Out of those 3 choices, I’d chose the Escape based on your comments on them. I’m assuming you want leather seats, so spending a bit more to get what you want is a lot better than saving some money and having to deal with something you don’t really care for
No, I live in central Virginia. We do get snow and especially ice here, but generally just a few times each winter. We generally get the same weather DC gets.
As for trim levels, for all intents and purposes they are the same, at least for what matters to me. Keep in mind, I’m not looking for a car that has the most features for the money, I’m simply looking for a good used car that I can afford. For the record, the 2004 Subaru is a high trim level (heated seats, power moon roof, etc.) and so is the 2007 Escape.
Since the majority of the comments here were pro Subaru and against the Ford, I was just curious to know if that would still hold if the Subaru was three years older than the Ford, i.e., is a 2004 Forester with 50K miles still a smarter buy (for a reliable, affordable family car) than a 2007 Escape with 30K miles? Is that 2004 Subaru just about to start falling apart? Does that Escape have three more years before it starts falling apart? I realize there’s no way to know, and I sense that people here are getting irritated with me. It’s just that this is a huge purchase for us, and I’m trying not to screw it up.
None of them is going to fall apart unless they are maintained poorly. You can’t control the previous owners, but if you keep up on maintenance, any of them should last much longer than 3 years.
Central VA is pretty flat. I’m sure that most of your neighbors near C-ville drive 2WD vehicles. Unless you drive in lousy weather (emergency personnel), just stay home. I drive a FWD car in Central MD and have no problems.
Yes, it’s pretty flat here. There’s a chance we will be moving way up north in 2010, though, so I’m trying to take that into consideration. But you’re right. Lots of people do fine w/o AWD, even in Minnesota. But the Car Talk guys do recommend it for snowy places…
I like the leather because it’s easier to keep clean with kids in the car all the time. It’s not critical though. My main issue is that I like the slightly bigger size of the Escape, but I like the looks and reliability of the Subaru.
My experience has been that you start getting problems with a car when it is five years old and/or 60K miles. So I didn’t mean “fall apart” literally, I meant start nickel & dime-ing me with repairs. In fact, I just talked to a friend yesterday who has a 2004 Subaru Outback that needs a new CV joint boot. So if I buy a car from 2004, are those types of repairs going to start popping up? I would say yes, and I will have more repairs (probably?) on a 2004 than on a 2007 or a 2008. But since any car can be a lemon or could have had a lazy previous owner, it’s all a crapshoot anyway.
“I like the leather because it’s easier to keep clean with kids in the car…”
Yes, leather is easier to clean up. We had cloth seats in our first van. The brrr, uh, bright, industrious young ladies made quite a mess of the upholstery. They’re older, we’re wiser, and have leather in our 2003 Silhouette. The seats have no blemishes, despite letting kids as young as 11 ride in it every day. Older kids can be problematic, too. But no ketchup, mustard, nor BBQ sauce has spoiled our seats yet.
Hahaha! It’s so true. Leather is sold as a “luxury” thing, but it’s a practical consideration. I am attracted to the Honda Element because it has a rubber floor that you can apparently hose out.
We’re committed to leather furniture in the family room, too. Had to throw away a perfectly decent upholstered couch after two potty training-related “accidents”…
If after nearly 50 posts, you haven’t been convinced to do anything you didn’t intend doing otherwise, may you enjoy your new Escape.
I don’t even know what that mean. One thing I do know is that you have been nothing but rude to me here. If you don’t like the thread, just don’t look at it.
Regardless, I won’t post anymore. Don’t like having you pop up now and again to bully me.
Hmmmm…overly touchy, are we?
Since the OP’s most recent comments puzzled me, I just re-read all of dagosa’s posts in this thread. While the OP might not have agreed with all of the opinions that dagosa gave, I see nothing in his comments that could be even remotely interpreted as “rude” or “bullying”.
When someone posts a question, he/she should be prepared to read opinions that do not necessarily agree with the OP’s preconceived ideas. Just because someone has a differing opinion, or just because someone challenges the OP’s assumptions, that does not constitute “bullying” or rudeness.
I hear ya on cleanup. My mom bought her Cobalt used, and the previous owner was a family person. Even a detailing shop at the dealership couldn’t remove the stains. She took it to another place that details and they couldn’t remove them either.
When I order my Rav4, I may pay the extra money to have leather installed rather than upgrade to the limited with factory leather(28k versus 32k(4k for fog lights and heated outside mirrors)) for dealer installed leather versus
I am dedicated Soob owner so the Forester is a good choice I think, for the winter driving at least. You will have no trouble there where as a 2WD car might.
As far as buying a used car for less money over a new car I would compare warranties. Buying a new car is buying you some assurance you won’t have to deal with repair costs for some time. That is worth the extra money over a used car.
If I was looking at cars right now I would try to find a new one that has all the options on it that would make it worth keeping for a long time. You pay up front but keeping a good car a long time saves you money in the end I think. The new car sales incentives out there right now are so great it is incredible. Honda is having their once a year end close out right now I think so you might check them out since you like the CRV. By doing some good shopping on the internet you should be able to swing a good deal on a new car and perhaps get a zero interest loan on it also if you have excellent credit.
Just to close this out: We ended up getting a 2009 Forester. Price was $20,000 and we got a great deal on the financing (so it ended up a better bargain than, say, the 2007 Escape, which was $17,000 firm with a much higher interest rate). We got something off the lot they were trying to unload, so didn’t get exactly what we wanted (no leather, no roof rails). But that was OK.
Thanks to all who helped!
I’m in the same boat . Been a Subaru guy for most of the last 20 years with the exception of a Ford Explorer for 150,000 miles. Can’t complain about the Ford product , in fact , Ford’s the only American car I’d consider buying . But , the Forester is what’s caught my eye . Big enough for lots of stuff in the back and I like it being smaller than the Escape , which I like also . ( haven’t driven one yet though ) I’m asking to anyone out there who knows , WHAT’S THE POOP ON THE 2009 FORESTER ?? I have heard they ding easily . Have interiors that aren’t quite up to spec. ? Don’t handle smoothly with the automatic trans. Anyone care to comment about these concerns/issues ? Reliability ??? thanks
I purchased a used 2008 Honda CRV 4WD last summer and love it.