DnvrFox

Dreamer! (I have 2 other cars, anyway)

maddmaxx 

So the laywer says about this last driver "Let me see, your a terrible defensive driver with such a short attention span that you don't even know what time of day it is. You don't find your violations to be moving and you have a history of illegal underage driving. And this is supposed to be your excuse?:

Digital Gee

When the Honda Element first came out, I swooned at the auto show. I really, really liked that car. Or van. Or whatever it is.

I had images of getting up into the mountains and camping out of it. I liked the idea of an easily cleanable interior. I test drove and thought...not bad... not bad. I even hung out at the Honda Element forum for a while, learning all kinds of interesting things from real owners.

I still have a soft spot for the Element -- its physical shape one either loves or hates, and I happen to love it. But my original puppy love for the vehicle has faded, and I probably wouldn't get one. The rear seats are too heavy and difficult to move around; the rear passengers are waaaaay back there, there have been lots of issues with cracked windshields (which may have been resolved by now), the mileage isn't all that outstanding, and so on. I do like the new colors, however!

Prosody

Glad the two of you are ok. From your list of totaled cars above, it seems the best course of action would be to give up motor vehicles altogether.

I've been driving a Honda Odyssey for several years. Other than more road noise than I'd like, it has been a quality, reliable minivan.

DnvrFox

The only thing moving regularly around here is ... well forget that, but my doc says it is a good thing. Hey, I used to drive on the off road in the mountains in a jeep - a long time before there was official "off-roading." That was a 1946 Willy's Jeep, BTW.

Did you know that the letters u..d..s..e.. can make

used
sued
dues
and
edus?

Beverly

Glad to hear you and your wife are okay. The van can be replaced.

DnvrFox

Well, we have a new Bikemobile!

My BM has to carry not only our bikes, but my sons 3 wheeler, as that is his favorite activity to do with us.

So, we ended up with a 2006




You guessed it




Minivan.


They work perfectly for us, and we found a nice low mileage (18,000 miles - "Certified" with an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty on the drive train, and the remaining normal regular warranty) Chrysler Town and Country with all the features we wanted and none that we didn't.

The thing we REALLY wanted was the "stow and go" seating, so we could EASILY convert to a 7 passenger van when needed, but use it for our bikes otherwise.

The nice thing is that both the 2nd and 3rd row rear seats (2nd row is Captains Chairs, 3rd row is 60/40 split bench) are stow and go, and as we never will be folding the 2nd row, there is a huge amount of storage space where the 2nd row seats stow, and that is where all the loose biking stuff and other stuff is now, instead of rolling around the floor of the van.

It is the extended van, but looks something like this.

solveg

Here's what I'm amazed at... we often spend months choosing a computer, or a video camera or a bike (Tom Bombadil, substitute "years" for "months") but then we're often in a position of buying a car or house on the basis of spending a few hours time with it. In the case of the house, there's not even a good way to research* it. In the case of the car, you have to cram a ton of research into days, and buying used is even more* of a crap-shoot. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

cranky old dude

Glad to hear you're both O.K. Is it possible to put a positive spin on the car shopping...was there anything about the Caravan that you could improve upon with this next purchase? Best of luck...

DnvrFox

Yes, the stow and go seating, and the fact that I needed to put about $1,000 into the old Caravan, and it had 85,000 miles.

oilman_15106

Woo. This brings up bad memories. Was sitting at a light in Houston TX in a LeCar and some drunk/high a** ran a Chevy El Camino into me. Cops estimate the Chevy was going about 50 mph. Lucky to be alive and of course the LeCar was the size of a sardine tin when it was all over. Get this: no charges ever filed against the Chevy owner with no insurance and I have to go to war with my own insurance company to get a replacement. 23 years later my shoulder is still messed up.

Tom Bombadil

Hey, I buy 3 bikes since Nov, 2006 and I'm cited for taking too long to buy bikes???


I agree that the minivan is a great vehicle. They take a lot of criticism for being too bland, but they are one of the most utilatarian vehicles ever made. Much better for a lot of people than SUVs (and even for a lot of people who own SUVs). Smooth ride, great interior space, one of the safest vehicles on the road, very comfortable.

jppe

You're fast Dnvr! Glad you were able to find a suitable replacement-maybe even an upgrade! I went through a similar incident over the past year and surprisingly found the Insurance folks to be more reasonable than prior experiences. I did some research on my own and was able to get about $1000 more than they offered on the totaled vehicle. I also found out that use more years than just the exact model year if there are not a lot of local vehicles for comps.

Just glad you're not having to deal with medical costs as well.

I've come to really appreciate my van. I am so much more comfortable having my bike (and golf clubs) inside the van.

DnvrFox

Last year we looked at a lot of vehicles, including sedans, the Element and the Scion van. We had already come to the conclusion that a minivan was once again our cup of tea prior to the accident.

So, with that info in mind, we just had to look at the variety of vans available. The Toyota and Honda, while nice, are extremely expensive used, and most of them have a lot of miles. The Chrysler minivans are rated a "best buy" by Consumer Reports, so then it came down to the features we REALLY wanted. I did alot of internet research, and was following up on a good deal, when I called a dealership, who had sold that van but had four on the lot meeting our requisites exactly.

We got the price we wanted, got them to fix a few minor things, and are on our way!

Artkansas 

Glad that you are alright.


Do you think that Vehicular Driving(VD) might have avoided that accident. You know, take the lane and get the drivers respect.

DnvrFox

Hmm!

I WAS in the lane. Sitting there absolutely stopped.

Maybe I should place a big sign on the van saying, "Please respect me."

I shall refer the entire matter to the Advocacy and Safety forum. I am sure Helmet Head will have some advice.

Retro Grouch 

I hope that I look good in an Element. I'm picking mine up on Friday.

I wanted a car that had enough space on the inside to carry our tandem and was short enough on the outside to fit into my garage. The Element and the short version of the Dodge Caravan were the only two cars I checked out that met both criteria.

cccorlew

And her Starbucks?

DnvrFox

Now she is claiming it was my fault, that I hit the car in front of me first, and that caused her to hit me! Her parents need to teach her about honesty.

maddmaxx 

What did you find on your research for the Scion XB. It would appear that a bike will sit upright in the rear at least if you take off the front wheel and use a fork mount. I'm interested as this could also be my commuter vehicle.

DnvrFox

We need the van to be able to transport my son's large 3 wheeler. Ths Scion won't do that, and that was the end of our research.

rabidchicken

I really like my Element. It is the '03 model, but those new SCs are sexy... for a box. Those new Scion XBs look so much better than the older ones. That might be my next ride. I can fit quite a bit in the back of the Element. The only downside is the suicide doors in cramped parking. Makes it difficult to get people out of the back seats.

Baroque

Serious?
I hope the investigating cops are smarter than this kid!

Ally

Digital Gee

I keep finding myself coming back to the Element. I think it IS sexy, in it's own odd way. I like many of the new colors, as well.

spry

Have your attorney prescribe those foam wiplash collars for you and the wife.At the pre- hearing,stare blankly and drool out the side of your mouth.Its all a "Dog and Pony Show" anyhow,and the girl that rear-ended you started it by lying.
You,ll be at the Mercedes dealership picking out one those new SEL300 SUV to throw the bikes in instead of a nasty old dodge van.