We're hopefully heading out tonight to the auto auction in search of a good deal for a car for me to drive. I've saved up $2700 for the purchase.

Would love to hear opinions out there on the type of vehicle you would purchase if you were me. I'm no longer working, so no driving 300+ miles a week to work. I've got one older daughter who drives her own car. We plan on having another child hopefully within the next few years (after a reversal surgery). We don't take extended trips often, about once in 3 years. I don't need something big, but don't want to feel like I'm in a tin can, either. I would love for it to last me a long time, as I'm sick of the car-loan circus. It would be mostly city driving, grocery buying, etc. My husband has a company truck her drives, along with his paid-for Jeep, for any offroad or four wheel drive needs.

From the books I've read I want to be smart with this purchase. Has anyone out there bought a vehicle based on frugality? I'm not into the looks, just comfort and reliability. I've seen some really good deals at this auction for somewhat newer models with about 80k miles on them.

I'm rambling here... :toothy: Okay, just tell me what you are driving, if you got a good deal on it, how long have you had it, and would you buy it again?

I really love my Toyota Camry. It has 214000 miles on the odometer and is still going strong. It's roomy enough for my 6' dh and dsons, but gets almost 30 mpg. We also have a Jeep Cherokee, that is very dependable, but the gas milage is nothing to brag about.

I love my PT Cruiser!!

we had a saturn sw2 we loved, loved, loved. it got around 30 mpg and boy was it a good reliable car. we had to trade her in for the mini van once baby #3 came along. i sure miss it!

My Ford Exporer is at 155,000 and no major problems. I sah too so I don't put alot of miles on it. I think we get around 15 mpg. Not great but better than our newer van we got rid of.

We drive a Buick. We bought it new in 2000.
I think it has around 67,000 miles on it.

We will probably drive it for quite awhile yet. :)

I'm another Toyota Camry lover --- I have just over 140,000 miles on it --- its a mere youngster compared to Dixie's!

I love my Ford Windstar :D

I drive a Ford Expedition and LOVED it until the gas prices went way up :( Now I still love it, but only when I don't have a lot of driving to do LOL

I drive a 4 yo Nissan Quest. It's a small van, so it's easy to drive but can fit all 6 of us. It's been dependable so far and is as easy on gas mileage as any minivan. Before that, we had a Camry and I loved it. Dependable and comfortable. Camry's tend to last forever in car years.;)

Dh is driving a 1993 Buick station wagon. It still runs really well. Our experience has been buicks go forever. I drive (unfortunately now that gas has gone up) a 1998 15 passenger Ford van. It is about the only thing that can hold us all and we did get a great price when we bought it 2 years ago.

Well, we went. The weather turned yucky so I wasn't sure if there would be anything. Sure enough, slim pickings. We arrived in plenty of time to check them out. After hopping in about six of them, starting them, putting them into gear, listening to the motor, checking mileage and shape of the car, I easily narrowed it down to one car. So we sat and waited.

It was a '98 Mercury Sable. Appears to be well taken care of. Typically, younger generations don't drive this type of vehicle, a posititve as younger people usually don't respect their cars as much. It's midsized, not too small, not too large. Has all the bells, and they all worked. The interior was in good shape (my dad always said if they take care of the inside, usually they take care of the motors, as well). Higher miles, 106k, but that doesn't scare me like it used to.

I told hubby that I wouldn't go over $2200, as we weren't in a hurry to buy, and under that I felt like I would be getting a good deal. Well, it was nearly the last to go through. A good thing, as it thinned out a lot of buyers. :)

We won it. *drumroll* ~~~~ for $1000!!!

It was a 25 minute drive on the highway home, and I did notice the tires needed balancing. Cool, since I've got so much left over I can use on these things. The tires appear to have quite a bit of tread, but will have the mechanic look at those while he is going over the motor. The car handled extremely well. The cruise control worked. The radio played awesome (although I will miss my CD player :( It has the CD option to put a changer in the trunk though). The fit was good. You know, the way you sit and the arm rests fit and the steering was just right and you see good, not craning over the steering wheel to see.

I figure this car cost me just over 2 months of my new car payments. If I can squeeze 2 years of life out of it how much would it save me? $10,760 (2 years of car payments minus purchase of this car). And how much will my auction find cost per month if I can squeeze two years out of it? $41.66 per month to drive (barring repairs). How much a month am I saving in that two years of driving of not driving that status vehicle? $448.34 per month. Wow! put that way sure makes is so easy to swallow.

Of course, now I have to get rid of high dollar status car, and come out still owing and having to get a loan to cover what I was upside down on. But now that I know the difference of owning vehicles hopefully I will never go the status route EVER again! :D

Good for you! :smball: :smball: :smball:

We drive a 97 saturn sl2, 98 Olds Silhouette, and I, too, have a 15 pass van. :) It pulls our camper.

All of our cars are paid for & it's a good feeling. Still paying for the camper, though.

Sounds like a great plan. I'm glad you got your car for so little.

We drive a 1998 Lincoln Town Car that we bought last year. It had 10244 original miles on it and still smells like new leather. I'll drive that car till the doors fall off. :toothy:

We have a 1999 Ford Windstar (minivan), and a 1990 Olds Toronado--which just broke down last night.

