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Mid-size sedan for daily use. Thoughts?

bczoom

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I'm looking for a car for Mrs. Zoom as a daily driver for work and such. Amenities and comfort are preferred as she drives about 80 miles per day.

Started kicking tires today but nothing stood out as "the" car. So far, I've only been to Honda and Chevy.

The Accord, Impala and Malibu don't seem do act or drive very different. The Impala "felt" heavy but otherwise, all 3 performed very similar. The Malibu and Accord were the 4cyl engines, the Impala had a V6.

The Buick Lacrosse caught my eye but I didn't have time to take it for a drive. Any thoughts or reviews? There were a couple used ones on the lot as well. How's their reliability and longevity?

I did a drive-thru at Ford but only saw one Taurus and at $40K was out of our range for a beater car.

Tomorrow, I'll be checking other mfgrs.
 

Big Dog

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Any GM sedan from a G6 to an Impala with a V6 has my vote. You lose very little in GPM, have power when needed and they can be had all day for 10K (used with plenty warranty left). I've had many over the last 15 years and they can not be beat.
 

Melensdad

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Audi A4?

Volkswagen CC? Starts under $30K, nicely equipped at $33+/- http://www.vw.com/cc/en/us/

I'm REALLY enjoying my Jetta TDI but it might be smaller than you are looking for. Equipped they way I have mine, its right at $33K. But I did some silly things to mine and even Jetta owners wonder what the heck I am driving because my front end is from the TDI Cup race cars and not anything like their street cars. http://www.vw.com/jetta/en/us/
 

bczoom

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I've had many over the last 15 years and they can not be beat.
That sounds like such a contradiction... If they can't be beat, you should have had 1 or 2 in the past 15 years. :)

Bob,

I'm heading the direction towards VW tomorrow. Audi is a hike in an opposite direction so that may have to wait until Monday or later.
 

Melensdad

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I'm heading the direction towards VW tomorrow. Audi is a hike in an opposite direction . . .
Huh, around here the VW dealers are almost always also Audi dealers, and visa-versa.

The CC is really a nice car and fits the 'mid-size' sedan description perfectly. Lots of nice little details and attractive looks overall. Not sure if the Audi A4 will fit in your price range on this car as they are pricier. But an Audi A4 is essentially a nicer version of the VW Passat. The "CC" sort of splits the middle between the Passat and the A4 in price but looks completely different than either.
 

Big Dog

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That sounds like such a contradiction... If they can't be beat, you should have had 1 or 2 in the past 15 years. :)

If I must ........... and remember, I've had at least 6 vehicles in my driveway for the last 10 years and my wife averages 35-40K a year on her cars .........

92 Corsica, sold at 185K as a beater to local garage hand, still on the road
94 Lumina, now my mom's beater 194K
97 Lumina, traded @ 94K (done is 2.5 years) for .........
99 Lumina, traded @ 75K (2 year stint)
01 Monte Carlo, sold last year @ 135K, again to local garage hand, still on the road (They know my cars and lay in wait)
02 Grand Prix, in the driveway with 130K
03 Monte Carlo, traded at 60K
06 Monte Carlo, in the driveway with 54K
08 G6, in the driveway with 23K
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Boomer , Are you absolutely locked into a sedan ? My wife has 2002 Mitz Montero SUV and I cannot get her to part with it. It has 4x4 and she loves the 4 doors, 20 miles per gallon ,big cargo space and fairly small size . Its great to set a little higher so car lights don't blind you at night . It feels stable on the freeway and has plenty of zip with the little engine and is comfortable on a long trip . She will run the wheels off it before she will be willing to let go of it . At 6-4 and fat I also fit very nicely in it .
 

waybomb

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for less than 20k you can buy a couple of year old, less than 30k mile, E320. Safe, comfortable, 25mpg all day, and it will last until at least 250,000 miles.
 

bczoom

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Poobah,

Well, Mrs. Zoom blindsided me... I asked if she would consider a SUV and she said she would. This is a complete reversal to the previous 47,000 times I asked her. Hmmm, that opens up many more options. My first thought is that the Montero may be a bit bigger than she's thinking as she doesn't like driving her Honda Odyssey which is similar in size to work. I will keep SUV's in mind though.

Fred,

A few years ago, an E320 would have been on my short list but IMHO, they're not what they used to be. My last MB (ML, bought new) was just OK and its routine maintenance costs were too high in my book.
 

jpr62902

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Any v6 powered Honda. They're like buttah. And maintaining them is cheap (every 7500 miles). Not to mention, the resale is through the roof.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
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Any v6 powered Honda. They're like buttah. And maintaining them is cheap (every 7500 miles). Not to mention, the resale is through the roof.

Oh, I don't know. It's too small, but my kid's Civic (the 'learner' car for all of them so far) has started to leave a couple of drips of oil on the barn floor every week or so. I expected better than that. It still drives perfectly. Maybe it's because it's a 1995 model? I'm sure it can't have anything to do with the 279k miles on it! :wink:
 

rlk

Bronze Member
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Any v6 powered Honda. They're like buttah. And maintaining them is cheap (every 7500 miles). Not to mention, the resale is through the roof.

I would say the same about a Toyota Camry. Very solid car.

Bob
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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OK, I went out for awhile today but it was sluggish due to snow/slush on roads so I didn't venture as far as I had planned. Basically, I made it to Toyota and Lincoln but stepping in deep snow, brushing off potential cars... got old so I decided not to go any further.

I found a 2008 Lincoln MKZ at one dealer. I took it out for a ride and liked it. Has all the bells and whistles to please Mrs. Zoom. Reviews seem good. What say you?
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
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I just came in from my barn and had an idea for her. Like red? :xmas:
 

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BoneheadNW

New member
Traded the wife's Honda van and our old 4runner in on a new Subaru Outback 6 weeks ago. Love the thing and can't wait until it snows. Been averaging mid twenties driving around the island, about 8 mpg better than the Honda. We looked at the Toyota Rav4 and comparable Honda CR-v but the Subaru was much better for our needs. I say "our", but Mrs Bonehead drives the car 95% of the time.
Bone
 
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