Vehicle suggestions

Right now I have a 1987 (or is it 89?) Buick Century. It actually has been a good car, considering the age....however it's not reliable at all (I would never even attempt a road trip), nor does it get good gas mileage.

I need to buy a different vehicle. However, I'm pretty clueless about vehicles. All I know is that I want an automatic and I would prefer a mid-size car or a smaller SUV that gets decent gas mileage. I don't want a truck. I cannot buy brand new, my price budget is pretty slim.

Any suggestions? Have any advice/experience with certain vehicles/brands, good or bad?

Here's a few I've thought about, in no particular order...I apologize in advance if I screw up names/spelling, I really am clueless here.

Toyota Camry
Toyota Rav4
Honda CRV
Subaru Outback
Saturns, Buicks (no particular model)

Oooo I'm also looking into getting a Honda CR-V or Toyota Rav4!! :D So far I haven't heard anything bad about either one of those two cars. I've heard that Honda's are actually pretty good cars and last a long time and Toyota's are pretty good too. Both are in the same price range if you want a new one. ($18,000 - $23,000 I think, at least in my area..)

Honda's are GREAT cars! :D Excellent gas mileage (My dad's got 22 miles to the gallon)..and they're very durable. My dad had one before he got his Lexus. Toyota's are very durable too, but I call them 'gas hogs'.

My mom, my sister, and I all drive Toyota Camrys (and have been for the past 9 years). They are wonderful, safe cars. My parents did months and months of research on cars and safety before deciding on the Camry. Our cars are very reliable and haven't given us any problems at all. My dad is about to buy a Camry too!

we had a Toyota Camry for 15 years. it was a really good car, it had 136,000+ miles on it when we gave it away, and it could have run longer. my dad has a Rav 4 he really likes it, he says it's really good for off road in the sand (he lives in Oman) and my mom just got a new CRV which i really like, it's got good gas mileage, better than most cars, (it's thirty something...36 maybe?) and it's a good suv, but not too big and bulky. i don't know anything about the other cars you mentioned. but i would say go with the CRV or maybe the Rav, hope this helps :)

We just bought a used 93 Nissan truck... Great advice at these 2 sites.
Worth checking out if you don't know much or are somewhat intimidated about buying a vehicle new or used. Helped me a lot.


http://www.edmunds.com Great article on Car Dealer's... What really goes on behind closed doors.

http://www.carsurvey.org/ Has a lot of peoples opinions on their vehicles.


www.carfax.com Great site to check the car/truck you are considering buying... very helpful.

I loooooooooove Honda and Toyota. I have a tiny Echo (Toyota) right now and when I have more $$$, I may want to get a Rav4. I have wanted 1 for sooooooooooooooooo long!

I have a Honda Civic - and they are REALLY GOOD CARS! :) Excellent gas mileages - and you've ridden in one! ;) Hondas are the best choice, I think.

Thanks for the replies! :)

I would go for a Camry or Rav4. I like Toyotas. :D

Whichever gets you to Florida fastest!

(sorry, I'm rather clueless when it comes to cars too.)

Camry's are pretty good cars, and hondas are also great they seem to last forever.

Of all our vehicles and those of my father who is also a mechanic - the Toyotas have been by far the BEST and most reliable cars. My dad still drives his 70ish Toyota Corona and it is in pristine condition. No experience with Hondas - although we did look at them in 2001 when buying our most recent used car and found them to be high in resale which is good and bad:D BTW - we went with a 99 Ford Escort! Have owned four Escorts and is our#1 car of choice since we really wanted American made.

Oh yes and Never Ever Own a Neon!!

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Originally posted by sirrahbed
Have owned four Escorts and is our#1 car of choice since we really wanted American made.

Oh yes and Never Ever Own a Neon!!

