My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

I would not buy the Ford or Kia if they are concerned about resale value.

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My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

Of those options I like the Rav4 and the Santa Fe/Sorrento. The SF and Sorrento are the same vehicle, but the SF has a better resale. Honestly, Hyundai/Kia has really stepped it up over the past several years. The Rav4 is solid. I like Buicks, but the Enclave is based on the 3.4/3.5/3.9 Chevy driveline. It is OK, but it is not really a Buick.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

Out of your list, my mother has a Tribeca and loves it and my mil has an Escape 2011 and has had no issues with it.

Subbie discontinued the Tribeca, only sold 300 last year according to the dealer.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

In that size/style.... the Acadia is one AWESOME little go getter. The 2 I have been in were at least. Without GM, I like the escape in general and if it comes with Sync it would be pretty awesome.

I don't know anything about 6'7 headroom but I always feel claustrophobic in most SUV's that size.

Know its on the big side, but the folks absolutely love their Buick Enclave.

Acadia & Enclave are too huge. Won't fit in their garage.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

I would not buy the Ford or Kia if they are concerned about resale value.

Concern is more keeping it 10 years than resale. They won't flip. Poor and someone is giving them a car. They'll drive it. Cost of ownership is more important.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

Out of your list, my mother has a Tribeca and loves it and my mil has an Escape 2011 and has had no issues with it.

Subbie discontinued the Tribeca, only sold 300 last year according to the dealer.

Yea I thought that was the case because my father told me he was looking at another one, but they are no longer made. He was told people were not willing to spend that for a Subaru.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

Of those options I like the Rav4 and the Santa Fe/Sorrento. The SF and Sorrento are the same vehicle, but the SF has a better resale. Honestly, Hyundai/Kia has really stepped it up over the past several years. The Rav4 is solid. I like Buicks, but the Enclave is based on the 3.4/3.5/3.9 Chevy driveline. It is OK, but it is not really a Buick.

Rav4 is too small. I can't fit in it at all.

Any thoughts on the Buick Encore? Not out yet which scares me.

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

Of those options I like the Rav4 and the Santa Fe/Sorrento. The SF and Sorrento are the same vehicle, but the SF has a better resale. Honestly, Hyundai/Kia has really stepped it up over the past several years. The Rav4 is solid. I like Buicks, but the Enclave is based on the 3.4/3.5/3.9 Chevy driveline. It is OK, but it is not really a Buick.

I am a Toyota man myself and my aunt loves her Rav, but I think of it as a small tinny ride. Yes I have rode in it and would add some MLV if it was mine.

Did 45 minutes of high weight shoulder and chest exercises this morning; just got back from a ~1 mile jaunt with all three dogs. I'm still wound up like a top...

Who knows, I might crash out by 7

It is just too bad Toyota ruined the 4runner IMO with their new design.

Anybody have any experience using these heaters? They claim $.04 an hour and I am looking at something to help my grandparents a little more on their fuel oil costs.

http://www.eheat.com/

Update as I blew a couple hours just sitting in cars:

Ford Escape - It fits, but barely

Hyundai Santa Fe - for the money seems like a hell of a buy. Having dual power seats is a huge bonus

Hyundai Tucson - too small

Kia Sorrento - seemed cheap compared to the Santa Fe

Kia Sportage - CRAP

VW Tiguan - super teeny Nav screen. Nice seats and layout.

Buick Encore - not available for another week

Toyota Rav4 - too small

Honda CRV - piece of shit

Subaru Tribeca - not available

Ford Edge - seems long in the tooth and I am sure will be updated soon

So, Escape, Tiguan, Sante Fe, or Encore I think. Going to setup drives for next weekend to compare.

10K

Yes I am a slacker

My Great Aunt wants to buy my mom a new car. Can't be used. Can't be much bigger than an Escape.

Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, VW Tiguan, Buick Encore, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Kia Sorrento

Yikes, nothing I know anything about. Any lemons or mechanically better? Mom is 71 but wants nav, bluetooth, dual power seats (dad is 6'7"), safe, reliable, and not a complete pooch.

Great Aunt is pro Ford and I'm anti-GM, but the most logical buy is the one we should pursue. Any thoughts?

In that size/style.... the Acadia is one AWESOME little go getter. The 2 I have been in were at least. Without GM, I like the escape in general and if it comes with Sync it would be pretty awesome.

I don't know anything about 6'7 headroom but I always feel claustrophobic in most SUV's that size.

Know its on the big side, but the folks absolutely love their Buick Enclave.

Acadia & Enclave are too huge. Won't fit in their garage. :(/>

Is the Acadia tha much bigger? Oops.

I think either the Ford or the Toyota would be the way to go then.

