We are going new vehicle shopping tomorrow. I am excited but nervous at the same time. At the age of 35 I have only had 2 vehicles...a Ford Tempo and a Dodge Caravan. My van currently has 212000KM on it so we think it's time to let it go. Although I will get nothing for it in a trade, we think now is the time. Most dealerships are offering great incentives to get rid of their 2005. DH thinks something is going on my van and it's just not worth getting it fixed.

So, what are your recommendations? We are a family of 4. I am commuting a hour each way to work every day so fuel economy is a biggy.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 03:00 pm:

We have a Saturn VUE and love it! It is so comfortable, not too big, but plenty of room. The backseat is roomy, too.

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 03:06 pm:

We have a new 2005 VW Jetta and love love love it. It is a four door. The kids (4 and 6) fit back there just fine. The trunk is HUGE. It's a fun car to drive. And they say it is good in the snow...i have not had a chance to find out if that is true or not since we got it in the end of March.

Good luck new car shopping!

By Mrsheidi on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 03:16 pm:

Personally, I would not go with a VW...the are SO expensive to fix when something goes wrong. Most car shops can't even figure out what is wrong with them because VW makes them so you have to come to the dealership to get them fixed. We had over $1,000 in problems in one year with our 2002 Passat.

Saturn is the way to go. I had one years ago and their service is SO much better. I NEVER had a problem with my sedan. We have an Infinity QX4 and love it. Their service is great as well!!

By Paulas on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 03:35 pm:

The closest Saturn dealership is 6 hours away so we probably won't be able to go with a Saturn.

By Andi on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 05:18 pm:

I LOVED my VW Passat, it was one of the best most reliable cars. Never had a problem with it until I hit about 75K. Yes I agree with Heidi it is very expensive to fix but they are wonderful cars and if its new it will be under warranty.

I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey and LOVE IT! It is such a wonderful family car and I can't say enough good things about it.

By Kaye on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 05:42 pm:

I think if I only had 2 kids I would be inclined to get a sedan and not a van. i have an odyssey and love it though. I would probably lean towards a honda accord, though. It depends, how much traveling do you do? Do you often have extra kids? Do you need to pack a lot of stuff? I use to only buy american, but I am now a honda lover!

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 06:24 pm:

We have a 2005 VW Passat TDI, a 1999 Saturn and a 1998 Ford Taurus. The passat is the "fun" car and the one we took to Niagara Falls, with 2 adults and 2 kids. We were all quite comfortable. The Taurus is MY car and I love driving it, although, I don't always have far to go, so don't get to drive as much as I would like to, sometimes. It has lots of room for 2 adults, 2 kids, and a dog.

The Passat gets about 40 miles to the gallon, which is really nice, but they aren't making new Passat diesels again, until 2007, I think DH said. So, if you wanted a diesel, you would have to find a used one, or hope they had some 2005's left. Right now, diesel fuel is cheaper than gasoline and then we get terrific mileage with it.

By Lauram on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 11:18 pm:

Dh just bought me a new car tonight! I also have quite a commute- 45 min each way. He traded in my Subaru Forrester for a Nissan Xterra. Can't wait to pick it up- next week. I need 4 wheel drive because of the weather conditions. I have to be able to get to work safely in the winter.

By Paulas on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - 11:54 pm:

We have bad weather here too but with gas over $1.00/litre, I just can't afford a 4 wheel drive. They keep the road pretty good and there is lots of traffic so if something ever happened someone would be there quickly.

DH really wanted that job so I wouldn't have to commute but it just wasn't in the cards.

By Conni on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 09:04 am:

After looking at and driving trucks for over 1.5 yrs ... We finally bought one 2 weeks ago. But nothing I would commute in like you are doing. Its a GMC 3/4 ton crew cab truck with a duramax diesel... Its really nice and we have already put it to good use hauling & towing, etc...! Neighbor already asking if we can pull his big Cobalt out of the lake for him!

If I had to commute for an HOUR each way I would get a Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Altima, or Honda/Acura/Lexus!!!

We didnt bother trading my van it only has 42,000 mi on it (2003 toyota sienna). I am trying to sell it for now. If it doesnt sell dh is looking at *maybe* trading it for a Nissan Maxima... However, it would have to be a *reallyyyyy* good deal or else we will happily keep the van and drive it til the wheels fall off. Our old Toyota SUV has 150,000 miles on it and still *no* major prob's with it at all. We love it!

Good luck and have fun looking at and driving new cars!!! Let us know what you end up with.

By Bellajoe on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 09:06 am:

Our VW dealership is very good. We did have a problem with the first Jetta we had bought in March. Not even the VW service people could figure out the problem especially since it was a brand new model of the Jetta. They actually ended up giving us a brand new car and taking the original that had the problem back to the factory. Now THAT is service!

Now, we have not had any problems with the one we have now, so i dont' know how expensive it is to fix. Hopefully we won't have to find out for a long time!

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 09:14 am:

Not much help except to say I'm a Honda fan! We own two, 1998 Honda Accords and plan to drive them for as many years as they will last. I just had to put mine in the shop yesterday - it only has 85,000 miles on it - and I (sort of jokingly) told my mechanic to do whatever maintenance was necessary because I couldn't afford a car note yet, and he told me he had a 1998 Accord up on the rack, pulled the engine to replace the gaskets and seals, it had 300,000 miles on it, was running great, and the owner was getting ready to drive it from New Orleans to Canada, and that I wouldn't be needing a new car any time soon.

DH and I are previous Honda owners and Hondas are very good vehicles. If I could buy anything I wanted, new, right now, I'd get a Honda Pilot. For now we will stick with our *old* Accords - they run well, they get pretty good gas mileage, and you can fit 5 people comfortably in them (or 2 tall adults in the front and one large, spoiled dog in the back!).

By Breann on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 12:53 pm:

I highly recommend the Toyota Sienna! We love ours and haven't had any problems with it at all. We purchased new, and have been anal about upkeep. And, I like that it has a bit of a different look to it than other minivans out there.