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Hi AI! I have a friend who needs a recommendation for a car that's light on steering. She has extreme hand pain and her car is hard on steering for her hands to handle it. She has extreme localized pain in her hands (a silver fork was too heavy for her to eat with, for reference). She's planning to sell her Prius because it hurts her hands to steer. She doesn't have RA, but I've looked at many RA threads about it and the ones I've looked at don't help because they address knob size, ease of the seats on hips, and all she is really concerned with is steering. She has back pain too but handles that with orthotics. The only problem, really, is steering. If it helps, we're in the SF bay area, CA. She's a college student and will only be using the car to commute and doing errands and the like. Proposed Budget: Under $10,000 New or Used: Gently used Body Style: All OK, probably not a truck simply because it's just too big and the bed will be useless How will you be using the car?: Average-length commute and casual driving What aspects are most important to you? MUST be easy on the hands, would be nice if it were pretty too. Otherwise, typical creature comforts like A/C, CD player, all that would be nice but the only thing that really matters is light steering.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:24 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 17:26 |
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This really doesn't sound like a person that should be driving at all, for everyone's safety. Car makers don't usually make cars for that kind of application. I know that there are custom jobs for parapalegics and whatnot that can work but those are usually paid for by insurance and I doubt you'll find one for $10k. Maybe take the money, go on a nice vacation, and just live with public transit? SF doesn't usually get huge blizzards or arctic temperatures so it doesn't sound that bad to me.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:31 |
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That was my initial reaction, too, but she handles her poo poo and just wants a little comfort when she drives. She can drive fine, but would prefer to drive without pain. (And while SF bay area has moderate temps, it also has poo poo for public transportation, especially compared to most major cities. SF is good, the rest of the bay area SUCKS.)
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:45 |
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She is almost certainly going to need something custom and $10k probably won't cut it. The prius I drive at work has basically the lightest steering I've used.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:48 |
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Okay, pretend I didn't mention her hand pain. Mind throwing out some names for cars under $10K that have light steering wheels? Or are there none? What about cars under $20K?
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:50 |
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Maggie Fletcher posted:Okay, pretend I didn't mention her hand pain. Mind throwing out some names for cars under $10K that have light steering wheels? Or are there none? What about cars under $20K? Seriously, I'd have recommended the Prius, that is the problem.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:52 |
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nm posted:Seriously, I'd have recommended the Prius, that is the problem. Thanks. My bf (her brother) drove her Prius and even he said it steers heavy. He's the kind of guy who'd be right at home here on AI, so I take his word as pretty reliable. I think she's just going to have to test drive a bunch of cars to see what she's comfortable with, but I thought I'd start here for some recommendations. Thanks...hopefully she'll find something she can drive in comfort.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 06:56 |
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Leperflesh posted:The PT Cruiser is an incredibly bad car. In AI it is often used an example of the kind of car only a total moron would buy. Do not let your girlfriend buy a PT Cruiser. There is no way I would ever buy a PT Cruiser, but other than its ugliness what specifically makes them so bad?
