Please refer your car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi!

I was going to un-recommend our Audi based on gas mileage and repair costs/complicated labor.

Ha ha. Not the PP, but we love our Audi - though I wouldn't put Audis in the moderate to less expensive range. Though Op, perhaps you can clarify - what price range are you looking at?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi!

I was going to un-recommend our Audi based on gas mileage and repair costs/complicated labor.

Ditto. DH had one for 2 years before getting fed up with the constant repairs (engine issues, power windows stopped working, etc) and the ridiculous cost of even replacing simple things like wiper blades (Audi has special ones, of course!). Apparently the model year we had was rated very poorly by Consumer Reports. Some other model years were rated much higher. Definitely check out their ratings on cars as well as Edmunds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:prius

+1.
We also have an SUV and the Prius is the perfect second car for us. We drive this most of the time (we carpool and kids are in daycare in my spouse's building) and now use the SUV mainly for vacations, big shopping trips and hauling. Love the Prius.

I love my prius. My kids hate it. They say it is not cool at all. I keep telling them I will the lottery, I will just buy another prius. They hate that.

[Anonymous]

I have a Camry hybrid. It's a little larger than the Prius, which gives us the option of bringing a 5th person. Gas milage is good (40 miles per gallon for my work commute in rush hour traffic, but less either on highway or true stopping).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second Toyota matrix
We bought a 2006 model with around 80000 miles, so far not much trouble. I did change small stuff like ac filters and the battery is not the strongest but otherwise it's a great car

You bought a car with 80,000 miles on it already? Huh? That's when we get rid of cars!

Are you kidding? That is ridiculous. A quality car,when well kept will last for many, many miles. I drove a Subaru impreza until she died at 250k miles. My father is currently driving a late 80s Benz with almost 350k miles on it.

Well, thank goodness for people like you who keep the Auto industry afloat and the used car market going as well. That is so wasteful to get a new car after 80k miles!

The only people I know who do that are nouveau riche jerks who need to ride around in something new and flashy, like my colleague who only makes 75k, but lives like he makes 500k and leases a new BMW every 18-24 months, becaue he will only drive something brand new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second Toyota matrix
We bought a 2006 model with around 80000 miles, so far not much trouble. I did change small stuff like ac filters and the battery is not the strongest but otherwise it's a great car

You bought a car with 80,000 miles on it already? Huh? That's when we get rid of cars!

Are you kidding? That is ridiculous. A quality car,when well kept will last for many, many miles. I drove a Subaru impreza until she died at 250k miles. My father is currently driving a late 80s Benz with almost 350k miles on it.

Well, thank goodness for people like you who keep the Auto industry afloat and the used car market going as well. That is so wasteful to get a new car after 80k miles!

The only people I know who do that are nouveau riche jerks who need to ride around in something new and flashy, like my colleague who only makes 75k, but lives like he makes 500k and leases a new BMW every 18-24 months, becaue he will only drive something brand new.

It's so nice to hear that you have had success with driving your cars until their death. My experience is that after 100K miles cars become money pits. I would hardly call people who prefer to drive something that is guaranteed reliable and lower milage "nouveau riche jerks".

[Anonymous]

We have a Prius and frequently put three kids (no carseats) in the backseat with no problem.

We have an Outback also and while it's a really nice car, the gas mileage is horrible, well below what they promise.

[Anonymous]

This is a 80k miles poster. If you want an inexpensive and reliable first car you bring a friend mechanic and he checks if the car has any big issues and if not you buy it. I was looking for a car which would have no more than 60k miles but this one worked for me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second Toyota matrix
We bought a 2006 model with around 80000 miles, so far not much trouble. I did change small stuff like ac filters and the battery is not the strongest but otherwise it's a great car

You bought a car with 80,000 miles on it already? Huh? That's when we get rid of cars!

Are you kidding? That is ridiculous. A quality car,when well kept will last for many, many miles. I drove a Subaru impreza until she died at 250k miles. My father is currently driving a late 80s Benz with almost 350k miles on it.

