What car?

[kevin47881]

Anything Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota. My parents and I have owned nothing but those three makes (LexUs and InfinitI count) for a long time. They're roomy, comfortable for someone my size, and get some great mileage. They may be a little more expensive up front, but mx costs will be quite low. I had a '91 Nissan Stanza until I got my current '04 Mazda 6. My fiance and I just got her an '01 Toyota Camery. I'd recommend them all.

Fixed that for you.

 

[SCCutler]

Anything Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota. My parents and I have owned nothing but those three makes (Lexis and Infinity count) for a long time. They're roomy, comfortable for someone my size, and get some great mileage. They may be a little more expensive up front, but mx costs will be quite low. I had a '91 Nissan Stanza until I got my current '04 Mazda 6. My fiance and I just got her an '01 Toyota Camery. I'd recommend them all.

Notwithstanding how they're spelled, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that blind reliance on this advice can (and often does) burn car buyers. Buy the car, not the brand.

Everything else being equal, a (fill in "bulletproof" Japanese nameplate here) may be more reliable than (fill in putatively crappy alternative nameplate here). Problem, is, everything else is never equal. Example: Hondacura, Lexusota, Nissiniti, all engineer and build good cars, but as a result, the used car values are stratospheric, and anything in these makes which falls into Greg's stated price range is going to be used up.

I'd much prefer to have a well cared-for Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge, than a twice-the-miles Honda, Acura, Lexus, whatever.

And, by the way, notwithstanding the hype, most domestic cars have achieved, statistically, parity with the Japanese nameplates.

I remember when Japanese cars wouldn't start on cold days- but they got better. I also remember when GM and Ford refused to build cars that were worth a lick- and they got better, too.

Shop for a car that shows good maintenance and care, and you'll likely do well. If you'd bought my Jeep Cherokee I sold with 160,000 miles, you would have likely driven it another 100,000 miles with minimal care (like the guy who biught it from me did). If you'd bought my old Sedan deVille from me with 178,000 miles like my brother-in-law did (*that* made me nervous), you might have driven it 80,000 ,ore miles, then sold it to someone who used it in an armed robbery six months later (OK, that is not really relevant- but, hey! It was runnin'!).

If you'd bought the looks-like-new, low-miles Infiniti that my mom bought, you'd have bought the lemon of the century.

Buy the car, not the brand.

 

[astanley]

Notwithstanding how they're spelled, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that blind reliance on this advice can (and often does) burn car buyers. Buy the car, not the brand.

Everything else being equal, a (fill in "bulletproof" Japanese nameplate here) may be more reliable than (fill in putatively crappy alternative nameplate here). Problem, is, everything else is never equal. Example: Hondacura, Lexusota, Nissiniti, all engineer and build good cars, but as a result, the used car values are stratospheric, and anything in these makes which falls into Greg's stated price range is going to be used up.

I'd much prefer to have a well cared-for Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge, than a twice-the-miles Honda, Acura, Lexus, whatever.

And, by the way, notwithstanding the hype, most domestic cars have achieved, statistically, parity with the Japanese nameplates.

I remember when Japanese cars wouldn't start on cold days- but they got better. I also remember when GM and Ford refused to build cars that were worth a lick- and they got better, too.

Shop for a car that shows good maintenance and care, and you'll likely do well. If you'd bought my Jeep Cherokee I sold with 160,000 miles, you would have likely driven it another 100,000 miles with minimal care (like the guy who biught it from me did). If you'd bought my old Sedan deVille from me with 178,000 miles like my brother-in-law did (*that* made me nervous), you might have driven it 80,000 ,ore miles, then sold it to someone who used it in an armed robbery six months later (OK, that is not really relevant- but, hey! It was runnin'!).

If you'd bought the looks-like-new, low-miles Infiniti that my mom bought, you'd have bought the lemon of the century.

Buy the car, not the brand.

Spike,

As you know, I live in a rental car. Most of the rental agencies are awash in domestic brands with the rare import... and, actually, I'm starting to agree with you. I do not like the fit and finish on modern Dodge's, which also extends to the Chrysler nameplate. But I've been extremely impressed with the GMs I've driven recently - especially the Impala, which I've even considered buying. Fords have been a bit of a mixed bag but the Five Hundred is just a great car. Same with the F series trucks.

