Trying to find the right car for my mom...

[V]

My moms 2001 dodge grand caravan has been great the past 13 years, but now its time to move on.
She is pretty picky what she wants in a replacement vehicle though.
I came up with a few that we are going to look at but not sure if I'm missing a possible option. We are looking pre-owned, but within the last 2-3 years(so like off-lease stuff).

-She loves the ability to put "stuff" in her old van, as in the fact you open the side doors and its almost like a flat loading floor. Not sunk down like the footwells of a typical sedan.
-She likes the upright seating position of the van, not doesn't like sitting low and back, like in a passenger car. Shes short and can not really see out of my '14 camaro when I have to take her places.
-She does not want rwd (I tried to convince her to get a cts-v), and she doesn't feel comfortable driving in bad weather with just fwd, so the new vehicle must be AWD or 4WD.
-She wants a decently smooth ride not harsh like she feels most jeeps have. Yes shes been in several.
-She doesn't have plans for many passengers so rear seat isn't needed to be big and/or comfortable.
-A rear hatch is almost a must.
-The final thing is something that she will just have to accept with any newer car... she likes the column shift of the van and the fact there is no center console, it's all open between the seats. I told her basically every car since 2008, has a center console really. If something 2012+ doesn't have one and meets the previous criteria, let me know.
-Chevy Yukon is nice she says but a full-size SUV is too big for her. So not that big, but bigger than a CRV...


Cars she said NO to already or does not like...
-Honda CRV, too small and cheap feeling(my wife owns a '12)
-current model Dodge Durango, did not like it at all and "too big"(my sister has one)
-Jeeps(rough ride, general dislike)
-Fords(guess I wore off on her a little)
-Mercedes Benz
-BMW
-Lexus
-Toyota


Cars I plan on showing her so far:
Cadillac SRX
GMC Terrain/Acadia
Chevy Traverse/Equinox
Buick SUVs
Range Rover Evoque/LR2 and other models


Any other suggestions? Not sure if I should have her look at Volvos or Audis.

[BonzoHansen]

not sure about new pilots, but our pilot is on the column.

Did she look at a CRV EXL? The leather ones are nicer.

[BigAls87Z28]

Acadia, Enclave, and Traverse are big like the Tahoe.
Land Rover has a new Sport model that is based on the Evoque but more... Land Rover looking.
SRX is a bad of ****.
Equinox and Terrain are old and in need of an update.
Her list kind of drives her to GM but they don't have much. I'd look at the Encore.

[Blackbirdws6]

Perhaps a Subaru may fit her needs best.

[V]

she didn't like hondas in general but we'll see. my wifes family all have hondas and my mom has been in them and just didn't like the brand.
the column shift may help though.

going from a dodge grand caravan, the equinox isn't a big step up in size as a tahoe would be. srx that bad really?

I was thinking about the subarus but got mixed if not mostly negative comments about build quality and just no luxury feel. but we'll look.

what about vw? toureg thing?

if they still made an awd dodge van, (last year 2004) she'd have it already but they don't plan one till 2017 and thats not soon enough.

She figures this is the last car she'll be buying and she wants to be very happy with it and not really willing to compromise much. This is a big step for her since my dads passing last month so im trying to help her find the ideal car.

[NastyEllEssWon]

How much space is needed...because after reading all the criteria it seems like she'd really get a lot of use out of a Kia Soul

[sweetbmxrider]

I'd stay the hell away from german. The toureg is overly complex and expensive to maintain and repair, like anything german. I'd just go to dealers and see what is on the lot. It seems like she needs to be in the car to know if its right or wrong for her. I know you are trying to make a list of possibilities but you might run across something you weren't thinking she'd like that ends up being a contender. An awd srx doesn't seem like a bad option for quality feel, cargo room, and vehicle height. My initial thought was crv/pilot though. They really do last a long time so it should still be considered in my opinion.

[V]

my wifes crv, bought brand new, has a horrible rattle at startup when cold. its been to the dealer about it at least twice already and nothing has been fixed. That has kinda turned me off to honda mostly to be honest.

ok yeah i figured Audi would be expensive to fix too that's why i didn't really think of it.

as for a Kia... well, lol, i have a 01 kia rio for sale and jokingly i told my mom i'd sell her that and her response was "you'd really let your mom drive a kia?" so im thinking she also has preconceived notions of kias.

Finding a car for her will definitely be a challenge.
to list the cars my parents have had in the past..(from past to most recent)
Chrysler Imperial,
1974 cadillac coupe deville,
1987 ford crown vic(5.0 HO),
1991 dodge grand caravan,
2001 dodge grand caravan.

