Used Car Time

**drmomentum**[$] · #1 11-06-2007, 03:24 PM

Time for me to buy a car. I don't want to keep driving the Jeep to work (gas!) and Maggie's van is falling apart. So I'm goign to drive an economical car during the week, and Maggie will drive the Jeep for short trips.

In any case, I'm looking for any advice I can get. Anyone have advice to offer? I bought my last 4 used cars from friends-of-friends. But no such serendipity is at work today. I'm going to have to hit the lots and search engines. So, I have things I'm wondering.

Does anyone know if there is an appreciable difference between getting a Carfax subscription or an Experian subscription, for researching the history of a car? I don't want to pay for both, but I want to know a car's history.
I'm thinking Toyota Corolla or ECHO. Any other small cars I ought to look at? I'm thinking 2000-2003 model years. I know Hondas have a good record, but I've never owned one.
If there's an American car I ought to look at, I'd consider it.
Is there a cheap new car I should be looking at instead? The Yaris can be had (apparently) for around 11K, which I guess I'd pay for a new car. I'd prefer a decent used car at 6.5K or below, but I have never bought a new car and don't have a lot of experience there.

I hate car shopping. If you just want to gripe about car shopping, I wouldn't mind listening.

-JP

**lynnzop**[$] · #2 11-06-2007, 03:31 PM

George can probably give you some advice on the Carfax thing...email him though...he doesn't stop in here often enough any more.

Dad just bought at 2003 Saturn, and for reliability and gas milage, I'd recommend one....of course, I love my Saturn and I'd recommend one no matter what! But I also have friends and family who have driven the SL series for years, and they are sold on them. Hold up well and American made.

*emeleel* · #3 11-06-2007, 03:32 PM

I found Edmunds.com to be a valuable resource last time I was car shopping. Good luck - I HATE buying a "new" car!

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #4 11-06-2007, 03:33 PM

My 1995 Saturn SL2 is awesome. Hubby's 1999 Saturn SL1 not so much, but there's a possibility that it had a shady past before coming to us. Next car I get will be a used Saturn that I buy from a Saturn dealer (like how we bought mine) instead of an independent dealer.

**jgibson2**[$] · #5 11-06-2007, 03:39 PM

My sister swears by Saturns. She even crash-tested one (rolled it) with no appreciable damage to the occupants.

I love my Honda.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #6 11-06-2007, 03:50 PM

I had a 1992 Saturn SL2 that was the bomb. Drove it for 11 years before we donated it... we needed bigger with (at the time) three kids.

I still miss that car.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #7 11-06-2007, 03:53 PM

Oh yeah... I should have mentioned that I LURVE LURVE LURVE Saturn service. Those guys are THE BOMB. When my SL2 needed a front-end alignment? And I got it back and it was still out of whack? I called them up. They brought me right in, and the service guy RODE WITH ME in the car while I showed him the issues. He went back in and called the folks at Saturn who apparently calibrated the equipment and told THEM to come fix it. I've also brought Towanda (our LW300) in for regular service and had them find and fix things WHILE UNDER WARRANTY... without me noticing anything was wrong. Most places would wait until you notice something/complain/car is off warranty.

**drmomentum**[$] · #8 11-06-2007, 04:51 PM

You know what - I had a Saturn for a while and loved it. I only got rid of it because i needed something that could go off road into the state forest.

I should be looking at Saturns. Dur. I'm glad I asked you.

phoenixx · #9 11-06-2007, 05:03 PM

Would you like to over pay for a fairly new, slightly used, Matrix with a little small, recent, husband shaped, front bumper damage? Because I MAY know where you can find this fabulous gem of a gas saving machine.

(I'm kidding. As much as I LONG to get rid of my gas-saving Matrix for a Jeep, which I miss, I am far too new in the loan to even window shop yet without losing money.)

erik_kosberg · #10 11-06-2007, 05:22 PM

You know you want it. But also get a sturdy pair of shoes.

magenta321 · #11 11-06-2007, 06:53 PM

All wheel drive. It's all I'll drive. Ok, so I hate those commercials, but, it's true. I wouldn't want to go back to any of my old cars now that I've had AWD.

