Me and my wife just moved to Ohio and she wants to buy a Chevrolet Equinox. I am wanting to know if this would be a good vehicle for a new family that is in a new state. If it is a good car what would be an acceptable price range and what are some of the usual problems with the vehicle.
A good place to start your research is the web site; Edmunds.com
No big issues, + or -, with Equinox. If you can afford the gas it is good family vehicle. Smaller sedans, like the Civic or Corolla, can work fine for a family with 1 child and costs much less to own and operate than an Equinox.
Another good research place is the Consumer Reports New Car Buyers’ Guide at teh local bookstore. That’ll compare and contrast all the available options.
As long as you live where the roads are plowed regularly, you’ll be fine, there’s plenty on the road where I live. When buying used, be sure to have a mechanic give it a once over before you buy it
Although, I wouldn’t recommend buying a new vehicle just because a baby is on the way… economy cars can be a pain when you have an infant. Convertible car seats (the ones that can be front or rear facing) either don’t fit or make it so those in the front seat have to have their knees on the dash when it’s rear facing.
This was a royal PIA when we had a Civic and I can’t imagine a Corolla would be any better. We couldn’t use our fancy convertible seat and had to buy a dedicated rear facing one. Luckily, it did fit in the facing forward configuration. The stroller “systems” are also gigantic and very tough to fit in a trunk of a typical small car.
My wife and I currently have two compact hatchbacks and frankly, they suck for when we need to take two kids and a dog anywhere.
New or used? The 2010 has a new 4-cyl that gets great mileage on the highway. You might want to test drive it if you can afford a new one (about $23,500 with delivery included). There are rebates for members of NCAF and USAA customers.