UCB, I’ve lived here my whole life. I do not need snow tires. Really. They are useful a lot of places - this isn’t one of them.
I just know some cars are bad in the snow and those were the ones I was trying to avoid. That’s all.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I’ve put up an alert on a few sites for any used Subarus in my price range.
There’s also discounts through Costco for both new and used cars but of course they don’t give you the price and the last thing I want to do right now is dealership hop.
I swapped year round radials for snow tires on a FWD car I drove after a scary winter (minor) accident. It made all the difference in a world. I would have been a naysayer for snow tires if not for that experience. Who knows? I may end up being that unfun person who gives my adult child a Christmas gift of snow tires to keep him safe when he dismisses this idea as well.
But yes, I did have to swap them out 2x a year and I had to store them out of season ones in my garage, which was feasible for me in my current life but would not have been in many of my prior ones.
I’m in my 50s and have lived my entire life in MN and never driven a car with snow tires once, and other than my mom’s station wagon (Caprice Classic baby!) and my first junker back in 1984 I’ve only ever driven front wheel drive. I can honestly say there have only been a couple times per year when I might have wanted AWD, and significantly fewer times than that when I changed my plans because of my car.
If you’re in snow or ice you must drive more carefully, and if I’m going 30mph on a rink then I deserve to hit something. (That was the test, BTW: an actual ice rink.) Not too concerned at this point. Even the accidents my kids have been in were related to decisions, not traction. Plus the majority of tires sold around here at least claim to be all-seasons. In the city it’s close enough, as much of the time we’re on bare pavement anyway.
@StPaulDad all-season tires are the norm here too. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything else.
It’s very rare that we have to drive in the snow and ice. I work from home most of the time and Mr R’s work closes when the schools do and if not, parents often cancel if it’s too bad to drive and therefore his shift is canceled.
We live about 2 miles away from a decent hospital if there was ever a medical emergency in a storm.
We live far enough south and east that we’re saved from most of the bad storms. In the worst conditions, my AWD rogue has performed like a champ.
I’ve found a few Hyundai Accents (2017 & 2018) that are perfectly within my price range.
Again, I’m hoping we don’t have to buy one for a while. My parents will be close by starting in a week or so and will be staying in town through baby’s birth and first few months. So we have their cars if need be.
I just rarely get to plan ahead to get cars which is why I’m asking so far out.
Then again, my kia can go any time and I refuse to put significantly more money into it. (knock on wood)
Romani, my local Subaru dealership let me know they were on the Costco list. I’d suggest you make a phone call to dealerships in your area and ask. I think I saved $1500.00
I’ll be the minority. Subaru owner and I will never buy another one! By far the worst, least reliable, most troubled car I have ever owned! I’m sticking with Toyota and Honda from now on! My RAV4 has about 20k more miles on it that the Forester and I’ve never put a dime into besides maintenance. The Forester - I can’t even remember how many thousand we dumped into it thinking it would fix it and make it last.
Its one of the tricks when you look at reliability. Even the most reliable car make produces some not-so reliable vehicles. And if you get one of those, you really don’t care about the high reliability rating. Flip side is also true: makers will lowest reliability ratings produce many totally fine vehicles. If you get a reliable one, you will be happy to matter what the reliability ratings say.
I grew up in a Ford town. So we always had Ford vehicles. Long list of repair problems with pretty much all of them. I would never buy one myself. And from everything I have read, Ford has come a long way (as have pretty much all of the manufacturers at this point) in terms of reliability. Will never change my view though I have several friends who always drive Fords and are very happy.
For relatively cheap transportation we have had good luck with small ford cars. Fusion and focus X2.
The transmissions are quirky and some say unsafe but we have had no problems. The main issue is realizing you need to drive slightly differently than a regular automatic.
You could get a relatively new car with not bad miles with a focus or fiesta in your price range. I just bought a 2012 focus with 90,000 miles for around $6,000.