All in all, I'm keeping my Acura TL for another few years. Almost 130k on the clock now, and I want 200k out of it before I replace it. I'll replace it with a Honda Pilot or similar sized, good mileage, well built vehicle when I'm done. Or, maybe another Subaru Outback (Jessie's car)

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[Teller1900]

Fixed that for you.

I actually did spell them right, my spell checker "corrected" them for me, though, and I didn't notice. If I write an entire paragraph with only two misspellings, I'm ahead of my personal curve.

 

[gprellwitz]

All in all, I'm keeping my Acura TL for another few years. Almost 130k on the clock now, and I want 200k out of it before I replace it. I'll replace it with a Honda Pilot or similar sized, good mileage, well built vehicle when I'm done.

I'm at 168K on my Acura CL, and easily expect to make 200K, if not 300K. OTOH, I certainly don't get 40mpg (closer to 25mpg, though 80mph isn't unusual ), so, even if it went for around $5K, it still wouldn't meet Greg's criteria.

 

[woodstock]

When the Mercedes engineers in Germany were told that American buyers were looking very close at the cupholders they couldn't understand it. When you're going 120MPH down the Autobahn the last thing you're gonna think about doing is looking down for your cup o' joe.

120 MPH on the autobahn will get you flashing lights on your butt! Ask me how I know. (no, I don't mean Die Polizei either).

 

[woodstock]

Hre ya go.... Mercedes 300D. The old ones can be run on straight veg oil without too much trouble, and they are built like a tank.

http://tinyurl.com/3xdcnx

Buddy had 300k miles on his. The engine, and car were in good shape, but he needed new seats as they had worn totally out by that time.

Pete

I can vouch for the fact that they live forever. Friends of mine have an '84 and it just chugs along.

 

[Obi Heed Kenobi]

120 MPH on the autobahn will get you flashing lights on your butt! Ask me how I know. (no, I don't mean Die Polizei either).

Don't tell me it was somebody trying to get you out of the way? In the words of Billy Madison, "Goo!!!"

P.S. - I like the wine bottle pic.

 

[Henning]

Don't tell me it was somebody trying to get you out of the way? In the words of Billy Madison, "Goo!!!"

P.S. - I like the wine bottle pic.

Best thing is.....If you're in the left lane and get rear ended..... It's YOUR fault.

Actually, 120mph is pretty up there, 130kph is a typical speed for the right and center lanes (lot's of construction and population density zones where it's 80kph). The left lane in open areas though, I've looked down at 240-250kph before and had to move over to be passed.

 

[woodstock]

Don't tell me it was somebody trying to get you out of the way? In the words of Billy Madison, "Goo!!!"

P.S. - I like the wine bottle pic.

Yes. and when you look in the mirror and see a speck, it's time to move over NOW because they come up fast. When you pass - you pass, and get back over. In this case I just happened to be passing a number of cars and apparently not doing it quickly enough.

That isn't even my favorite story. Even better was driving back to Munich from Garmisch, in the rain (of course) and just barely passing people at a little over 100 mph and still having a big BMW come up behind me and flash me - he zoomed by, considerably faster than me - in the rain.

They take no prisoners in driving school in Germany, however. Friends of mine who lived there (the ones who moved to Boulder) wanted to get a German license and it was months of training (despite having a US license) and a very rigorous test at the end. They are very precise drivers.

 

[Bill]

I'll replace it with a Honda Pilot or similar sized, good mileage, well built vehicle when I'm done.

hahahaha, go look at the city rating of the Pilot, 16mpg! My F-150 Supercrew 4x4 earthcrusher gets 13mpg. I think it is absolutely nuts that a mid-sized V6 SUV only gets 3mpg better than my truck. I'll keep the truck, thanks!

 

[Ted]

120 MPH on the autobahn will get you flashing lights on your butt! Ask me how I know. (no, I don't mean Die Polizei either).

I was driving on the autobahn in my friend's Alfa Romeo 156 (fabulous car, by the way... too bad they don't sel them here). The speedo was at a conservative 200 km/h (about 125 mph).

Sure enough, I get passed like I'm standing still... by a Porsche Cayenne turbo. The SUV. Talk about a major "WTF?!" moment! I have never in my life been passed when I was going that fast, nevermind by an SUV!

