YACT: Reccomending sedan for older parent

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acemcmac

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
13,712
1
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My dad does about 100 highway miles a day between two jobs and his house (triangle). How he's been doing this for 35 years is beyond me, but the guy is incredible. The last thing I want to see him do is die in a car accident, but he's deadly set on driving an econo-car, and worse yet- he's been driving more and more slowly every year.

This guy goes 60-65 on Interstate 95 at 7:00AM every morning.

He's been in 7 accidents over the last 5 years (none his fault), 3 with deer, one a rear-ending and one a sandwiching on I-95. He is very lucky to be alive, but still wants to downgrade from his camry to a corolla when he wants to get a new car.

There has got to be something safer than a corolla to get him into... His commute is 95% highway, so I thought that a used Crown Vic or Grand Marquis would be good for him since it'll still get 29ish highway...

What would you guys reccomend
 
T

Trikat

Diamond Member
May 22, 2003
3,384
0
86
You don't neccessarity want a tank like car such as the crown vic. That thing will eat up gas pretty darn fast. These days a lot of cars have great front and back crash ratings. For example my friend's sister got sandwiched between a truck (probably F-150 or bigger) full of drunk mexicans and a SUV. The truck slammed into her back at a red light going probably 45-50mph. Her car got pushed right into the SUV in front of her and as a result the back and front of the car was completely mashed in. Luckily the "cabin" was barely affected at all, but the glass was horrible. Her face and such was in really bad shape. Since the surgens did surgery through her mouth there really isn't many scars at all. I didn't think a Mistubishi Lancer (OZ rally edition) would hold up such a brute force impact from the back and front.
I don't know an exact model to recommend you, but research is easy to do these days. :)
 
A

acemcmac

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
13,712
1
0
Originally posted by: ArchCenturion
How old is he? When can he retire?
Click to expand...

he's old enough to retire, he just doesen't want to. He probably has 5 years left...

His car history that I know of

1957 Chevy (shared with parents)
1960's beetle, stolen and converted into a dune buggy
several (7 or more) Ford Escorts which he bought new and threw away after 4 years
1998 Toyota camry, 200k miles
 
A

acemcmac

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
13,712
1
0
Originally posted by: Trikat
You don't neccessarity want a tank like car such as the crown vic. That thing will eat up gas pretty darn fast. These days a lot of cars have great front and back crash ratings. For example my friend's sister got sandwiched between a truck (probably F-150 or bigger) full of drunk mexicans and a SUV. The truck slammed into her back at a red light going probably 45-50mph. Her car got pushed right into the SUV in front of her and as a result the back and front of the car was completely mashed in. Luckily the "cabin" was barely affected at all, but the glass was horrible. Her face and such was in really bad shape. Since the surgens did surgery through her mouth there really isn't many scars at all. I didn't think a Mistubishi Lancer (OZ rally edition) would hold up such a brute force impact from the back and front.
I don't know an exact model to recommend you, but research is easy to do these days. :)
Click to expand...

My brother has that car :shocked:

OMG Thats terrible, but at least its not a fatality...

I can probably sell my dad on a crown vic or marquis because of the bullet proof reliablity (think taxi cabs) and the fact that he can get one for 8k used that will be loaded and low mileage. If my V6 Mustang will get 28 highway, I know the crown vic can do better with the gear ratios....
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,014
114
106
26mpg highway for a crown vic which is pretty good considering the size. Your mustang isn't geared for perfomance either really and weighs alot less plus its not a v8 like the vic. The vics come with 2.73:1 or 3.27:1 for the sport trim. Your mustang probably has one of those two in it also.
 
J

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
6
81
There's nothing wrong with a corolla...and at least it won't explode when rear-ended.

If you really care about the .00004% chance of him getting into a fatal accident in the next few years, versus the .00003% chance in a larger car, maybe you just shouldn't let him drive.
 
Zenmervolt

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
22
81
Originally posted by: acemcmac
If my V6 Mustang will get 28 highway, I know the crown vic can do better with the gear ratios....
Click to expand...
The 'Vic has a 4.6 and weighs about the same as my old Mark VIII. It will max out at 26mpg on the freeway. You'll average about 22-23 commuting if it really is almost all highway, 18-19 in town.

