's universal. Only when you and your daughter are crying are the manufacturers satisfied that she's safe.)

Hot tip for your wife: when winter comes, Cardel Place has a great kiddie pool. $3.75 for the whole family if you time it right.

[spicaphone]

Yes Yes Yes! Good winter tires are more important than AWD that is so right.Too many people driving around with just AWD and all season tires and their stopping power and handling are not what they could be! In Quebec now it's the law and it's really helped reduce accidents.