Best Car for a MILF?

I thought they issued you a Subaru by default when you moved to the PNW?


What about a Jetta?


Or, I guess first, what is 'not expensive' to you?

 

If you want cheap you probably want certified pre-owned. New is never cheap. A three year old car from a dealer will be substantially cheaper than new but probably not substantially less reliable (though of course you should do your homework).

There are quite a few econobox sedans that can hit most or all of your buttons. I like Sentras, and would probably own one if this Fusion hadn't fallen into my lap (metaphorically of course). You can get them standard or auto depending on who wins that particular argument, but I think the standards are cheaper. You can point out to daddysquirrel that the only way to get better at driving stick is through practice.

Hondas are also solid vehicles. I think you mentioned somewhere that you already drive a Civic, but they're worth looking at if you don't have some grudge against them. They have a tendency to hold value though so the used ones are often more expensive than similar cars in their range from other manufacturers. Works for you when selling but against you when buying.

I might add more here later. Watch this space.

 

Do your really need a new car, or do you mean a different car? A new car is the worst investment expenditure most people make. Especially if you borrow money to buy that rapidly depreciating asset. Why not let some other sucker person eat that heavy initial depreciation.

And why not a mini-van? The hottest MILF that I personally know drives a Honda Odyssey.

Be brave. Swim upstream, it's good exercise!

Look for a 6 - 8 year old Honda Accord or Subaru Legacy. Maybe a Ford Fusion. My mom drives a Honda Element that she loves, even if it does look like a breadbox on wheels. Some of them will even be manuals, like the 2006 Accord that I bought last fall.

Don't be afraid of something with quite a few miles, as long as it has good maintenance records. My 2002 SAAB manual is still going strong with over 250k miles on the clock. And you might want to consider a SAAB. Now that they're 'orphans' they took a big depreciation hit, good used ones can be pretty cheap, and I would bet that there is an independent SAAB specialist near you out there in the Pacific NorthWet. I mean NorthWest. Good luck on your quest!

 

Yeah, I started my reply a couple of hours ago and then went out for some errands and didn't see the several replies that were posted before I finished my post.
I especially agree with Martian's advice, except for the part about 'certified pre-owned.' I'd always look for a car from a private party first.

 

Private sale is fine but I don't recommend it to everyone because it can bite you if you don't know what to look for in a used car. Certified pre-owned from a franchised dealer inflates the price a little but is often worth it because you have a business putting their name behind the car, and you have necks to wring if something does go wrong.

That said, my Fusion was a private sale and I'm fairly pleased with it. It is practical and unexciting. It has done an acceptable job transporting a small child on the few occasions I've needed it to, and it gets groceries like a champ. Mileage in town is okay but not great. If I were going to pick a word for this car, the word would be average. Or perhaps even pedestrian. But, y'know, in the sense of being common and uninteresting, not in the sense of being something done on foot.

Minivans are terrible and nobody should drive them. Because they are terrible.

 

2013 Honda Accord Sport in Hillside, IL- 12882732 at carmax.com



2014 Honda Civic LX in St. Louis, MO- 12140253 at carmax.com



2013 Honda Accord Sport in Schaumburg, IL- 12750044 at carmax.com



2012 Buick Regal GS in Cincinnati, OH- 12953557 at carmax.com



2013 Volkswagen CC R-Line in Madison, WI- 12789683 at carmax.com



2011 Audi A4 Premium Plus in Cincinnati, OH- 12593380 at carmax.com



2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE in Kenosha, WI- 12917574 at carmax.com







Some regional examples above.

EDIT - Okay, not regional, I tried searching in Oregon CarMax locations and it didn't work. Still, this gives you ballpark pricing for some ideas.


You'll pay a premium at Carmax, but they have similar advantages to most dealer certified used cars. Not suggesting you buy any of these in particular, but should give you some ideas of what is available for your general area, and what the top end of the price point (since this is CarMax) for each is.

 

I love the new C300s, especially this color:



You can get a used 2016 with a couple thousand miles on it for $30kish. My wife's Passat is getting close to where I'm thinking of replacing it. I'd love to get her one of those, but she honestly couldn't care less what she drives as long as it is reliable and not a station wagon/minivan/truck. Plus, I know within a week the interior would be covered in make-up, junk mail, and empty juice smoothie cups, and it would drive me insane that I bought her a nice car and she trashed it. So she'll probably drive the Passat until it dies and we'll replace it with something comparable.

 

We just got a certified pre-owned toyota corolla for Tt to drive to work. It could easily work as a mom-mobile. So much less expensive than buying new, but this thing was basically never driven with super low mileage and a nice interior. Only complaint so far is that the dash rattles a bit and the voice recognition software is hilariously bad. He's been doing mainly highway driving, and getting 40mpg on average. It uses regular fuel.

I love my mom-mobile. It's a used VW Passat wagon. It's older ('09?) and uses premium fuel, but we paid less for it, and it has higher-end details that I actually use like roll-out window shades and a button-press rear hatch.