response 8 of 40:

Mar 31 14:29 UTC 2003

        The formal write-ups in Consumer Reports are pretty good.  The one-page
summaries that they have in their buying guides aren't all that useful,
though.  I'd look up the reviews in a library (or on their website, which is
available for a nominal fee) if possible.

response 10 of 40:

Mar 31 22:33 UTC 2003

Thanks for the advice on booster seats, however the topic is "buying 
used cars".

re resp:6: I concur that I ought to keep the Taurus for a while yet.  
It's not going to last forever, though.  I drive about 30,000 miles per 
year.  Maybe I'll get another year out of the Taurus.  Maybe I'll find 
another car and then be able to sell the Taurus before it's flat out 
dead.  Maybe I'll even find some reason to *want* a particular car, 
rather than just whatever goes forward and usually stops.

Right now, my notion is to spend a couple of months trying to find out 
how to buy a used car.  Then, when I need to replace the one I've got 
now, I won't need to walk 30 miles each way to/from work for a couple 
of months while I figure out how to buy another car.  (Or do what I've 
always done in the past, picked the nearest car for sale and bought it 
on the spot.)

response 12 of 40:

Mar 31 23:52 UTC 2003

shortie.

I remember test-driving a Prius and really liking it because there 
really was elbow room.

I remember there was this 1985 diesel Buick my friend drove (I had a 
chance to drive it a few times).. can't remember what model, but it 
had super gas mileage, sports supension, and was big enough to be very 
comfy on long rides.

response 16 of 40:

Apr 1 04:22 UTC 2003

Re #12 - I'm not THAT short.  I'm 5'6", but I still fall into that "dangerous"
category.  :-P

response 18 of 40:

Apr 1 07:12 UTC 2003

resp:15  What the hell are you talking about?  He bought the car as a 
mechanic's special-- he didn't own it before.  There was an article in 
Car & Driver some time ago about that particular car being a well-
engineered engine for fuel economy and an example that you didn't need 
new and small.

response 20 of 40:

Apr 1 07:56 UTC 2003

Early GM diesels definitely had a "reputation".  I don't know how much
the later ones improved, but when gas became relatively cheaper again
and pollution control more important, they disappeared quite fast.

Timing belts are important to replace on many newer cars (and not just
Hondas).  In many newer engines, the piston & valves have "negative"
clearance -- the design relies on the piston never reaching the top of
its stroke while the valve is open.  If the timing belt breaks, one or
more valves is likely to remain open, impacting some piston, with
expensive results.  My volvo has the last year of B230F engines that
didn't have this feature.  Presumably I should also get slightly worse
gas mileage but I could push the timing belt change interval, if I
didn't mind risking being stranded.

response 22 of 40:

Apr 1 16:52 UTC 2003

jep - i'll relate the methodology i was taught and which i witnessed
working soooooo well over the years.
  
go to a NEW car dealer!
  
find a salesman you get along with.
  
tell him/her you want to buy a USED car.
  
deflect the 'go over there' kneejerk answer.
  
tell him/her you wnat to buy a USED car from him/her - a trade in
from aother of the customers who is buying a NEW car.
  
the salesman who does lots of business has customers who buy 
new cars every year or so and trade in their old one. the salesman
knows who takes care of their cars based on the series of
tradeins and their resales.
  
my dad would give the *new* car salesman some particulars that
were importnat. then he wold say no quibble on price, just assurance
that hte car-to-be-bought would be in excellent conditoin nad have
come from one of that salesman's regular new car buyers.
  
then he'd tell the salesman to call when the 'right' car showed up,
no rush, no problem.
  
EVERYbody benefited with this method! the new car buyer (good tradin)
teh salesman (two cars sold for the grief of one) our family (we got
a car thst had a quality background analyzed by someone IN THE BUSINESS
every day).
  
 ... adn teh cost was a used car price, not a new car price eventhough
dad got damn-near-new cars every time.
  
the 'particulars that were importnat' of course, could be any criteria
YOU find importnat, obviously.
  
over the 25+ years i watched this process there was only one car that
needed any help before boought - and that one had a barely-recognized
problem (at that time).   rear axle whine, a problem i helped solve
for cadillac (part of a large team but i was inthte thick of it) as
thecars' interiors got quieter and quieter.
  
peripherally, that dealership got cutting edge educatoin identifying
and solving that problem and their service shop business eally took
off - even the non-cadillac level cars got fixed.
  
the only reason i know aofthe peripheral sutff was that three years
afterward, when dad went to get another 'new' one, the salesman brought
out hte service manager who related the unexpected benefits of my work
from the last time. 
  
(wanna talk about a puffed-head little kid-engineer basking in that
sort of spotlight?  oh, boy, let me tell ya ...............! <g>)
  
there aren't to many times i can remember being *that* inflated but
that isone of them.
  
anyway, the buying-a-used-car secret s out now - enjoy.

response 24 of 40:

Apr 1 20:39 UTC 2003

hmmm, guess i didn';t solve *all* the axle-whinners, errr whine problems <g>.

response 26 of 40:

Apr 2 04:22 UTC 2003

resp:20 yes, that friend said GM messed up their diesels for a while 
and told me this particular engine was when they got it right again.

response 28 of 40:

Apr 3 17:38 UTC 2003

Serious advice on buying a used car, don't be my Dad.
That said, my father taught me everything about buying used cars that he
knows, including what not to shop for.  He has had 20+ used cars in the last
26 years, not including the new ones and every disaster story.  So here are
some rough figures and concepts:
 
Whey buying used, figure that for every $200 you put into the initial price
you are getting a months service with relatively few problems.
 
Most cars from 1970 - 1980 have about 75-100k miles in them before major
failures.  1980 - 1985 about 100k miles, 1985-1995 about 125k miles in them,
1995 - 2002 about 150k miles in them.
 
If it has had an engine or transmission rebuilt/replaced...its on the way out,
deduct 25% of the expected life span for each system.

When taking it for a test drive (always test drive it, no matter who your
buying it from) drive it for at least 20 minutes, let it idle for at least
2 mins, hard brake it once (Panic stop from minimum of 40 mph to zero, see
how long it takes for the car to stop.)  Get a mechanic to look it over.
 
Finally, expect it to fail, dramatically, and price is no indicator of
quality.  My dad bough one car for 3k and it blew out in a month,
starter/motor/trans failure in a week.  We also bought a student car for
500.00, piece of crap, but it ran like a champ for two years.

response 30 of 40:

Apr 3 18:30 UTC 2003

We were given a 1987 car by a friend with 150,000 miles and nothing major went
wrong with it until a couple of years ago when the exhaust system rusted out.
We have had it maybe 8 years now.  Cheap car (Dodge Plymouth Colt).  He took
good care of it.  The neighbor gave us a 1986 that is fine except for the rust
(hole in floor etc.).  Probably the same miles.