Nope not crossing things off the damn list - forgot the worst one - car shopping. Help. I need advice, so feel free to jump in or leave right now as you are about to be bored to death.
Ok some history: owner of a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder - bought in 2004 with 32K, now has 73K on it. Want something smaller and better on gas. Really want a car that doesn't exist- an inexpensive, good on gas SUV.
Ok more history: prior to the Pathfinder I was a proud (wish i knew how to do those cross out things) make that poor owner of an Explorer - cross out and put gasguzzler. ok i promist I'll stop til i find out how to do that.
Anyway I drove the Explorer into the ground literally, the ground infront of the Nissan dealers, I wasn't even sure if it was going to make it there. But i had paid it off and drove it free for 3 years(expect for those never less than a thousand repair bills).
Ok so now the price of gas soars and this light on my dashboard comes on that is going to cost thousands to repair cause they're not exactly sure how many of these damn whatever they're called that i need. So i decide the smart thing to do is to buy/lease a new car. Oh yea the lease thing!!! seems like a good idea/ seems like a bad idea; i guess it's a good idea if you can't afford the higher car payment but even me, who isn't good in math, can figure out that I'll be paying thousands more(if i buy the car after the lease) or have no car to show at the end of the lease.
Ok so the green side of me wishes I could buy a Hybrid but can't afford that and anyway do they make a green SUV or is that an oxymoron.
Ok i know I shouldn't buy an SUV but here are my reasons: 1)live in New England(hypothetically get alot of snow and I have a long driveway that we rarely get plowed). 2) live near a beach that we can drive on 3) have to take my trash/recycle to the dump and 4) have a large dog that likes to come everywhere with us.
So the two small SUV's i'm trying to decide between are the Honda CRV and the Toyota Rav 4. The RAV has 4WD and the CRV has AWD (wish i've never had but i'm told is good). cept not sure bout the beach thing and isnt the 4WD option with it being in front wheel drive unless you push the button
ok is anyone still awake out there? so vote CRV or Rav. also like the toyota Matrix with great gas mileage but a hatchback. As for wagons liked the Subaru Outback.
Thanks for listening and go on and cast your vote for the CRV or the RAV or a motorcycle with 2 side cars.
Well after these last 2 posts I'd be surprised if i have any commentors left.
8 years ago
9 comments:
Hi, rdl, I'm back. I think Honda is coming out with a hybrid SUV, or maybe is already out with it. The Toyota hybrid is nice; I have several friends who own them. I think I'm going to be looking at a hybrid next time I buy a car. (Don't lease. You're right, you have nothing to show for the lease payments except more payments when the lease is up. Look how many years you didn't have car payments when you owned the Explorer.) Although I always used to buy new cars, in recent years, I have started economizing by buying a car a year or two old because the biggest depreciation happens in the first several years. They're making cars these days that 30,000 or 40,000 miles on them is nothing in terms of life expectancy, but save big bucks over buying new.
A-law: nice to see you back, thanks for the info, didn't no Honday & Toyota had hybrid SUV's, i'm afraid they'd be too expensive for me, else i'd certainly get one.
Don't beat yourself over getting an SUV. Just have fun.
I like both your options and am pretty useless when it comes to cars anyways. So no help from me :)
I have a Honda CRV and love it. I don't drive on beaches, but I do drive on dirt roads, gravel roads, snowy roads... It's very comfortable, has pretty good gear-packing space, handles like a car... and the gas mileage is decent. The one I have has all-wheel drive so you don't push a button. I got mine six years ago, so I don't know what the new models are like or what's been changed since then. The other car we checked out at the time, and was a close contender, was the Subaru Forester. It had slightly better horsepower (good for mountain driving and hauling gear) but the backseat was intolerably small and terribly uncomfortable. I'd make the same decision in a heartbeat today. Can't remember why the RAV4 didn't make our short list. But I've got no regrets with the CRV.
I'm voting for a scooter/ATV combo. And we can go halves on the change...
AWD is good, with it's tire grip...i vote for that, though i vote for outback too (i imagine it is suitable with mileage and if u like how it has 4wd and areodynamaic.) toyotas are good but switching it 4wd (which i assume if you need it to go mudboggin (yahooo!) is great but the switch from one to the next is hard on the transmission.-less you got manual shift!-which i think is a lot better on the transmission...(but sucks when you are always on stops on gos of traffic.)
so CRV it is. Honda is a good donkey to have.
i used to have a pathfinder 1990-it was one awesome car....i put over 200 miles on it and haul all kinds of crap! i think if you keep up to your maintenance, you will have a long lasting car.
remember to change oils every 3000 miles-you'd be surprise how happy and longlasting your car can be!
If I said bicycle would I get hit over the head with a wet paperback? Okay, so I know very little about cars and ride the bus or my bike. I have owned, at various times, a 12v beetle and a mercedes. The beetle won hands down. But, er, I guess that doesn't help you in the slightest.
I'd go with a Pontiac Vibe.
As the daughter of a mechanic, I offer his words, “A vehicle is only as good as your closest dealer.” He also told me to look into the costs of repairs to a given vehicle because not all auto-mechanic repair jobs are created equal…some have more expensive parts and some are simply more difficult to get into to fix (design of the engine, what-not); therefore, the repair bill is higher.
Wish I could give you more. I paid attention to things like these but, really, I should be embarrassed for what I don’t know about cars given were I came from. A punch-line here…I had a job interview yesterday. Where? A car dealership. What position? Service Department Coordinator. Should find out next week if I get to the second round of interviews. …I so do not like the interview process.
Anyway, good luck with the car shopping.
Edie - so let me know if you get the job so I can come buy a car there.At this point i've given up, since I can't make up my dang mind - a fairly common problem. I actually could- on which one(leaning towards the CRV today(this hour) but don't know if it's a good idea at all ( all that debt! for all those yrs! plus plunked down the down payment(2800) on braces today. :(
I really found it funny about your father being in the business as my day was a butcher and the butchers daughter always stands in front of the meat counter stupified not knowing the difference in all that red meat- shoulda stayed a vegetarian).
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