JandG

Ok, My wife and I will be landing in NS shortly and one of the first things we will need to do is purchase a car.

We need the vehicle to be many things...I will be using it to get to and from work (about a 20 minute drive each way), as well as using it to get around to client meetings, site visits, etc. It therefore needs to be reliable, look half decent and be reasonably economical.

My wife is pregnant and the car will eventually become hers, so it should be something with easy access for child seats, etc.

We will need to use it to move all sorts of stuff around during our first few months, so we'd like something with half-decent load capacity and flexible rear-seating.

I've been looking at all sorts of stuff (Hyundai Santa Fe, Pontiac Torrent, Dodge Caravan, Pontiac Montana, Volvo Estate..) and have been looking at owners reviews on Edmunds, etc but am at a loss as to what might be the best all-round choice...we're looking to spend up to $15k.

I figured I may as well throw it open to debate here and see if anyone had any useful suggestions to throw into the mix?

Many thanks in advance - I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

JB0591

Is your budget before or after tax (HST/NSST 15%)?

We brought a 2003 Volvo XC70 from Kijiji, it has been great so far. I have prevously had smaller cars but knew that we would need a bigger car initially whilst setting up the house.

The XC70 MPG is reasonable but it helps the fuel is not as expensive as the UK. Hit $1.20 this week in Ottawa.

My wife says she loves the XC70 and likes the heated seats, the 4WD and it is a solid car. The seats fold down flat which was a big benefiit when were picking up furniture.

JandG

$15k is our maximum budget before HST...I've been looking at the XC70s...I like them a lot and you can pick up older ones relatively cheaply it seems...thanks for your input!

JB0591

I forgot to add is that budget inclusive of winter tires? We came over on a tight budget and these were more expensive than I expected....but we did notice a big difference.

JandG

If we will still need winter tyres at the end of March, then yes...it would have to be!

Flossie and Jim

If you can, take a child seat to test easy access to the back seats - its a bit of an effort to get a toddler in and out of a car seat in a "saloon" type car. If the rear doors are quite slopey in shape it will probably be difficult - the straighter the rear doors are the easier it should be!

We have a Subaru Outback and we just about manage with the car seat thing, although its a bit of a wiggle and squeeze and we are always bumping our head leaning in and out! Our beat up old Dodge Dakota quad cab however is so much easier, because the rear doors are effectively square in shape!

rich07

You should be able to get a fairly new Dodge Caravan for that. Build quality on north American vehicles tend to poor when compared to Japanese or European cars, but parts should be cheaper.

Canuck2b

We have a Honda odyssey 7 seater, fab for kids, loads of space, seats come out to store furniture (we got a double mattress flat on the floor). Ours was less than 15K used......13k I think.

LucyLovelock

When are arrived five years ago, we bought a grand jeep cherokee, as it had been the car I really wanted for a long time.
It has done us well ( I think we paid about 9k for it, and it was 9 years old then) and we are now looking to trade it in for a Volvo XC90 (test drove one yesterday and LOVE it!).
For safety, you cannot beat the Volvo's, well according to my car geek husband. However they are more expensive.
The minivans such as Dodge caravans etc fit a lot of people and luggage etc in, but safety wise, and especially on the winter roads are not nearly as safe as other vehicles (again according to the geek I married!)
I can highly recommend the jeep, and I used to own a Rav4 in the UK and loved that too!
Good luck with the move and choosing a vehicle! It took us quite a few days of trawling the car lots of Calgary!

pennyhp

I would echo what Rich said about Dodge Caravans.
We just bought a 2007 Dodge Caravan with 50,000k on the clock for $10,000.
It wasnt the basic model so it has electric seats etc.
Very pleased with it. although it is heavier on gas than the Ford focus estate we have, its really good on the snowy roads (with good winter tyres) and thats worth quite a lot round here at the moment.....we have yet another dumping coming later today.

Atlantic Xpat

I drive a 2005 Suzuki XL7 and that would fit your bill & only cost you about half your budget. Go for a pre 06 model when it turned from a proper body on frame 4x4 to a version of the Chev Equinox. It has odles of room in the back & large doors. It can also be found in a 7 seater.

Another alternative would be to stretch your budget a bit and pick up a new Dodge Journey. I believe base models can be had for around $16k and taxes. A friend has one and it seems quite a practical vehicle & isn't quite a minivan which is important to some. (Me for example....)

lgspoke

I have to say along with Lucy and rich that the Dodge caravan is a good bet. My husband (silly man) wanted a one of those fancy Chrysler 300's, like that was a useful vehicle for the transport of purchased furniture. We bought the 2 year old minivan as soon as we arrived in 2007 and has been an invaluable part of the family ever since. Can be heavy on fuel (3.3 litre engine) but more than makes up for it in flexibility, roominess and the other stuff that's been said about it here.

I have no affiliation with the Dodge motor company nor any of their related businesses. Nor do I want to.

alexisatk

You won't need winter tires in Nova Scotia at the end of March. This is when everyone is taking the winter tires off their cars. I would wait until next year.

JandG

Thank you for all your responses so far everyone!

Good to know we won't be needing to buy winter tyres straight away...

We rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee the first time we ever visited NS in 2004, so know them fairly well...and we rented a Dodge Grand Caravan last time we were over in 2009, so also know them fairly well...slightly less appealing from the 'bloke/car' perspective, but we need to make this decision based on practicality rather than petrol-head satisfaction! :-)

Don't know the Honda or Suzukis that you have mentioned...will look those up very shortly!

Incidentally, I would be as keen to hear about cars that I should avoid like the plague, just as much as I would like recommendations!

Oakvillian

I wouldn't want to disparage the car geek in your household, but his comments on minivans are not borne out either by anecdote or statistics. Why is a minivan less safe on winter roads than a high-centre-of-gravity 4x4 (such as, for example, a Cherokee)?

Given the OP's criteria, a recent Dodge Caravan (the new shape, I think they updated it for the '08 model year?), or slightly older Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna would fit the bill. Hugely flexible load space, rear sliding doors (electrically operated on upscale models - open the door from the keyfob so you don't have to let go of toddler/shopping/pushchair in a snowy car park) give unbeatable access to child seats.

Don't pay the extra for 4x4 unless you really need it - you may be able to justify it if you live on an acreage or off the beaten path a bit, but even in NS' snowy winters it's not necessary for the overwhelming majority of car owners. Invest instead in a decent set of winter tyres when the time comes - they will give you a far greater degree of road safety than an extra pair of driven wheels.