Safe, Affordable Family Vehicle?

[2shelbys]

Al Masetti:

Don’t know how true this really is, but I read somewhere that if you get bumped gently and your vehicle has a hundred airbags and they all go off, even if there is no actual damage to the car, … then the insurance company will “total” your car on account of because the cost of replacing all those air bags is more than the car is worth.

BTW, also at a place where I used to rent cars a lot, they also called the Ford Explorer, a Ford Exploder.

Totalling the car (unless it is much older and not worth much) is an exaggeration but they are VERY expensive to replace.

 

[manualman]

Airbags only go off if the impact is of sufficient force and direction to meet the criteria built in to the sensors. These inertial sensors are actually pretty good these days.

Concern about uneeded deployment of airbags was perhaps warranted in 1992ish vehicles. Not really anymore in 2005.

 

[MooCowSteph]

manualman:

Airbags only go off if the impact is of sufficient force and direction to meet the criteria built in to the sensors. These inertial sensors are actually pretty good these days.

Concern about uneeded deployment of airbags was perhaps warranted in 1992ish vehicles. Not really anymore in 2005.

Really? I thought they we generally set to go off at an (name removed by moderator)act 15mph or higher? I thought I remembered reading that somewhere.

 

[hopeandlove]

Princess_Abby:

Any ideas? We’d like to purchase a vehicle in the next month or so, but don’t feel pulled in any particular direction as to what would be best. Our main concerns are that it be safe for the new baby and fairly economical, as well as reliable. In our experience, American cars have not offered reliability. So we would probably prefer foreign car suggestions, just FYI, unless someone has had an amazing experience otherwise.

My husbands Truck decided not to start the other day so we are looking at replacing it with a Ford Focus the 2005 and 2006 models have gotten good reviews in the car magazines (we have to by Ford).

Good Luck in your search!