Jude 2

Out of these 2 cars, which one would you choose?

A 2005 Nissan Altima. Midnight Blue, Black Interior. Keep in mind I have 2 small children. Black interior = nightmare. The Altima is the very basics. CD player, Auto locks & windows. 59,000 miles.

OR

A 2002 Volvo (somethin or other - ha!). It's silver. Cream leather interior. FULLY loaded. Power everything. Gadgets everywhere. Cassette AND CD player. Automatic AND Manual Transmission. Sunroof. 73,000 miles.

All opinions welcome.

GMC, oh wait - you are selecting a foureeen vehicle. without any other information, I would choose the volvo, probably (then sell it and get a GMC/Chevy - heheheheee)

Volvo

Of course I recommended a Volvo last time you asked.

What happened to the other car?

Volvo

I have a 2002 S60 Volvo with 55,000 miles, I bought it in 2003> I bought it mainly because of the safety record of Volvo, mine not only has front seat airbags but back seat and side airbags. When I bought it I was making a lot of trips from South Florida up to Central Florida looking for property and wanted a safe and dependable car for the highways. I am very satisfied with my car.

rjc wrote:Volvo

I have a 2002 S60 Volvo with 55,000 miles, I bought it in 2003> I bought it mainly because of the safety record of Volvo, mine not only has front seat airbags but back seat and side airbags. When I bought it I was making a lot of trips from South Florida up to Central Florida looking for property and wanted a safe and dependable car for the highways. I am very satisfied with my car.

Okay, my volve is an S80. I had to look. HA! I'm such a girl.

Mine has the side and back air bags as well.

It's supposed to be the safest vehicle on the road.

Neither of them are American made so either/or works!

My F150 and a volvo had a little fender bender in the parking lot at work. I had $950 in damage. The Volvo had $10,000 worth of damage. We hit each other right in the side corners of each others front bumpers.



Daryl

darylscook wrote:My F150 and a volvo had a little fender bender in the parking lot at work. I had $950 in damage. The Volvo had $10,000 worth of damage. We hit each other right in the side corners of each others front bumpers.



Daryl

That would be my criteria as well. I believe that repairs, parts, etc. are much more expensive on the Volvo. The Altima is alright. We are obviously not comparing apples to apples, but I think they are both pretty close in reliability, so I would probably recommend to my middle-class friends to go with the one that is not going to cost a fortune to maintain: the Altima.

You may be upper-class, if so, go for the Volvo!

I won't classify myself. HAHA. But I too was concerned with the cost of repair.

Thank you all for your opinions. Since I like all the bells and whistles and the color of the volvo, I went with it. The black interior in the Altima was about to drive me insane.

HarmlessDove wrote:I won't classify myself. HAHA. But I too was concerned with the cost of repair.

Thank you all for your opinions. Since I like all the bells and whistles and the color of the volvo, I went with it. The black interior in the Altima was about to drive me insane.

Well, next time I'm a little short of cash, I know who to hit up...

Congrats on the new car!! I'm sure you'll absolutely love that Volvo. Good choice!!

I would choose the Altima... I have a 2005 now and I sold a 1999 to a teenager a couple of years ago...and it is still running strong at 250,000+ miles... If I were buying again I would still go with the Altima...

HarmlessDove, I don't know.

The parent in me says pick the Volvo for obvious safety reasons. There's probably not a safer passenger vehicle on the road in terms of crashworthiness.

But, they are expensive to fix and it's gonna tear up at some point because (A) it is a car and (B) it is a Volvo.

The Altima is probably alright. I'm not a huge Nissan fan, but like any other vehicle, if you maintain it, chances are as good as not that you'll be content with it and you won't spend as much money on it for repairs and insurance as the Volvo.

But, if I'm in a crash, I'd rather have the Volvo under me. It's writing the next check afterward on that car that's gonna hurt.

Third option: Large SUV. The safest on the road period.. especially the Ford models.

caveat: Never EVER.. buy any new. Always get a new one from an individual with minimal miles and do a SN check for damage etc. I saved 16 thousand off msrp on my last one and it was a year old. Let them eat the inflated price.

rjc wrote:Volvo

I have a 2002 S60 Volvo with 55,000 miles, I bought it in 2003> I bought it mainly because of the safety record of Volvo, mine not only has front seat airbags but back seat and side airbags. When I bought it I was making a lot of trips from South Florida up to Central Florida looking for property and wanted a safe and dependable car for the highways. I am very satisfied with my car.

Yeah, but with small children those air bags aren't a plus. You should not sit small children in front of airbags, and if they are in the back as well, that doesn't leave much room, unless they can be turned off.

I'm with Rambo, go Chevy! but between these two, a few things to consider. lower miles and newer is a plus, leather seats and kids may be more of a nightmare than black!, and depending on whether you need/use all the bells and whistles, those can be more things to break down on an older vehicle.

Much depends on how soon you're going to be ready to buy again, if this is to last a long while, the newer/lower miles would be my choice, as as much as I prefer Chevy or at least American, I know many with Nissans that have lasted well beyond expectations even with rough treatment. My brother's truck is still going strong after a wreck that should have totaled it about 10 years ago, and it's run at least 300,000 to 400,000 miles.