Tinyburst

Hi all,
My wife and I will be moving to the US at the beginning of August. Our daughter has sponsored us for our green cards. We have already purchased a home in Phoenix. Our daughter lives in Southern California.

We are not sure what car to buy. At the moment I have 2 on my list (the list changes almost hourly :-)), a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Honda Accord. The Jeep because we had one as a rental car for our last visit and found it very comfortable and a good drive, but quite thirsty (5.7 litre engine). The Honda because it gets such good reviews.

We will mainly use the car for local runs and once a month or so a trip to see our daughter and grandkids (about 300 miles away or so).

Any and all advise/comments welcome.

Thanks

Tiny

Bob

Any thought to a hybride? Prius ain't bad, either way, get good milage...

Out in phoenix, don't have to worry about the cold, so no point in recommending a Saab *l*

But it really depends on the price range your thinking of, and if you prefer new or second hand...

Suess

Hi,

We just bought a PT Cruiser and love it. It has a surprising amount of space inside for a small car. It's a dream to drive and a bit wacky.

If you have grandkids you might be looking for something bigger. Although sales on SUV's seem to be going down because of the price of gas.

Happy hunting.

Sue

woodsey

Not sure how you will be financing your car but give International Autosource a look, they offer fantastic deals to people moving abroad and you won't have problems getting credit which is a major obstacle for many people as it takes several years to build up a decent credit score.
We ordered our cars before leaving the UK and they were ready within weeks of arriving. You'll get the best deals from the American manufacturers but they can get almost anything you want.
www.intlauto.com

Noorah101

I have a 2004 Honda Accord and I absolutely love it. I drove Nissan Altimas for years before getting the Honda (I hated Nissan's new interior style in 2004), and I like the Honda even better. It's plenty roomy and very comfortable...and pretty good on gas mileage...I drive 40 miles round trip daily to work on city streets and it's doing great.

My second choice would still be a Nissan Altima.

Good luck shopping!
Rene

snowbunny

the Accord.... I love Hondas.

The new Odyssey is nice, too, if you'll be driving your grandkids around, but it is optimised to get good highway MPG, not city.... so you'd not get great mileage on your errands.

SeveredNeurons

Don't know enough about the JEEP to comment on that, but I own a Honda Civic, pound for pound there one of the best cars on the market. Therefore, logically I presume that the Accord will be just as good. My car has over 218,000 miles on the clock and runs like new, well fairly. All it has needed in the last year is an oil change every 3000 miles and a change of transmission fluid. Living in CNY, it has a slight damage to the body work, but what do you expect with such variations in weather. I'm purchasing a new car in August and I'm going to buy a Honda Civic XE Coupe or an Accord. I feel like the Accord is the 'Grown Up' version of the Civic. Of course, I'm basing this whole argument on one car, but Japanese cars in my opinion are well built and last. The only country to produce better value for money cars are the Germans. Considered a Passat?

ladylisa

Definately the Accord, I've never heard a bad word about them and I know many people that own them.

fatbrit

Hi Tiny,

What a curious mixture -- a sedan and an SUV??? No idea what to suggest, but Feniks is truck town, a great bloody big one, preferably raised a couple of feet and 4WD with a V8 of 5 litres plus, and driven down the freeway by a sole driver to the office and back every day! Personally, I feel you may be intimidated so close to the ground in a sedan, while a monster SUV will have you calling at Quartzite and relieving you of $60 or so on your way to LaLa land.

What I would recommend though is you get used to the way of selling cars in the US. Try www.carbuyingtips.com: read, understand and follow the instructions precisely before you go anywhere near a dealer. You might like to make some trial runs at a dealer where you aren't going to buy the car beforehand. Also, I like www.edmunds.com for comparing.

sibsie

I test drove the Jeep a couple of weeks ago. I didn't buy it and ended up with a Dodge Dakota 4x4 Sport with an extended cab. I love it. It drives like a car and gives decent gas mileage.

looselips

I used to own a Jeep Cherokee and got it so I could get through the snow to the moutains in winter. Was great for that but not the comfiest ride on long journeys and you have to watch for roll overs. I'd probably opt for the Accord if you don't need it for much.

Dan725

Hard to recommend between those two, given they are completely different types of vehicle. Being as you are obviously fairly open to the type of vehicle you want, I'd wait till you get here and go and test drive as many as you can and see which one suits best. I'd grab a copy of one of the car yearly review books and look to see what they have got down as best buys. I know the accord is on that list - but you are moving to the USA, why not get yourself something you can't find in Europe, either a big assed SUV or V8 car or something?

Duncan Roberts

I love Mazdas, I say go for a V6 Mazda 6. If you are feeling really sporty go for the Mazdaspeed 6!

goldie

My hubs recently bought me a Dodge Intrepid which I absolutely love!! It's great to drive, really roomy, very large boot and also really powerful and sleek on the roads. It's also quite economical on petrol/gas and looks really sporty as well. It's great as a family car!

Bob

That's true, seen a fair few of those rolled over in maine, and 4x4 isn't standard, but even with it, they needed to be sand bagged in the rear to get any real traction in the maine winter....not that that'll be a problem in sunny AZ *l*