**pippadaisy**[$] · #12 11-06-2007, 06:55 PM

Now see, I had AWD in my Blazer. Didn't much care for it. Doesn't help you STOP on ice or snow, and that's usually the problem with accidents.

magenta321 · #13 11-06-2007, 07:00 PM

Instead of a normal 5-10 tries to get out of my parent's driveway, I could do it in one... maybe 2, after I got the AWD.

I have never gotten stuck in snow with my AWD (knock wood), but I got stuck frequently with my old cars.

And I know it shouldn't stop any better, but this car does. Coming home from work, I have to make a turn at a stop light. In the old car, I usually could not stop and would stray through that intersection. I was very lucky I was never hit there. I knew I had this problem with that intersection, so I always went as slow as possible. Sometimes I could stop for the light, but couldn't get the traction to turn the corner. It sucked big time! Haven't had that problem with the new car.

I wonder with a Blazer if the center of gravity and the mass of the vehicle added to its difficulty to stop.

**drmomentum**[$] · #14 11-06-2007, 07:26 PM

I've had 4WD, AWD in 2 cars, Rear-Wheel Drive and Front wheel drive, and the only one that was really bad was rear wheel. A steep driveway is a special case, and it makes sense to have AWD if you have to negotiate such a driveway frequently in the snow.

I almost had a minor accident in my Jeep when I hit a patch of ice covered in snow. The 4WD and offroad tires were absolutely no help. And it's not just an issue of mass distribution, because my Volvo encountered conditions where it was tough to stop.

Bottom line: no AWD is going to help you stop on snow-covered ice. The only thing that works is avoiding it or driving very slowly. Antilock brakes seem to help, but I was always quite good at pumping the old style brakes, so I don't know how much the antilock buys me.

In my case, I'm not willing to trade off the gas mileage for more AWD. We already have the beat up Jeep if we really need the 4WD on a particular day.

-JP

**thinkerlady**[$] · #15 11-06-2007, 09:39 PM

Traction control. I have anti lock brakes and traction control. It is great in snow. Front wheel drive.

No suggestions here JP. We only bought used once, and after 3 years we regretted it big time. We only buy new. We seem to buy American, our last 3 vehicles have been GM's. Very happy with them too.

**theworm**[$] · #16 11-06-2007, 11:55 PM

Scion

mtbat · #17 11-07-2007, 08:34 AM

IMO carfax is fairly useless. When I had the Buick(the one that had the engine fire) it was obviously a car that had been in an accident-but the carfax was clean-no record, there are too many ways around those types of services, you're better off looking at something and then having a trusted mechanic look it over.

I'm now in the market for a new car-the $200 subaru died(well it lasted nearly a year) fixing it isn't an option-I'm sure it could be done, but it would cost too much-starting with the CV boot and front Axel and then we move on to some other internal engine issues....

I've heard good things about Saturns, I personally hate any GM car with a passion-I've had three and two out of three the transmition failed. yes, it might be me but then again...

**pippadaisy**[$] · #18 11-07-2007, 09:27 AM

Fridai, they fall under the GM umbrella, but they function as their own company. I think at one point, they voted the UAW in, and then voted them back out.

I've never heard of anyone having problems with the transmissions. Alternators, yes. I've had two go, but within warranty period (we opt for the extended, having found they end up paying for themselves). Other than that, in terms of reliability and service, we had one for 11 years, and we are on year 6 with the other. I want the new minivan as well, but $$ is too short right now.

phoenixx · #19 11-07-2007, 10:12 AM

In all seriousness, the Matrix gets phenomenal gas mileage, and has some nice bells and whistles and is very roomy. I have put a whole door in there on its side, and some other large items you wouldn't expect. I have the AWD Matrix XR. Recently it went 440 miles without needing a fill up.

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #20 11-07-2007, 10:36 AM

Quote:

pippadaisy said

I've never heard of anyone having problems with the transmissions.

Sorry. But the tranny went on mine when it was about five-six years old, I think.

Saturn has been pulled back into the GM fold more closely in the past few years, and they're even getting rid of the dent- and rust-resistant side panels