Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best Road Car for Outside Sales...

I've done outside sales for the last 22 years and would only go honda or toyota. I found a 2001 Camry XLE with 50,000 miles the other day for $8,000. If the objective is low cost, long distance driving that would have been perfect.

Thanks guys for all the recommendations. I have been in outside sales for three years, and have put about 25K miles per year on my Scion. I am taking a better job in Medical sales(not Pharma) and want/need a vehicle better suited to the type of work I will be doing. The Scion was a mandated thing at my past company, and it was OK for driving around the city, but the out of town trips weren't fun.
I am not buying new, however, I want something that is still in factory warranty and has a clean history/one owner. The Accord I am looking at has 16K miles and has all the stuff on it that I want. Its a little more than I want to pay, but still is $6K less than new.
safariman and 1akhunter-- Thanks for the tips, I am still green and could use any help offered. I pretty well got used to no's at my last job, but its always nice to talk to other road warriors, as it can seem lke you are the only one out there sometimes.

True enough here. We test drove a 2010 Taurus SHO last month...she lives up to the hype. It's fast, fast enough to make the salesman nervous when he rides with you.

2008 Honda Accord EX-L, Silver, Grey Leather, all options except Navigation...I'm happy with it...Thoughts?

Nice looking car, hope that it treats you well. Don't forget the Mobil 1 oil changes every 6K miles and do the timing belt when the time comes!

Drive safely!

Jeff

Just more Jap Crap. YAwwwwnnnnnn.....

Gonna feel mighty small on long road rides.


They, meaning the Jap car companies and industry and country are not our economic or otherwise friends.

Good luck in the new job, when you make some money get yourself a Cadillac or a Buick.

As for road warrior stuff, PM sent.

You can't go wrong with a Caddy...no kidding.

AWD CTS or STS would totally rock for this application. BTDT as well.

Like it, nice ride! Since my last 2 GM cars lost engines at 54,000 and 112,000 miles (And yes I changed the oil and did maint) never again for me. I'll bet that "Japanese" was car built in Ohio like mine!

With parts from Japan and the profits going back to the Mother country. The 'assembled in the USA' crap does not fool me, too bad it does some who might otherwise be red blooded patriots.

Sorry to hijack the thread, I will leave it alone except for what I have already said including - most important- congratualations and give me a ring for travel tips when in the road sales world. Plus get a Caddy when you can.

Blessings and genuine wishes for great success,

MARK

I suppose GM doesn't use any imported parts either. Profits now going to the UAW and obama.

Good luck Jamison, I hope you have safe travels!

I've owned Toyota, Honda, and VW Jetta TDI. I ran the Toyota Corolla wagon 345,000 miles. It was still running perfect, no smoke when I sold it. The Jetta TDI wagon was by far the most ergonomic, well made, and safe. Zero maintenance problems, 10,000 mile oil changes- what a Japanese car wishes it was.
Due to size considerations, the TDI was sold and I replaced it with a Honda Odyssey. It has been flawless so far, but in no way would I consider it to be close to the VW TDI in quality. I have always considered the Hondas to be a slight step above Toyota in ergonomics and design. Engines are a tossup.
If I were out selling, I'd buy an American car. Forget your new requirement. We've had two Bonnevilles (new body style post Y2K). The 3.8 in these (and the geezer Buicks) will run 300,000 easy on oil changes only. They're huge inside, and the Bonnevilles handle very well. Leather, heated seats, moonroof, premium sound, huge trunk, very sporty looks for a four-door (the only four-door the wife will drive.) No longer made, but finding a like-new '05 will run you a helluva lot less than that Honda, will impress your customers at lunch, and still run you down the road at 31 mpg 75mph.
Don't buy new when starting out on a new sales job- it's not the time to lose money. Start out small, and as suggested, get the Caddie when you earn and deserve it.

My thought...that's a good looking car. If you're happy with it, that's all that counts.

The problem with those are....they're GM vehicles. Good luck with your government run vehicles. The man bought what HE wanted with HIS money. Not yours.

My thoughts are I could be happy with that.

- Tom

I have no doubt that most of the American cars will run 2-300K miles now, but I am still seeing poor quality in the rest of the car. I have a Suburban that is 9 years old and its been thru several window motors. The interior trim is not comparable to the '95 Camry I had, in quality or durability. I put 200K on the Camry and still got $2k for it in trade when it was 11 years old. I have nearly 200K on the Suburban, and have no plans to get rid of it, but it doesn't have any competetion in the foreign market(or domestic, either). My grandmother still has a '93 Grand Marquis, and its had nothing but trouble with the transmission since it was new. I can't even list all the problems a pard has had with the two Buicks he has. Some really goofy electrical issues steered me away from Buick.

Like tzone said, I bought what I wanted, I got a good deal and am satisfied. There was a CTS sitting next to it on the lot, and even though its a caddy, it didn't rate comparison to the Accord.

I guess everybody has their preferences, that's why we don't all drive the same car...

Thats funny, considering that the Accord is longer, taller AND wider than the Cadillac CTS...go figure.

I think you did real good. Honda's have a well deserved reputation of going way out there in mileage with little more than tires,oil and filter changes, and 100,000 mile spark plug changes.
I was going to suggest you try a test ride in a brand new high end Civic. I was looking at newer, low mileage Accords and made the mistake of taking an Civic for a test drive.
If you are financing a hefty amount the with lower financing usually available on new vehicles can mean you can spend quite a few thousand more than used while paying less.

I could have gotten a new 4 cyl Loaded Civic for the same price I paid for this used loaded accord with the V6. I also looked at the Corolla S with the 2.4 L, alloy wheels and all the other bells and whistles. It was a little less money and alot less car...

Jamison:

I don't think you should feel at all embarrassed about buying Japanese.

The American auto industry abused my loyalty for 30 years. It'll take that long for it to win me back.

- Tom