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 07:37 |
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Maggie Fletcher posted:Thanks. My bf (her brother) drove her Prius and even he said it steers heavy. He's the kind of guy who'd be right at home here on AI, so I take his word as pretty reliable. Has the car been in any accidents? At what speeds is the steering heavy? Low/stopped? If it's been in an accident, it's possible the front suspension has been tweaked to make steering effort higher than normal. Otherwise, I do think it would be easy to turn. If I stuck my wrist through a loop in the steering wheel, I'd have no problems turning the car at any speed. Of course that is not a technique I'm recommending; it's just an indication of effort. Check what tires are in it. Not strictly recommended, but going to low rolling resistance tires might lower the effort a tiny bit. But if the Prius is on stock tires, it should already be there. I had a Camry Hybrid with the same electric power steering as the Prius and it was easily one of the lightest steering effort cars I've driven. Any of the lowest tier econoboxes are also candidates for lightest steering.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 07:58 |
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kimbo305 posted:Has the car been in any accidents? At what speeds is the steering heavy? Low/stopped? If it's been in an accident, it's possible the front suspension has been tweaked to make steering effort higher than normal. Otherwise, I do think it would be easy to turn. If I stuck my wrist through a loop in the steering wheel, I'd have no problems turning the car at any speed. Of course that is not a technique I'm recommending; it's just an indication of effort. Thank you for this. I'm sorry I got a bit snippy earlier; I don't know as much about cars as I'd like and BF only knows about cars that are really hard to drive (think race cars) and neither of us has a disability so we're at a loss. I do know that the Prius needs to have its steering checked out, something she plans to do on the Prius before she sells it (hopefully to BF because we have a long daily commute). I'll tell him to check out the Camry, Fit (which is a great if boring car), and a few other econoboxes. And no, the car hasn't been in any accidents, although her (soon-to-be) ex-husband did drive over a parking stop a few years ago which led to a large gash in the bottom of the car. According to him, this hasn't affected the suspension at all. And while he's never worked on an electric or hybrid car, he's replaced enough suspensions (front and rear) that I'm inclined to trust his judgment on that one. Since I don't know much about fibromyalgia/RA/carpal tunnel/localized pain, take my assessment of her pain with a grain of salt. It may be the girth of the steering wheel that's causing her pain, but my interpretation was that the wheel was too stiff for her to spin around very easily. But I do really appreciate the comments. Asking for car recommendations is one thing; doing so on behalf of a person whose pain you don't understand is like translating from a language you don't speak, so I apologize for my vague explanations of what she's going through.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 08:10 |
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I'd at least try to drive another Prius of the same generation back to back to see if it's the same. Maybe a small repair could change it. Or at least one that's more economical than switching cars. The Yaris rental I drove once had extremely light steering. I'm pretty sure that's what Toyota wants for its buyers. I betcha it's lighter than a Fit's. The wheel will hopefully be thin, too.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 08:17 |
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CatchrNdRy posted:There is no way I would ever buy a PT Cruiser, but other than its ugliness what specifically makes them so bad? Start with a Dodge Neon, one of the worst cars on the market on its own in terms of build quality, performance, comfort, and nearly any other measurable metric. Give it a taller body with styling only a snowbird could love. Redesign the interior to be 'retro' without any thought to ergonomics or usability. Replace the independent rear suspension with an I-beam axle so that it now both corners and rides worse. You and JC Whitney both profit.
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 13:13 |
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Casus Belli posted:Super late reaction, but I own a 2007 I30 1.6 CRDi (diesel) and it has run 230.000ish km without any hassle besides some small and expectable maintenance costs. Its an ugly but super reliable car. Thanks for the reply. That particular 2009 that I mentioned got down to 5300€ before it sold, although I did notice that it had a fairly large scrape/ding on the passenger rear door that probably brought its value down a bit. Regardless, I'm kind of kicking myself for not at least checking it out. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of mileage do you get? Also, do you have any idea if the 1.6 CRDi in the Kia Cee'd is identical?
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# ? Mar 31, 2013 14:37 |
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kimbo305 posted:I'd at least try to drive another Prius of the same generation back to back to see if it's the same. Maybe a small repair could change it. Or at least one that's more economical than switching cars. There are two kinds of cars that will have pretty light steering - non-Honda Japanese cars (mostly Nissans and Toyotas), and old school American Buicks and Cadillacs.
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# ? Apr 1, 2013 11:27 |
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Ingenium posted:To be frank, what I love in a sports car is the look, but it might come at a bit too much of a cost. I would highly recommend against a sports car for you, because you aren't going to be looking at it but you will be driving it and living with it. Dont buy a car to impress other people and then hate it, thats dumb.
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# ? Apr 1, 2013 18:14 |
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If all you want is The Look, it's tough to say not to the Challenger, Mustang or Camaro, depending on what your preferred flavor is. Or the 370Z I supposed, maybe gently used .