ZV
 
PowerEngineer

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,571
743
136

Since he's had a Toyota Camry already, you might consider a new one of those. The 2007 now comes standards with seven air bags, and just tested out as "good" in both front and side collisions. The hybrid is rated at 40 mpg, but even the V6 is rated at 31 mpg highway. If you want something a little bigger, then look at the Toyota Avalon. It is roomier and has a few more creature comforts, but gets about the same mileage with its V6.

Good Luck!
 
J

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
6
81
Originally posted by: PowerEngineer

Since he's had a Toyota Camry already, you might consider a new one of those. The 2007 now comes standards with seven air bags, and just tested out as "good" in both front and side collisions. The hybrid is rated at 40 mpg, but even the V6 is rated at 31 mpg highway. If you want something a little bigger, then look at the Toyota Avalon. It is roomier and has a few more creature comforts, but gets about the same mileage with its V6.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Link..."good" is actually their highest rating. IIRC the Avalon has THE lowest fatality rate per passenger mile (or something...I forget the exact statistic).
 
I

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
106
Used Volvo 940, 850, s70? Both are tanks, cheap, volvo reliabilty, safety.. all that jazz. All would get around 25 mpg highway.
 
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
32,555
11,628
136
used audi A6/A8? i know they're used german vehicles, but they're more upscale and very comfy. my friend's dad got a used A8L for something like 25k!:Q:Q

doh, i just realized they dont sell the A8 4.2T diesel in the US :(

A6? relatively new, used ones can be had for $20k with ~50k miles (philly area autotrader search, anyway)
 
L

LordMorpheus

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2002
6,871
1
0
Originally posted by: Trikat
You don't neccessarity want a tank like car such as the crown vic. That thing will eat up gas pretty darn fast. These days a lot of cars have great front and back crash ratings. For example my friend's sister got sandwiched between a truck (probably F-150 or bigger) full of drunk mexicans and a SUV. The truck slammed into her back at a red light going probably 45-50mph. Her car got pushed right into the SUV in front of her and as a result the back and front of the car was completely mashed in. Luckily the "cabin" was barely affected at all, but the glass was horrible. Her face and such was in really bad shape. Since the surgens did surgery through her mouth there really isn't many scars at all. I didn't think a Mistubishi Lancer (OZ rally edition) would hold up such a brute force impact from the back and front.
I don't know an exact model to recommend you, but research is easy to do these days. :)
Click to expand...

He's an old man, get him a lincoln town car. I'm only 20 and I bought one and it's great. Drove to visit my grandparents last weekend and they wholeheartedly approved of my ride.

Pretty safe vehicles, too, and there is not another car in the world that will be as comfortable doing 100 highway miles a day.

It gets decent mileage on the highway, too, 25-30 depending on a number of things. In the city look to be getting 19, though.
 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
What about a used Volvo S70 or something? very safe, and the 5cyl engine is pretty good on gas.
 
P

Pepsi90919

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,162
1
81
160 km a day isn't really much. i did like 110,000 km between june and june in an oldsmobile intrigue and it was decent enough. might want to try to get an aurora.
 
F

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Subaru Legacy

AWD, 165HP H-4, should get 28-30MPG highway on the new ones, old ones 26-28MPG, low $20K fully loaded, IIHS top safety rated, extremely reliable

[/thread]
 
M

maximus maximus

Platinum Member
Oct 17, 2004
2,140
0
0
Mitusbishi galant, Hyundai Soanata are some good options. They are not too heavy on the pocket, yet they are quite solid.
 
PricklyPete

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
How about a Hyundai Sonota or the new Kia Optima. Both are larger, safer cars about the size of the Camry with great warranties and Car Magazines/quality studies are quite impressed with them. I'd go that direction honestly. The Kia Optima maybe the best deal since you can get a good gas mileage out of the 4 cylinder and still get a nice car.

Other cheap options would be a good deal on a Chevy Malibu, Pointiac G6, or the Ford Fusion.
 
theknight571

theknight571

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,896
2
81
My dad drives a Park Ave. It's his 3rd. Each of his previous Park Aves have gone 250K+ miles.

He loves 'em.
 
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