New car search

[Dave Lehnert]

Looking at new cars. Looking at all the Buick offerings, Ford Fusion, even a Honda CRV.
This is for a lady who is 80. The above cars are her choice. She likes the CRV that I had her look at. Thought it would be easy for her to get in and out of. But she has never driven anything other than a car all her life.

Any thoughts on the cars listed above. Likes, dislikes with your purchase. Any others I should have her look at?

[Van Huskey]

Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Lexus ES are excellent well built mid-sized cars. It might help to know what she is comfortable spending and what she was/is driving and what she liked/disliked about it.

[Marty Barron]

In the choices you have listed I also favour the CRV with the Realtime AWD for the enhanced handling in the Clevland winters. The CRV will go into AWD in microseconds when the tire spin is detected on snow, ice, wet pavement or entering a road from a gravel parking lot. It will then go of when it is not needed. You might also add the RAV4 to your list.

Hope this helps,

Marty

[Bob Rufener]

The best advice I could give is for her to test drive each model and see which one suits her best. Always remember to try to make a deal at the end of the month. Dealers seem to be much more willing to dicker at the end of the month as they most likely are trying to meet a sale quota.

[Joe Pelonio]

We have two good friends with CRVs and both love them, and have had no problems. We also have a friend in CA (bay area) where there's no snow/ice who bought a Fusion Hybrid and loves that.

With Buicks, I'd worry about it being orphaned, from what I've heard they may be the next victim of the axe from GM, like Pontiac and Saturn.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

This is for a lady who is 80.

Take her to an Audi dealer and let her try an A4. Go used. They do a used pre-certification that is as good as BMWs and the service is nothing short of superb.

I drove my wife's audi in some ungodly snow and slush on hills and curves. And yes I did get froggy with it. There is no all wheel drive quite so sure footed as Audi's. Not the BMW not the Porshe not the Subaru and certainly not a bleedin' Buick.

[Pat Germain]

My mom drives a CRV and she loves it. She now lives in Nevada, but when she lived in Oklahoma, I drove her CRV on a local road which was like a frozen lake. The CRV all wheel drive did very well on that "frozen lake". It has also been a very reliable and economical vehicle. It has a little more road noise on the highway than some other vehicles. But the new CRV models may not have that issue.

FYI, two of my coworkers drive a Ford Edge and really like them. The Edge appears to be Ford's version of the CRV.

I'm not a GM fan, but I doubt Buick is going away like other GM brands. Buick has a big factory in China and is raking in profits for GM. (Not coincidentally, recent reports suggest China bought a very large chunk of GM stock. So much for "Buy American".)

[Tom Godley]

Predictability is the most important factor IMO when getting a car for an older driver. You don't want to have too great a change in handling or size -- unless its smaller. And you need all the safety devices.

Its great to see that she is willing to get a new car -- all too often older drivers stick with cars too long -- and they become outdated and unsafe. I lost two of my elderly neighbors last Thanksgiving when they were involved in a accident that that may have survived had they been in a newer car with a full compliment of airbags and safety devices.

My mother just stopped driving a few years ago - she is now in her 90's. She drove two seaters for the last 45 years -- would never change!

[Brian J Page]

My mom bought a 2009 Hyundai recently. I drove it the last time I was home and was very impressed with it. It rode nice, and handled nice. I know older Hyundais had a poor reputation for quality, but the newer ones seem to be able to compete with anyone. Another plus is that my 60-something year old mom with various medical problems can get in and out of it easily.

[Pat O'malley]

Dave, I just help my 80 yo father find a new car, he has always owned cars, he went with a nissan rogue (midsize suv) for ease of entry/exit. It's about a month old now and he loves the higher view of the road. My Dad seems to have shrunk over the years :), and this car drivers seat height adjust up and down, it's only maybe a few inches but it helps him get a better view over the dash. Whatever you go with I think seat height adjustment for seniors is a big plus.

[Jerry Bruette]

We have a 2007 CRV and as stated above they are a little noisier on the highway but it is easy to get in and out of. The doors, front and back, open a full 90 degrees and that gives plenty of room. It has also performed very well in the NE Wisconsin winters.

LOML and I havn't had a car since 1987 it's been all suv or mini van and we've been happy with the slight height advantage over a car.

Jerry

[Jim Becker]

The small SUV is actually a good one to look at...I know that my 80 year old mother who has two replacement knees can get in and out if my Highlander Hybrid Limited far easier than my dad's Caddy! The increased height means she can put her backside on the seat without bending down much and that's far more comfortable for her.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

My wife always takes my crossover-SUV when she has to pick up her father - it's just easier for him to get into and out of than either my Audi or her Yukon. I think all those vehicles mentioned could be good, but you need to be sure she can get in/out and (especially) see out easily. I'd have her spend some time in them first, before even leaving for a test drive.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We replaced my F-350 with Honda Pilot. Recently we went on a short trip and the 5'2" bombshell I married, drove it for the first time. By using the electric seat to raise the drivers seat up, she found it easier to see over than the hood of the Pilot than the hood of her Accord. She likes driving it.

The Pilot is the bigger SUV.

The reason we got the SUV....I broke my back in April 2001 and I have lost a lot of flexibility. I can get into the CRV just as well but at 6'2" the additional room of the Pilot better suits me.

It's torture for me to get into her Accord.

[Ted Calver]

We are very happy with our 2010 Buick Enclave after 10k miles. We liked it much better than the pilot or the CRV. It seats more people and the amenities have exceeded expectations. A bit pricey though.

[rick carpenter]

She needs a big car... a really big car. Think Abrams tank size. It must have a steering wheel taller than she is. And make sure it goes only under 10 mph or over 90 mph.