Time to Buy a New Car

[MANT!]

I'm about 6'1" so having enough leg room is definitely important. I live in Pennsylvania but we only get 5-10 snow days a year and I live two blocks away from work, so I dunno how important a concern snow is.

Price range... I can afford a new car but I'm a cheap bastard and don't want to spend unnecessarily. That said I do want a new car because it's all about avoiding hassles and breakdowns and repairs. I just a four door car with leg room that isn't going to break down and is sensibly priced. I don't care about engine power or look or style or anything like that.

might I suggest the following..

http://www.nissanusa.com/versa/

I own one and am quite pleased with mine (an 08 model)
and hear nothing but raves about the head and leg room (even in the back seat a 6 footer is comfortable)..

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think the Prius is FWD, so with decent snow tires, I can't imagine it would be bad in winter conditions.

Depends on where you will be doing most of your winter driving. If it's in an area with a lot of (or, indeed, any) hills or steep inclines, forget it. Get an AWD car in that case. The traction is essential.

 

[Canadave]

I think the Prius is FWD, so with decent snow tires, I can't imagine it would be bad in winter conditions.

Depends on where you will be doing most of your winter driving. If it's in an area with a lot of (or, indeed, any) hills or steep inclines, forget it. Get an AWD car in that case. The traction is essential.

It's really not. My hometown is quite hilly (I sometimes swear they picked the hilliest part of Southern Ontario and built a city there for the heck of it), and my family's house is actually on the side of a rather steep hill. We also get a ton of snow there, being far enough north of Lake Ontario to be out of it's climate-warming effects.

Anyway, I drove my dad's 124 hp, FWD 1993 Saturn there for years when I was a teenager, and in some absolutely terrible conditions, and I always got along perfectly fine. Winter tires and cautious driving really are all you need. AWD helps, sure, but I'd hardly call it "essential" for winter driving.

 

[RoJoHen]

Winter driving is a breeze as long as you're not an idiot about it.

 

[Captain Ice]

I think the Prius is FWD, so with decent snow tires, I can't imagine it would be bad in winter conditions.

Depends on where you will be doing most of your winter driving. If it's in an area with a lot of (or, indeed, any) hills or steep inclines, forget it. Get an AWD car in that case. The traction is essential.

It's really not. My hometown is quite hilly (I sometimes swear they picked the hilliest part of Southern Ontario and built a city there for the heck of it), and my family's house is actually on the side of a rather steep hill. We also get a ton of snow there, being far enough north of Lake Ontario to be out of it's climate-warming effects.

Anyway, I drove my dad's 124 hp, FWD 1993 Saturn there for years when I was a teenager, and in some absolutely terrible conditions, and I always got along perfectly fine. Winter tires and cautious driving really are all you need. AWD helps, sure, but I'd hardly call it "essential" for winter driving.

Yep. My FWD 1994 Ford Escort never had a problem trudging uphill in the snow either. Also, about 75% of the time, it was the moron in the Forester/Blazer/CR-V/RAV-4 who wound up in the ditch. Four wheel drive really doesn't do a hell of a lot for you in icy conditions. You still have the exact same braking/steering issues to deal with. Or, as I've always said, four wheel drive just means four wheels spinning.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

well of course 4WD doesn't help in *ice*, I just mean snowy roads in general.

And I *have* a CR-V, and it is an excellent winter car.

 

[Canadave]

Depends on where you will be doing most of your winter driving. If it's in an area with a lot of (or, indeed, any) hills or steep inclines, forget it. Get an AWD car in that case. The traction is essential.

It's really not. My hometown is quite hilly (I sometimes swear they picked the hilliest part of Southern Ontario and built a city there for the heck of it), and my family's house is actually on the side of a rather steep hill. We also get a ton of snow there, being far enough north of Lake Ontario to be out of it's climate-warming effects.

Anyway, I drove my dad's 124 hp, FWD 1993 Saturn there for years when I was a teenager, and in some absolutely terrible conditions, and I always got along perfectly fine. Winter tires and cautious driving really are all you need. AWD helps, sure, but I'd hardly call it "essential" for winter driving.

Yep. My FWD 1994 Ford Escort never had a problem trudging uphill in the snow either. Also, about 75% of the time, it was the moron in the Forester/Blazer/CR-V/RAV-4 who wound up in the ditch. Four wheel drive really doesn't do a hell of a lot for you in icy conditions. You still have the exact same braking/steering issues to deal with. Or, as I've always said, four wheel drive just means four wheels spinning.

Pretty much, yeah. Winter driving is all about grip, and a lot of people think that AWD gives you more. It doesn't matter how much torque you're putting out if the wheels don't have any friction.

 

[Mr Light]

Unfortunately there's a very steep hill to get out of my apartment complex, then a sharp drop to get to the main road, but I talked to someone who used to live here and she said they maintain the roads very well when it snows and there was never a problem.

 

[Guartho]

it was the moron in the ...RAV-4 who wound up in the ditch.

Hey!

Actually, I have slid my RAV4 into the ditch in icy conditions. It even came to rest at an angle with some weight on the side. But I wasn't driving like an idiot because I have AWD. It would have happened in any car because I'm well aware of what you say, it doesn't matter how many wheels have power if none of them have traction. Since we were driving slowly when it happened, we had a relatively nice and gentle slide off the road.