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# ? Apr 1, 2013 22:31 |
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Thanks for all the advice everyone. I know I sound like a massive tool for wanting the sport look and want to turn heads but I am just trying to be honest. I just realize I am too safe of a driver to really want something too sporty. Even when I was test driving a mustang v8 I thought to myself "this is way more car than I will ever need or be able to use". I just don't want to be boring and practical like I usually am and get something fun and interesting.
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 02:31 |
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Ingenium posted:Thanks for all the advice everyone. I know I sound like a massive tool for wanting the sport look and want to turn heads but I am just trying to be honest. I just realize I am too safe of a driver to really want something too sporty. Even when I was test driving a mustang v8 I thought to myself "this is way more car than I will ever need or be able to use". I just don't want to be boring and practical like I usually am and get something fun and interesting. What about a 3 series copue? They look nice and sporty, and should be much more livable day to day than the pony cars. Admittedly this is the M3 which is probably too powerful and expensive, but you get the idea.
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 09:41 |
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mobby_6kl posted:What about a 3 series copue? They look nice and sporty, and should be much more livable day to day than the pony cars. The 3 series coupe starts at $38k, even if if it is the last model year for the body style it probably won't fall below $30k. The M3 also looks much sportier than the regular 3 series. What do you mean by "much more livable"? The Challenger is 197" long, almost as big as a 7 series and larger than a 5 series, I think I'd rather live in that than a 3 series coupe? Oddly enough I looked and was not surprised that the X1 is the cheapest BMW you can get.
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 10:04 |
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Easier to live with as a daily driver, rather than to live in . I thought you could get pretty close to 30K with the lower end models, but maybe look into a slightly used one? That's what I'd try to do, at least...
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 12:38 |
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mobby_6kl posted:Easier to live with as a daily driver, rather than to live in . I thought you could get pretty close to 30K with the lower end models, but maybe look into a slightly used one? That's what I'd try to do, at least... You're probably thinking of the sedan, which can get close to $30k, the coupes are usually significantly more expensive. The current 3 series sedan is pretty boring looking though.
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 12:59 |
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I appreciate the warnings about the transmission in the Saab 9-7x. I read a LOT of the forum posts that were linked and it seems like there is definitely a problem with the transmission not being matched to the engine output. It also appears that everyone that posted there about wrecking their transmissions in their Trailblazer SS/9-7x Aero also post their long list of engine mods and 1/4 mile times, so I take it all with a grain of salt. Luckily for me, I'm capable of pulling a transmission, lugging it to a shop and having them rebuild it, then lugging it back home and re-installing it. Looks like a cheap rebuild too, a few posts mentioned $800-1200. Thanks GM! Anyway, despite all the warnings, the test drive couldn't have gone better. A few dings and scratches but everything mechanically felt nice and tight. No clunks/clanks/whines/shimmies/leaks and it just felt nice. Really nice compared to what I currently drive. $17,000 later and I drove home a LS2 powered SUV. Will post an update as soon as the tranny grenades.
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# ? Apr 2, 2013 20:52 |
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Eh, I am OK with this. That's a lot of car for $17k and I can't think of anything else better for that price.
