There it is. Shortly after I first bought it. She was a good little car. I had a Garfield in the back window, and my Israel sticker on the rear window. Many trips, both near and far. Many years of good service. We commend you to the junk yard.Now. Moving on. I am always willing to give my personal opinion about practically anything. And today I need your opinions.
In all of your years of driving cars, which have you loved most? Which have you hated the most? What should we be watching out for? Any tips for dealing with the tricksy car salesman?
Here is what we're ideally hoping for:
1. Four doors
2. Hatchback/Wagon/fold down back seats (we always have a lot of things to haul about including, but not limited to: huge guitar amps, guitars, keyboards, drywall, bags of dirt, plants, other people, bikes, etc)
3. A/C
4. Excellent gas mileage. This means 28 mpg or higher. At the very least.
5. Low price. This means less than $8000. Much less if possible.
6. 2000 or newer.
7. No need for any repairs in the near future.
8. Someone to give us some money. (oops, sorry about that. Internal monologue coming out.)
9. Good cupholders that our coffee cups don't fall out of.
10. Cruise control
11. Manual transmission. This isn't really a requirement, but I do prefer the manual.
12. Someone to give us a brand new car. Or we could win one. Either way is fine.
Some of these things are very silly, I know. And not all of them are absolutes. But our car is out there waiting for us. We have just to find it...and find the money somewhere in there too!
Ok, ready to hear what you all have to recommend.
16 comments:
do they make manual transmition cars with cruise control?
You know, I don't know if they do. Hmmm...tricky that.
I currently have a 2002 Ford Focus ZX3 which I LOVE. Seriously. I heart this car. I regularly get 35 miles to the gallon. It is zippy, nimble, fits nicely into the smallest of parking spaces, yet with the hatchback fits a surprising amount of stuff. (I've moved twice with it and a borrowed minivan.)
That is one of the ones we're looking at on Friday! Thanks!!
Brandon actually says they do make manuals with cruise control...his brother's Corolla (1988) did and his other brother's Tacoma ('01) does too. We've always preferred Toyota's. We haven't had to touch my car ('98 Corolla) since we bought it in '01 until this year. It is a little more expensive when you do have to fix something, but that happens so infrequently and you can run them into the ground, but yet they retain their resale value if you ever have to get rid of it down the road. Not much room in my little Corolla which is why we're looking to upgrade once a new baby comes along. Other than that, I'm not really sure...since we're looking along the lines of a minivan. I know the Abbey's have a Pacifica that they love...more like an SUV than a minivan, but not too sure on the specs for it.
I have a Toyota Matrix - and I LOVE IT. Here's why:
1 - "sport utility wagon" haha!
2 - shiny
3 - PLASTIC TRUNK = amazing
4 - rear seats fold down
5 - front passenger seat folds down
6 - electric outlet on dash for laptop, cell phone, curling iron...
7 - not TOO expensive - my brand new one was 17K - you could possibly find one for the price you want.
8 - very cute
9 - holds a TON of stuff
10 - good gas mileage
11 - Toyotas are good cars
12 - lots of random storeage space
13 - plenty of leg room both in front and back seats
14 - tall enough for tall men to feel comfortable in it
Good luck! This can be stressful, so best of luck with it! :-)
I love my subaru forester. great space for pretty much anything... and they're reliable cars, too...
i once had a serious issue with a VW passat. don't buy one of those.
i loved my 1999 celica the best - but that wouldn't be condusive for things like amps and such...
subey
all wheel drive
high safety ratings
plenty of space
they tend to be a little pricier but well worth it
Awesome, you guys! This is totally helping!
Sarah, I am thinking I would love to buy a Matrix from someone. Not a lot as they would charge more. But we have a couple other friends who have them and love them also. You also hit the nail on the head for the most important thing of all: tall guys feeling comfortable inside...that is huge for us.
And then there are the subeys. Heather, I've driven yours and we both really liked it. And I know you've talked about loving yours before, James.
I'd rather find a bunch that we know people have liked and recommend and then have to choose as opposed to just picking something randomly. So thank you a ton!!
vxscipdok well i love love my subaru they are pricey though even used,but u my get a 2000 for the price u are looking at.. if i were like rich like oprah i so would buy u a car. anything honda is good too. you can drive them for a very long time..... just a guestion back at you.... the person resposible for killing your car? don't you get some insurance money for that. especially if it is now totaled? i need your e-mail again lol
I do get $500 from their insurance. But that's it. And nothing from ours. I wish you were rich like Oprah too... :)
Darn. Kinda sucks about your car trouble. Though especially that the crasher's insurance only doled out $500 bucks. But, clearly, it is more important that you were not hurt.
Hmm, I used to know a decent amount about cars but not so much nowadays. I would suggest looking into a Kia or Saturn or Hyundai from the 2000 to 2002ish variety. The newer Saturns (I think last couple years) aren't so great. I think Hyundais are solid cars and a great bargain.
Well, I hope that helps. It probably didn't but it's all I can remember, lol.
howdy...
both of my sisters have a Forester, and they like them. I have driven them several times and I highly enjoy the way they drive. And I used to drive a subey...i really liked it.
Or...you can buy a Jetta... :) And mind is a manual transmission w/ cruise control. It fits all of your requirements too. i bought my '99 for 8K 3 years ago, so i'm sure you can find a newer one for that. my car has crappy cupholders, but again, the newer ones are better. and i get avg. 30 miles/gallon. Plus...it drives like a dream and looks cute! :)
You're gonna hate me for saying it, but mini van. If you're even thinking of having kids ever, you have no other choice. Especially if you want safety, comfort, and hauling capacity. You can totally pimp it out--get spinners and stuff. Plus, I know where I can get you one that fits almost all your requests (not manual--I think only foreign vans are) for 1/2 the price you mentioned.
I loved my Saturn, as I said. But I love my mini-van more. If I'd have known how awesome they were, I would have got one before we even HAD kids!
I've got a 99 Pontiac Transport. They don't make the Transport anymore, but the Montana is the same, pretty much. I love that it has a CD player, cupholders, cruise control, and loads and loads of room. Plus, it's a pretty lipstick red.
Cheeks, the thing is, I'm assuming that by the time we need a mini-van, we'll also need more than one car anyway.
Regardless, we will likely be at a point someday where we can't cart however many kids as well as the gear and such. That's my current thought. I'm not against the MV in any way. They're quite comfy for the tall guy, in fact.
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