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He he.........we always avoid American made cars. :p We used to have Fords and Dodges, and I don't think cars with worse problems exist. German cars are the best, and I love European cars in general, but Japanese are good too. :p I don't really like American cars other than their SUPER comfy seats. :D They're not reliable enough, from my experience......ESPECIALLY Fords. :p We still have a Ford btw. Its our only Ford that has actually lasted long, but its still a Ford, and not very much loved in this household. ;)

Amy, have you considered a Volkswagon Jetta.......or Passat? Passats might be a little pricey, but Jettas are excellent too, and they're great, reliable cars. I drive my brother's Passat and its so smoothe and easy to handle. I love it! Whatever you do, don't even consider getting a Ford Taurus. We used to have one, and it was an ultimate nightmare.

We have two Saturns... and would never ever buy another car! They run forever and have great gas mileage. Hubby has the older SL model (been replaced by the incredibly cute ION) and I have the L200. We just did a major road trip this weekend in the L200 with three people completely comfy in the back seat. I do a lot of local and long-distance travel with my car and its great. I never feel road-weary. We've never had any repairs done outside new brakes and tires.

Our youngest knows that when she turns 16 that the SL will be hers and she yells at anyone who accidentally bumps "her" car *snicker* *giggle*

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Originally posted by popcornbird


Amy, have you considered a Volkswagon Jetta.......or Passat? Passats might be a little pricey, but Jettas are excellent too, and they're great, reliable cars. I drive my brother's Passat and its so smoothe and easy to handle. I love it! Whatever you do, don't even consider getting a Ford Taurus. We used to have one, and it was an ultimate nightmare.

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Hmm I do like VW's, I'll have to look into those.......

We had the most horrible Ford Taurus as well. Just because of that car I would never even THINK of buying a ford!

Amy,

Either way you look...Toyota, Honda, or Saturn, they are all excellent vehicles. Toyotas and Hondas last forever...they just don't want to give up. So, used toyotas and hondas will be okay too! :) I use to want a Saturn, but they stopped making the model I wanted before I got a chance to get it. I have only heard good things about them. I know quite a few families and friends of mine who have only had Saturns and will only ever have saturns. The only reason they get a new one is because they like a newer model...lol. If you're parents are willing to help you, sometimes in the long run it's better to buy new. Especially with 0.0%APR on a lot of vehicles or 1.9% up to 4.9%. Some also get the low APR PLUS cash back too. It's something to think about. ALSO.....if you do change your mind to new buy GAP insurance with it. If you were to total your car the GAP insurance would pay for the difference between what you owe and what it was worth before the crash. :) I don't get a car without it. If you need anything else just PM if you want! ;) :D Hope this helps.

Jettas are nice cars too. When I thought my car was totalled I was looking at those and Ford Explorer Sport Tracs

I have a Honda CR-V and LOVE it! My husband is pretty much a Japanese car guy. We have mostly owned Toyotas and Nissans (he drives a 350Z right now), and my CR-V is our first Honda. I would get another one in a heartbeat. I also love the Toyota RAV-4's. I looked at them before getting my Honda and the CR-V has a tad bit more room and lots of neat storage compartments. I would say that you will probably be happy with any of the ones you listed. My hubby would say "buy Japanese." LOL! Good luck! ;)

Toyotas, Hondas and Volkswagens are all great cars.

I currently own a Toyota (well, it's a Geo, but it has a Toyota engine) and it has been the BEST car I've ever owned - not a single problem, even a minor one, in nine years of steady driving. My firend's mom has an ancient Toyota that is approaching 300,000 miles. Seriously.

I also currently own two Volkswagens, and I love my little VW's!

I've never owned a Honda, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one at all. My niece had a CRX that was a great little car for many years.


I would highly recommend avoiding American cars. I have especially witnessed and heard of Ford horror stories. I have a Dodge van for work - timing chain broke before 70,000 miles. My brother-in-laws Ford truck's engine block cracked at 50,000 miles. I had a Ford Escort in college that went through three carborators in a single year. My best friend had a Taurus that had everything possible wrong with it within the first few years she owned it.

OTOH, I have a 24 year old Chevy Camaro that is my baby. Other than a slight transmission seal leak, it still runs like a dream.

I love Honda's. I think they are great Cars.
I would love a Honda Element b/c they seem practical with pets.