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# ? Apr 3, 2013 00:57 |
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Alright, so let me give this a shot. I'm looking to buy a new car: Proposed Budget: No more than $400 to $450 a month New or Used: New or Used Body Style: Mandatory 4 door How will you be using the car?: I prefer a car to have all the gizmos as I am an early adopter, but at a reasonable cost. Why it costs $3000 to put a reverse camera baffles me, but I definitely would like to have Bluetooth for my phone at a minimum. What aspects are most important to you? MPG is a consideration, but also showiness. I work in management at a manufacturing facility and I don't want to be too showy in front of some of our employees at the site. Basically, the two that I had considered to this point are a Toyota Camry or a 4-door truck (I really like the look of the 4-door F-150s). I know I want 4 doors because my current car (2 door 2002 Honda Civic) drives me nuts when I transport passengers. I chose the Camry because of the whole reliability with Toyota as well as liking the look of the body style. I am considering the truck because it would be nice to have a place to throw my bike and gear when I go to triathlons and other stuff like that. Apart from that, I will probably be waiting until June for a few financial reasons. I will probably get only around $2000 for my current car if trade-in value matters.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 04:24 |
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How about a Dodge Caravan? It can be had with all the gizmos if you want, and the Stow n' Go seating really gives it a lot of flexibility when it comes to cargo and passengers. It definitely won't raise any eyebrows in the parking lot either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yavRAkRVZMA http://www.allpar.com/reviews/13/town-and-country.html I'm actually going to be picking up one of these myself in a few months.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 04:43 |
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Well it does meet all the requirements! But I guess I should have included that I'm a single, 26 year old male. Not sure if a van would be the best option when navigating the rough waters of the dating world!
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 04:54 |
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A few months ago Motor Trend did a comparison of mid-size sedans and the Camry came in 5th out of 6. Check out some of the other ones, you might like them better. Also the Mazda6 is new for '14 and it looks great.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 06:57 |
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Amphion posted:A few months ago Motor Trend did a comparison of mid-size sedans and the Camry came in 5th out of 6. Check out some of the other ones, you might like them better. Also the Mazda6 is new for '14 and it looks great. In terms of new mid-size sedans, the only one I can think of that's objectively not any good or competitive is the Avenger/200, and it's not even that bad, especially since you can get it with like a billion dollars on the hood. It basically comes down to buyer preference and such. The new Camry isn't the best car in the class, but the gap from first to worst isn't very big.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 07:52 |
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Because nothing drops those panties like a Camry? What? The first vehicle I ever bought with my big ol' overseas army paycheck was a van. It was great for everything, moving, road trips, going to parties, expanded opportunities for employment and brownie points on the job, cost me all of $3500 and very little to insure which was nice for a young male. Pretty sure no prospective wives decided my lack of a Camaro was some kind of dealbreaker, except for when they needed poo poo moved. Do women seriously care about how you get to work? It's just a loving car man. Unless I've misread you completely and you're actually trolling for life partners on AI in which case buy a Jetta Sportwagen.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 09:04 |
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Throatwarbler posted:Do women seriously care about how you get to work? It's just a loving car man. Absolutely. If you're dating expect a glance at the watch and the car to see if you are a poor.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 13:39 |
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Bovril Delight posted:Absolutely. If you're dating expect a glance at the watch and the car to see if you are a poor. OK, so I worded that poorly. Yeah I guess people will look at you differently if you drove a Lamborghini or whatever, but a Camry vs a minivan? Fine here have some cars that women like and cost about the same as a new Camry. http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?paId=508110158&tracktype=usedcc&aff=national#6 http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?paId=472775646&tracktype=usedcc&aff=national#4
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 14:23 |
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Throatwarbler posted:Because nothing drops those panties like a Camry? What? Not looking for a panty dropper, but this bodystyle is much sportier than a minivan: Throatwarbler posted:Do women seriously care about how you get to work? It's just a loving car man. No. Sorry, just looking for a reliable, good looking, 4-door car that gets me from point A to point B. Amphion posted:A few months ago Motor Trend did a comparison of mid-size sedans and the Camry came in 5th out of 6. Check out some of the other ones, you might like them better. Also the Mazda6 is new for '14 and it looks great. This was actually helpful. I didn't know the Camry ranked so low. I had looked at the Ford Fusion before, but for some reason had decided to test drive the Camry. I also do really like the look of the Mazda. May have to go test drive one this weekend. Thanks for the info!
