Moving to Colorado, which cars would you suggest for the midwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How big is your family?
Where in Colorado?

What kind of vehicle do you currently have? You probably only need to buy some tires.

Family is small but plan on spending it weekends exploring, hiking, driving to state parks, skiing, snowboarding, etc. We are going to settle in Boulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need an SUV (for clearance) with 4WD and top quality snow tires. We like Blizzeks.

Depending on how remote you are, check on number of dealerships in area and base your choice on that. For example, where we are, we have a Suburban because the GM dealership is the main one. Toyota and lots of European cars are difficult to service

OP here, will car purchase here in this area as it’s cheaper than waiting until we get to Colorado. Why are Toyota’s difficult to service in Colorado? Toyota seems to be everywhere on the East Coast.

[Anonymous]

Midwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need an SUV (for clearance) with 4WD and top quality snow tires. We like Blizzeks.

Depending on how remote you are, check on number of dealerships in area and base your choice on that. For example, where we are, we have a Suburban because the GM dealership is the main one. Toyota and lots of European cars are difficult to service

OP here, will car purchase here in this area as it’s cheaper than waiting until we get to Colorado. Why are Toyota’s difficult to service in Colorado? Toyota seems to be everywhere on the East Coast.

Where we are (in somewhat remote locale in Montana) there are NO Toyota dealerships within 2 hours. If you are in Boulder, you will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Omg. Colorado isn’t the Midwest and if you are going to “settle” in Boulder you will be fine with any car. They plow like a boss out there. You won’t be headed off the beaten path for your hiking and skiing. You will be in the traffic jam of all the Boulder people heading out to go hiking and skiing. Think of what you want to do as similar to driving to the beach from the DC area on a Friday in June. Everyone does it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need an SUV (for clearance) with 4WD and top quality snow tires. We like Blizzeks.

Depending on how remote you are, check on number of dealerships in area and base your choice on that. For example, where we are, we have a Suburban because the GM dealership is the main one. Toyota and lots of European cars are difficult to service

Lol. If OP is moving to the front range she doesn’t need any of this. And lol at Toyotas being difficult to service.

Who is that person? We live in Boulder and have a Toyota 4Runner because it fits our family. We have all weather tires which we get at our local tire store. My DH has a BMW because he thinks is is posh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best question is where in Colorado is the OP planning on living?

That's really true, but realistically, if OP gets some kind of AWD/4WD vehicle with good all weather tires, it will work for any part of the state.

Snow tires are very helpful. It sounds like OP isn't experienced with winter driving at all and winter tires could prevent some unpleasant or dangerous situations.

Snow tires are a pain. You are really not supposed to drive on them all year, which means switching out every year. And they can be pricy. You can manage the price a bit if you just buy two and then rotate them, but it's still annoying.

AWD/4WD plus all weather tires is more than adequate for someone living on the Front Range. And then you just have to be smart -- check road conditions before you drive in the mountains, and don't get cocky. Driving over a mountain pass in a snowstorm or icy conditions is no joke and you have to be really careful even if you have snow tires or chains. But it's easy to avoid if you need to.

Everyone is different but I don't mind the switching twice a year. Small price to pay for the freedom to safely go where I want when I want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need an SUV (for clearance) with 4WD and top quality snow tires. We like Blizzeks.

Depending on how remote you are, check on number of dealerships in area and base your choice on that. For example, where we are, we have a Suburban because the GM dealership is the main one. Toyota and lots of European cars are difficult to service

OP here, will car purchase here in this area as it’s cheaper than waiting until we get to Colorado. Why are Toyota’s difficult to service in Colorado? Toyota seems to be everywhere on the East Coast.

Where we are (in somewhat remote locale in Montana) there are NO Toyota dealerships within 2 hours. If you are in Boulder, you will be fine.

You don't need a dealership to service your car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Colorado. Any car is fine. They treat the roads and plow. My best Colorado advice for you is to NOT buy or rent a house facing North. Snow melts quickly on your driveway and sidewalk unless your house faces north.

Where did you grow up? I grew up in the mountains and that wasn't true for me. If you live in a larger city and mostly just drive around town, yes. But otherwise it really is helpful to have a vehicle that can handle winter weather. Then you don't wind up having to make choices like "Well, we'd love to join you in Estes Park this weekend but I worry about our car on the roads this time of year."

This.

[Anonymous]

Subaru, Jeep, or Toyota Forerunner.

[Anonymous]

We rented a Jeep Compass in Colorado and liked it.

[Anonymous]

We spend a good amount of time in CO and see mostly Jeeps and Subarus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How big is your family?
Where in Colorado?

What kind of vehicle do you currently have? You probably only need to buy some tires.

Family is small but plan on spending it weekends exploring, hiking, driving to state parks, skiing, snowboarding, etc. We are going to settle in Boulder.

Yeah, you definitely don't need a special car to sit in 5 hours of ski traffic on I-70 on the weekends with thousands of your closest friends. And you likewise don't need any kind of special vehicle for living in Boulder. Just buy whatever car you like and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

from Boulder and we drive a 4Runner and a front wheel drive car, never wished for anything different. Snow is infrequent and roads are plowed, so it’s never an issue. Boulder isn’t what it used to be because everyone wants to live here and there are very little homes (they don’t build new unless it’s a scrape and build). Nothing like settling in a new town where you need $2MM to get a nice little cottage 😚

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with Colorado not being in the Midwest and also with Subaru recommendation, especially Forester.

Don’t go to CO and tell them they’re in the Midwest. 🙄 unless you’re moving to maybe Burlington.