Lifestyle tips

I'm looking for advice on buying a car for our fat asses.

So, for all you super fatties out there... what kind of car do you drive? (Or what would you like to be driving?) Our good car died a few weeks ago and we have a few days before we have to return our loaner. Neither of us have ever bought a car before (we just had hand-me-downs) and I know next to nothing about cars. I'm 5'1", 350ish, and there's a LOT in my butt and hips and thighs and I have massive upper arms. He's 6' about 300 and it's almost all in his ball belly. We need something with wide seats that actually hold me, that don't dig into me, (and doesn't have the seat belt super digging into me), a wider seating area up top (so I'm not all scrunched up in my arms while driving it.), and enough room to hold my feet and legs out properly in the passenger area. (We're a one car family, so it has to be comfortable both in the drivers seat for me AND the passenger seat.)

Our budget tops out at $10k. We need something preferably 75k or less (although we'll go more for Hondas and Toyotas) because we can't keep pumping money into our cars (we already have one almost dead car we've put too much into). We're looking at sedans & hatchbacks (can't afford a CRV, minivan, or pickup), and would prefer a compact or mid-sized if it means it's actually comfortable. Fuel economy is important to us for budget & environmental reasons. 2008 and newer, plz.

Any options? (And please only answer if you have experience at roughly our size or bigger (or your partner/friend/ex has experience). Smaller fats are lovely but don't have the experience of the issues of our size.) I'll put what we've already tried below. (In short, Toyota Camry is the best so far but still the seatbelt digs in. Also tried Honda Fit, Honda Accord, Chevy Cruze, Chevy Impala, Smart Fortwo.)

The 2011 Toyota Camry the passenger side was fine but the driver side, the seatbelt dug into me; the 2013 Camry the driver's side was fine, but I had problems with the passenger side.

The 2012 Honda Accord was terrible... the sides of the top part of the seats do that "wing" thing (that cradles and hugs smaller people) and my back is too big and it just dug into my back. (Also the bottoms of the seats were way too small).

I drove a friend's 2011 Honda Fit for years (and loved it) but it's starting to get too small... the seatbelt really digs in now and there's not a lot of legroom, width wise. (We test drove one of those too.)

The 2012 Chevy Cruze is the car my mom has (and we're borrowing right now)... its seats do similar things (esp. the bottoms doing the curving up thing) but not nearly as bad. But the console juts out into the legroom and I can't spread my legs enough to accomodate my thighs and I think I injured my leg, so... not so much.)

We also test drove a 201X Smart Fortwo Passion (I used to drive them years ago as well) but it was a very rough ride and it just wasn't spacious enough for us to have as our only car as a 1 car family. (It would make a fine 2nd car for us, for him to commute to work in.)

Finally, we tried a 201X Chevy Impala, supposedly "a couch on wheels" when it comes to comfort, and frankly? The seatbelt dug into me just the same as a Camry. I didn't find it to be that much more comfortable than the Camry, honestly.

Minivan

It really depends on your needs, and what you most need to prioritize.

But anything you decide or go with, it's going to be give and take. Either way, I'll give you some suggestions to think about and consider, as well as strong suggestions about what you most want to avoid.

Suggestions To Consider

The limitations and restrictions you specified, I'm not gonna lie, it's going to make it hard. And anything I'm about to suggest, is most likely going to have lower than average fuel economy.

The good news is, unless you spend a lot of time on the road, the cost of fuel would actually make up a pretty small portion of the overall TCO (total cost of ownership). Insurance, repairs, and (for most) the loan payment would dwarf fuel cost, even if cost reaches $5/gal. or more. While fuel cost could be a consideration, it probably shouldn't be your primary consideration. If you want more details on this, just ask.

First, I'd only recommend something with a column shifter.

I always hated the floor shifter, because 1) such a terrible waste of space, 2) when parallel parking, the driver has to get in from outside on the side of traffic, as opposed to getting in from the passenger side and shuffling over (much safer), 3) for an automatic transmission there's *no* excuse for a floor shifter. I don't know what car designers were thinking. Okay, digression and rant over.

Second, for a sedan or wagon, a front bench seat is preferable. That's another thing car designers seem to have moved away from. Again, I don't know what they're thinking.

My first thought of course, is anything based on the Ford Panther platform, manufactured between '81 and '11. Sadly, Ford discontinued that model because in '12, stability control was mandated and I guess they didn't want to spend the R&D to add it. Panther platform models are Ford Crown Victoria (discontinued after '07, '11 for police models), the Mercury Grand Marquis LS (discontinued after '10), and the Lincoln Towncar (discontinued after '11).

All of these models have a front bench seat, a column shifter, and yes, a couch on wheels. Also, that powertrain platform can be very reliable and long lasting, if maintained properly. It's not uncommon to get 400K miles before the engine needs to be rebuilt. The 4.6L Ford Modular V8 would also have a bit of power, which is always helpful. Supposedly, it's rated for 2K lbs of towing capacity for towing a trailer, but you could probably tow more. Nice for renting a U-Haul trailer for a day when you need to move something big. They're also rear wheel drive, which is a simpler design than front wheel drive. Front wheel drive is usually favored for smaller cars since it's possible to cram more into a smaller space.

