[SoNic67]

Sadly my reliable 2001 Sable Wagon left for greener pastures... I mean junkyard grassy patches.

It was my commuting car for years and then passed to my daughter as teen driver. She managed to drive it in a deep ditch, at night , while raining, stopping in a culvert. She was perfectly safe, but the front end of the Sable wasn't.
The right wheel and LCA were pushed back so strongly that the windshield had a crack starting on the lower right corner. The car wasn't straight anymore. New tires on it... the wrecker give me $200.
Almost nobody buys wrecks those days, because nobody drives that much anymore.

 

[Automender12345]

Sorry to hear that happen. Glad your daughter was ok. I am starting to see fewer and fewer Taurus on the road and especially wagons.

 

[chartmaker]

Sorry to hear that happen. Glad your daughter was ok. I am starting to see fewer and fewer Taurus on the road and especially wagons.

I did a quick search centered in PA, bit W of Philly. 200 miles radius, '00-'05 Taurus Wagon, any price and such. They show only one, low end model, price high.
Guess I will keep my '03 Sable LS wagon the rest of my driving life. 160K, no rust yet. It cost $4K 6 1/2 years ago. If some one offered me $6K today, I would not sell.
-chart-

 

[SoNic67]

Mine was LS Premium. Duratec, Leather seats, Auto AC, all the good stuff. Could carry inside longer items than my RAV4 can.
Sad to see it being hauled away. My daughter even shed a tear because she "killed it".
I am glad that that long front end did its duty and absorbed the impact.
She had a bruise on her cheek bone, because when she tried to open the driver door to exit, car being tilted at a 30-45 degree angle, that door was too heavy for her and kind of surprised her... and hit her face. Eventually she got out by the time I got there. Her worry was about the phone that was dropped low, by the passenger door. Priorities...

The 2000 Sonata that we had as a spare car has a 2.5L V6 engine, and that's what she drives now. She said that's "slower", maybe for the best. Plus interior is cloth, I have added tinting on the lateral windows (didn't have any sun protection like the Sable). No Auto lights, so she kept forgetting the lights on at the beginning.
I have added a Walmart "Dual" radio, so she has Bluetooth connection for maps and Spotify.

 

[Automender12345]

Mine was LS Premium. Duratec, Leather seats, Auto AC, all the good stuff. Could carry inside longer items than my RAV4 can.
Sad to see it being hauled away. My daughter even shed a tear because she "killed it".
I am glad that that long front end did its duty and absorbed the impact.
She had a bruise on her cheek bone, because when she tried to open the driver door to exit, car being tilted at a 30-45 degree angle, that door was too heavy for her and kind of surprised her... and hit her face. Eventually she got out by the time I got there. Her worry was about the phone that was dropped low, by the passenger door. Priorities...

The 2000 Sonata that we had as a spare car has a 2.5L V6 engine, and that's what she drives now. She said that's "slower", maybe for the best. Plus interior is cloth, I have added tinting on the lateral windows (didn't have any sun protection like the Sable). No Auto lights, so she kept forgetting the lights on at the beginning.
I have added a Walmart "Dual" radio, so she has Bluetooth connection for maps and Spotify.

I picked up a new Rav4 Hybrid in 2019 and so far really like it. If i have anything long to carry I use my Xterra but miss the functioning rear window that I had in my Pathfinder to carry the real long stuff.

My daughter slid off the road leading to our house years ago in one of my 2001s. Ditch wasn't deep and car pulled itself out but she learned a good lesson about hills, ice and making turns. After that point she always had snow tires on in the winter, watched out for turn offs going down hills and finally she moved to Florida from Ohio. Now we can visit her during the winter months.

 

[SoNic67]

Ah, I like my 2011 RAV4 because it's one of the last with V6 3.5L. Towing rated at 3500 lbs, I added the OE hitch receiver and wiring. Plus an auxiliary transmission oil cooler.

Hopefully one day I will be camping around USA...

 

[rojoem]

Have you tried towing a trailer using your rav4?

 

[SoNic67]

A trailer, yes.
An RV, not yet. It's still cold, rainy and yucky outside.

The bad part is that I heard that all/most the camping sites are already fully booked for the 2021 season. It seems that I can't get anything "good" those days... like toilet paper, video cards, laptops, camping sites, ammo.