Narrowing Down Your Options: Picking a Vehicle

Our last two blogs have focused on the best vehicles for college students and families. These two blogs talked about finding a car to fit your needs and budget. But really, when you are looking for a family vehicle, those factors still leave you with a lot of options. In this installment of our blog, we will spotlight a few options. Check out our guide below to help you search for the best vehicle for your family:

Best Sedan: Honda Accord

For a vehicle that is compact and delivers on both storage space and passenger comfort, the Honda Accord is a stellar steal! Interior highlights include dual-zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, telescoping steering wheel, heated leather seats, and more. This car is a safe vehicle for families with features that include front seat side-impact airbags, antilock brakes, a backup camera, electronic stability system with traction control, and available LaneWatch system to show two lanes of adjacent traffic.

Best Minivan: Toyota Sienna

The best minivan on the market, the Toyota Sienna offers excellent seating capacity to fit the whole family plus all their sports gear, band instruments, bags, groceries, carpool group, and more. With traction control, brake assist, electronic stability, dual front impact airbags, and anti-whiplash front head restraints, the Toyota Sienna provides maximum safety and security for you and your cargo.

Best for Large Families and Teams: Buick Enclave

For a modern and mid-sized luxury vehicle, pick the Buick Enclave. This vehicle delivers in spaciousness, sophistication, and plenty of seating for your family. With all-wheel drive, a touch-screen display and USB port, emergency communication system, heated seats, interior air filtration, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio, this SUV delivers on technology, sophistication, and comfort.

Best Car for Your Teen Driver: Ford Fusion SE Sedan

Safe and teeming with efficiency, the Ford Fusion SE Sedan is a great pick your student driver. This car is easy to steer and maneuver and safe to drive. With high consumer ratings, this vehicle is the perfect fit for your new driver. It also makes for a great pick to send your responsible student off to college!

The search for a car that best suits the needs of your family can be a time-intensive and stressful process. Whether you need plenty of cargo space or want high-tech features to monitor teen drivers, use this guide to search the market for your dream car. Look to Kuehn Motors as another resource in your car search endeavors. For hours and to contact us directly at kuehnmotors.com.

Prepare Your College Student's Car for the New Semester

The new college semester has begun. Your student may have their dorm room decked out and their academic supplies all checked off, but have you taken a closer look at their car? College students can spend a lot of time in their car between the commute to campus, weekend trips, and journeys home. Make sure their cars are ready to drive safely with the following checklist:

Maintenance Check-up

A routine maintenance checkup will help your child’s car perform like it should on the road. Get everything from the brake pads and engine to fluid levels to airbags checked. Do the whole gamut to make it safe for those short rides from the dorm to the coffee shop or for those long rides home. Guarantee their safety by reminding them to get it routinely checked.

Teach Them About Car Maintenance

Even though help can be a phone call away, you don’t want your young adult to be without the skills necessary get them out of a pinch. Teach them how to change their own oil, how to change a flat tire, how to check tire pressure, when to take a car in for maintenance, etc. These essential skills will help them feel safer and more capable on the road.

Talk About Car Loans and Insurance

If your child bought their car or is in the process of doing so, talk about the responsibilities that come with it. Help them work towards financing a car on their own or developing good credit if they need an auto loan. This will be an excellent opportunity to help them understand financial responsibility before they head to the next phase of their life. Also, search for student discounts on car insurance for money-saving incentives.

Prepare an Emergency Kit

Emergencies happen. Prepare your student by having an emergency stash in their trunk. Keep an extra phone charger or battery, a first aid kit, reflective triangles, flares, a lighter, jumper cables, a flashlight with extra batteries, a multipurpose tool, a tow rope, water, snacks, and whatever else works for your climate. In the winter, pack extra blankets, warm clothing, a shovel, a windshield ice scraper/snow brush, and cat litter. This can seem like a lot, but being prepared for the worst will help your child in the event of an emergency.

If your family is in the market for a car for your student or is in need of a thorough service check, contact Kuehn Motors today.

Finding the Right Car to Fit Your Family

Shopping for and picking out a new car seems like fun, that is, up until the moment you need to make a commitment. With so many options out there, it can seem stressful finding the right car for you and your family. Your choice will likely stay with you for at least a few years, so it is a big decision. With a little research and planning, this task will not seem as daunting. Consider the following:

Assess Your Needs

This is very important to your overall decision.  Begin by considering the features you and your family truly need to narrow down your search:

●      How many passengers do you need to carry?

●      Are you going to be driving on the ice and snow?

●      Where will you be parking?

●      How much will it be driven?

●      Will you be pulling any trailers, campers, or other heavy equipment?

Decide on a Budget

Creating a budget is one of the most important aspects of buying a car. This involves reviewing all your monthly expenses to decide on the maximum amount you are willing to spend.  When you look at a car's price tag, remember to factor in the overall costs of the car. Consider insurance, upkeep, gas mileage and maintenance as well as the purchase price.

New or Used?

This decision might seem like it is solely based on your budget, but used cars have benefits, too. Brand new cars are a good investment much of the time, but they don't have the information and reviews available that used models have. If you do decide to purchase a car that has recently been released, wait a few months to check the reviews from owners.

Fuel Efficiency

Think about your daily routine. Do you travel on highways or city streets more often? Are you making long trips or short ones?  How far or often you regularly drive is a big factor in choosing a car. Larger models are good for hauling cargo (and more people at one time) but do not have the fuel efficiency of a smaller model. Then again, if you have a big family, you might need a second smaller car to accommodate your family's lifestyle. It all depends on your needs.

Before making a choice, test out a few different cars. Again, it is an exciting process, and you don't want to get wrapped up in one model.  After all, these are all important aspects of your decision.

While you are shopping for your new car, be sure to stop by Kuehn Motors. Our friendly and helpful staff will be more than happy to help you on your journey.