Comments on: What kind of car do you drive and why?

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:30:59 +0000

1995 Escort Wagon. I bought it 3 yrs ago for $950, have put nearly 60K miles on it in this time. It is cheap to run (33-38mpg, just over 40 if you can keep it under 60mph) and has plenty of space. I can carry a climber, bow or rifle, boots, various bits of gear, AND a 130lbs buck (or doe) in the back. Yippee. And the A/C works, too. I’m on 2nd set of new tires, and did have to put a water pump/timing belt in it – cheap driving. I’m sold on small wagons. Escorts are good. Get the 5spd for better mpg and performance. I’m hoping to get 300K out of it.

By: JohnR

JohnR — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:17:49 +0000

I drive a 2004 ford ranger and my wife drives a 2001 Mercury Mountaineer. I’ve always heard that the best financial choice is to buy a used car (when you can afford it) that is a couple years old and then drive it till it falls apart. So, thats what I’m doing.

By: tim

tim — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:49:15 +0000

2004 BMW 325i. bought it new with 6yr/100k warranty. It’s paid for. it comes with free maint. for 6yrs/100k, which includes brakes. why the extra warranty? we bought the extended manufacturer warranty for $1900 which was tough not to do considering repair costs. knowing that we would be living overseas after 2 from when we bought it, leaving our vehicle with my parents for the time overseas, the extended warranty was justifiable to us since we’d be driving it in the latter portion of the warranty period. For the 2 years we drove the car, we had $0 maint costs.

we bought the bmw simply b/c we’ve had great experiences in reliability in the past with bmw and my wife wanted it. oh, i also appreciate the fact that the dealership gives me a free loaner car, free krispy kreme donuts, free starbucks coffee, free juice, and free wireless internet access for those times I just want to wait and read the newspaper. I disgruntlingly sold my 1984 bmw 318i in 2005 with over 200k miles when my wife and I only needed one car since she started working from home.

while overseas, i’m driving a toyota land cruiser. if i were going to buy an SUV for rough conditions, i wouldn’t hesitate in buying a land cruiser. it’s a fantastic vehicle. I’ve owned a Land Rover, and it was perhaps the worst purchase decision I ever made.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 15:19:57 +0000

I had a 1991 chevy cavalier that rusted apart in 2004 (it was my college graduation present in 2001, inherited from my mother) but then I went and bought a new car, a Mazde 3, for about 18,000. Since I never had to make a car payment on the old car (thanks mom!), I had enough cash saved up for the new car.

Here’s why I got a new car: It’s under a full warranty, and I plan on driving it until it dies (it should last at least 10 years). So, yeah, I spent more money up front, but with the basic recommended maintenance I should have no problems keeping it up. And since there were no previous owners, I didn’t have to worry about somebody else abusing the car.

So far I’ve spent about $150 a year on maintenance (basically, just oil changes and rotating the tires) and a couple of small things that did come up were fixed for free by the dealer. The car is reliable (consumer reports loved it), has good gas mileage, and it doesn’t look like a POS so if I have to drive clients around (which has been known to happen) I don’t feel like I have to apologize for it. Incidentally, it’s a hatchback, so I can fit christmas trees, furniture, etc in the back if I need to but I still get good mileage.

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:41:41 +0000

I drive a 2006 VW Passat that I purchased new. I would normally say never buy a new car which I abided by for years. I drove three different American cars (Chevy Corsica, Oldsmobile Cutless
#1 and #2) and had the transmission go out in all three. I would not consider myself a lead foot but regardless, it was a $1500-
$2000 expense each time. Thankfully, I had some help from my parents but after having the last one totaled, I went on a mission to find a car that had a reliable transmission. I spent about a month researching cars and finally settled upon a VW Jetta based upon the extremely reliable history. Although VW’s are a little more to repair when something does go wrong, they are an absolute blast to drive and will go forever. I took the Jetta to about 130K miles and drive about 3500 miles per month for work. I decided to finally get a Passat for the needed room in the back seat and because my drives were getting quite a bit longer for work. The combination of all the features with it have made the drives much more comfortable. I get about 28 mpg and bought for around 23K fully loaded. It is paid for. I plan on driving for 300K miles

By: Jack

Jack — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:43:49 +0000

I bought a 2006 Acura TSX last November as the 2007 models were being delivered. The price was a little more than I wanted to pay, but the price was under invoice at just over $25K.

*Costco program resulted in no haggling.
*Financed through my credit union at 6%.
*I’ve been adding payments to the principal every two weeks with the plan of retiring the loan in 48 instead of 60 months.
*I plan to service the car at an independent shop that specializes only in Acura/Honda vehicles (I previously worked for the owner of the shop).
*The TSX replaced a 1997 Nissan Pickup that I bought when my previous car gave out on me. The Pickup was a basic model with no A/C or other convenient features plus it had a manual transmission that I was getting tired of using. Plus all the latest safety features are lacking and the brakes are inadequate for panic stops.
*I expect this car to last me from 5-10 years.
*One last reason/excuse is I own shares in the Honda Motor Company which manufactures the TSX.

*One caveat on buying a new car is the cost to make desirable upgrades such as tinting and front end clear film protection may be higher than you expect.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 04:07:46 +0000

I drive a 1995 Chrysler Concorde – paid $2000 for it two years ago. No major issues that required fixing to date. Even now if I were to buy another car, I would want a late 90′s Grand Am because the one I drove for 6 years was my favorite car of all time.

By: Man on a Mission

Man on a Mission — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 01:22:55 +0000

I drive a 1990 GMC work van with no air conditioner or radio. I drive it because the payment is right…$0.00!

By: Anonymous Coward

Anonymous Coward — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:15:33 +0000

I drive a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer. I bought it used from my dad for $15,000 at the end of 2005. It think it had 12K miles on it when I bought it. It hadn’t been driven for about a year of that time, so it was a pretty good deal.

My wife drives a 2006 Toyota Avalon which we bought new. It is also paid for.

By: edenz

edenz — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:28:38 +0000

I drive a 1998? Grand Prix GT. Not my first choice of car, but I only had 2 days to pick out a new one after my previous car (1995 Neon) was totaled (I had to have a car before I went back to school). It was used – I bought it in ’04. It runs well, but the size is larger than I prefer. I paid cash (~5,000).

I really have no interest in a new car. I just don’t see the point. My next car will probably be closer to new (closer to the model year), but I really don’t care what car I drive so long at it runs well and gets good gas mileage and is cheap to insure.