Hi Andrea, Sorry to hear about your accident. Hopefully everyone is OK. I am waiting for a good excuse to get rid of my VW Passat wagon to get a bigger dog vehicle. My VW has been great but I want something a bit roomier for the dogs. I do worry about them in the car not crated. In the past I was never interested in mini-vans and one reason was because the passenger windows don't go down. However, I have decided on the new (2004) Toyota Sienna mini-van. The passenger windows do go down, the AC is in the back, AWD is available. It is wider than most vans so could fit 2 crates side by side and still have the back seat or fold down the back seat to put another crate in. It also has good ratings (as most Toyotas do). Good luck finding the right vehicle. Debbie Sharlow
----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Stefanac" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Berner-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 3:42 PM Subject: Dog cars- need help > Hi all, > I'm in a bit of dilemma. I was in a car accident with > my '95 Subaru Legacy wagon last week. I had one crate > that sat sideways in the very rear of the car. If all > 3 dogs went with me, one was in the crate and 2 were > loose in the folded down back seat. With now having 3 > big dogs (and one a potential show dog) and more dog > stuff to haul around, I'm in a quandry of trying to > decide what type of vehicle to get now (my car was > totalled by the insurance company). I really want All > wheel drive (AWD) or 4 wheel drive for those nasty, > muddy show parking areas. > > I'm currently looking at a used Subaru Outback b/c I > really liked my car and a Chevy Astro van. Barkley's > breeder has a GMC Safari van (same as the Astro) and > just loves it. It has over 100,000 miles and has only > been in the shop for maintenance stuff. Hers has barn > doors in the back and rear air conditioning which > would be a huge bonus with the dogs in addition to > easily getting at least 3 good size crates in it. I'm > trying to look down the road a bit as far as future > use of the vehicle. The Astro vans are definitely > roomier than most other mini-vans and most others > don't have AWD as an option. However according to > Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for > Highway Safety, the Astro/Safari have poor reliablity > and poor safety. I'm also not sure that I want to try > a big minivan everyday (or a big SUV- which hubby has > so no point buying another, we would just trade cars). > > The Outback of course has great reliablity and great > safety scores. But it has the same interior space as > my other car, which was getting a bit and that was > without the eventual grooming table, generator, blow > dryer, etc. > > Anyone have any experience with these cars (or others > to recommend?) or comments?? > > Thanks, > Andrea Stefanac > & Chance CD NDD CGC TT > & Barkley- show hopeful > Richmond, VA > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > http://sbc.yahoo.com >