I have a Olds Alero and I love it. It is 3 years old and I think its great. I drove it and a Saturn and chose the Alero. It was more solidly built. Not that the Saturn wasn't a nice car or Isn't a nice car I just liked the Alero better.
My sister had a Chevy Sprint in College that was one of the ugliest cars ever but she loved it. It sounded like a sewing maching when it ran and it got 65 miles to the gallon!!

Hmm, we are looking at a Ford Taurus, it's a 97...might need to re-think this. Can anyone tell me why they didn't like it??

Thanx a WHOLE bunch!

Ash

ps: Amy, I hope you find the perfect car! Car shopping STINKS! :)

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Originally posted by Aspen and Misty
Hmm, we are looking at a Ford Taurus, it's a 97...might need to re-think this. Can anyone tell me why they didn't like it??

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We had a 95 Ford Taurus that we bought when it was 3 years old.......pretty new for a car. It had 40,000 miles when we bought it. It ALWAYS had oil leaks, and no matter how many times we got it fixed, the oil continued to leak. First year, the transmission died. It costed thousands of dollars to fix it. Second year, the engine started giving problems. At the end of the year, the transmission died again. My dad couldn't take it anymore, so he got it fixed, made it all nice, and sold it. Do yourself a favor and DON'T get a Ford Taurus. The only good thing they have are comfortable seats, but otherwise, its a nightmare of a car. :p I would highly recommend getting a VW Passat. We've had one for 4 years and never had a problem with it. Its still like a brand new car. Runs great, looks great, and is known to be a great, reliable car. I personally like Toyota Camry's and Honda Accords too, but I would take a VW over them.

We don't have alot of money to spend on a car. So when a Taurus came along in our price rang we were like SWEET!!! LOL, I told my dad what you said and we aren't sure weither we will get it or not. The machanic is checking it out tomrrow. We just want a reliable car! LOL!! :)

Thanx a bunch!

Anyone else?

Ash

We had several problems with our Taurus, I KNOW the transmission was a constant problem for us as well....it was several years ago so I don't remember everything, but I remember that much.

Thanks again everyone for the replies! I am taking in all of your advice and suggestions! :D

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Originally posted by wolf_Q
We had several problems with our Taurus, I KNOW the transmission was a constant problem for us as well....it was several years ago so I don't remember everything, but I remember that much.

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Thanx for your help Amy! My dad is going to take it in and Ask there opinion (I told him no better advice then from someone who has owned the car before!)

I hope you have better luck then we have been!!! :)


Ash

I have a Jeep Liberty Sport and hubby drives a Saturn. Both are great, we've never had any problems with either. I love my Jeep, it's the best car...er shall I say suv...I've ever had:)

As you know, I just bought a 92 Camry (named Tobias). The thing you need to remember with Toyotas, is the REAL age of the car is based on how many miles it has. If you can find a older Camry like early 90s like mine, but the mileage is REALLY low, it basically will be like a brand new car. I did a LOT of research when I was ready to buy a new car, and this is what I found out. Basically if you want the best for your money, go with Toyota. Make sure it has no rust and has been mantained.. the key to those cars is very regular oil changes and maintenance. If you go to a dealer, ask if they have a maintenance record. Second best but very close behind is Honda. Not AS great IMO, but still very nice cars. I almost bought a 97 Accord but the mileage between that and my Toyota made that decision easy. The other thing I found out was that a Saturn is the highest rated domestic auto for things like safety, reliabilty, etc etc. They didn't have a saturn that I liked at the dealership, as I was looking at used and I didn't want a station wagon, but it was something I would have considered if they had a nicer model on the lot.

My Camry is a 4cyl; it gets 600km to the tank.. in miles that's about 360. For a midsize family car, that's really good mileage. It is very roomy and has HUGE trunk, and the seats do fold down. I think Nebo plus a doggy pal would fit comfortably in the backseat. Really, there hasn't been one thing with my Camry that I don't like. I don't think I'll ever buy another "brand" again.. I'm definatly a Toyota fan. Look at it this way.. Nathan has a '83 celica. It has 395,000km or about 237,000miles on it. Before he got it, it was NOT maintained, it has been in at least 1 bad accident, has been stolen, is rusted out on the back fender, but that little car is like old faithful. It starts every morning without fail!! And he puts about 2000km on it a MONTH!! (That's about 1200 miles).

