Car buying advice (plus rant), if you don't mind.

[Sapphire Silk]

I'll second Hondas. My last three cars have been Hondas.

I'd recommend the Odyssey if hubs is OK with mini vans. My sister has had two; they're great cars.

I've had a CR-V, is a light SUV, good mileage, comfy and would recommend one of those. They are less pricey than the Odyssey.

[dragon_wings]

My sister and brother in law have a Honda Fit (and two kids, 7 and 4). Only issue I had is the kids need car seats and I was kinda cramped sitting back there with them. But it serves them well as its their only vehicle (bro in law works at home, sis takes the kids to school on her way to work).
My mom drives a hybrid Ford Explorer and loves the hell outta it. My parents drove it from Tennessee to Baltimore with a Uhaul to pack me and roomie up and move us here.
Both the Fit and Explorer have tons of cargo space.

[Andara Bledin]

Note on Hondas: Car thieves and joyriders love them. You run into this with most of the reliable "econobox" type cars, though.

Anecdote time: My boss had an older Civic, which was parked on their upper-middle-class street. They woke up one day to find it missing... However, there was a rather damaged and very abused Civic of similar vintage parked nearby that turned out to be the car the joyriders had stolen prior. They got the car back, eventually, but the damage was never completely repaired (a lot of staining, etc) and the car never drove the same.

^-.-^

[protege]

Note on Hondas: Car thieves and joyriders love them. You run into this with most of the reliable "econobox" type cars, though.

They're loved...because they blend into the background. Honda Civics, Toyota Corollas, etc. are everywhere. Common enough that they won't be noticed...but also common enough that they can be turned into spare parts.

BTW, I have an '07 Corolla CE, with the five-speed. I've had to do practically nothing to it, other than regular oil changes and tire rotations. Properly maintained, it'll probably outlast me Seriously though, 40mpg is nothing to sneeze at, plus it's cheap to insure.

[Immortal1982]

I drive a 2005 toyota matrix, which was the first gen matrix. It's a corolla with a station wagon body. They are pretty good for long trips and great on the gas mileage. fold down rear seats for hauling stuff.

The second gen (since 2009) have a smaller trunk.

[KiaKat]

My 2008 FIT is a TARDIS. MUCH bigger on the inside. For a family of 4, it'll be fine. If you have to squeeze a fifth person in the back... erm... don't.

I also get 38-42 MPG highway (if fully-loaded with 25 cases of wine, it drops to 32MPG), and around 28-32 city. 10G tank, but it's got such great mileage that I haven't worried about that. We're well over 50K miles on it, and except for minor maintenance stuff, and being smashed by my neighbours in 2009, it hasn't needed *anything*. Still runs beautifully.

[AlmightyALT]

My hubby's a car guy (will be starting automotive school in August, can do a lot of the simpler repairs on vehicles himself right now, just replaced the rotors on the front wheels of his truck this weekend), and we're planning on getting me a reliable vehicle after my 2004 Ford Tarus blew up on him in the middle of the Texas desert in August (twice, once heading to Laredo, once heading back from Laredo). When I mentioned I liked the look of my friends new Kia Rio hatchback he started doing research and has told me that Kia's have recently become a reliable vehicle. Also affordable! So we'll be looking into Kia's when the time comes.

I test drove my friends Kia Rio 5-Door and it drove real well. Seats are roomy and the back seat has space enough. Wouldn't want my super tall friends to have to ride in the back for super long, but shorter trips or in town wouldn't bother them I think.

[Aria]

My current car is a Nissan Pathfinder, secondhand. I can't remember the year, but I know it was highly rated for the year. It's got lots of space for kids and luggage, although the back seats are a bit cramped for adults. The only really bad thing about it is the gas mileage, which blows. It's a very nice car though.

[Treasure]

my mom has a 2008 Ford Taurus (with the telescoping pedals! which is great, cause she's 4'10" and dad is 6'2")

its roomy, gets pretty good mpgs, and easily room for 3-4 dead bodies in the trunk

[kansasgal]

We have a Suzuki Crossover touring, and it's really a great car. My son (6 foot 8, 400 lbs) fits in it well in the front (don't even ask about the back, lol) and we can fit 5 people no problem. Has a lot of storage too, and generally good gas mileage.

