Cars: Search & Destroy

Mary: there's absolutely no comparison between the quality of today's Renaults and the ones from the 70s and 80s. New French cars are better made today than most new American cars -- it's the same with the Itlians. You should also consider a used C-class Mercedes -- they're terrific cars, and much less expensive than you'd imagine.

Do you get the "SAABaru" in the states, then? IE the impreza wrx w/the saab-styled front end. I don't think they imported them into the uk.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/tmb/7879_image.jpg

Sickening really!

Edmunds is a great resource for these kinds of questions:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/69707519.html

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/69572306.html

http://www.bestjapancar.com/NISSANS/FGFR.JPG

I've gone off VW for now. I've done my consumer research and I didn't realize that they were not the best for maintenance/repair. I am surprized bc I thought VW stood for safety and longevity and all that good stuff. The Passat did get good ratings, but fuck a Passat.

I like the Hyundai Elantra--it's a cutie. However, without an acceptable safetly rating I don't think it is the car for me. Love the colors though--it feels quite fresh.

Seems in my compact range--Toyota and Honda have the best reps, for safety and reliability. This is important bc I have no money and I would be very sad if I had a car and it broke down and I had to spend a ton of money to fix it. Of course, cars are prone to break down, but I would rather have the least prone to break down car of the bunch.

Cars are so expensive! I don't know how anyone affords one!

So I am thinking of Civic or Corolla, or Prius or Civic hybrid. Civic is the smaller one, right? I mix it up with Accord.

I'm thinking red might not be the best color to get in this instance. Red is for drawing attention to a car, but when you are driving a mainstream, run of the mill car, maybe you don't want to draw attention? Maybe a nice silver . . . .? Fade into the background . . . .

http://www.nw-autopage.com/lg_pics/0010241.jpg

I'm really not looking forward to replacing my car when it finally expires...I'd rather not deal with them at all, but that's not very realistic given where I live.

Hmm. I think if you subtract the amount of money you are saving in automobilism, NYC is really not that expensive to rent. A space to live, not the whole city. I guess I knew this in the abstract but I am just feeling the crushing weight of it now. Plus, I don't like to go out on the road with all of the crazies.

PS: Nicole if you have any advice for me on the librarian thread I would appreciate it. For instance, which type of vehicle best suits a woman of letters.

RJG: First a camera that can only be purchased in JP, than a similarly Nipponise car. Get with the times, dude, it all about Korean these days. Can you pass the kimchee?

I got that, in the end, from austria.

: )

And to RJG: Perhaps you can get this J-car from Austria, too?

Do we have any Gen Y-ers here? How does they feel about the Scion.

Or if you would prefer, and approve and submit, I could ask questions & you could proffer advice and/or dire warnings via personal e-mail accounts.

Gabb, don't make me cry. The MC lives in a galaxy far, far away, known to mortals by the name of Sterling.

Mary, I've had a Civic and I'd tell you to go for it, but get the moonroof, especially if you smoke cigs/jam tunes loud.

x-post, thanks Spencer for confirming my desires!

Alternately, have a shady salesman; we had one and as a result we ended up getting a Rav 4 L model valued at $27K for the base model no-amenity price of $21K.

The dealer sold me this lovely sob story about how he bought the same car for his daughter, that's how much he believed in it, in the middle of the story his daughter changed into his niece, before he caught himself and said, I mean, my daughter.

Alternately, lie out of your ass and tell them you're looking at a private sale for a similar car that's 20-30% less, but stress that you really, really love their car. If you moon over it enough and convince them that you're itching to pull the trigger, they will either drop the price for you or start throwing mad free shit at you to get you to sign the papers.

Hahaha also ask him how much he would make his niecedaughter pay. And still lowball the price even if you're willing to pay it.

You're doing a bit of a number on yourself here, since the implication is that anything beyond the bare necessities is a frivolous expense.

Assuming that mileage etc is equal, EX IS THE BETTER VALUE. Not only because it has things will increase your actual enjoyment (e.g., moonroof) and things that make it safer (e.g., ABS, an extra 12hp), but because it doesn't really cost $1000 more - that same stuff that you like retains its value, and will allow you to ask more for the car when you eventually sell it or trade it in, whether that's one year from now or ten.

Depending on the price your dealer's asking, you may also want to look at a new Civic EX. Yes, a NEW CIVIC EX. The Civic is due for replacemant by the end of the year, and Honda's been quietly offering its dealers some pretty nice spiffs to keep the current model moving. In the past year, I've helped two different acquiantances get fully-loaded Civic EX sedans for $16.5K with minimal negotiation.

I'd recommend going to carsdirect.com and checking out how much they sell Civics for in your area. There's no downside, and they offer live prices, which lets you just say, hey Mr. Honda Salesman, I'd like to work with you but I'm not going to pay for the privilege, here's what I can get a new Civic for, is there any point in us talking further?