I own a 2003 Suzuki Vitara and I will probably never buy another brand other than Suzuki. I recently got into my first accident and I can honestly tell you that if I had been in my old Dodge Neon I probably would have been hurt a lot worse. I got rear-ended by a drunk driver and let me tell you, the sound still reverberates in my head. The damage to the exterior was minimal (due to the well built quality) although the undercarriage was slightly damaged.

It is a small SUV, perfect for a lady or a small man. Very affordable too. I purchased the truck brand new for just over 14,000 (US) - and it was my first car through a dealer. Dealing with Suzuki has been a Godsend and they have done everything for me that I could have possibly ever asked them to. I have to give them a five star rating.

The truck itself is a 4 cylender(sp?) [The 2004 is a 6 cylender or whatever], four door "wagon". Roof rack, a/c, heating, cd player, automatic (standard). Can be bought in four wheel drive. It has running lights - and you can forget about not remembering to turn off your headlights at the end of the night. There's a sensor on the dash that turns the running lights into regular lowbeams when the light level outside get's low. I find that my truck has low road noise (although when the windows are down the noise is slightly loud). It has a quick acceleration and is built on a truck chassey instead of a car chassey like many of the smaller suv's.

Sorry...I just happen to love my car.
http://www.tuesdays-child.org/tcorggraphics/reebok.png

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Originally posted by Aspen and Misty
Hmm, we are looking at a Ford Taurus, it's a 97...might need to re-think this. Can anyone tell me why they didn't like it??

Thanx a WHOLE bunch!

Ash

ps: Amy, I hope you find the perfect car! Car shopping STINKS! :)

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I owned a 97 Ford Taurus for a couple of years and I never had a problem. It was my "work" car, and I put tons of miles on it. I never had it in the shop a single time, and I bought it used!

I buy American, as does my husband, and so far, so good. I have a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which fits my dogs, my daughter and myself, perfectly! My husband has a 2002 Ford Expedition and his car has been flawless as well. Mine was purchased new, Scott's was purchased used. I have never owned a foreign made car, although I have heard wonderful things. I have always had a Ford, Chevrolet or Chrysler (Jeep). In fact, my last two cars have been the Jeep Grand Cherokee models. I could not be happier. I plan to drive mine until it dies (although my daughter thinks that my car should become hers when she gets her license!).

Oooooo my parents just bought a 2000 Toyota Camry...I took it for a spin tonight. I like it!! :D Tempting, tempting...

Quote:

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Originally posted by Aspen and Misty
We don't have alot of money to spend on a car. So when a Taurus came along in our price rang we were like SWEET!!! LOL, I told my dad what you said and we aren't sure weither we will get it or not. The machanic is checking it out tomrrow. We just want a reliable car! LOL!! :)

Thanx a bunch!

Anyone else?

Ash

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My friend's Taurus had a lot of problems with steering, alignment, transmission, brakes ... you name it. She bought it new, and it was a problem from the beginning.

I have a CARFAX account. If you PM me the VIN number, I'll run a CARFAX report for you, and email it to you. That way, it won't cost you anything, as I've already paid the membership fee. You can see a lot about the car from CARFAX, including any accidents the car has been in, where it has been, what it was used for, etc. I highly recommend CARFAX to anyone looking at used cars.

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Originally posted by Twisterdog
My friend's Taurus had a lot of problems with steering, alignment, transmission, brakes ... you name it. She bought it new, and it was a problem from the beginning.

I have a CARFAX account. If you PM me the VIN number, I'll run a CARFAX report for you, and email it to you. That way, it won't cost you anything, as I've already paid the membership fee. You can see a lot about the car from CARFAX, including any accidents the car has been in, where it has been, what it was used for, etc. I highly recommend CARFAX to anyone looking at used cars.