Update as I blew a couple hours just sitting in cars:

Ford Escape - It fits, but barely

Hyundai Santa Fe - for the money seems like a hell of a buy. Having dual power seats is a huge bonus

Hyundai Tucson - too small

Kia Sorrento - seemed cheap compared to the Santa Fe

Kia Sportage - CRAP

VW Tiguan - super teeny Nav screen. Nice seats and layout.

Buick Encore - not available for another week

Toyota Rav4 - too small

Honda CRV - piece of shit

Subaru Tribeca - not available

Ford Edge - seems long in the tooth and I am sure will be updated soon

So, Escape, Tiguan, Sante Fe, or Encore I think. Going to setup drives for next weekend to compare.

The Encore appears to be using the direct injection Turbo I4 motor. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole. If a standard SFI is available it will be decent. The 3.9 (if it is an option) has beastly power for an NA V6.

I abhore the Escapes. They are fucking nightmares from my perspective. Expect to fix a lot of small, yet pricy shit.

Tiguan... well, it's a fucking VW. If cost of ownership is a concern I would run for cover.

The Santa Fe seems to me like the best option. With the V6 it has surprising power. But the mileage is not that great.

I know you didn't mention it, and I am not usually a fan of Chrysler products, but the Pacifica is a really nice crossover. I have not had the need to work on many, but the few I have the issues were generally small. We have one moving through used car recon right now, and I checked it in. It has about 95K on the odo, and needs very little work. It rides well and it is fairly comfortable.

Something that needs to be kept in mind is that all these are VVT motors. It is imperative that proper maintenance be done (3,000 mile oil changes no matter what the manual says) and the proper fluids must be used. I am seeing a lot of VVT issues due to lack of maintenance or improper fluid usage. Sludging up VVT passages leads to failure and sludged passages means a new motor.

Someone posted an article based on the major manufacturers in the US, based particularly on the cost of ownership. FWIW Hyundai came out on top (lowest cost of ownership and least downtime) with VW trailing bigtime. Buick floated right within the top 5 and Toyota and Honda scored surprisingly poorly, but a tad over Ford IIRC.

Keep in mind that my perspective is under hood and under dash. My workload is almost 100% drivability diagnosis (which includes check engine lights and emissions related failures) and electrical concerns. I rarely do much preventative maintenance, but I do do all the major engine work (bottom end and complete rebuilds) and differential rebuild work here at the shop. I do not do engine/trans replacement very often, but before we do any major work like that it has to get my approval (as shop foreman and shop manager). So take what I say from that perspective. I don't give a shit about interior appointments.

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The Encore appears to be using the direct injection Turbo I4 motor. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole. If a standard SFI is available it will be decent. The 3.9 (if it is an option) has beastly power for an NA V6.

Only the ecotec turbo 4 it seems. Is it a wreck from a longevity standpoint or just a classic GM oops we made a POS?

I abhore the Escapes. They are fucking nightmares from my perspective. Expect to fix a lot of small, yet pricy shit.

Interior wise or powertrain? Looking only at the new ones, not the previous gen.

The Santa Fe seems to me like the best option. With the V6 it has surprising power. But the mileage is not that great.

That is what I was pushing them to as well. My Great Aunt has this wild hair that says NO USED cars since my mother would never buy new and she wants the best for my mom. Hard to argue with a 90 year old, but that then limits the MSRP of the new car to under $40. She'd probably spring for more, but my mom won't have it. Otherwise we'd add the Volvo XC60 to the list.

I know you didn't mention it, and I am not usually a fan of Chrysler products, but the Pacifica is a really nice crossover. I have not had the need to work on many, but the few I have the issues were generally small. We have one moving through used car recon right now, and I checked it in. It has about 95K on the odo, and needs very little work. It rides well and it is fairly comfortable.

Has to be new, Chrysler/Dodge scrapped all their crossover vehicles.

Something that needs to be kept in mind is that all these are VVT motors. It is imperative that proper maintenance be done (3,000 mile oil changes no matter what the manual says) and the proper fluids must be used. I am seeing a lot of VVT issues due to lack of maintenance or improper fluid usage. Sludging up VVT passages leads to failure and sludged passages means a new motor.

Thanks, not a problem my mom is diligent and I take care of insuring it. Appreciate the heads up though.

Someone posted an article based on the major manufacturers in the US, based particularly on the cost of ownership. FWIW Hyundai came out on top (lowest cost of ownership and least downtime) with VW trailing bigtime. Buick floated right within the top 5 and Toyota and Honda scored surprisingly poorly, but a tad over Ford IIRC.

Not actually surprised from interacting with their engineering.

