vader1

Since my dad retired, he has made the progression from 3 cars to 1, and from manuals to auto.

He got rid of the grand cherokee, and the A4 and now he wants to trade in his Lexus and buy a Sonata. Yes a Sonata.

He is putting about 30,000 miles a year so he wants a car that is not too expensive that will get decent milage, be reliable for about three years and 90,000 miles and then trade it in for something else. He does not want to spend big money any more.

It must be a four door, capacity is and issue since they rent a house in San Diego for three months every winter and drive across country with a car load of crap.

I suggested the new Malibu which he drove and liked but they did not have the options he wanted. They seem to be in short supply right now. He seems to be impressed with the interior, features, and fuel economy of the Sonata especially for the price. He loves the Camry but he made a decent offer and the salesperson and manager tried to play games with him for an hour so he walked out.

He has yet to drive an Accord or Altima.

I had him drive a TSX and he said too small for what they need to carry so a Fusion and a Legacy are probably out.

From the sound of it he would go as high as low thirties for a car and he told me he would be open to a four cylinder as long as it were not underpowered.

He wants space, fuel economy, and interior comfort for lots of ten hour days behind the wheel doing retired guy stuff all over the country. Any cars I am missing? Any experience with a long term Sonata?

ZSAK

you know one idea i have been tossing around because my wife wants a bigger car and nothing too expensive. Tell him to go look at a Dodge Magnum. Yeah I know the gas mileage is not the best but if you go look at some used magnums they can be had for dirt cheap even with the Hemi. I have seen some R/t's with nav sunroof fully loaded for under 20k. So with the savings of a cheaper car the gas savings may not make it too bad of a deal. With not too many miles. The car itself was very comfortable and had decent power from the v8. Just tossing it out there to look at something different.

trainwreck

i have driven a rental sonata and azera. compared to the american fleet vehicale counterparts (which i have also driven), like the malibu or the g5, they are worlds better in terms of handling and construction.

however, compared to camry (probably the best rental car u can get) and accord, not as refined. however i will say, both the sonata and azera are solid cars and great value for the money. if i were older, i would probably get a used sonata with the 10 year 100k warranty.

CG

Mazda 6? In fact the Mazda crossovers drive nicely too.

vader1

I did not recommend any of the Chryslers to him because of my bias that they all suck right now. He and I had a rental Charger in Vegas and he was not too fond of it.

I don't think the savings of a Hemi at a discount are the issue with him. He has a very comfortable retirement but it would be safe to call him a lefty. He just does not want to burn gas just because he can afford to. Sense of responsibility sort of thing. Rubbed off on my brother. He does well and bought a Prius.

He really liked the looks of the new Mazda 6 but I am not even sure when they hit show floors but the EPA milage estimates I have seen were pretty low for the new model.

I told him if he wants a three years disposable car he will easily get back the difference he saves on the purchase of a Sonata with the resale of an Accord or Camry. But if he just wants a cheap new car I would rather see him throw some money to an American product that gets high marks like a Malibu. He can also use my $1800 declining balance on my GM card since I am not in the market for a GM product.

I think he could look at wagon offerings like an Outback V6 or maybe the Jetta diesel sportwagon. The problem is that my mom has become a giant pudgeball. She is 5' tall and about 200 pounds and the Jetta would just about wrap around her rotundness skin tight.

Spec_Ops2087

civic / accord ftw

sam_spider

I'll probably get shot for this, but a Chevy/Caddy dealer I was at on Friday were sitting on quite a few Cadillac STS', they were knocking $20k off the sticker, which meant $22k for an STS V6, loaded except for Nav. which is a steal, IMO. It's not a performance car by any means, but for $22k it's a hard deal to pass on.

ace123

for cars not mentioned:
the base cadillac cts starts at $34k msrp. if theyre doing employee pricing, that would be right around the $30k he wants to spend for a stripped one.

i think the stripper bmw 1/3 series and MB start right about $30k, but i'm not sure the stripped models would be as nice as the other options mentioned here if they were loaded up to the same price.

the VW passat/etc may also be worth a look. are resale/reliability an issue?

i'd be the accord would be the car to beat though.

asiliat

Sonatas aren't bad cars, I had a rental once, it got the job done. I'd have no problem owning either, if I'm at that stage in my life where I don't care too much, except comfort, economy and A-B destination.

I'd actually check out an Impala. I'm not a huge fan of American automobiles, but I rented once to go to Chicago, and it was good. Tell him to pony up and get satellite radio though. Lots of stations, lots of variety in music, etc. Worked out really nice for me when I had the Impala. Also, because it's a digital dash, it can switch from km/MPG (like our S) easily, so if he happens to drive to Canada....

Impala fuel economy:
211-hp 3.5L V6 engine with Variable Valve Timing (gasoline/E85 compatible) with an EPA estimated MPG of 18 city/29 highway (gasoline) and 14 city/21 highway (E85)

Sonata:
249hp @ 6000rpm 3.3 litre V6 19 / 29

So they are comparable - price is about the same too actually. Both starting at ~$21,500 (US)

jlstyle82

I would take Azera.