Later, I was going 240 km/h (that's about 150 mph) in that same Alfa. Once you get up to 240 the CV axles start vibrating a bit. It still is a front wheel drive car, after all. Nobody passed me at that point, but it was a pretty empty section of the road, and I also wasn't passing anyone.

I managed to shoot this picture:

Not 240, but proves I was up there.

 

[Ted]

They take no prisoners in driving school in Germany, however. Friends of mine who lived there (the ones who moved to Boulder) wanted to get a German license and it was months of training (despite having a US license) and a very rigorous test at the end. They are very precise drivers.

I didn't find German (or any European) drivers to be all that great when I was over there, though, despite all that extra training. Better than most American drivers, certainly, but still not great. Very arrogant and good at taking stupid risks, though! The motorcyclists over there are especially crazy!

The main thing I like about European driving is the understanding that going fast and driving hard are not inherently dangerous, it has to do with the rest of the conditions. You do that in the snow in my Excursion and you'll flip the thing. You do it on a dry summer day in an Alfa Romeo and you'll be fine. When I was in college, I made trips back and forth between Indiana and New York in my '82 Jag XJ-S. I had the car set up for Cannonball/Autobahn type driving. That thing would cruise effortlessly at 120 mph all day long - and even at 160 mph it was still perfectly stable and went straight as an arrow. Combine that with long, straight, empty highways and it was safe. Try convincing the local law enforcement of that, though, when the sign says "Speed Limit: 65." Even my Excursion is plenty competent up to its speed limiter of 96 mph, and the Dodge Ram I had before it did fine up to its 108 mph limiter. I once had a 28' enclosed trailer with it that I found myself going 90 mph while towing to get out of the tornado land I was driving through. 5.5 mpg = Navajo fuel economy.

 

[Ted]

I'll add my two cents... I just finished looking for a car. I wanted 4 doors (as the convertable is a pain with Cassie) with good cargo room. I can borrow a truck but I don't want to have to borrow it just to pick up a few 2x4's.

Gee, when did I tell you I'd let you borrow my Excursion?

Something with good gas mileage but still a little zip. I MUST have a stick (I've missed driving one) and a sunroof after comming out of a convertable. I ended up with a Pontiac Vibe. The 'listed' gas milage is 34 but in my first fill up it was just over 25 mpg I'm sure it will get a little better as I remember how to drive a stick.

Well, keep in mind that you've got a city/highway cycle that includes your 5 mile city drive to work that's got a lot of stop signs (my Excursion would get about 8 mpg doing that), and then you hop on the highway. I'd say 25 mpg is still pretty reasonable. On your cycle, my Excursion would get about 11.

You've also let me drive it a few times, and I'm never good for fuel economy.

I find it comfortable and Shane didn't ahve a problem either and his a big tall guy. Mine was a 2003 with 44K on it and I got it for $10K. I did see some for around $5K but they were all around 100K to 150K miles. And just remember it is a Toyota afterall. (built in the same plant on the same line as the Matrix)

As someone who was very skeptical of this car when she started talking about it, I have to admit her Vibe GT is actually a remarkably nifty little thing. It's reasonably comfortable, and I like the engine/transmission combination. My one complaint is that the VVT-i kicks in at about 6000 or 6500 RPM, and then redline is 8200 RPM. The result is this surge in power for a very short period of time. Then you shift, and it takes you from 8200 to 5000. Toyota could have learned a lesson from Honda here. If you shift at redline, you should be put right back into your powerband.

 

[Missa]

Gee, when did I tell you I'd let you borrow my Excursion?

You are not the only person with a truck or trailer that I know.

 

[vontresc]

Yeah when you drive on the Autobahn you are supposed to ONLY pass in the left lane. There is a concept/law called "Rechtsfahren" (drive on the right side) that requires you to return to the right lanes unless passing or in high traffic areas. Unfortunately the unlimited speed of the Autobahn are now limited by congestion like here in the states. I wish we had the same rule here. I really get annoyed by people in the lsft lane going 5 mph under the speedlimit.

Pete

P.S. German word of the day... Lichthupe - Flashing your brights to get people out of the way literally translates to Light horn.

 

[Ted]

Unfortunately the unlimited speed of the Autobahn are now limited by congestion like here in the states.

