Neighbor is selling a 2003 Hyndai Elantra with 143K miles on it pretty cheap. I have a 16-year-old currently working on the hours he needs to get his license.
Quick Internet searching doesn’t pull up any red flags on the model. Obviously with those miles it wouldn’t be a road-trip car, but it’s been maintained and my neighbor is comfortably selling it to me rather than a stranger who wouldn’t glare at them every time they passed if he old us a lemon. :)
Besides the obvious “car is the same age he is” issues, any red flags y’all can think of?
New Hyundais have a pretty good rep. Not sure about the older ones, but as always, luck and how you maintain/drive it makes as much if not more difference than anything specific to the car. For most makes, at least.
Turned out to be a moot point. My 16-year-old is 6’1" and still growing, and his feet were either butting against the steering wheel or wrapped around it, with the seat all the way back. Boy too big for car.
I worked for a retired Army Sergeant Major back in the eighties. He was like 6’4" and 300lbs, very little of it fat. He drove…a Yugo. It was hilarious to watch him contort into that clown car. Well, until someone stole the dashboard. Yes, the whole dashboard. Why, we never knew.
Seriously, though, check out Golfs. My taller acquaintances tell me that one of the cars they’ve found that fits tall people is a Golf. I’m 5’7", so of course I’ve never had any trouble, but the Golfs tend to have a deceptively large amount of people space.
As a 6’5" registered tall person, I would say that 2 door cars often have more legroom that 4 door cars. This is because the seat can usually move a lot further back without the door behind it. I have driven small 2 door cars a lot without issue. I even have trouble fitting into your typical SUV’s. I drove a Sorento (rental) recently and it was a bight tight for my liking. My knee was firmly jammed against the gear lever.
Though, typically the Korean cars have more legroom than others, it isn’t always the case. This is one of the many drawbacks of the very tall, you basically have to test drive a bunch of cars before deciding which ones you want to look for.
I wish I could just buy a regular sedan, but I literally can’t drive them. So I am stuck with either tiny cars (need the long-haul room for the dog and wife and possible future children) which don’t work. Or the gas guzzling SUV.
My CEL went off over the weekend, and I was pissed. It’s almost exactly one year since I got my S40 fixed, and I was like, “GODDAMNIT.” I was so mad I was on the verge of buying a new car. Went on the web and researched all sorts of different brands and models.
But I also emailed my mechanic and he told me to try tightening the gas cap.
You might have just not got it tight after filling up last time, but it might be a sign your gas cap seal is failing or something. I had a car where that happened and it just kind of drove randomly rough until the cap got bad enough I took it in and they replaced it and the car instantly ran way more smooth. You might want to consider replacing the cap.
Yeah, modern cars have so many WARNING WARNING DANGER WILL ROBINSON! lights that it’s easy to panic. Sensors are so sensitive sometimes that the slightest thing will make them go awry.
Denny, look for a used Scion xB if you want a bargain for him. I know it doesn’t look like it, but there’s a massive amount of room in them. I was selling Toyotas when they came out. You could put someone his size in the driver’s seat and directly behind with room to spare (one of our salesman was, iirc, 6’4”). And it’s a Toyota, so it’s going to last and service costs should be reasonable.
Well, I am guilty of not noticing that I was referencing something from 10 days ago. But it was what you yourself quoted from Woolen_Horde 2 posts up. :)
Yeah, I did say modern cars have a lot of warnings. And I did give a recommendation for what new car to look at. But they weren’t in the same conversation thread; one for someone bitching about CELs and the other was for someone looking for a car for their tall son.
In any event, it’s all good. Though it would be nice to be wealthy enough to even consider just getting a new car any time something went wrong!
This thread surfacing for me is timely, as we are looking to get another vehicle for my wife, and her Prius will go to my daughter here in a minute or so when she turns 16.
My wife is very interested (insistent) on Toyota, which is fine of course and probably a smart investment. She wants an SUV class vehicle because we haven’t had one since we got the Prius and it’s been kind of a PITA to adjust even 6 years later, tbh, in regards to things from hauling stuff to just how to get groceries home. Anyway, we’re looking at either a RAV4 (probably the Sports Edition) or a Highlander. Thoughts between those two? Opinions or suggestions we should look for when scouting and test driving?
I guess it depends on your family size, Scott. The RAV4 has less room for passengers and slightly less room for cargo. It also can’t haul as much weight, if that’s something you need to worry about. BUT, the gas mileage is significantly better, and it’s cheaper than a Highlander. I only know one person with a Highlander and he pulls a bike trailer. Everyone seems to be going crossover instead these days, thus so many RAV4’s.
I don’t know if things have changed in recent years, but 12-13 years ago, Highlander was drastically overpriced for what it was (basically a station wagon). At the time, 4Runner was a much more capable vehicle in a similar price range. RAV4 has gotten considerably bigger since then, but seemed like a nice option. Again, that may not still hold true.
I almost forgot, Scott. Definitely test drive both. The engine is a big part of the price difference and you’re going to want to know if the highway feel is okay for you.
My folks have a 2013 Highlander. They bought it new, it hasn’t required anything but routine maintenance, and it hasn’t exactly been babied (the old man used it in Nevada for fieldwork). Seats 7 if two are midgets. Competent in the snow… Mileage is average. You pay the Toyota tax for meh features.
Can’t say anything about a RAV4, other than that post 2007 models make me die inside.
No personal experience, but I have colleagues who have had or have either a RAV 4 or a Highlander. Both love their Toyotas; one even bought two Highlanders, and keeps one in a barn so that when the first wears out they can use the other! Used of course, but still.
