Posts
6767
Joined
8/30/2008
Location
Stockholm
SE
Edited Date/Time
1/24/2012 2:39pm
I'm buying a car this spring in US that should be able to fill these demands. Possible? Suggestions?
1. Transport at least 4 persons and luggage. Often I will go with my wife, kid and the pram/stroller.
2. Economical (low) on petrol, the hope is to find something that take less than a liter every 10 km, which equals at least 23 miles per gallon I think.
3. High quality and therefore good reputation. I'm not interested in gadgets and hi-tech. AC, ABS and leather seats are my only interest.
4. Should be able to transport a bike and gear.
In Sweden we often put a towing hook on our cars for trailers and stuff. We can buy these hooks around the corner for most brands of cars. Afterwards we put this metal construction similar to the beneth illustration.
http://www.sporthoj.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=135315&d=1142…
1. Transport at least 4 persons and luggage. Often I will go with my wife, kid and the pram/stroller.
2. Economical (low) on petrol, the hope is to find something that take less than a liter every 10 km, which equals at least 23 miles per gallon I think.
3. High quality and therefore good reputation. I'm not interested in gadgets and hi-tech. AC, ABS and leather seats are my only interest.
4. Should be able to transport a bike and gear.
In Sweden we often put a towing hook on our cars for trailers and stuff. We can buy these hooks around the corner for most brands of cars. Afterwards we put this metal construction similar to the beneth illustration.
http://www.sporthoj.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=135315&d=1142…
Sounds like a van is in order.
Mini vans, most all are front wheel drive, some all wheel, can carry maybe 6 people
and luggage. I hear guys get around 20 mpg. A used GMC Astro or Plymouth
Voyager will run you 2,500 to maybe 8 thousand US dollars. I've seen them pulling
small trailers, but it looks like a bit much. Used to be only housewives had 'em,
but they are everywhere now. I think Honda has an "Odessy", all wheel mini
with a good rep. You're gonna pay 10 grand tho.
A full sized van, which are getting kinda rare, usually get around 15 mpg. But they carry
a heck of lot more, can pull some decent loads. You might want to look at what
are called "conversion vans". Full sized vans fitted with basic RV stuff, maybe a couch/bed,
small sink, some even have a small bathroom. There's a lot of them around kinda cheap,
people seem to buy 'em and let 'em sit in their driveways........most all these will
be a Ford or Chevrolet that will get around 10 to 15 mpg, able to pull just about any bike trailer. Good luck, have a good time.........oh yeah, petrol right now on the east coast.......2.69 a gallon for 87 octane.
How the F are we to know the entire vehicular line up available to you?
If I was you I would stick with two Malamute lead dogs, four Siberian Huskies, and maybe... and I'm not so sure four more Alaskan Huskies. (Although, I believe they should really be Siberian.)
Mush malamute! Mush!!
Bring your rifle and at least a 12ga shotgun since the timber wolves are proliferating.
Doc Sweden asked a question. If you have useful input by all means post it. If not, why be a condescending ass to him??? We don't think you're funny. Are you laughing at your own stupid ass posts??
Sorry for the ass whip there doc sweden...
The Shop
He clearly said in the US.
Go waste your time somewhere else.
The butt-hurt tide has turned.
So sorry if some swede can't google his favorite flavor of traffic.
You know, probably the reason he is asking here is because he is in total shock, at the appalling vehicular choices available in America? Where he is from there are cars, trucks, vans all with much higher towing capacities and MPG (even if it is diesel) so I can understand his confusion.
Imagine that... Moving to America, and still wanting to be a "Swede". Try again.
As for me being an ass.... Reality often presents itself BUTT FIRST.
Otherwise, all there is in America is the glorious pickup truck or full-sized van.
All of which get about 15 or less MPG.
NO Minivans.
Be prepared to pay many Kroner at the local gas depot.
You could try the Dodge Sprinter, but I would not recommend it. First of all, the Mercedes mechanics in America don't yet know how to repair this vehicle properly, and second, their transmissions are not durable enough to make the meager fuel savings worthwhile. Trust me... I ran a Sprinter 300-500 miles per day, five days per week and many times it left me stranded and in peril of my job! Sometimes, I nearly froze my balls off before corp sent help and a tow to the nearest repair facility... 200 miles away. Something else to think about with the Sprinters, if you are not in a populous state, you will likely not get service without traveling a great distance.
Most passenger cars and minivans in the US have a towing capacity of 1000lbs, so you could always pull a small trailer and a couple bikes behind your sedan or minivan if that's what you want to do.
Of course, like in my first post, when it comes to sedans for towing bikes I still have to recommend the VW TDI. Tows like a truck and gets mileage like you are used to coming form the EU. Sorry, no substantial passenger vehicle in the US gets more than 30mpg.
We live here, and we wrestle with this dilemma, daily!
