I am hoping someone can help here. We LOVE our Dodge Magnum and plan on keeping it BUT it doesn't have enough storage room when we do road trips and you can only fit 4 people comfortably (which means taking 2 cars if my folks go on vacation with us). Not cool really. So, we are looking for another, bigger car. We DO NOT want a mini van. Been there and done that. We went to the Denver auto show to look around but it's so hard to find something with all the features we want and one that DH fits in. We cannot have a sun/moon roof. He is too tall and he can't fit in the front seat. Period...no matter what model we have tried. Problem is, we want leather and most cars/crossovers you get the sunroof if you want leather. You can't break apart the package.

So, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a great car with lots of features (leather, butt warmers on front seats, memory seating for drivers seat,bluetooth), can fit 6 people (including a long legged kid in the back seat) and has no sun/moon roof. We also need full adjusting seats in the passenger side (8 choice I think they call it) so the seat can tilt (it takes pressure off DH's legs). We test drove the Mazda CX9 Grand Touring today and liked it except that the passenger side doesn't have 8 adjustments (only 6) and the only colors available anywhere near us without a sun/moon roof are dark (black cherry). I am not a fan of car washing...I want a light colored car.

So...anyone...any suggestions?

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Cadillac Escalade? $65-85K!#*@
I'm no help on this topic actually as I am not a big fan of big automobiles.
We had this same situation at one point - thought we needed somethign to take the 4 of us + 2 grandparents....and every now and then haul some plywood, so DH bought a big truck with a king cab and a bench seat in the front. Biggest mistake we ever made...hated that truck every day and almost never took the grandparents with us anywhere. LOL

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

How about just renting a vehicle to fit your fam for road trips? If road trips are an occasional thing and you wish to keep the car you have, perhaps it's an alternative to buying a new one?
Or is it even affordable to rent an RV for those trips?

no way to the Escalade LOL We have to keep it under $40 K and would like to be low $30K if possible.

We don't want an RV. We have places to stay at our destination (family or our Time Share). We take about 4-6 road trips a year so I'm not sure I want to go about renting a car each time. Plus, being able to store more in the back if I make a trip to Costco with the kids would be nice.

I appreciate the responses!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I agree with Momziller....that's what we wished we did....rent or borrowed a vehicle on the very few occasions when we needed to....

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Jeep Grand Cherokee

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I see you already have a Dodge. DH had a business trip and rented a Durango. It was sweet-way more room and storage than our Expedition, and it was a very smooth ride. It could fit eight in a crunch.

thanks. I know DH didn't like the Durango but we didn't look at the Jeep

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I know you said what your budget is, BUT right now there's some incredible deals on the Tahoe and would fit that range around here.

My oldest is 6'2" and he drives mine without any problems. (Actually, we're quite impressed with how far the seat does go back) We have the LTZ, but I think the LT was the one you were able to drop the things you didn't want. This is our 2nd one and I know it's going to be incredibly hard to move to car after the boys leave!

I'll have to check that out...thanks!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

We have a GMC ENVOY XL.. It is an 8 passenger vehicle with cloth seats and sunroof... LOTS of room.. Took it to florida this year and it was great!
Got it used too at a great deal!

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Be careful what you wish for.....

What about the Volvo XC90? It seats seven and starts under $40k, and even the "low end" is pretty well loaded. I loved my Volvo, but it went to car heaven.

or the Saab 9-7x SUV. We love our Saabs. It's a little more expensive though (starts in the 40s)

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

We actually test drove the XC90 and IMHO, it was actually very narrow. We felt crammed in the front. I LOVE the Saabs too, but never took them for a test drive, seeing our deal called back and took the price we offered. (which we were incredibly shocked, since we totally low balled it!)

I think that's what I like about it...that it isn't a big boat...but as I said, I'm not a fan of huge cars for a number of reasons, so I'd be looking on the smaller end of the big. breggae, I hope you are one of those large car/truck drivers who can actually drive it.....lol....nothing drives me crazier than drivers who have no idea how large their vehicle is, where it starts and where it stops, and can't seem to pull into or out of a space without trying a half dozen times. Where's that pet peeve thread when I need it? LOL

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Nope, not me! I actually think of mine as being small (DH actually freaks when I pull into a parking spot, since I do it so quickly), since I've had my share of having to move equipment (read big trailer and a quad cab truck hooked together- for our construction business) and to me, THATS huge! But, I did it!

