Looking for a Used Car

[livingdeb]

My car has been making a worrying erratic sound lately. Then suddenly the sound was on more than off once the car warmed up, so I took it in to my mechanic (who might now actually be able to hear it). He says it's the transmission and with my easy style of driving it will last a long time as it is. However, I don't actually like driving a a bucket of junk, and a car with a giant dent in the side or an intermittent, mostly-on sort of squealing hum feels like a bucket of junk to me. I did drive my last car around with a big dent in the side, but this sound is just too much. It makes me feel horribly negligent and even abusive.

So I got an estimate to replace the transmission, and even for a used transmission, it's $1000. That's a lot to pay just because I don't like a sound. So, I'm not going to.

I really haven't been enjoying this car anyway. The brown color is boring. The automatic shoulder belts are annoying. Having to use both hands to lock the driver's side door from the outside is annoying. The gas mileage sucks compared to my last car (and Jennifer's!). The gas tank is on the wrong side. Those things can't easily/cheaply fixed.

In addition, the hatchback likes to act like it's going to hold and then hit me in the head when I let my guard down (or, probably, when weight is lifted from the back). The back doors are squeaky. The key was sticking. Those things are/were easier to fix, and I was going to, but now I think not.

This car has also required more maintenance than I expected. I've been looking for an excuse to move on to my next car anyway, and I think this is going to be it. I have plenty of time to get just the right deal.

So, what do I want next? First, let's look at the cars I've owned and how well those turned out:

1) The Blue Elephant (like a white elephant, but blue) - 1983 Ford Escort hatchback, bought from Hertz Buy-A-Car for about $8000. It was 2 years old, with 30K miles, automatic transmission - I'd give this car 3 stars out of 10. It was a pretty blue-grey color, and once you got it going, it liked to keep going, but once it stopped, it didn't always want to start up again, even at stop signs. The last four times I brought this car into the shop, it cleaned out my (admittedly small) savings account. I decided I'd rather have fun with my savings than own a car, so I sold this after owning it six years and went without a car for four years.

2) Twin Stars (named after two star-shaped cracks in the windshield) - 1984 Nissan Sentra wagon, bought from a private owner for $1650. It was 10 years old with 100K miles, standard transmission - 10 stars out of ten. It was pretty, had an easy-going ding-dong-ding-dong idiot bell, great mileage, flexible seating, roof rack, rarely broke, and when it did, it was cheap to fix. I owned this car 10 years and sold it after someone smashed into the back in an expensive-to-fix way.

3) June Bug/Dung Pile (depending on my attitude) - 1991 Honda Civic wagon, bought from a dealer recommended by my old awesome mechanic for $3000. It was 14 years old, about 100K (or was it 130K?) miles, automatic transmission. Six stars out of ten. Described above.

I'm not buying from a dealer again if I can help it; I just can't trust them or their prices. (I understand that some dealers sell some cars from their homes so you can't tell you're getting it from a dealer.) I want a very reliable, durable car with common, easy-to-find parts.

I want a small, easy-to-park car with good mileage, and that means I want a standard transmission this time. My good car had 38 MPG with the urban highway/city driving I do; my current car has 30. So a highway mileage of 32 MPG is not exciting to me. I hate the way you can have a teeny, tiny car now, but it costs just as much as a regular small car and the gas mileage is just as bad--given those choices, I'll go for the bigger car.

The car needs air conditioning and that AC needs to be designed for modern coolants. I want a sedan this time--I never use the large-cargo-capacity of my hatchback anyway, and I'd rather you not have to see my box of supplies in the back of the car. Ideally the gas tank is on the passenger side, the warning buzzer isn't obnoxious, and the colors are pretty, but those aren't necessities.

I think a car that's ten years old and/or has 100K miles on it is about the right compromise between cost and value for me. I fear that will cost me $5000 this time, but I hope to pay a little less. Technically, I have only $3358 in my car-buying fund, but I have $2278.30 in my car expense fund, and even holding back $1000 for early expenses on my next car to get rid of the annoyances the previous owner has let build up, that gives me a fair amount to work with.

I mostly fantasize about Toyota Corollas these days, but other makes and models could be acceptable. So if you or someone you know is selling a car that might fit that description, let me know. At least if the car is located in my state (but thanks for thinking of me, Pam, Patrick, and Laurie).

To summarize:
* dependable, reliable make and model
* $5000 or less
* private seller
* great mileage (thus probably a small stick-shift)
* modern, cold AC
* sedan

Also nice:
* kind warning buzzers
* same key for doors and ignition
* gas tank on passenger side
* pretty color (jewel tones, or any non-puke green or blue)
* shiny, dent free, clean inside
* antilock brakes
* airbags
* other stuff I'm forgetting

Comments

[madspark.livejournal.com]

I like Hondas.

I like CarMax.