So... How can I get a discount on my Husky TE610?
If you are only doing a several month holiday I would look at a possible ford or chev extended pass van, you can take out the last row or two of seats and still have room for bikes,luggage etc.. I've seen them in diesel which gets better mileage but the gas ones are super cheap (under 10k) not super great mileage but for a short stay it wouldn't make a big difference.
If your staying longer and have a higher budget I would go for a used Sprinter van Mercedes Benz diesel.
It's going to be tough to find a super efficient vehicle that can haul people and bikes.
One thing to consider is the fuel is probably considerably cheaper than in Sweden (not sure how much)
I guess if you have a really low budget you could always pick up a used police cruiser (crown victorian) and throw a trailer on it. You can find those for a couple grand.
One other thing to consider is where you are starting in the country if you have a choice get your vehicle in a state that doesn't have sales tax it will save you a few thousand dollars on a car purchase. Tax free states are Delaware, Montana and Oregon . In Oregon you can buy a new car for the stated price plus about $100 dollars for two years registration and title fees vs somewhere like California where they rake you for several thousand above asking price.
Good luck with your trip.
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/ctd/1545281298.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/ctd/1542372321.html
I like this minivan thing you suggest, and it will probably be my choice of wheels! Don't want any bigger since a majority of travel will be me, wife and kiddo.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=270677441&dealer_id=5…
[img]http://images.autotrader.com/images/2009/11/11/270/677/13870127741.2706…]
Four cylinder and all, I assume means less fuel per mile!
How about a newer 4 door GM 1/2 ton truck with the weak ass 4.8 V8? Good mileage, spacious and will haul your bike and gear. Just don't expect to be impressed with the performance. If you buy a Ford, GM or Chrysler product, I suggest cloth interior. Domestic leather interiors suck, piss poor quality
you want function and reliability, Chevy 1500 4 door. 24 real world highway mpg, about 18 in town. REMEMBER, gas mileage is HIGHLY driver dependent, the vehicle can only help so much. If you drive with a lead foot, nothing is going to get good milage. All the good of below, they are mechanically the same truck.
you want classy style
Chevy Avalanche. 4 doors, comfortably seats 4. you will get on average, 23 mpg highway. has a bed you can haul 2 bikes in. plus when you arent hauling the bikes, has a factory cover. You get one of the easiest to work on, IF you even have to work on it, plus parts are EASY to get and very cheap price wise. Parts availability is unquestionably #1, you pull into any parts store, they will have chevy parts or can get them within a few hours. I say this because I dont care what it is or where you buy it, you ALWAYS will have to work on it, wear items. Yes you can go 2 years and not spend a dime on repairs because nothing broke, happens all the time. I am dealing with the when it happens side noone thinks about.
about now someone will start saying a bunch of bullshit because they are oppinionated. Here are facts. Ford F150, engine problems are cronic including head problems and timing set problems, thats both v-8s ford makes. Dodge 15 mpg (real word gas milage), transmission crap shoot, you might get 100k out of it, or you might get 20k out of it, most expensive domestic to work on and get parts for. Titan, usa cars get slammed as being cheaply put together and cheap ass interiors, Titans are worse.powertrain-wise, they are proving on average to be pretty solid, only issue is parts availablity. Toyota, tough as hell, good truck, 14mpg(real world gas milage), worst milage out of all trucks and used, higher priced. Honda, havent really delt with them alot in my area, what I have heard, tranny issues sporadically due to some electronic parts, other than that, the most car-ish interior out of all of them, but VERY pricey.
I HIGHLY recommend buying a used truck right now, 2 yo. And as far as trucks go, I highly recommend Chevy. The company is going nowhere, they will be here a long time, dont let the power play government bs make you think otherwise. You get more truck for your money than any of the other models, you can reasonably expect 200k miles out of the tranny before it goes south, motor, you shouldnt have any problems other than a bit of lifter ticking when you first start it if you let it sit for several days (but this happens to all fo them and doesnt hurt the engine) plus, you tear up something, or need to replace something, you can literally go anywhere and get it worked on and get parts fast. It is NOT a goto the dealership to get fixed dependent! And thats a VERY big deal.
Pit Row
The thing to remember about gas mileage is that the smaller engines get shit mileage when they are working hard.
I had a 6 cyl Ford Ranger for years traded in for an 8 cyl F-150 and my mileage is the same when loaded.
You may be better off looking for something for everyday that you will tow a small trailer with.
I wasn't trhying to be silly I am genuinely trying to offer help. I am a bit groggy from a late night in the pits at A1 last night though.
The only way to roll.
You could put a plow on it in winter and make some extra money to pay for fuel.
coming over here?
you need to assimilate man...
with a wife AND a kid you couldn't possibility role with anything smaller than this.
have fun!
Chevy Truck
Post a reply to: Family car + mx transport: Impossible mission?