Depends on where you are. Whenever you're in or around some major metropolitan area, that will certainly be the case, but especially once you get west of the Mississippi there are plenty of highways with no traffic, ripe for cannonballing here in the US. I certainly remember making a drive from Madison, WI to Terre Haute, IN going about 95 mph the whole way in my Town Car (did another similar drive from IN to VA), plus doing IN to TX going 100-120 in my friend's 300ZX turbo. Roads were empty and good.

So, it all depends on where you go. Most modern cars, even trucks, will handle these speeds fine.

I wish we had the same rule here. I really get annoyed by people in the lsft lane going 5 mph under the speedlimit.

I agree! Thankfully, speed limits are heading in the right direction (up), but even with the speed limits of 75-80 mph in some states (Texas has 80 mph speed limit on I-10 which is not very well enforced), we're a long way from being able to see the circle with the line through it like Germany has, indicating no speed limit.

In my Excursion I generally don't go above 70 just because of the ridiculous fuel consumption it has, but in my Jag I've been known to make the 3.5 hour trip from PA to NY in 2.5 hours.

Of course, in a 172 that same trip would be under 1.5 hours...

You are not the only person with a truck or trailer that I know.

No, but I do have to harass you just the same.

 

[SCCutler]

Yeah when you drive on the Autobahn you are supposed to ONLY pass in the left lane. There is a concept/law called "Rechtsfahren" (drive on the right side) that requires you to return to the right lanes unless passing or in high traffic areas. Unfortunately the unlimited speed of the Autobahn are now limited by congestion like here in the states. I wish we had the same rule here.

We do! Virtually every state has some form of "slower traffic keep right" law; unfortunately, it is neither publicized nor enforced. There are many who contend that the law really means either (1) traffic slower than the speed limit keep right, or (2) traffic slower than ME keep right.

You license untrained idiots to operate lethal weapons, you get what you ask for.

I really get annoyed by people in the lsft lane going 5 mph under the speedlimit.

Annoyed? Makes me crazy. This is one of the reasons I so much prefer flying.

 

[mikea]

...Later, I was going 240 km/h (that's about 150 mph) in that same Alfa. Once you get up to 240 the CV axles start vibrating a bit. It still is a front wheel drive car, after all. Nobody passed me at that point, but it was a pretty empty section of the road, and I also wasn't passing anyone.

I managed to shoot this picture:

Not 240, but proves I was up there.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM wit you Americans! PUT DOWN THE CAMERA, (phone, computer, sweet roll/bagel, coffee, make up, book, newspaper, office document printouts) AND DRIVE!

 

[Obi Heed Kenobi]

...



Annoyed? Makes me crazy. This is one of the reasons I so much prefer flying.

Drives me up a wall, too. I do my best to stay out of other peoples' way, unless someone else starts tailgating me without cause. In that situation, I will block that person in for miles. It makes me happy.

 

[Henning]

hahahaha, go look at the city rating of the Pilot, 16mpg! My F-150 Supercrew 4x4 earthcrusher gets 13mpg. I think it is absolutely nuts that a mid-sized V6 SUV only gets 3mpg better than my truck. I'll keep the truck, thanks!

My buddy bought a Rav4...17mpg on the hwy. My 97 2wd Dodge 2500 w/Cummins, 5sp and 3.43 gears got 23mpg regardless city or hwy as long as I kept it under 75. Worst that truck ever saw was 14mpg towing my 50'x12' hay trailer loaded 12' high into a headwind down to Dallas. For me it's unfathomable the poor economics of the modern SUVs.

 

[mikea]

Drives me up a wall, too. I do my best to stay out of other peoples' way, unless someone else starts tailgating me without cause. In that situation, I will block that person in for miles. It makes me happy.

Or let them by and wax their tail in a way to make Chuck Yeager proud. Make's me very happy.

Didja ever notice that the space interval you allow in front of you is too much, accroding to the guy behind or alongside you, until he/she barges into it and you let him/her have the same tiny interval he gave you? It's amazing how the space in front of the guy behind you has to be so much bigger than the behind the guy in front of you.

 

[Bob Bement]

Drives me up a wall, too. I do my best to stay out of other peoples' way, unless someone else starts tailgating me without cause. In that situation, I will block that person in for miles. It makes me happy.

David David. Have you never heard of FIDO Forget it Drive On.. When you block him it might make you feel good, or it might get you shot dead. Remember FIDO. Bob