I’m sure Someone will post a link to the transmission issues. We have had no problems, but ymmv.
Or you can avoid the transmission oddities in the Fiesta and Focus by looking for one with a manual transmission.
The other potential question mark is the MyFordTouch center controls found on some earlier higher trim cars. Lower trim cars had buttons instead of the touch screen that many find hard to use while driving.
My D found a Subaru Impreza a year or so ago. It’s a 2015 and had 9000 miles coming off lease in Arizona. She paid about 15000. She lives in Chicago and loves the car. She had never driven in the snow when she bought it and was looking forward with trepidation to her first winter in Illinois.
Another Subaru vote. DS was living in northern OH and he wanted a small car, but we wanted him to have AWD. The Impreza was the only small sedan that had AWD so we went with it. Purchased new in 2018 and he loves it. It feels very solid. He also has commented on how much cargo space there is, which would be helpful for baby gear!
Sigh. Something that annoys me is when people have to argue the value/need of AWD/4Wheel Drive. For some there is indeed a degree in comfort of having it - honor that! I live in @romanigypsyeyes general area and I want a car with one or the other. My AWD/4WD may be your leather seats or roof rack or whatever. No need to fight her on it!
My brother and his wife bought a used car (happens to be a Forester) through Costco and were very satisfied with the process. They live in NYC and the thought and difficulty of searching and purchasing and negotiating for a car was not something they wanted to spend mindspace and time on.
My local advice would be to stray away from the Subaru dealership in Ann Arbor because everyone and their brother in that area wants one to drive. I bought mine in a northern (?) Detroit suburb and was happy with our experience but will also say to look just over the state line - I forget if there are extra fees buying out of state (though we did and have more than once) but prices might be better here in Northwest Ohio and maybe more selection.
Wow, lots of Suburu support. I thought our research determined Suburu repairs can be very expensive.
We also shopped for Certified Used Cars (mostly Honda & Toyota). We found it was only slightly more expensive to get new ones! Perhaps you save 10 - 15%, but you’re also getting a car 2-3 years older, so they will always be worth less when you sell. The newer cars also had more safety features (and unfortunately more to go wrong).
It seems all the new cars are more body, and less glass. Is that to increase safety in crash tests? Unfortunate, because it also reduces visibility. Rear cameras are almost a necessity. We had an early model Honda Fit, and loved it. But when we tried the newer models, there was a significant difference in space & visibility, even they looked like similar body styles.
4WD/AWD would be nice but in no way a requirement.
I bought my Rogue used and it happened to have it.
Truly, the only “need” I have is for it to be an automatic. I can drive a stick - so can Mr R - but if I’m flaring, it hurts my hands really bad to have to hold on to the gear shift. But since the vast majority of cars are automatics or come in automatic models, I didn’t think that needed to be stated lol.
And for the baby to fit if needed. Again though, will not be the primary baby vehicle. The rogue stays with the baby lol.
I’m sorry I brought up winter at all because I didn’t mean for it to be a sticking point. Safety is what is important to me - what happens if we get into an accident? My dad was hit and nearly killed by a drunk driver in the middle of broad daylight, in the summer. Accidents happen far more often in good weather than bad - so safety is what’s important. Especially with baby due soon.
My mechanic has suggested honda, hyundai, nissan, and kia in general for cheapest repairs/ most durable. Which surprised me because we’re very much a ford area and he’s an older gentleman that grew up with the factories. He just said a lot of the Asian imports are less likely to break down.
If that is a concern, bring the kid’s seat for test fitting when you go see a car that you may want to buy. Infant and child seats vary in size, so the only reliable way to know if it fits (with the front seats adjusted for enough room for whoever is sitting in front) is to test fit.
Another vote for Subaru. Head-on collision, spun around and careened backward into a ditch in my Outback. The three of us in the car walked away with a couple of scratches and a bruised knee. We have been loyal Subaru owners since. I got another Outback; DH has a Legacy.
