hey guys well sat I'm heading up yalls direction to do some car shopping w/ my wife's mom. She thought she wanted a toyota corolla because that what she has now, and it was the type of car my late father-in-law bought for her. Anyways I've been trying to broaden her horizons and pushing the idea we need to "try" several cars to see what she fits the best in. She already drove the new corrola and didn't really like it because of visibility issues. I told her to look at the ford fusion, which I like and also at some hondas. any other suggestions for a 5' 50-something asian lady? I throw in the asian part because she got ill w/ me when I told her to look at ford and responded w/ "why do all americans think they need to buy american cars" to which of course I responded "why do all asians think they need a toyota?" I of course also rubbed in the fact that my family has 2 VWs, and audi and the wife (because of me) has a mini. It's going to be fun. Also on the honda front which model is like the corrola? I'm well researched on the family car, I really like the look and feel of the ford, but that's from renting them.

12/31/2008 8:34:21 PM

[Edited on December 31, 2008 at 8:41 PM. Reason : ]

12/31/2008 8:39:51 PM

My mom had a corolla but didnt like the visibility. All she looks for in cars is that it is small (she is petite) and has good visibility. She decided to go with the Hyundai Elantra. The thing is too small for me, and while the quality has improved a lot, some of the materials still feel cheep. She likes it a lot though, and I will admit it feels ok on road trips. Can't beat the warranty too.

12/31/2008 8:50:54 PM

the obvious honda car that's in the same class as the corolla is the honda civic. You might also want to try the honda fit and nissan sentra.

12/31/2008 9:37:50 PM

let me ask this also does raleigh have a mini dealer yet? she likes's my wife's car but will not drive to winston for a service.

1/1/2009 9:54:51 AM

you cant get them serviced at bmw dealerships?

1/1/2009 11:13:55 AM

most of the asians I know drive American cars because they feel they need to defy stereotypes

1/1/2009 11:41:24 AM

Civic.

1/1/2009 1:11:31 PM

Quote :

"Also on the honda front which model is like the corrola?"

Did you really ask that?

If you are looking at the Corolla, also look at:

Compacts:

(Toyota Corolla)
Toyota Matrix
Toyota Prius
Honda Civic
Nissan Sentra
Mazda 3
Mitsu Lancer
Suzuki SX4
Subaru Impreza


Mid-size sedans:

Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Nissan Altima
Mazda 6
Mitsu Galant
Subaru Legacy


Sub-compacts:

Toyota Yaris
Honda Fit
Nissan Versa


There isn't anythng else to consider if you are talking Japanese. (other than SUVs, that is)

1/1/2009 2:01:00 PM

yes I had to ask. I don't follow these types of cars. the only cars I've ever owned are the 2 VWs, the mini and the TT... everything else is work trucks or jeeps.

I was thinking the honda accord was more like the corrola but I appreciate being corrected, how do nissian's hold up now? I have an employee who had one, nice looking car but he said the interior pretty much fell apart on him. Thats my main concern w/ toyota too, her current corrola has 80k miles but the interior looks tired. my VW has 200k and the seats and dash look great.

Quote :

"most of the asians I know drive American cars because they feel they need to defy stereotypes"

I wish that was the case with this family, I remember when we got the mini (right before we got married) and my wife's sister called in a panic saying she didn't think her late father would be happy. 60k miles later and the mini is going strong.

[Edited on January 1, 2009 at 2:29 PM. Reason : a]

1/1/2009 2:28:11 PM

You are welcome.

In terms of fit and finish, Toyotas and Hondas are the best. They are also the most reliable. (mechanicals)

Nissans, Mazdas, and Mitsu follow after them, and probably in that order. I don't know where Subaru falls in relation to those 5. (in terms of quality and reliability)

Someone with experience can correct me if I am wrong.

If you want to compare with the German cars, you would have to go with Acura, Infiniti, or Lexus. (minimum $30,000)


[Edited on January 1, 2009 at 4:06 PM. Reason : ]

1/1/2009 3:52:06 PM

really though, the toyota corolla is a perfectly good car, so why do you care?

1/1/2009 4:31:43 PM

I thought subaru was one of the better in terms of mechanical reliability? I mean, maybe not Toyota/Honda Reliable, yet, better than Nissan and Mazda and most definately much better than Mitsubishi?

[Edited on January 1, 2009 at 5:09 PM. Reason : .]

1/1/2009 5:09:21 PM

From what ive read all the major us and Japanese players a pretty much on an equal footing in terms of quality. So I just want her to get one that fits her best.

1/1/2009 5:41:50 PM

^you're serious?

1/1/2009 9:34:41 PM

well we spent 12 hours looking at everything from jeeps to the honda fit on saturday. she in the end is going to buy a camary... even though as she said the Ford was much nicer, more comfortable, better features, and had a better value (features vs. price) than the camary, which she still doesn't like that much. BUT the camary is a toyota, and she has a brother who had a friend who had a ford at one time and it had engine trouble. So I pretty much wasted my day...

Also btw the ford dealership in cary is very nice, they folk were very helpfull and not pushy, which I can't say for the two toyota dealerships we visited. I made the girls leave the one in Raleigh because they started to play the whole "lets make a deal" game, and I told the guy "dude, we're paying cash, I don't see the need to negotiate."

So here is my list of cars that I liked an might buy next time I need one and I don't get another VW:
1) Mercury Sable
2) Chevy Malibu
3) Ford Fusion
4) Subaru
5) Camary
6) Honda Accord (felt real cheap inside)
we didn't make it to dodge, and it would be a waste of time since she's convinced they and chevy are going out of business because the news said so.

[Edited on January 7, 2009 at 3:38 PM. Reason : vw]

1/7/2009 3:37:40 PM

sounds like she needs a reality check


i like the mali-bu

1/7/2009 3:41:54 PM

honestly what the issue is is that my late father-in-law, made most of the decisions for her and she has had a real hard time since his death (2 yrs) making decisions. He had bought her toyota cars (for good reasons) and I think that's all the reason she has for buying it now. I tried the best I could to get her into something smaller, actually. My wife loves her mini, and her mom thinks its very easy to drive (duh) but it ain't a yota. Oh well. The car I was REALLY trying to have her buy was the mercury sable, the one I looked at had electric adjustable pedals that would put her further back from the wheel (she's only got like 4-5" of clearance now, which I think is unsafe in the world of airbag deployment)

1/7/2009 3:51:39 PM