Safety-- old volvo or new subaru?

General Discussion
21

@olbessie We definitely are not trying to scare you. I personally would not worry about transporting kids in your Volvo. All we were trying to do is destroy the MYTH that Volvos are safer than other cars. Again your driving skills are infinitely more important than the small difference in safety between your Volvo and newer cars.

Take a defensive driving course from the AAA or other organization for about $150 and your eyes will be opened as to where the real dangers on the road are. Our whole family has taken this course.

If you are buying a new car, they are all safe now or they would not be on US roads. There is nothing magic about a Subaru either. Being able to get service is important, since the average grease monkey can do serious damage to a Subaru because it is different from other cars.

22

Well I was convinced to get the subaru… now I’m more confused than ever, lol.

23

Nothing to be confused about. Tests show the Subaru is safer. Whether you’ll need that safety margin, who knows? But to your original question, the answer is pretty straightforward.

24

@olbessie

With respect to the other posters . . .

Don’t go running to the new car dealership because your current car is a “death trap”

Your current car is NOT a death trap

Obviously, a new car would be safer, but don’t do anything financially foolish, either

Buy a new car if you’re ready, willing and able

Not because you’re scared stupid

25

omg they sold the car right out from under me! I was literally on my way to the dealership when they called to tell me someone bought the car. but i had an appt! they knew i was coming to sign the paperwork! we had a verbal agreement on the phone! who does that?! bad form. Safe or no, Volvo wins this round. unbelieveable.

26

That’s unfortunately how it works. A deal is only a deal when it’s signed and paid. Only trust what you have in writing, not what is said, either on the phone or to your face.

27

Right @VDC.
Even here there are some who feel they are in total control of their destiny on our highways.
@doc
Subarus are magical here in New England ! Funny though. I did routine service to my Subarus and treated them the same as other cars. An Awd Subaru should be treated the same way as another Awd car…and any fwd car for that matter, except for a little extra differential oil.

28

“Even here there are some who feel they are in total control of their destiny on our highways.”

Yup!
Dagosa is one of the few who seems to understand this point.
I take a Defensive Driving course every 3 years, in order to get a nice discount on my car insurance. Since AARP members pay only $15 for this course, it is definitely a good deal.

I may not really need this refresher course every 3 years, as evidenced by the fact that I have not had an accident of any kind since 1971, but being able to get that insurance discount makes it a good use of my time and a few bucks.

However, no matter how defensively I drive, I can’t prevent an intoxicated, or reckless, or distracted driver from…rear-ending me, or T-boning me, or crashing head-on into me. That is where occupant protection comes into play, and almost without exception, the newer the car, the more occupant protection you will have. As the science improves, so does the level of protection for the car’s occupants.

Those who think that they are in total control of their destiny on the highway remind me of my late uncle, a nice, though pathetically insecure man, who used bravado to conceal his insecurities. When my father had seatbelts installed in our '63 Plymouth, my uncle’s comment to my father was, “What’s the matter, Bernie? Don’t you trust your own driving ability?”.

His comment was ridiculously naïve, and so are the comments of those who think that simply operating your car defensively will protect you from the actions and inactions of all other drivers.

29

@VDC
That you take a defensive driving course regularly IS important. Practicing evasive maneuvers or not putting yourself in harms way and EVEN JUST DISCUSSING sitiuations is valuable In maintaining proper mindset for driving. Just saying you are a “safe driver” is so far removed from demonstrating the actions that make you one in practice, it mimics military training. Successful accident avoidance and reaction depends upon training, preparation and reinforcement.

And the is scary thing is ? You can still be involved in an accident and not be officially at fault. If you’re lucky enough to walk away, you “can” blame it on the other guy. But, There are still things you could have done differently…and acknowledge that no one is perfect or immune from an accident is a big part of it. That’s why we made old Volvo myths. A little psychlogical CYA.

30

Consider the case of Bob Pease.
Genius-engineer. Wrote a book about driving safely.
Insisted on driving a 1969 VW Beetle because newer, safer cars were “boring”.
In 2011, distraught leaving the funeral of a close friend and fellow engineer,
he passed out (it seems), lost control and hit a tree.
Probably would have survived in a car with more structure and air bags.

31

@circuitsmith

Im not trying to be difficult, I don’t know this guy, but the fact that he crashed leaving a winery is an interesting tidbit. What was his blood alcohol level when he passed out? Why was he not wearing a seat belt, that alone could have saved him. Was he on medication that interacted with alcohol?

Around here people duck their heads in the sand when we have a tragic loss and sometimes don’t look at the facts, I mean it was a single car crash and he didn’t even make it out of the driveway of the winery, by talking about the facts it can help educate people to prevent further deaths.

People also like to never attribute crashes to alcohol use, when only a small amount was consumed.

If your really upset you shouldn’t drive.

Source- A guy that sees a lot of impaired driving wrecks as a first responder.

32

Yes it was a winery, but he arrived after wine had stopped being served, and there was no alcohol in his blood.
Do your homework.