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 15:24 |
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Hitch posted:Alright, so let me give this a shot. I'm looking to buy a new car: Nobody's going to address this part? BFC goons, where did you disappear to... Hitch, don't buy a car based on payments. How much actual money are you OK with spending? Decide that, and then get the best financing you can, and pick a loan term that makes sense. Especially do not negotiate price with the dealership on the basis of monthly payments. They'll try to get you to do that, but you must refuse. It is the pathway to financial assrape.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 19:31 |
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Leperflesh posted:Nobody's going to address this part? BFC goons, where did you disappear to... Good to know. That is something I hadn't heard before. (First time buyer.) But apart from taking a total price that I'm okay with paying, and breaking it down to what my monthly payment would be, what would you recommend? As an aside, I am totally bought into buying rather than leasing. To me, that seems such a no-brainer for overall cost reasons.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 19:37 |
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Edmunds.com has a lot of good info: http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/10-steps-to-buying-a-new-car.html
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 19:42 |
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Hitch posted:Good to know. That is something I hadn't heard before. (First time buyer.) But apart from taking a total price that I'm okay with paying, and breaking it down to what my monthly payment would be, what would you recommend? Well, I would recommend having a calculator, or perhaps knowing roughly how many years' loan you'll need to pay for a certain car. For example, if you are shopping for cars in the $30k range, and you intend to put $6k down payment, you'll be financing about $24k. A three-year term would be about $666 a month; a four-year term would be $500 a month; and a five-year term would be $400 a month. This is all before considering interest. This is why you need to know a total budget - because paying $400 for six years will get you quite a lot more car, but it's quite a lot more money too. And the actual amount of money you spend matters: a common BFC thing with people who are terrible at finances is people who have blinders on about the total they're spending on things (like their credit card debt, their housing, or their car). A longer term or lower down-payment also means more likely that you'll be underwater on your car loan for some period, and (unless you like to live dangerously) being underwater means paying extra for gap insurance. Once you know roughly what terms you're looking for, get a rate quote from your bank or (preferably) a local credit union. You can have this in your back pocket when you go shopping. Your bank will give you an interest rate, and you can be reasonably confident that if you're approved for (say) 3.5% on a 48-month loan for $24k, you'd get the same rate for $22k or $26k or whatever. Negotiate on out-the-door price, inclusive of tax, title, fees. Optionally, exclude taxes, but you want your negotiation to include whatever tacked-on fees the dealership likes to throw in there; otherwise, they'll try to settle on a certain dollar amount, and then throw in a thousand dollars worth of extra charges into the contract. It's a big profit center for dealerships. Do not mention your trade-in before you have this price. If they ask if you have a trade-in, you say "I might, it's an option, but I'd prefer to negotiate without it. We can talk about trade-ins if I decide the price on this car is right." This is the best way to not get screwed by the dealer building a lovely trade-in value to what appears to be a good price on the new car. Once you have a price you're satisfied with, then you can say "OK I've got this 2002 Civic, what will you give me for it" and get a clear, separate answer. And if you don't like the answer you can sell it private party (and 99% of the time, you'll get more value by selling a car private party - if you're willing to do the work and deal with craigslisters, of course). After you have all this settled, then (and only then) do you discuss dealer financing and incentives. Often a factory financing option is available, but often that is instead of some cash incentive or discount. See what financing the dealer can offer, and if it's worse than your credit union's offer, give them a chance to beat it. Make sure you also know what the cash deal is (providing your own financing = cash for the dealer, since your bank pays them cash). Understand that financing is a way dealerships (and automakers) make profits, so they want to do it. A financed car sale is more attractive to them than a cash sale. This is why you do not negotiate based on a financed, month-to-month price! Financing can be complex and it gives the dealership much more room to bake in profits. You should be doing your research and know how much the cars you're shopping for cost, with the specific options you want. This is also a good reason never to buy on the day you first interact with the dealer; you want to see what they've got or can order for you, take detailed notes, and then go home and research that specific package online. Find out what dealer invoice is, what the current deals are going, etc. You can also call your insurance company and get a quote for that car; some cars cost a lot more to insure than others, and you need to build that into your budget. There's been some discussion in this thread about using internet sales managers at different dealerships to get them to compete on price. I think KYOON can point you in the right direction there. It's a great option especially if you know what car you want and aren't doing a trade-in, because you can just get all the dealers to send you their best possible offer and then take the cheapest one. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Apr 5, 2013 |