[BrenDAnn]

I'm going to go ahead and second the Chevy Impala idea. Then again, I'm a Chevy girl. My Dad raised me that way. The only car I've had that wasn't a Chevy was my very first one, a Pontiac Grand Am. I've never had a problem with any of the three Chevys I've owned, aside from the Lumina seeming to be an animal magnet...seriously, I named it Slayer because it killed every animal that got near it! Really, though, an Impala is roomy, plentyo f storage, GREAT gas mileage, and just overall a nice vehicle. I'd recommend it to anyone!

[BlaqueKatt]

the only advice I know is don't say you have a trade in, get the price and then mention you're willing to trade, otherwise they may up the price to cover the trade. Also my husband managed to purchase a "used" rental at a steep discount. It was the current model year(3 months old), had a whopping 5,000 miles on it, and a discount over new of around $5,000.00.

[Luna Baby]

Just over a year ago we decided we were putting more money into repairs of our '03 Dodge Caravan than we could put into a car payment. I looked at a couple of different cars but when the dealer (a friend of ours) showed me the Nissan Altima, I was sold. We got an '08 model, 2.5 liter SL package. I can't speak enough good things about this car. Hubby is of average height and so am I so I can't speak to room for exceptionally tall folks driving, but oldest DS is over 6 feet and he can ride front or rear seats comfortably. We took the car to Florida from Kentucky and back with luggage and accessories for a week, plus a guitar in a hard case, all packed in the trunk! I can definitely attest to the fact that it has a large trunk space for packing all your gear.

One thing to do when you are car shopping is to not even consider a trade of your existing vehicle until you've gotten the vehicle you are looking at priced. We didn't discuss trade-in values (or that we were even considering a trade in) until we settled on a price. Once we had that set, then we let them consider my van. Turns out, we got +$2000 more on trade value than we could have sold it for. With that deal, we were able to do the trade.

The biggest thing is to do your homework and really research the vehicle you are interested in. I've learned all I can about my car and love it. Sis has one, getting another. Mom bought one and we'll probably look for one for our oldest DS, as soon as he decides to get his permit/license.

[Dilorenzo]

I would suggest against a Jetta

I'm just going to focus in on that particular part, and say hell yes. I have to drive a fair amount these days with my job, and the Jetta hasn't let me down once where the Nissan Sentra I was driving before constantly did. The thing is solid as hell, has decent power, and with the triptronic gear box it's a dream to drive. (All that means is that I get to drive manual, and my wife gets to drive automatic.)

Can't really recommend German enough, but it does come down to personal preference, and finding a good deal. I probably wouldn't be driving the Jetta now if I hadn't found the miracle price I did.

[Andara Bledin]

Can't really recommend German enough, but it does come down to personal preference, and finding a good deal. I probably wouldn't be driving the Jetta now if I hadn't found the miracle price I did.

I specifically cautioned against a Jetta for longer trips for anyone of above average stature.

My mother and aunt are both 5'3" and weight around the 140 lb mark. They both were quite comfortable in their '91 Jetta.

I, however, am 5'8" and weigh about 200 lbs and after about an hour in the driver's seat, I was ready to stop for the day. The only car I've done a long (3+ hours driving) trip in that was less comfortable was a particular year of the PT Cruiser. We used to rent those for our annual trip up to San Jose, but one year was quite comfy and the next year's model was unpleasantly less so.

Now, it's entirely possible that the current crop of Jettas is better, but I would very strongly suggest that if any car is even remotely less that completely comfortable during a test drive, you absolutely don't want to be strapped into the driver's seat for hours at a time.

Now, the Dodge Caliber was quite pleasant for the San Jose trip, and our current Nissan Altima is comfortable enough that I could drive that thing all day long and be in danger of falling asleep before developing cramps in my back or leg.

^-.-^