Dependable,mid-sized,4 door,RWD car

[speedycat]

Looking for advice on a car for my slightly elderly mother to drive. Most be highly dependable, mid/economy sized, rear-wheel drive, 4 door, automatic,GM car or wagon, basic equpped, easy to work on. I know we may have to go for an older model. Does anyone have any suggestions of what we can look for???

[2000 Tahoe Limited]

to get a 4door rear wheel drive GM vehicle u are going to have to go back to a 96 impala or caprice..not a economy car but reliable

[speedycat]

Thanks 2000Tahoe. I'll take a look at on of those. Have any suggestions for a late 80s maybe with a 6cylinder??

['97ventureowner]

Going back to the late '80s and looking at your criteria, I'd say your only choice would be a Caprice. GM started doing away with rear wheel drive, (BIG MISTAKE IMO,)in the early '80s replacing models with FWD . By the end of the decade the only cars remaining that were RWD were the Caprice and Monte Carlo (until 1988). The Monte however is only 2 doors and you are looking for a 4 door. The Caprice was highly regarded as a good reliable vehicle as it was highly used as a fleet vehicle for taxis and police. They were mass produced and parts are generally cheaper and more readily available. The Caprice also came equipped with a 6 or 8 cylinder, which meets your needs for a 6 cylinder engine for economy. The cars are also generally easy to work on. Hope this info helps you.

[slacker_53]

Speedycat, in my opinion your overlooking alot of good, dependable, fuel efficient vehicles by limiting your search to RWD.

I sell cars in a town of 10,000 people, small town USA, and I sell alot of FWDs to older people.

I don't know where you live, but FWDs get around MUCH better in winter weather than RWDs. The old adage that FWDs require more maintanence just isn't true, and most of them are getting 30+ mpg, something the old RWDs can't accomplish, mainly because of advances in fuel systems that weren't available when GM was building mainly RWDs.

I know there are alot of staunch RWD proponents out there, but usually after they have a FWD for a while, they will see the error of their ways.

Only my

-slacker

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by slacker_53

I know there are alot of staunch RWD proponents out there, but usually after they have a FWD for a while, they will see the error of their ways.

Only my

-slacker

Well, what you say is true, although I don't consider myself a "RWD proponent,) having owned 19 vehicles in 20 years, many of them FWD. I still prefer RWD, probably because I grew up with them and started working on them at an early age. I just find it harder to work on these newer FWD vehicles with everything "crammed" into the engine compartment. It will be interesting to see what will happen with the new rebirth of RWD at GM coupled with the newer technologies of fuel systems, traction controls , better braking systems, etc. If speedycat was to look into FWD vehicles that are dependable and good on gas , I would reccomend the following: Buick Century, Buick Lesabre, Olds Ciera, Olds 88, Pontiac Bonneville, Pontiac 6000, Chevy Lumina, post 2000 Chevy Impala( the Impalas were mass produced and the price of used ones are a little lower than similar cars.) This is a short list and by no means the only list. I've listed these cars because I am somewhat familiar with them having worked on them, and speaking with other owners. A lot of these cars are capable of over 200,000 miles if properly maintained. One suggestion would be to look through the other forums for the vehicles I have listed, or you may be interested in to get a feeling of owner's opinions and what problems these vehicles tend to have. On a side note. Last year I was asked to locate a vehicle for my mother in law. She has various health concerns and needed to replace her '93 Explorer. I looked into the list I presented earlier in this post for a vehicle for her. I ended up finding a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis Bayshore Edition with only 49000 miles on it for $5200. The owner had passed away and his wife didn't need the vehicle. This, along with the Ford Crown Victoria would also make a good choice for an elderly car owner. They are spacious and easy to get in and out of. And I see a lot of older drivers with these vehicles. She gets fairly decent gas mileage, and is very reliable. And it is RWD. ( I know you can hurl the insults at me now for reccomending a Ford Motor Company product, but being a diehard GM fan, I realize that there are other manufacturers who make a quality car as well. The Marquis/ Crown Vic is really the only Ford/Mercury vehicle I would reccomend, that was non-GM.)

[speedycat]

Thanks guys. You all have good suggestions.

Slacker, we've owned a Century and a Skylark (both FWD). After changing the forth set of CV joints, my Hubby said never again.

97venturreowner, you had a great list of makes & models. We acquired our 85 Crown Vic(RWD) used w/85K, it lasted us 6 years and had nearly 300K when it died, without any chasis problems.
I think I will try your suggestion on the Caprice. It should be comfy enough and easy to get in and out of for someone with back/hip problems. My dad has worked on the chevy 6s before, so this sounds like a great choice. Hopefully I can find one for under $2K.

Thanks again. I'm so glad that I came to this group. I've gotten alot of great advice, here and on the Jeep (my car) site.