Are my cars ok for the north east?

[FordSVTFan]

The vast majority of people who live there do NOT have 4WD vehicles. I agree with those that say you should replace one vehicle with an AWD or 4WD vehicle in case of emergencies, etc.

Look for a used Subaru with AWD you can find them cheap.

 

[FL-Orange]

Get a 4WD or AWD for the wife. ;-)

 

[langod]

I live less than 20 miles from Nashua. You'll be OK in the snow with 2WD if you know (or learn) how to drive in the snow. Seriously. Slow and easy will get you there. Get some good snow tires and put a few bags of sand or some cinder blocks in the back for extra rear weight.

I drive 50+ miles each way for my commute. I have a 01 Maxima -- I got some very good all season tires and it's fine. Does it get a little hair-raising in a really bad snowstorm? Yes. But use a sick day or work from home if it's really nasty out.
Usually you only have 4 months where you generally get "serious" snow -- Dec, Jan, Feb and early March. This year was a little unusual and went a little longer -- we got pounded at the end of the season had a couple of late snow storms.

yelostang -- PM me if you want some advice or have some questions about the area.

 

[pho_phizzat]

Wow a bunch of nancies in here. I drove through 4 midwest winters in a 03 Mustang GT. IN some cases I was traveling 80+ miles a day. Get some winter tires and put a little weight back there, you will be just fine.

this

LOL midwest winters!

i drove a 97 GT in 3 of those myself when i lived in Nebraska(just had to slow down but thats easy when there isn't so much as a hill let alone mountain...you guys know what cold is but you don't anything about mountains and 12-16inch dumps every week...i remember one week in Maine where i measures 42inches of new snow to go ontop ont he foot we already had

I went through 4 rocky mountain winters. (Wyoming) in a mustang. Studded tires and weight in the trunk and I was good to go. 1.5 years of it was with a 200 mile a day commute on a back highway.

The vast majority of people who live there do NOT have 4WD vehicles. I agree with those that say you should replace one vehicle with an AWD or 4WD vehicle in case of emergencies, etc.

Look for a used Subaru with AWD you can find them cheap.

this

 

[LS2GTO]

Unless you're going to live in a nice house (or apartment complex) with a plowed driveway, I would get an AWD car.

Sure it's doable with a RWD car and good tires, but plenty of times I was sliding around and getting stuck while my friend with a Subaru was plowing right through anything.

 

[DAVESVT2000]

As others have said, trade one of them in for a 4wd or AWD vehicle.

I'm 30 miles S of Nashua, and this winter just ended we had almost 90 inches of snow in just 7 weeks. And usually NH and Nashua gets more snow than my area does, the further north you go.

 

[CMIYC]

I live less than 20 miles from Nashua. You'll be OK in the snow with 2WD if you know (or learn) how to drive in the snow. Seriously. Slow and easy will get you there. Get some good snow tires and put a few bags of sand or some cinder blocks in the back for extra rear weight.

I drive 50+ miles each way for my commute. I have a 01 Maxima -- I got some very good all season tires and it's fine. Does it get a little hair-raising in a really bad snowstorm? Yes. But use a sick day or work from home if it's really nasty out.
Usually you only have 4 months where you generally get "serious" snow -- Dec, Jan, Feb and early March. This year was a little unusual and went a little longer -- we got pounded at the end of the season had a couple of late snow storms.

yelostang -- PM me if you want some advice or have some questions about the area.

This EXACTLY! I live in Manchester and work in Londonderry and in Nashua. If you get snow tires you'll be fine. 4wd is nice but not necessary. I've lived here all my life and just got my first 4wd this past year. I've always had snow tires and never had an issue. This year was one of the worst winters in a loooong time.

 

[thomas91169]

Id trade the 2wd tahoe for a 4wd tahoe.

Then next year or something ditch the 2wd jeep for a 4wd one, or get something else 4wd.

My buddy moved to MN and already is selling one of his two fwd cars for a 4wd SUV.

 

[GOTSVT?]

Good tires and you will be fine. We had a hellacious winter, and weather and roads still suck.