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We already ran one and the Dealer who we got the car from had one ready for us. Thanx for the help though!! It was really nice of you!! :D We have the car tonight and I drove it and omg it drives like a dream :D ;) :p :D We still havn't deced yet though...I'm a little iffy bout it but my dad says he has Co-workers who LOVE there Taurus and they would never own another car. LOL So....I dunno, we will see if he comes home with it or not! LOL

Ash

I had a Pontiac Sunbird that was an excellant little car! Very solid.
Ran like a dream.

My first car was a Ford Tempo and it went from bad to worse very quickly.

I would never ever buy another Pontiac in my life! What a nightmare! It wasn't even three years old and falling apart faster than I could blinnk. The Lemon Law didn't work (I checked into it) because it was a little older than two years when it started.

I've talked ot other former Pontiac owners and they all said the same thing! Gee, I wish I'd listened to my dad when he warned me not ot get the car.

What I think is funny is that no matter how many different kinds of cars there are Everyone has a differing opinion.
Some say I only buy American others say I only buy Foreign and there are horror stories for all makes and models.
And there are "the best car I have ever owned" stories for all of them too...


BTW my Brother in law bought a 3 door Saturn for a work car b/c his brother in law used to work for them and several of his family members drive them. He didn't buy from a Saturn dealer which was his first mistake. Had it less then a week and the clutch went out and the dealer wasn't going to pay for it. He has had nothing but problems with it and it apparently rides very rough. I almost bought one exactly like it new 3 years ago before he got his but at the time I had a greyhound and as soon as I saw the back seat I was like NO WAY. My brother in law told my sister "I am never going to buy a car without you or asking your dad again!" B/c he doesn't have a clue when it comes to cars.
I actually like the looks of the Ion and I definately like the Vue.

Hey Amy ~~

Here's a few Random Thoughts for you to think about -
regardless of if you buy New or Used >>>

Be sure to Test DRIVE the buggy...
preferably withOUT the salesperson riding along and
*jabbering* :mad: in your ear!
With a used one - check out the radio/stereo/CD for a minute or two,
then TURN it OFF and *LISTEN* for rattles, bangs, groans, squeeks, etc.
Pay ATTENTION to how the transmission *shifts* -
should be smooth & gentle.

Since you're not *quite* 6 feet tall :p -
you need to be POSITIVE that you can really *see* out of the car
in ALL Directions - that there are no *blind spots* for you.
Practice Parallel Parking and backing out of a mall parking slot -
Can you really *see* well enough to drive it comfortably?
(You'll be shocked at how many cars (wagons & SUV's are BAD) -
have HUGE *blind spots* out the right-rear or over the rear deck :eek:!)

TEST *every* accessory - windows, heat/defrost/AC, lights, door locks,
wipers & washer, seat adjustments, *EVERYthing*.
Get it in WRITING they will FIX anything that doesn't work.

Also helps to Take a Buddie WITH you while shopping -
TWO sets of ears will hear more of what the salesperson says
than you alone will!
An *experienced* car shopper is an extra bonus if you
can find one to tag along with you... DAD maybe?

Last - try NOT to fall in love with it till you're positive
it's a Good Car!

Happie Shopping! :D

/s/ Phred

Check out epinions.com for CONSUMER reviews and opinions (ie NOT written by the manufacturer)

Until 4 years ago I had ALWAYS driven German cars - first Opal/Vauxhaul, and later a Volkswagen Golf VR6 (it was my pride and joy, and I still miss it). I LOVED the build quality, and they were really reliable. if I was looking for a second-hand sedan right now I would look at Jetta and Passat

Over the past few years, due to financial issues, I have driven Hyundai, and have been pleasantly surprised. (IMHO the build-Iquality (ie rattles etc, is NOT as good as VW).. I first had an Elantra, now I drive a 2001 V6 Santa Fe SUV, and have NO COMPLAINTS at all. It is affordable, economical, and reliable. I can go offroad, park on the pavement when I need to ;) and it didn't cost me too much to buy!!!