I think the thing that drives me crazy about people with the big 4x4's is the fact that they think they're invinciable with snow! Heck, I'm just as prone to an accident as anyone else, even with 4-wheel drive.

How about the Toyota Sequoia? It is a bit above your price range, but, you will have it FOREVER and a day.

2008 Toyota Sequoia SUV models and prices

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Thanks all! DH doesn't fit in SAABs or Volvo's (we have tried them).

After checking a few out over the last couple of days, we have decided to wait a bit. Everything that was even remotely a possibility was $40-$50K. We aren't trading anything in and we don't have $30K to put down on a $50K vehicle With interest rates, we would need the car to be less than $21K financed to afford the payment. So, we are going to try socking some extra money away and hopefully in a year or year and a half we will have some extra $$$ and start over again.

I appreciate all your help. It's been so long since I've car shopped, I really had no idea that anything we would want would be that much money. It's just insane! I appreciate the idea of renting a car for traveling. We might do that. It will also give us a chance to "road test" something for a week

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

You might check eBay. We got our van there from a reputable seller for a great price. He buys up barely-used company cars at auction, customizes them with upgrades, and sells them for prices better than we could have gotten locally.

Our van had under 8K miles on it. He had leather seats put in, as well as a DVD player. It was a current year model. We paid under $18K.

I LOVE my Ford Escape and it gets 25 mpg in town and 30ish on long trips.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I have a friend who loves hers too. Problem is, it's too small for our needs. It only sits 5 and the cargo area isn't much bigger (if any), than our Magnum. I'm hoping that the *bigger* cars will come down in price and gas mileage will go up in the near future (I know, I'm dreaming)

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Well for me the bigger the better. So I am the wrong person to ask about suvs because personally I love them. Currently my son drives a 2005 Dodge Durango and I drive a 2008 Dodge Durango. This is my second his first. Never ever had a single problem with them. Yes they are big but not monster suvs either... I have been driving a suv so long I cannot stand to drive a car, I feel so unsafe so low to the ground and especially here on our highways I feel like I would get crushed. So personally I would also suggest a Durango. Personally mine only has 2 rows of seats since my 2 oldest have their own cars, there is no need for more room. While my sons durango has the third seat which we use when we want more room. I sincerely hope you find something that suits your family without costing a small fortune good luck.. Peace. Catherine

I Can totally relate to your "fit your family" issues. With 6 kids it can be horrendous finding something that comfortably fits us. We have a Nissan Armada right now, and I really like, but not a huge fan of the back seat......more like a bench, but since all those who sit in back use carseats, it doesn't matter at this point. It's great on gas mileage for the size it is......

Good Luck!

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Nicole

You can always get 'after market' leather seats. We had them in a Honda minivan one time and they were actually nicer quality than the factory leather.

I don't understand what you mean that your DH can't fit in a car with a moonroof. I have a Honda Odyssey and the moonroof is flush with the top of vehicle interior. I don't see what difference that would make. Maybe other manufactures do something different. I've only had Honda/Acura vehicles with moonroofs.

Honestly, a minivan is going to be the best value for your money as far as size, storage space and cost to operate. I know people don't like them, but if you get a nice one (we prefer Honda), they are not bad.

When you have a moonroof/sunroof, you lose 2 inches of clearance. So, a car with no moonroof as 2 inches more seat to ceiling versus one with a moonroof when loses 2 inches. So, with a moonroof, my DH's head not only touches the ceiling, it has to *tilt* into the moonroof. He is VERY long waisted. We have sat in all the brands (Honda included) and his head has to tilt into the space of the space of a moonroof. The only way to avoid it is to lean the chair way back which is not only uncomfortable, but makes it impossible to have a passenger behind him.

We had an Odessey before our current car. We wouldn't buy another one. It was nice when the kids were babies but the repairs sucked! In 3.5 years we had to replace the motor to one slider door 2 times. Once under warranty and once out of pocket. We were told "it was rare". If it's going to happen, it's going to happen to us. Of all mini vans, it's the best but we just aren't going back to a mini van again

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003