We're in the market for a new-to-us car, and I'm really dreading it. It's bad enough having 1 car payment, but 2? ugh...someday I will own my cars and not have a monthly payment.

We have a 1996 Mercury Villager van & a 1992 Saturn. Both are still going strong at over 150K each.

Good for you! I have a 94 Mercury Sable and love it. It's been in the shop a few times and the biggest prob has been brake pads & rotors.
Does your have the dashboard radio buttons and the 2 visors? They are small things but I really like having them.:)
Hope you enjoy your new car.

Dh and I have a new 2005 dodge truck and a 2000 dodge neon. Which we also bought new. We have gone the used car route and for us new cars are worth the money. Dh drives 50 miles to work one way. He has been stuck many times over the years when we owned used. 3 a.m. 50 miles from home in a snow storm was the last. Believe me in the middle of nowhere before cell phones it was a nightmare. One time he broke down in the middle of Hartford with nothing but Jersey barriers and no where to pull over. Terrifying to say the least. We have had it with used cars. As long as we are able to afford new I think we will stay with them.

I would also like to mention the fact that because we buy new they last longer. Our old Dodge truck is still going strong with almost 200,000 miles on it. The fuel pump did go in it, but my nephew tells us it's running great now. That just goes to show what oil changes and regular maintenance will do.

P.S. I am just loving my neon these days, it gets around 32 miles to the gallon. The truck? Dh is refusing to tell me how much, so it must be bad. But he does love that truck.

a word of warning about neons, and this all depends on the crime rate of where you live. this also may not apply to the newer neons, but if you have one of the older neons that does not have a door frame around the window when you open the door ie, when you open the door, it's just the glass and it shuts against the rain gasket, no frame around the window at all. they are easy to break into if you don't have power locks. all someone has to do is pry back the window a little and slide in a coat hanger or stick and pop up the lock. we just traded in my 99 neon for a saturn ion because it was broken into for the second time in 10 months and they took the radio again. other than that it's not a bad car. but if car break-ins are common where you live, think about a different car or at least don't keep anything valuable in it.

I'm glad you got the car...and ahve some money left over :D

I drive a 05 Honda Odyssey...I am doubling up on payments and hope to have it paid for in 2 yrs versus 5....And this will likely be my last car purchase...ever...I hope anyway.

Steve drives a 99 Tacoma,also bought new,paid for and has almost 100,000 miles. We have done nothing to that truck but reg maintence :) He also says this is his last vehicle.

Ashley has a 98 Honda Civic....That she wont EVEN drive! She's 16 and a little scared but that kid has gotta learn to drive!! :sigh:

Had my dear dad drive the car yesterday. He said the imbalance felt more like the tires to him. Sure enough, when he inspected it the front left tire was wavy. That was weird. :toothy: Anyways, since I had considered the purchase of all new tires, he sealed the deal. After all 4 new tires, oil change, air filter change and new wiper blades, I'm happy to report the wobbling is fixed. :cool: She drove like a dream. Now just gotta find that darn rattle under the dash, lol.

Am so glad many of you replied to this! :D

Bamamomto4, my sixteen y/o had the same problem at first, as well. Hopefully she'll get over it. My daughter wouldn't be able to live without her car now, lol.

Darlene, I'm not sure what to call how the buttons look, lol. I do like the way it's set up though, easy reach and good arrangement. Looks nice and has the wood grain around it (the only wood in the car, lol). I'm glad to know yours is still running good, I'm hoping mine will last for years. :)

So glad to see many that are driving vehicles over the 100k mark. I used to be the one who was terrified over 80k, hadda trade it in on something newer, usually took loss on old vehicle and paid too much on the newer one. After doing this for years it's no wonder I'm so upside down on my big car loan. So I think I will try this other way. Buy the older higher miles ones with cash and take really good care of them.

Now I just need to work on getting the car with the payments all spiffied up so I can put it up for sale and get rid of that near $500 month payment. ....... *someone please, just take it away* :angel2:

Pita,
My 2000 neon not only has framed windows and power locks we also have a car alarm. But that might be due to the fact that we have the ES series with all the bells and whistles. I don't know about the older models, but I am glad I have the newer one. We have never had a problem. I am sorry for your theft though. I had my car stolen right out of my driveway once and it left me feeling a little violated. When it was found all the windows were smashed, including the moon roof. I fixed it but sold it shortly afterward, never feeling quite the same in it.

I am glad you shared your information though, because we have been thinking of buying a used neon for our dd's to share. So thanks for posting, we will be on the look out for those problems.

pkellyc

I have a 97 Intrepid with a 3.5L 24 valve engine. It gets about 25 mile son the highway and about 18 in town. That is fine with me since it only has 67,000 miles on it. I am the second owner (we bought it when it was about six months old and saved $10,000). It has a lot of get up and go (it'll blow a Beemer out of the water at stop lights) and it's cheap to insure! How can I go wrong? LOL

DH has a 2003 PT Cruiser. It has a little driveability glitch that the dealership can't find, but they're working on it. overall, he's been happy with it.

I drive a 2004 Toyota Corolla which I love....we got it last year. My dh drives a 94 Pontiac Grand Am back and forth to work that my parents gave us. It does ok but probably won't last much longer without alot of work....