My wife surprised me tonight. She told me that she is done with our Van, a 2003 Odyssey. I asked her what she wanted instead. Did she want another van or something else? I suspected she would want a van, as she really likes the power sliding doors. She surprised me again, she asked what else could we get?
I am open to suggestions! We want something that sits up, so at a minimum a small SUV type seating. She likes to be able to see out, and hates driving my car because it is too low.
Price range $23K-$26K. Miles less less than 50K.
What do you guys and gals think of?
A cool wagon might also be workable.

 

Acura MDX. Or older 4.4 X5

 

ML Diesel is sweet, or Cayenne S. Either one can be had for that price.

 

my family members selling a 09 Lexus RX350.. could get more detail if interested.
car was orignally bought brand new from california and driven up. im sure its under 20k miles still. guestimating. lmk, thanks and goodluck!

 

ChristianCoach.. saw your car in Lynnwood on 196th about a month or so ago.. blown away at how you made it look. Job well done...!

Ok.. make that decision quick with the wifey.. they tend to change minds faster than we do. I had an '07 Audi S4 Avant and loved it... but a wagon really isn't that big so I ended up selling it. Ive had my share of SUVs.. the most reliable being the Infiniti FX45. Not all love the styling.. but I did and you can't beat the performance/technology/reliability for the price on used ones.
I love my range rover sport.. you could try that non supercharged for the price. Not sure if its in the price range.. but its a bit slow naturally aspirated. A Cayanne S could do the trick.. but the styling is bland if you don't juice it up a bit.

Sorry for the story... got excited for you. I'm getting married next year and can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that my woman is a car nut. I don't think I'll have to suffer the van phase in my life.

But again... the woman can change her mind on me. So make your decision pronto!
Bojan

 

Thanks for the compliment on my car. Glad you like it.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.
I think we narrowed it down some last night.
We are going to check out a few things today and tommorow including, VW Toureg, Chevy Trailblazer SS, Infinity FX45 (she likes the Orange one).
Whatever we get it will need some mods of course, which is why I am pulling for the Tblazer SS. There is a white one for sale that would be perfect for some Stormtrooper action! I like the Orange FX as well, it has Laser Cruise control. Would love to find a V10 Deisel Toureg, but I doubt that will happen in the price range.
I agree, I have to move fast, she mentioned that vans are so useful this morning.
I hadn't really considered a Lexus, what color? She hates, silver, pewter/gold, and black cars.

Any other suggestions?

 

MB R350?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/search...inAsk=&maxAsk=

 

My wife drives a 2005 Escalade. We both really like it a lot. It is very comfortable and has plenty of space. The only downside is the gas mileage. I didn't think I'd ever own another American car in my life but this has changed my mind. We had a Pathfinder before this and I hated it.

An MDX would be nice too.

 

I would be totally up for an Escalade, but the wife thinks it is too big!

I think we have it narrowed down to a Trailblazer SS or an Infiniti FX45.
I am amazed at how expensive the TBSS's here in the PNW are. Ones in Florida are running like $6000 less for the same thing!
Maybe I shoulduse a broker rather than a stealership, er I mean dealership.
The funny thing is that the one White TBSS for sale in the NW is at a dealer I used to work for. Maybe I will just lowball the crap out of them.

 

I know the SS sounds fun because of the HP.. but between the two I'd give the nod to an FX45. Go take one out for a spin. In fact, the FX35 isn't shabby either performance wise and you could still save a few pennies.

 

I am a little biased towards the TBSS. I used to sell GM and always enjoyed the heck out of them as demos, and that was with the 6cyl.

We will be driving the FX45 tommorow I think. The one we like (clor and options) has 25K more miles on it, is 3 model years older, and is $3K cheaper.

 

We have a Cayenne S. It has a good amount of go when you press it down and we love the looks of them but with two kids it is small. Not sure how many kids you have but when you throw in a stroller, diaper bag, two car seats, and groceries its a little tight. I'm a tall guy for having Asian blood but short by American standards and my son still has the ability to Bruce Li the back of my seat and sometimes attempts to stick his toe in my ear as I drive. Love the vehicle but space is not its strong suit. I was in Mark's tahoe a few months ago and that thign has room and tons of cargo space. Not as fancy as a Porsche but it does the job and does it well. We will be getting that one next if I can talk my wife away from the new Cayenne....

 

I have a 3 year old and next year we plan on having another baby.

 

We have a 4 yr old and a 16 month old. When he is in a booster seat it won't be too bad but with his recaro that thing hogs up a lot of room. We also have a double stroller which likes to take up all of our storage room. It is a great car and as long as its just the kids in the backseat there aren't really any issues, especially if you can teach the lil ones not to kick your seat or head haha.

 

I think the one thing that surprised me the most about the Escalade is how sharp it turns. It can turn way sharper than both of my other cars. It is actually really easy to park because of that.