Other suggestions include the Ford Econoline/E-series full-size van, or the Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana full-size van.

After '15, Ford only produces the chassis-cab variant of the E-series, to be converted into shuttle buses, cube vans, et. al. but between '08 and '15, they have cargo and passenger van variants. The E-series has two bucket seats in the front row rather than a front bench seat, but it does NOT have a center console that's flush with the front seats, that could pinch if you're wide enough. They also have drink holders integrated into the dashboard, below the stereo, which of course are useful.

The Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana is also similar with the front bucket seats, no center console, and drink cup holders in the front dashboard, below the stereo.

In both cases, again if maintained properly, you can expect to get lots of miles before rebuilding the engine.

Another thought might be the Chevrolet Suburban/Tahoe, or the GMC Yukon, but watch out.. some of them have a center console flush with the two front bucket seats, rather than a bench seat for the front row. But any model you'd likely consider will have a column shifter, and it shares the same powertrain as the 1500 model of automatic transmission GM full-size light trucks, which can be quite reliable if taken care of.

Speaking of, certain models of the Ford F-series or Chevrolet 1500/2500/3500 full-size light trucks could work too. But watch out. Some Ford F-150 models since '11 went the route of the ^$&!!@$( center console and floor shifter despite being automatic. However, traditional pickup models do have a rear area that's exposed to the weather, which is a downside. An extended/crew cab model should mean you could put shopping bags in the second row, however. I fully admit to using the back seat in my sedan to store shopping bags, or the front passenger seat (I'm usually driving alone).

Someone mentioned minivans. If I had to get a "minivan" I'd probably only consider the Toyota Sienna. If Camry reliability is anything to go by, anyway. But I'm not sure what the interior might be like, particularly in the front row.

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To recap, I mentioned these models:

- Chevrolet/GMC 1500/2500/3500 full-size light truck.
- Chevrolet Suburban/Tahoe / GMC Yukon
- Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana full-size van
- Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis/Lincoln Towncar
- Ford E-150/E-250/E-350 full-size van
- Toyota Sienna

I should point out that all these models are good on cargo/trunk capacity, and have an ability to tow a trailer for occasionally moving very large items. So there's this practical angle that's lost with most small size economy cars.

What To Stay Away From

I've heard that after '12, the odds are much higher that synthetic oil might be needed, but that's probably not the case for the models I mentioned. Worst part is, it costs twice as much to change the oil if it's synthetic. But, this is unlikely to be a big factor so, you probably shouldn't decide against a model for this sole reason.

I spoke highly of what were essentially Ford and GM "light truck"/full-size van models, as well as the Ford Panther platform. I can't however, say the same for their traditional car models (other than obviously, the Ford Panther platform models).

The last car GM made that I thought was worth a damn was the B-Body platform (Chevrolet Caprice, Buick Roadmaster, Cadillac Fleetwood) but they stopped making those after '96. Some speak highly of the Buick Park Avenue with the 3800 V6 engine, but GM stopped making that after '05, and you mentioned wanting '08 or newer. The Buick Lucerne was produced until '12, but some have the floor shifter while others have a column shifter, and you mentioned you didn't like the Impala so it might have the same problems.

Ford cars seem to be garbage too, except for the Panther platform.

Someone suggested minivans. Chrysler made the first vehicle that could be considered a minivan. However, everything Chrysler makes is unreliable, expensive trash. I've heard Fiat is the Chrysler of Europe, making unreliable trash for the European market. When I heard Chrysler merged with Fiat, I had to laugh. Crap times crap, is crap squared, which makes for a whole lot of crap. Curse Lee Iaccoca for coming up with a plan to save Chrysler in the 80s. But yeah, stay away from anything that Chrysler makes unless you like unreliable vehicles that will quit on you and because of repairs, keeps your wallet empty.

Also, I know you mentioned a budget of $10K which really isn't much to work with, so I doubt this is an issue, but obviously you want to stay away from any of the German brands too. There's a joke that goes like this:

What's more expensive than a new BMW? A used one! The repair costs for them will eat you alive.


Anyway, I hope something I said here is helpful. There's likely other things or factors I haven't thought of, but someone else can chime in.

I drive a ram 1500 which is nice and wide for my rear end, however you mentioned you don’t want to pay that much, what about a Dodge Charger?

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I had a Lincoln town car and was dating a 625 lb bottom heavy girl. She was really comfortable with a seatbelt extender

Wife - 5'8" ~360 lbs. - not particularly bottom or top heavy, drove a Sienna for years and loved it. Traded it in when it had too many miles. I do remember the Lincoln Town Car working well for pear-shaped SSBBW. She currently drives a Honda Pilot and likes it.

Might want to rent a model for a day or two to check it out. I've done that and it really paid off.

Also, a friend who could not leave her hometown gave us money (around $11,000) to purchase a car for her at a local Carmax. We picked it up and drove it to her nearby town and she (~ 5'4", 450 lbs., most of her weight in belly) tried to sit in it but did not fit. I forget the model though it resembled something like the Town Car, so we took it back to Carmax and got a refund. The refund option within x number of days was crucial - something to keep in mind.