MattyG

It's a tall order 14RX350, but your starting point should be here:

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/TSP-List

You can browse by vehicle year and recommended picks from them. Basically you're going to need the biggest, heaviest vehicle with the features you mentioned. But $5K isn't going to get you much.

14RX350

Thanks Matt, That's a good resource. I liked the es300 idea but saw that they got poor rating for neck/ head restraint so that kinda turned me off. I guess I gotta just do more research on that site. Ive also looked into the driver death rate articles. That's one of the reasons I chose the RX originally. I guess I put the 5k limit because I kept thinking about all the cars that I loved but only paid a few thousand for. Their only downfall was that they werent as safe as the newer ones. Seems like 2006 or so is when they started adding ESC and curtain airbags standard on more cars. Maybe a 2006 highlander? Seems like the prices for used imports are way high though. I heard used cars are at an all time high. I'm sure domestics are cheaper but I'm not familiar enough with them to know which models are relaible and which are junk. I like sedans and wagons, but unfortunately it seems SUV's are safer. And everyone wants an SUV so they seem to be way overpriced. I'm kinda frustrated to have paid so much for the RX, only to hate it. Would be nice to get a car I enjoyed but was still as safe. I'll keep u guys posted on what I find. Maybe a van?

ArmyofOne

Any van you can get for 5k or less you won't want...

Johnhav430

What I'm saying is there might be an RX that costs 5k, and it will have many qualities in common with the 2014. I would have no idea what year. A $5000 LS430 is likely to be 2001-2003'ish. Point is a 2001 LS430 still has the safety blah blah blah that it did in 2001, here in 2019, and doesn't have the $55k price tag. I don't know where this is going but $5k is a lot of money, with a lot of choices, but it doesn't mean unlimited choices, and as you add qualifications it may or may not be enough to spend. Say you want bluetooth 3.0 and apple play, you probably have ruled out every car available that costs $5k. Then, you have to start prioritizing what's necessary and what's not. Nobody here can do that.

14RX350

Haha
maybe you're right

Johnhav430

My relatives had a MPV that was given to them for free, it was pretty nice and I even used it to move some Herman Miller Eames chairs. When I say it was given to them free, I don't know what the book value was but clearly under $5k....I think the issue is we all want more than what we're paying. Maybe that's what's going on here. What's wrong with a 2005 CR-V is one thing that comes to my mind? It's not a Lexus but it would seem to be a reliable and safe car. I would never drive one, maybe OP is like me.

14RX350

Ok, I understand now what you're saying.

14RX350

Nothing really. That's definitely a contender. Hey I threw in vans... I'm not really concerned with the looks Lol. Definitely doesn't have to be a Lexus or luxury anything. Safety is #1 criteria here.

14RX350

Let me try and rephrase... What's the most safety I can get for my money in terms of safety value per dollar spent.

mmarshall

For safety alone....in a new vehicle, probably with entry-level Volvo and Mercedes products. I say "entry-level" vehicles in those two brands because, while both are well-known for their safety engineering, upper-level versions can be quite expensive, and well past the Law of Diminishing Returns for more money spent on a vehicle. However, most vehicles (and brands of vehicles), today, even lower-priced brands like Kia and Hyundai, offer a lot of safety-engineering in general.....both the U.S. government and consumers demand it.

For a used vehicle 5K or below, again I'd say Volvo or Mercedes, although either one would be quite old, you will likely run into reliability problems......and Mercedes parts can be quite expensive.

14RX350

Thanks for the info

Johnhav430

Is there any "proof" to a Volvo being safe? I believe they got that reputation in the 70's when they had a bar running through the doors, 4 wheel discs in 1975, four 3 point safety belts, headrests that were proper and even in the rear. But they rode that from like 1975 to 1993 unchanged, and imho a 1993 240 was less safe than almost every other 1993 vehicle. In this day and age I have peered through their wheels and seen cheap floating calipers, like any other car. Even the 240's had ATE fixed calipers (or Girling, I liked ATE on mine). I'm gonna say myth lol

mmarshall

Well, what I said was pretty close. U.S. News ranks Volvo #2 out of the Top Ten brands for safety.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/safest-car-brands

and Forbes has them on top.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/doronle.../#5da7d0d72523

So what's cheap about floating calipers? It's the pads and rotors that actually stop the vehicle, not the calipers.

Johnhav430

Again I find those to be like Gartner and JD Power. I mean what's the marginal benefit between a Sonata, Accord, and Volvo (in reverse), when it comes to safety. My guess is none....and my point is if you put cheap brakes on a 2020 car, which you did not do in 1975 (relatively expensive ones back then), to me that's only because people don't shop brakes...

MattyG

Couple of suggestions to add to the thread:

2008 - 2010 Audi A4 Quattro. Checks most of the boxes, with side curtain airbags and stability control system. Reliability though is a bit so-so. Might be over $5K though.

2006 - 2010 Subaru Legacy. Just like the A4. AWD, airbags galore, but stability control was optional. Ok buy, but watch out for head gasket issues/service.

These two got good ratings with IIHS tests.