The best "deal" for the money right now appears to be a reasonably late model Chevy Impala or Pontiac Grand Prix or Grand Am or whatever they call it. I see 2005 models advertised with 25K miles on them for $12K or so. Hard to beat for size and price. Would also be similar in size to the Avalon that she had.
She only drives something like 600 miles per month and pretty well all of that is in the city. I think the Avalon was as far away as Fargo ND once in the 5 years we had it. Her cars usually rust before the mechanicals wear out. There may be an advantage to the Toyota on that issue as the 98 Avalon showed no signs of rust and was 10 years old. By way of comparison, my 02 F150 shows a bit of rust in the bottom of the doors already. She would be happy enough with an Accord or Camry but they want silly prices for used ones. If we do decide to buy new it will probably be a Civic. Probably won't buy new though. I have had only 2 new cars in my whole life and did not find them any more satisfying that my used cars. We have talked about small SUV's like RAV4 and CRV but again very pricy for what one gets and used market is still very expensive. Not many Ford 500's around here. I don't think many were sold. It is a rare sight on the road. I like the look of the Buick Lucerne but expensive -might as well buy a Cadillac. Seems to be lots of those used. Probably not what we want or need though. Not may Mitsubushi's around here either. I see the odd one but could not tell you if there is a dealer anywhere close. Friends have an Audi that they quite like. Lots of choices out there. She will want to do something quickly though and will not truly care what it is so long as it is reliable. We bought the Avalon after a Taurus and a Sable. The Sable caused a lot of small problems and she complained bitterly about it. We bought the Avalon in an effort to move up but it has caused its share of small problems too. The basic body is very good and we had no major problems with the drive train but there were issues and some were not resolved when it got wrecked. At least I don't have to work on it in the next month. I was wondering how I was going to get it all done and now I won't have to. It was due for a timing belt and the steering rack needed to be repaired or replaced. It leaked in cold weather - fine in the summer but left puddles in the garage all winter. Also was due for a change of the tranny fluid and the antifreeze. Had bought both but hadn't done it yet. Also had issues in the climate control system. Something was not right as it tended to fog the windows in the cold weather - probably related to the door that would cause it to recirculate the interior air not opening. So the silver lining is that I didn't have to work on this stuff. The bad side is that I put $1100 worth of new struts on it about a month ago and new rotors and pads on the back brakes about 2 weeks ago. It had nice clean Mobil 1 in the crankcase so someone out there should get a nice replacement motor to drop into a Camry. Randy -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Ed Booher Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:36 AM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] What would you buy now? On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 12:39 PM, R A Bennell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > She is fine so that is the most important thing Glad to hear no injuries involved, here. Sort of lost on what to buy as a replacement however. Anyone with a crystal > ball out there? Fuel mileage keeps coming to the forefront on our thoughts. > A Honda Civic maybe? Don't really like small cars but most of her driving is > very close to home so that might be alright. Don't want to spend a fortune > but she will not be happy with any sort of a fixer upper so it has to be > something relatively new. > > Randy Unfortunately, a car is a fairly personal thing. Without knowing more about you, your wife, your family and the wants, desires and needs of said persons, no crystal ball in the world can really help. So we have to turn the question around a little bit, and ask it from the other direction. In my opinion, I wouldn't own a GM product of any recent vintage. They are uninspired, also rans trying to keep up with other companies without the same soul. The Ford Five Hundred is a decent car, and has ok fit and finish for an American sedan and is available in AWD. Though, I wouldn't want a Focus or an Edge. Chrysler actually has, again in my opinion, the best American sedan right now in the Chrysler 300 / Dodge Charger. The Big Three, as you can see, has way too short a list. One of the many, many reasons they are struggling so hard right now. Turning to Germany we have the obvious in Mercedes-Benz, as well as BMW sedans, but may not be in the proper price point for a recent vehicle to be worth consideration. As well as the drop in build quality of all auto manufacturers due to economic concerns without a drop in the overall prices expected. VW with the Jetta Diesels, awesome modern Diesel cars but not quite in the "large" sedan category. Asia, and specifically Japan, is where I have been for several years now. Personally, I really prefer the Mitsubishi V6 and that includes the versions that are in the 90's Chrysler's. That little engine is a hard bugger to kill. I had a 7th Generation Galant with a 4 cyl that could easily get into the 100 Mph range, and got high 20's mileage and had 170,000 miles on the clock when I got rid of her. I have a 94 Diamante with the 3.0 V6 that has 250,000+ miles on the ticker and is currently in need of a major overhaul because she's only getting about 15-17 Mph right now. She still starts first hit of the starter, though. Currently, I'm driving the 03 Galant that is arguably "My Wife's Car" as it was bought for her, but get better mileage right now in the mid 20's that I'm driving it since she isn't working. Your wife had a 98 Toyota, great cars Toyotas. Honda's have to have gold lining in them somewhere, not that I've ever found it, but the prices they ask on even junker ones is astounding to me. Suzuki, nifty little machines. Had an Aerio for a time before an accident totalled it. But my crystal ball, and my opinion, keeps wanting me to nudge you toward a 9th Gen Galant with the MITEC V6 and leather trimmings. Heck, an 8th Gen like the one I'm in right now is a great car, good mileage, seems to have inherited the genes from the other Mitsu's I've owned and are easy to find in the $5000 - $9000 range, dependant upon options, mileage, etc. However, as always, it's just my two cents on the subject and your mileage may vary greatly. EdB -- "I'm a Night Elf Mohawk!" - Mr. T. _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