# ? Apr 5, 2013 20:47 |
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Yeah when I get off work in a bit I'll do up a big post on How To Buy A Camry SE via ISMs. edit: If you are in the market for a new midsizer and you do not test drive the new Accord you are making a big ol mistake.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 20:49 |
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Leperflesh posted:
I think I've set myself up well for this. They kept asking about my trade-in and I kept leaving it off the table. Now it makes sense why they were so pushy with it. Leperflesh posted:After you have all this settled, then (and only then) do you discuss dealer financing and incentives. Often a factory financing option is available, but often that is instead of some cash incentive or discount. See what financing the dealer can offer, and if it's worse than your credit union's offer, give them a chance to beat it. Make sure you also know what the cash deal is (providing your own financing = cash for the dealer, since your bank pays them cash). I am working on getting pre-approved through a Credit Union now, so I'll make sure to have that handy when I go back. Leperflesh posted:This is also a good reason never to buy on the day you first interact with the dealer; you want to see what they've got or can order for you, take detailed notes, and then go home and research that specific package online. Find out what dealer invoice is, what the current deals are going, etc. You can also call your insurance company and get a quote for that car; some cars cost a lot more to insure than others, and you need to build that into your budget. Amphion posted:Edmunds.com has a lot of good info: http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/1...-a-new-car.html Amphion posted:edit: If you are in the market for a new midsizer and you do not test drive the new Accord you are making a big ol mistake. Thank you all for the help! Hitch fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 5, 2013 |
# ? Apr 5, 2013 21:37 |
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The new Accord is, if not the best midsize sedan going, within a hair of the top. In my opinion, it's the best all-rounder and if I were going to drop 27K on a midsized that's probably what I would choose. Of course, it depends on what you want. In simplistic terms here is: Mazda6 - You are a Driver and you value handling and driving feel over other things. Ford Fusion - Buy American, good chassis and suspension and you like high tech features and Aston-lite styling. Honda Accord - A nice balance between ride, handling, features and performance. Not the best at anything. Dodge Avenger/C200 - Cash on hood talks Chevrolet Malibu - comfortable highway ride and a great transmission Nissan Altima - A pretty interior and good gas mileage, but less functional than others. Only buy this if you tolerate the CVT. Toyota Camry - the easiest to use control scheme and Toyota ride, quietness and reliability Volkswagen Passat - You like Nazi interiors and diesel in something approximately the size of a Nimitz class Frankly, I would drive all of the above except maybe the Avenger/C200 and figure out what you like best. There isn't enough absolute objective difference between the lot such that I could say Definitely Buy This One.
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# ? Apr 5, 2013 21:54 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 17:26 |
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Hitch posted:That's a piece that I had thought about, but haven't researched completely yet. I need to check out what the difference in monthly insurance rates would be. As I have recently moved to California I'll have to find out how dealerships handle smog tests. Anyone know off hand? Brand new cars don't have to pass a smog check (the manufacturer has to meet CARB requirements just to sell the car in the state). For used cars: quote:When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection? source Cars built in 1975 or older are exempt from smog checks. So are motorcycles. Smog checks are actually not california-wide: a bunch of rural counties don't require it. But most of the state's population lives in a county with smog check requirements for reg renewal, so most people are unaware there's exempt counties. BTW it is completely legal to buy a used car outside of the state and then register it in California. You can't do this with a brand new car, though. So: if a car is four or less years old, there's nothing. If your car is six years or less, you pay a smog abatement fee annually instead of having to get a smog check. After that, your reg renewal form will tell you you need to get a smog before you can renew. The seller of a car has to provide a smog cert if it was renewed more than 90 days prior to the sale. Most private sellers totally ignore this requirement, as far as I can tell, with no consequence that I'm aware of? Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Apr 6, 2013 |
# ? Apr 6, 2013 01:09 |