Well, thank goodness for people like you who keep the Auto industry afloat and the used car market going as well. That is so wasteful to get a new car after 80k miles!

The only people I know who do that are nouveau riche jerks who need to ride around in something new and flashy, like my colleague who only makes 75k, but lives like he makes 500k and leases a new BMW every 18-24 months, becaue he will only drive something brand new.

Type of mileage is as, if not more important, than total mileage. We've put about 23,000 miles on our car in 5.5 years, but it's almost exclusively short-trip city driving. A 4-year old car with 80,000 miles, well maintained, that has been driven primarily on the highway, has far less wear and tear on it.

Include me in the drive-till-they-drop group. The car I referenced above is now 10 years old with 100,000 miles on it really hard miles, and our needs have changed, so we're getting a new one, but I feel guilty/frivolous, even though we absolutely can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all of the Prius love. I drove a Prius and a Civic Hybrid. The Civic has way more pep to me.

Both Toyota and Honda have great track records with me, but I don't think I can justify the thousands of dollars extra for a hybrid. It doesn't add up.

I am thinking compact rather than hybrid because I do more highway driving than city.

PP 13:13 again. We love getting over 50 mpg in the Prius. We looked at the Civic and while it has more pep, it also is louder and we could feel the road more (bumps, unevenness) and in general, was not as smooth a ride as the Prius. We also prefer the hatchback for getting things in and out. The Civic trunk reminded us too much of the Nissan Sentra that we were replacing and difficulty getting larger items in and out of the trunk. We liked the big opening of the hatchback and the size with the back seat folded down. It's hard to fit a larger item like a chair or large trunk into the trunk and/or back seat of a Civic. If you don't do any toting, then it won't matter, but we often move large items and although we use the SUV for lots of that, we still like the carrying capacity and openings of the Prius. We also like the green aspect of consuming less gas and putting out lower emissions. Our Nissan Sentra got about 32-33 mpg. Over the last 49K miles, we've saved over 1400 gallons of gas vs just our Sentra. And frankly, in 2008/2009 when we bought the car, the Honda Civic was not as good of a car. They've made some improvements over the last 3 years, and it might be better, but I have a friend who owns one and he says that it isn't a very good hybrid car. In fact, the handful of people I know that own one give mixed reviews on the car. Conversely, everyone I know who owns a Prius, loves their car. I think driver satisfaction counts for a lot and in that respect, the Prius is a huge win over the Civic.

I think they love the idea of driving a Prius. My sister hates hers and wants another Civic after her lease is up.

[Anonymous]

It's so nice to hear that you have had success with driving your cars until their death. My experience is that after 100K miles cars become money pits.

That depends. My dad is a mechanic, and we routinely drive our cars to 200k+ miles. We buy new; do maintenance on schedule (you have to know what needs to be done when, and keep track); change the oil every 3k miles (an old-school recommendation, but one we still follow); and realize that yes, some parts need to be replaced periodically: tires and brakes are the biggies, but also timing belts, etc.

[Anonymous]

camry, accord or civic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think they love the idea of driving a Prius. My sister hates hers and wants another Civic after her lease is up.

PP here. No, actually they love the car. I know over 40 people with Prii and I have not heard a single one of these friends who does not love the car. At least 10 of them are on their second Prius. Three couples are two Prius families.

[Anonymous]

Prius owners have to love something about them because they have to be the uglisest car out there. I am all for good gas mileage et al but do they have to look so bad. Plus I hear if they are even in the smallest of accidents they are pretty much totaled because of all the electronics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prius owners have to love something about them because they have to be the uglisest car out there. I am all for good gas mileage et al but do they have to look so bad. Plus I hear if they are even in the smallest of accidents they are pretty much totaled because of all the electronics.

To each his own. I happen to love the look of the Prius...kind of space age look to me. I think there are a number of uglier cars out there. I think the PT Cruiser is one of the uglier cars. As is the Honda Element, the Toyota Scion (xB?) and the Nissan Cube...all of those cubes on wheels. They look like old fashioned milk trucks or mail trucks.