Keep in mind that my perspective is under hood and under dash. My workload is almost 100% drivability diagnosis (which includes check engine lights and emissions related failures) and electrical concerns. I rarely do much preventative maintenance, but I do do all the major engine work (bottom end and complete rebuilds) and differential rebuild work here at the shop. I do not do engine/trans replacement very often, but before we do any major work like that it has to get my approval (as shop foreman and shop manager). So take what I say from that perspective. I don't give a shit about interior appointments.

Exactly why I am interested in your perspective. I can deal with determining fit, but I always buy a few year old car at least and this is a different ball game. Wish we had some of Europe's TDI's but since we don't it's to the drawing board with what we do have.

We looked at well over 30 homes. And that was in a SMALL area that we have already lived in for 5 years and wife grew up in.

Again.... if you want to buy a home do it because you crave hom ownership, not because you think it's a smartest plan financially. It is not a sure bet. And start saving. And WAIT and look and look and look.

If you don't have a significant down payment, have at least a year or more of hustory at your current job, and some assets you might get raped bad on the interest rate and you will fosho have to pay MTG insurance.

I'm getting a good deal on the loan. I just barely qualify for a Rural Development loan (almost make too much) so my PMI (Private MTG Ins.) is less than half of normal and my interest rate is the same as an FHA or conventional loan.

Other than that, I'm not stuck on owning (would really rather not have any debt), but unless I want to drive ~100 mile roundtrip everyday, which works out to $500-$600 in gas per month just to drive to work compared to $180 there just really isn't decent rental property.

In addition, I'm buying in a better area with house that has been remodeled to a T for less than the house cost in 2001 plus just the windows. The energy efficiency of the house is better than most new houses. Also my company will pay Realtor fees and will get a relocation company to purchase the home if/when I get transferred. So really, if I get exactly what I paid for it then I will "break even" and get my principal back (minus PMI, taxes and insurance).

I need to go to bed but wanted to point out from Sean's post. Windows, Appliances, water heater, etc.. All replaced in the last 5-7 years.I need to check on the AC systems with inspection.

On the lawn car. I could get a $40 push mower on craigslist and be done mowing in an hour.

I'll keep my eye open for rentals as nothing is set in stone, but the rentals that are cheap are cheap for good reason and I'm damn tired of living in places that are neglected or stupid stuff is done to keep it cheap (and likely cost me out the ass in utilities).

PS - I appreciate the input.

No rental within 100 miles is a long way. That is a big changer. A home is probably the larges purchase you will ever make. It is impossible to really know what you want and what is a good deal without looking for a long long time. I should have said it before because I was kind of doom saying, buying a home is wonderful. I think you should, but making a choice like that so fast to a new area is a big deal. Also will YOU be buying it, or will the lady be on the title too? If so be careful as fuck. When not married, buying a house with someone else can really eff you over. Not just in the typical complications but even the fact you are the major money contribution source it could mean she has to pay taxes on the amount you are able to put down. Check state and fed tax rules just to be safe.

As for new this or new that on a home, you cannot judge longevity of a product by its purchase date. We had this house for 2 years and then suddenly the basement floods.

It floods 5-6 times a year now. No good reason why. Process of elimination to fix it. Sucks but it is what it is.

If you loose your job will they still give you an buy back deal? I was asked to resign after basically reporting big labor violations. Even if you can sue by the time it is through the court system you may have a foreclosure on your record. Or worse the plant/office closes, is there a clause to save you then? My guess is without that company there, there will be a lot of homes up for sale REALLY fast and you don't want to be the guy who can't drop the price because he owes the full value. If it's that rural you have to think about the fact a drive from a place less affected by one factor is more stable too. It's not like buying in Chicago or New York.

As for a $40 dollar lawn mower, I went througb 2 of them! Well one was 60 and another was free. The rider has a flat and a belt burned apart. And even the hand power push mowers need sharpening. You may get lucky and be fine. In fact you wi probably never ever have a serious problem. My point is that you don't want to be stuck in a place you don't absolutely love, then have a major issue, and be paying off a credit card for that furnace or roof you had to pay for.

Better to take your time, live the dream, and be secure. Maybe you have some nest egg or some help financially from someone. And work will pay for it.

If you have every base covered and the fine print spelled out, then there is nothing like owning a home. It isn't a money maker but it is fun to be able to have your own place. Just make absolutely sure that there is no reasonable way that your place will become the banks place.

:-)

And double check those clause from you job. Make sure there is no "minimum" time worked. Like your not eligible because it hasn't been a year or something, or you aren't eligible for a transfer because everyone else is more senior. Again I didn't even consider how rural you are but your employer there probably accounts for the majority of the cash flow to your town and the surrounding area. If they decide to jump ship to save the company, will you be effed? Will everyone around you be effed? Does the state have an unemployment program that will be functional for you? Can you make the mtg payments from savngs and UE until you can move?

Your a smart guy Mike. Just don't get caught up in the hype. Home ownership doesn't guarantee happiness.