I No Longer Need The Kid Hauler, And Want Something Smaller! What Car Should I Buy?

Kristen lives in Metro Detroit and now that her kids are all college-aged she no longer needs the big family car. She wants something easy to live with and comfortable on long drives. She also wouldn't be opposed to rowing her own gears. With a budget up to $20,000, what car should she buy?

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Here is the scenario.

This may be the most boring request you've ever gotten, but being boring hasn't killed me so far today, and I don't think the odds are good for tomorrow either. My kids are all college-aged and beyond, and as grown children do, beginning to fly to off to the four corners. I no longer require a bigger vehicle that can hold 6 people, 3 band instruments, and 2 lacrosse bags.

As a single woman, I'm looking for something reliable and safe, without charming idiosyncrasies, that gets really good gas mileage. I plan on putting in a lot of miles in the next few years driving to see my wee ones and other family. I love driving! Happy to have a manual, too.

As a person who is also in her fifties, I'd like something that doesn't hurt my body to be in for long stretches. I also need heated seats. To complicate matters I'm that person, the one that hates to stop even for nature's needs. (Not looking for trucker hacks here, but thanks anyhow.) I pack sandwiches. I don't really want to spend over $20,000

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $20,000

Location: Detroit metro

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: comfort, reliability, four doors

Doesn't want: Something too rough or too thirsty

I know you are a car person at your core and would really love some kind of cool manual transmission cruiser. But the reality is those cars don't exist anymore, and it seems you want to prioritize comfort on those long drives. It may pain you to admit it, but a big ol' Buick sedan is probably what the car doctor ordered.

Here is a 2017 Buick LaCrosse, which comes with heated seats that have excellent cushioning with lots of adjustment options. The long wheelbase and soft suspension will make those long rides a breeze. The controls are easy to use, and under the hood is GM's sturdy 3.6-liter V6 that has plenty of merging power but can also return a respectable 30 MPG for a big car. This is probably not the car you imagined driving as an adventurous empty nester, but it's probably the car that will do the best job at transporting you in comfort.

I'm concerned, Kristen. You're a single empty-nester, and my coworkers are over recommending you Buicks? No. You like driving, you don't need cargo room, come on. This is the time of your life to buy something horribly impractical — or, at the very least, this Miata.

You've worked hard your whole life, raised multiple kids all by yourself, you deserve a treat. This ND Miata has the comfortable heated seats you want, but it doesn't sacrifice entertainment to give them to you. Don't like this particular one? Shop around, there are a million of these things out on the market.

Or, go wilder! Get a caged E36 or something. This is the point in your life to have fun. You have the cash to spend, you're freed from the responsibility of shutting kids around, it's time to reap the rewards of all your decades spent with your nose to the grindstone. Get a Miata, a motorcycle, or something even less practical. Get thee a midlife crisis, girl.

Kristen, I'm not sure about the best way to say this, but, uh, you might want to have a conversation with your primary care physician to talk about this plan to drive all across the country, only peeing when you stop for gas. But also, Prius. It's a Prius. The car you want is a Prius, and I don't know why you'd consider buying anything else. But since you asked, I've channeled your letter's energy into my laptop, communed with the car gods, and they blessed me with an answer so good, I almost want to try it myself. You're headed to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where you will buy this 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI Convertible with a manual transmission, heated seats, and 99,729 miles on it, and then you're going to road trip it home and fall in love.

It's a convertible with an engine that should last a long time, offers plenty of comfort, gets 31 mpg combined, and can go 450 miles between fill ups. At 75 mph, that's six hours or roughly one abridged audiobook of sweet, uninterrupted driving. Is diesel expensive right now and probably staying expensive for a while? Sure, but that's where part 2 comes in. At $13,000, it's already safely within your budget, but what idiot is buying a 13-year-old diesel, convertible, manual passenger car at a time like this? No one wants this car, so you're going to low-ball them. Go criminally low. I want you to walk away from that negotiation questioning whether or not you're still a good person after what you just did to them.

I don't know if you can actually get it for $5,000, but that's what I'm manifesting for you. If the dealer isn't as desperate to get rid of a 13-year-old diesel, convertible, manual passenger car, with only two doors, no less, there's not much you can do. But with $5 diesel and basically everything else about that Beetle designed to scare American buyers away, I'm choosing to believe you can get a discount so good, you won't mind spending whatever it costs to fill it up.