response 1 of 40:

Mar 31 03:21 UTC 2003

My background: I know very little about cars.  Generally speaking, I 
want it to go forward and stop, and I like good gas mileage.  I'm just 
not a car buff.

Usually I buy cars only when desperate to replace my existing car.  
Just now I've got a reliable 1992 Ford Taurus -- I bought it from 
tpryan -- and it shows no signs of not fulfilling my needs.  However, 
maybe it's time I grow up a bit and start planning for things, instead 
of reacting to disasters.

So, many of my questions have to do with, how do you decide what kind 
of car to buy?  There's me, and my 6 year old son.  No one else much 
rides in my car.

It seems to be impossible to buy a car without passenger airbags if 
it's much newer than my Taurus, but I'm against the idea of 
buying "safety" devices from which I have to protect people, 
particularly him.  A passenger airbag is a deadly threat to John.  I 
really doubt there's anything I can do about it, but can someone tell 
me when they started installing these dangerous devices in all cars?

Other than that, when I need another car, I'll want good gas mileage, 
reliability, and enough room for two people to use the vehicle to go 
on a week long vacation.  I don't want a truck, SUV, or any sort of 
van.  John prefers four doors to two; I'm not guaranteeing to him that 
our next car will have four doors though.

My biggest problem, reading the list of classified ads, is that in 
most cases, I don't know what the different cars are like.  I don't 
know what they look like, what to expect from them, or how much they 
are worth.  I know how to use www.consumerreports.com and www.kbb.com 
so I can find out about a specific car, but as for browsing the list 
of cars in the paper, I see lots of unfamiliar names in there.  I 
cannot tell, upon seeing an ad anywhere, if the car is worth my 
attention for the price being asked.  I have to look up every single 
one.

response 3 of 40:

Mar 31 04:19 UTC 2003

Cars made in the last couple of years that do not have a back seat have
airbag disable switches.  If the car has a back seat, current thinking
is that young children should be there instead of the front, anyway,
because they're at substantially less risk of injury.

I'm not sure when passenger side airbags became common.  They were
optional, for a while.  My guess is you'd have to go back before 1995,
maybe even earlier.  It depends partly on whether you're looking at cars
or light trucks, since airbags came relatively late to trucks.

response 5 of 40:

Mar 31 06:03 UTC 2003

I've bought two used cars in the past year. The first one was totaled by
an out-of-control semi, which led to the second one.

The absolute criterion for the used car(s) was that it was a station wagon
(but not a light truck), had a manual transmission, had 4WD or AWD (and
had air bags and ABS, for safety). This reduced the eligible cars that we
never looked at the used car ads in the papers, but used the web to set
the criterion search. The choice came down to Subarus. From there, it was
pretty easy to find all the used Subarus listed on the web within 200
miles. We ended up buying both of them from a dealer in Ferndale. 

response 7 of 40:

Mar 31 13:49 UTC 2003

I'll reiterate and concur with what was said above--air bags shouldn't 
really be an issue, 'cuz the little one should be in the back seat, in a 
booster.

Consumer Reports magazine's annual car issue is on newstands now.  It 
has a handy guide to used cars and their reliability.  It also has a 
breakdown of reliable used cars by price range, and a list of used cars 
to avoid.  

Also, there are a number of used car sites on the web, good for getting 
an approximate price range for the model you're interested in (as well 
as photos, since you say you don't often know what a particular car 
looks like). 

When it comes time to buy, have your mechanic give a good once-over.  
Many places will do this for free. Also check out www.carfax.com, which 
for a small fee can give you a complete title history on a car.

response 9 of 40:

Mar 31 15:23 UTC 2003

all the cars I buy are used. Mainly because I never know how long I'm going
to be in this country. The first car I bought from my room-mate. I had seen
it around for 8 months, it never had any problems, I bought it, and except
for brakes, I never had any problems. The second was an Audi. That was a
mistake, only because the maintenane was so high. The third was the first car
I went out and bought on my own, with nobody else's input. It was a 93 Mazda
Protege. One of the best buys ever. That car took me everywhere, till I
totalled it. Now I have a Toyota Celica. It's a little rundown looking,
expecially since the antenna broke in the car wash, and it has a little rust,
but it runs great.

My priorities in buying a car is mileage, it has to be japanese, and the
engine has to sound healthy. I don't know too much about cars, but I think
I make a pretty good choice when I buy one. I always expect around 500
dollars of :unanticipated" maintenance after every buy, which is just about
right. But I've been happy with my purchases so far.

response 11 of 40:

Mar 31 23:09 UTC 2003

I look for something that is comfortable, and I check to see if I can 
reach the gas pedal without being right on top of the airbag.  I'm 
still short enough to get blasted by it, but some cars allow more 
distance than others.

For example: In a brand new Neon, I have to sit with my chest about 
eight or nine inches from the wheel to reach the pedals with my knee 
slightly bent.  The same position in my 1997 Cavalier had me twelve to 
fourteen inches from the wheel - HUGE difference, in my opinion.  A lot 
of this, I'm sure, has to do with design.  A Neon is a sub-compact car, 
and a Cavalier is a regular compact.

That said, I prefer compact or sub-compact cars for comfort and gas 
mileage.  They also tend to cost less.

Once I note comfort level, I look at mileage, repairs, history, ease of 
use (do I have to reeeeeeeach to adjust the stereo, does the back seat 
fold down for extra trunk storage, etc), and colour.  Yes, I'm 
picky.  :-P

I tend to lean toward GM cars.  My Cavalier was the best car I'd ever 
driven, and mine and my friends' have/had lasted for a Very Long Time.  
Mine had 150,000 miles on it when it died, and those were mostly pizza 
delivery miles.  My friends' have gotten anywhere from 175,000-200,000 
with an equal number of in-town and highway miles.

I'm looking for a new car right now, and I've been pricing out new/used 
Cavaliers all over lower Michigan.  I'm pretty loyal to them.  They 
corner like they're on rails, I can drive ten hours and not get 
uncomfortable, you can pack a squillion suitcases into the trunk and 
back seat, and the gas mileage is outstanding.

And they come in purple.  :)

response 13 of 40:

Mar 31 23:53 UTC 2003

btw, he had to mechanic the hell out of it.. he had to buy two cars.. 
one for the good engine, and one for the body, and then get parts from 
there.  But he's a good mechanic.

response 15 of 40:

Apr 1 00:23 UTC 2003

Yeah, those GM diesel cars were real maintenance hogs.