[Cantwaittoarrive]

Another vote for the Ford Edge

[JoeC1947]

Originally Posted by msfooter

Take a look at the Honda Pilot - remember, it's a Honda and that's a good thing.

Another vote for a Pilot (or CRV). I have only owned Honda's since 1991.
Never had an issue I couldn't fix myself.

[keithwand]

Originally Posted by KathieI

I've had a Ford Escape since I moved here in '08. Never a problem. Has been running beautifully and its a great size to zip around in. Its very comfortable too, great gas mileage. I bought mine at Mullinex Ford..

BUY AMERICAN!!!!!! Sorry, Keith.. I totally disagree.

Our last 2 cars we owned were American. A 2005 Thunderbird we just sold after 7 years with 3,400 miles and a leased 2011 Lincoln MKS.

IMO American brand cars depreciate faster than say Lexus, Infiniti, Honda, Toyota etc.

We have always lost more money on GM/ Ford vehicles.

I was born, raised and lived in Michigan all my life (still do in the summer) and the only CRAP cars I had were GM's in the 1980's through 1990's.

I am considering LEASING an American brand but would never BUY one.

[mokey]

Just curious, why would you not buy. I might learn something here.

[kaznerm]

Thanks everyone for your input. We will look into your suggestions.

[keithwand]

Other than our 2005 Thunderbird which we recently sold after 7 years and only lost 4K from the purchase price and our 1995 Corvette that we sold for 12K less than we paid after 4 years we have lost considerably more with domestic than foreign.

Last "foreign" car was a 2008 Infiniti M35 that we sold after 2 years and recovered all but 3K from the purchase price.

Any Lincoln or GM has taken bigger hits.

Thus my saying I would not "buy" a domestic car.

I would lease and am because it is merely rent and when leasing its about the payment not the resale.

[l2ridehd]

Originally Posted by keithwand

Other than our 2005 Thunderbird which we recently sold after 7 years and only lost 4K from the purchase price and our 1995 Corvette that we sold for 12K less than we paid after 4 years we have lost considerably more with domestic than foreign.

Last "foreign car was a 2008 Infiniti M35 that I we sold after 2 years and recovered all but 3K from the purchase price.

Any Lincoln or GM has taken bigger hits.

Thus my saying I would not "buy" a domestic car.

I would lease and am because it is merely rent and when leasing its about the payment not the resale.

Not really true. When you lease you base the lease rate on your purchase price and the residual value of the car after the lease term. I once leased a new Toyota and after 3 years leased the exact same make and model again and my lease payment dropped by 1/3 due to the high residual value of the vehicle I was turning in. The trick to leasing is to determine the car you want, negotiate the selling price as low as possible, then make the decision to pay cash, buy with dealer financing, or lease. Base all these different options on the sale price you negotiated. Because they base the lease payment on the residual value, a lower selling price will translate into a lower lease payment. I always tell the salesman that I don't know what my plan is, that I will determine that when I sit down with the dealership finance person. They will try real hard to talk you out of that, but stay firm and determine the final selling price first. Only then look at the different options of how you will pay. Once you walk in and say "I want to lease" or "I want the .9% financing" or "I want to trade in this" the deal is already structured in the dealerships favor.

[keithwand]

A good rule of thumb when leasing (easy too) is to aim to get a 1.0 to 1.2 Lease to Value Ratio or LVR.
Use the MSRP and forget the rest as mentioned above as its more complicated unless you use your computer like I do to do the formulas to verify.
Example for a 60K car aim for $600.00-$720.00 a month with taxes.
40K MSRP aim for $400.00- $480.
My son just leased a 2013 Chrysler 300 for 46K MSRP and pays $428.00 a month with taxes and 0 down or under 1.0

[manaboutown]

I have owned a 2004 Porsche Cayenne S and a 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 for nine years. I love them both. They are midsize so if you need to tote large loads they may not be for you. A few days ago I met a man who had just bought a large Airstream trailer. The Airstream dealership recommended he get a diesel Touareg, a V-6, to tow it, high torque and great mileage. He is very happy with his diesel Touareg.

The Porsche of course provides wonderful performance with a stiff ride. The VW provides a much softer but firm enough ride and is not at all tiring to drive for hours at a time.