So for the past 23 years shes been in a minivan and has no idea about the new technology in cars this will make buying something new interesting.


I was just looking at the dodge journey.. AWD and v6, seems like the minivan just a little less van.
Opinions of that?

[1320B4U]

I was also thinking crv or pilot as well....lol. My wifes equinox would fit the bill...rides quiet and nice. Power isn't really there but you can get a 6cyl. It also has a flat floor in the back seat area (its an awd). All around a well built car. Get a 2012 or newer as the ecu's were reprogrammed (cam/timing issues..2.4L's)....had mine done a few times under recall. Safety rating is very good too.

[qwikz28]

I've always been intrigued by the Kia Sorento. Seems "right sized" if you are used to the cars of yesteryear. Maybe Al can shed some light on those cars.

Other than that, Subaru Forester, but the timing belt replacement cost on Subarus scares me.

[greenformula92]

I'll sell you my diesel cruze lol

[V]

Originally Posted by greenformula92

I'll sell you my diesel cruze lol

and that fits none of the requirements...

[Frosty]

Stay far away from the Equinox, it's garbage.

I think the Traverse is a tad smaller than the Yukon she said is too big. While it still has the **** 3.6 in it they've finally fixed the timing chain debacle.

[WildBillyT]

I know you said no Fords. Yes, I can read

But my wife loves her Edge, and the 3 people we recommended it to all love it as well. Just throwing it out there.

Upright seating
AWD
Flat trunk area and optional power hatch
No unnecessary 3 row seats
Rides like a car (a heavy car, but not rough like a more off-road SUV chassis)
Backup camera

[V]

Being that its for my mom and not me, we could possibly consider fords i guess.
She knows I don't like them and therefore didn't even want to look at them.
I'll show her one and see what she thinks.


As for the pilot, as of 2012 at least and newer, they all had the shifter strangely mounted on the center of the dash, column shift was the style before that perhaps up until 2010 or 2011 even.

I'm really liking the land rover LR2. Prices used with mileage under 20k are in the mid 20s, and even though some say they may seem underpowered, my mother would be fine just putting around town with it. The local LR dealer has 11 or so preowned ones in stock from 2012-2014.

[Blackbirdws6]

Has reliability improved with the LR products? May just be an old stigma that is tough to shake but I thought they were prone to problems.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

Has reliability improved with the LR products? May just be an old stigma that is tough to shake but I thought they were prone to problems.

I was going to say that too. I haven't heard any good things about the company lately.

[sweetbmxrider]

Yikes

[BonzoHansen]

Rover, lol. Good luck with the cost of maintaining that!

[V]

still that bad huh? lol ok

[BonzoHansen]

If you dig liquid cooled alternators lol.


I forget which model has that but it isn't an exotic one ha

[V]

Alright, then we're really back to GM.
The newer pilots are on the larger side for her but she said she'll check them out.
She saw an Acura MDX and said it was ok but on the smaller side of what she wants.

I don't know why she wants something the size she does, nor the reason shes so picky, but its her car, and I'm telling her to get exactly what will make her happy.
My father always had a large part of picking out the family car, and now this is her first time so its important to her.

and getting back to the dodge journey...
I had forgotten that I was avoiding Dodge due to trans issues and rust issues.
Just about every dodge/Chrysler we've had, has needed a trans rebuild at under 60k miles. The '01 caravan was the only one that didnt need it, so far. But the rust on this van is unbelievable, and its the same on other vans of the same era. The dodge ram trucks also rotted bad, same with the 1st gen durangos. Has that been corrected yet?
Should I risk it even with considering the Journey?

[sweetbmxrider]

What about an rx? or a highlander?

[1320B4U]

New highlanders are a good looking car.

I agree w/Chrysler trans' too...went thru 2 of them in 2 different cars (1 stick/1 auto)...the do make a ***** trans and I'm easy on cars and great on maintenance.

[sweetbmxrider]

Working on a Range Rover Sport HSE Luxury....tires are $500 a piece

And the trans cooler is leaking....

CAUTION: Make sure the transmission fluid fill plug is tightened to the correct specification. Failure to follow this instruction may result in damage to the vehicle.
To make sure the transmission fill plug is torqued to the correct specification. Using the special tool and torque wrench the following calculation steps must be followed.
Step 1. Multiply 35 Nm by the effective length of the torque wrench (1).
Step 2. Add the effective length of the special tool (2) to the effective length of the torque wrench (1).
Step 3. Divide the total of step 1 by the total of step 2.
Step 4. Set the torque wrench to the figure arrived at in step 3.
Tighten the transmission fluid fill plug to the torque given by the calculation.