From an eye witness:

“Bob hit the first tree on steep driveway out of the parking lot of the Mountain Winery where he had shown up late for Jim Williams memorial. Bob had walked up the hill to the event and back down to the parking lot, and most likely had a stroke or heart attack as he left. He was not conscious when he left the road. It was not really an accident the way most people think of it, as something that Bob could have avoided. Oh, also– Bob showed up way late, the function was over, I waved to him as I drove my motorcycle out of the parking lot. He was not at the memorial, he missed it. There was no alcohol available, it had been put away an hour earlier. His wife tells me he was at work that day, which is the only thing that would have made him late– Bob was working with the National web group on three hot projects.”

33

@circuitsmith

There is no need to get snippy, I just asked if he had consumed alcohol prior to the deadly crash…Why are you so defensive? Is it possible you like to knock back a few yourself at the winery?

If casually I told you that Joe blow got killed at an accident at the gun range most people would tend to assume that it was a firearms related accident, never mind he actually got his arm cut off dislodging a stick from the mower and bled to death.

Just like if someone is leaving a bar and gets into a wreck you would assume they have been drinking. Its common sense, which isn’t so common these days.

I read that alcohol was not being served for the last hour, that doesn’t mean someone was stone sober if drinking prior, so what he arrived after the service, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t drinking, the last I read was that toxicology results were pending, I could not find an update and I never found concrete proof of what the actual cause was. Why would there be an event at a winery if alcohol was not involved, even if he was not drinking. Use your head, maybe a drunken driver ran him off the road as he was leaving and we will never know.

The fact is the Old beetle with drum brakes and no airbags did not cause the wreck so long as the steering went out or there was another mechanical problem. Would he survived with no seat belt driving a modern car, who knows, however he would have had a lot better chance.

I am not trying to be a jerk, its just how i look at things.
I have had a close co-worker die in an accident, it was a tragedy, but one that could have been avoided.
He made several small mistakes, there were three factors that contributed, remove one of those three and it wouldn’t have happened. We could have just said it was a tragedy and left it at that, instead we decided to look into it further and use it as a learning experience. We didn’t duck our head in the sand.

If Bob would have been wearing a seat belt, he may still be here today. Everyone is afraid to point that out, they fear its rude, unfortunately in the end its the cold hard truth …period… Im not trying to attack Bob, Im just trying to point out that no matter how old the car, if the basic safety devices are not used, there is no point arguing about safety.

34

OP, the reason they sold the car is because everything was verbal. While not accusing you of the practice at all, car sales people have to rely on the “right now” sales method because in the majority of cases verbal commitments are not followed upon. It’s all about cash flow in the present.

Personally, I don’t consider your car to be unsafe at all. It’s not like it’s a 60s era model with not a hint of safety features on it. The car has apparently made it going on 13 years without killing the occupants so it should make it a bit longer…

35

The most safe car is the one driven by the best driver!

36

A newer Subaru tends to be more reliable then an older Volvo. Doesn’t reliability add to the safety a car can provide ?

37

“omg they sold the car right out from under me! I was literally on my way to the dealership when they called to tell me someone bought the car”.
@olbessie–don’t fret. My late father always said “There will always be cars”.
When I got my first regular job back in 1965, I thought I had to have a newer car. I finally negotiated what I thought was a great deal on a 1965 Rambler Classic. It was the bottom of the line model with 7000 miles on the odometer. I bought the car for $1750 and received the balance of the 24,000 mile warranty. However, had I waited, my parents bought another house a month later. The owner and his wife were moving to Florida and the owner offered me his 1963 Ford Fairlane, which was the stripped, bottom of the line model, for $1000. The Fairlane only had 10,000 miles. At that time, my salary for the year was $6000, so $750 was a chunk of cash.

38

If you want to be safe, forget those tiny SUVs you mention and move up to a large SUV. The Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon and Chevy Suburban/GMC Yukon XL have the lowest medical payout according to all the insurance companies. And medical payout is the best indicator of passenger safety in your vehicle. If these trucks had an accident with a Subaru Forester, the Forester would be flattened. Odds are you will never be in an accident, especially given your keen interest in safety. But there is no substitute for size in this contest.

39

“the Forester would be flattened”

Therefore the owner of the Yukon should pay more for liability insurance, since his vehicle causes more damage in an accident.
And he should pay more for registration since the bigger, heavier vehicle causes more damage to the roads.
But why stop at a large SUV? Get a dual axle pickup, or a semi-tractor, or a small RV with old tires hanging around it like a tugboat…
Let’s have another million rolling houseboats.
Our grandchildren won’t need the petroleum.

40

I agree with everyone here in that the Subie would be much safer, and that defensive driving training would probably make more of a difference than the car. I partly disagree with the notion that good defensive driving will not save you from other drivers. I have avoided several accidents because I was aware of my surroundings and was able to spot idiots before they got to me. No, it is not perfect, but it does improve your chances greatly. How many people do y’all know that had 3 accidents in the last 2 months, but they were all “the other guy’s” fault?