However, since it is AWD and has a differential lock, I was able simply drive out of it, even though the left two wheels had no traction. Woohoo! That was nice. And since everything was covered in snow, there was 0-damage, not even a scratch on the paint.

 

[Paulcpick]

I think that you should take another look at getting it fixed, in the long run your saving money, plus parts for your car will get cheaper the longer you have it, therefor saving you even more money....
$2300 seems way to expensive to me, barring no issues, a head gasket shouldnt take no more than 8 hrs shop time, and around $400 in parts, and thats over estimating cause I dont know the mark up on Import parts...
10 hours at a decent shop rate(shouldnt really be any more than 8 hours at any decent shop), say $65(depending on your area, it could be up to $80, but thats really towards the upper end of what is fair) an hour(shop rate has gone up 100% in the last 5 years, last time I did any sort of mechanic work, it was $30 an hour) so you should be looking at $1000, $1,400 MAX, if youve got a cracked head, add another $500-700..... and its very possible that you did crack the head when you overheated it.

even if you had to take out a loan, a loan on $2000 is a whole lot cheaper than having a car note on a $17,000-$25,000 car.

 

[Mr Light]

I've had the car in the shop essentially every two weeks for the past six months. I'm sick of it.

I'm thinking about the 2010 Ford Fusion. Apparently there were no real changes to the 2011 model and they'll be trying to get rid of their old stock at the end of the year now.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Ford_Fusion/2010/

 

[InklingStar]

I'm about 6'1" so having enough leg room is definitely important. I live in Pennsylvania but we only get 5-10 snow days a year and I live two blocks away from work, so I dunno how important a concern snow is.

Price range... I can afford a new car but I'm a cheap bastard and don't want to spend unnecessarily. That said I do want a new car because it's all about avoiding hassles and breakdowns and repairs. I just a four door car with leg room that isn't going to break down and is sensibly priced. I don't care about engine power or look or style or anything like that.

might I suggest the following..

http://www.nissanusa.com/versa/

I own one and am quite pleased with mine (an 08 model)
and hear nothing but raves about the head and leg room (even in the back seat a 6 footer is comfortable)..

Another vote for the Versa. I got a 2010 model earlier this year. Fairly well equipped (power doors, power windows, cruise control, remote entry, aux audio input) for under $15K, tons of headroom and legroom (I regularly drive my coworkers to lunch and even the one over 6' doesn't hit his head), better-than-average gas mileage, and a ton of storage space in the hatchback option. I've been very pleased.

 

[Omega_Glory]

I would recommend a Dodge Charger SRT8. That 425hp is a real kick in the ass. I have great fun driving mine.

Or, a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We have a 1997 model and at over 200,000 miles she's still going strong.

Or a Dodge truck. My 1997 Dodge half-ton has 209,000 miles with absolutely no signs of giving up the ghost yet. Got caught in a hail storm once, so she's got a lot of little dimples, but its a hell of a truck.

Imports are overrated and over priced.

 

[Saturn0660]

I've got a Scion xB. Love it. Rock solid build quality.

I would stay away from ANY hybrid. The thing to remember about those cars is that in the long run they are a net carbon loss. Mostly because of all the toxicity and energy used to make the batteries.

 

[Mr Light]

Well I'll probably be buying in a week or so. I'm not gonna get a hybrid, I'm gravitating towards the Ford Fusion 2010, my sis thinks she can haggle the price down from 23,665 to @20,000 she's good at that sort of thing

My GF saw a bunch of good reviews for the Honda Accord but that's what I have now and it was perfect for seven years but then instantly went to shit and had to be in the shop every two weeks. Every ride on the highway became a terrifying brush with being stranded an hour from home Also the paint job was defective and has almost completely corroded off now, but apparently that's something they fixed in the later models I have a 2003. And my sister says it's better to get American than an import because the repairs and cost of parts are going to be a lot cheaper.

But the most intimidating thing about this to me is the financing/loan. I've never done anything like that in my life and have no clue how it works even though I work in a credit union and audit the car loans! The only reason I'm doing it is because I have no credit history and need to start establishing some I'm 29 now

 

[RoJoHen]

But the most intimidating thing about this to me is the financing/loan. I've never done anything like that in my life and have no clue how it works even though I work in a credit union and audit the car loans! The only reason I'm doing it is because I have no credit history and need to start establishing some I'm 29 now

Well, good luck with that. I hope you're able to get financing at all with no credit history.

 

[Mr Light]

Yeah I'll probably end up getting it from the credit union I work at. I've been there over a year and just got a promotion upstairs I'm sure they'll give me a decent rate.

 

[FordSVT]

I would recommend a Dodge Charger SRT8. That 425hp is a real kick in the ass. I have great fun driving mine.

Or, a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We have a 1997 model and at over 200,000 miles she's still going strong.

Or a Dodge truck. My 1997 Dodge half-ton has 209,000 miles with absolutely no signs of giving up the ghost yet. Got caught in a hail storm once, so she's got a lot of little dimples, but its a hell of a truck.

Imports are overrated and over priced.

Right, because it sounds like he wants to buy a $35,000 muscle car with a Hemi.

And Chryslers suck ass, and have been turning out nothing but ass since Daimler gutted them and then threw them on the side of the road. Poor reliability, cars still using Mitsubishi engines designed in the last decade. Blech.

Another vote for the Fusion here, it's a great car in its segment. Reminding people I don't even own a Ford at the moment.

 

[Mr Light]

^^ Your screen-name is Ford. I smell a plant!