 

[T-Bolt]

You need 4WD, period, especially since neither of you have snow experience.

 

[CobraBob]

Well, since both cars are older, if you can afford it I would get rid of one of the two and buy either a new 4WD SUV (if you like SUVs) or a low mileage one that is 1-2 years old. And I would get 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks for the winter even with the 4WD/AWD. That would make you almost invincible on those snowy NH roads. If not new Blizzaks, just make sure your regular tires have good tread with the 4WD. Bad tires with 4WD isn't really much/any better than new Blizzaks with RWD.

Bear in mind that you're 7 months away from winter snow issues in NH and that means 7 months of additional use/mileage on the two SUVs you now have. That should be a consideration as to whether or not you might want/need a newer vehicle before next winter. So you've got a few months to save up a decent down payment to go along with a trade if you go that route.

I wish you the best with your new job.

 

[blacknight07607]

Well, this past winter was the worst we've had in years (I'm in Jersey)
I'm talking about 2-3 snow storms a week for about 2 months
This winter (2010-2011) was absolutely crazy
With that said 4WD or AWD was mandatory
Yes, there are many people here with RWD vehicles, but because of their traction control, they were at a severe dissadvantage
So, yes you can survive up here with only a RWD SUV. Because of it being a large SUV, you have a significant amount of weight, just try to avoid going up steep hills that's covered with snow.
You'll never make it going up a steep hill coated with 3+ inches of snow

Good Luck

 

[blacknight07607]

The vast majority of people who live there do NOT have 4WD vehicles. I agree with those that say you should replace one vehicle with an AWD or 4WD vehicle in case of emergencies, etc.
Look for a used Subaru with AWD you can find them cheap.

A coworker just purchased a 1997 Audi A4 (V6) AWD 5sp manual for $1600:beer:

With that said, you can easily purchase another AWD vehicle for cheap or trade in one of your current vehicles for and AWD car.

 

[Solopony]

LOL midwest winters!

i drove a 97 GT in 3 of those myself when i lived in Nebraska(just had to slow down but thats easy when there isn't so much as a hill let alone mountain...you guys know what cold is but you don't anything about mountains and 12-16inch dumps every week...i remember one week in Maine where i measures 42inches of new snow to go ontop ont he foot we already had

I live just South West of Lake Michigan, we get plenty of Lake effect snow on top of the system snow in the winter here. Traversing snow really isn't that bad with 2wd, both of his vehicles are fine with the ground clerance they have, even on good all seasons i think he'd be fine.

 

[steve99]

as many are saying you can survive with them in the north with a good set of snow tires and weight in the rear but you may have to wait for the plow to come through or do some good shoveling before leaving during the storms. I was stuck driving a mustang all winter in Pittsburgh one season and while the snow is not quite as bad as NH, the hills are everywhere and I was stuck getting a ride, catching a bus or waiting for a snow plow to drive by on several occasions. Also just a thought but do your current vehicles have rear defrosters? These are a must for the winter and have seen several southern cars without them.

 

[jcr]

That would make you almost invincible on those snowy NH roads.

don't forget common sense. That's the part that people here forget when using the mentality you mentioned. I'm sure you've seen it as much as I have in these parts..guys with their fancy suvs and snow tires blast past you on the highway only to end up in a ditch.

 

[onebad4.6]

Most areas that are prone to hazardous snow storms are usually pretty prepared for weather like that so I'm sure u will be fine.

 

[aaandht]

Why not just get a cheap beater for the winter? I'm sure in Texas you can get a used Subaru for cheap and trailer it up or something....

 

[yelostang]

Thanks for the help everyone! I got my offer on Friday and accepted it...they want me there in three weeks so this should be fun.

The plan right now is to just worry about getting up there, finding a place, and then getting the wife a job. Once she has a job we will replace the tahoe with something awd.

 

[FordSVTFan]

Thanks for the help everyone! I got my offer on Friday and accepted it...they want me there in three weeks so this should be fun.

The plan right now is to just worry about getting up there, finding a place, and then getting the wife a job. Once she has a job we will replace the tahoe with something awd.

What are you going to be doing?