Well after what initially seemed like a rather minor accident, my daughter’s '08 Saturn Vue has been totaled after repairs estimates were initiated and then revised. So now we’re looking for a replacement vehicle. something in decent shape and dependable. Not opposed to something 8 - 10 years old but probably looking for something more like 4-6 yo with moderate mileage. I know that’s not a very narrow query, but we’re just starting to look, not necessarily limited to ins settlement, but not looking to buy new or anything high $$. So if any one has one or wants to refer us to someone else, we’d be happy to hear from you.
We’re planning to start checking some dealers’ inventory what are some things we need to be on the look out for… (y’all know what I mean…)
I just went through this with getting my niece a car. We started with Hondas but soon realized that people think they are made of gold. They are very well built cars and shouldn’t have a problem exceeding the 200K mark if you are responsible with maintenance, but I didn’t want to spend 10K on a 8 year old car with 140K miles, so we started looking at the other small 4 door cars with decent mileage. If you want to go cheaper like I did, look at the small cars like Suzuki Forenza, Nissan Sentra, Chevy Cobalt, Dodge Neon, any of the Saturns. You can find these with under 100K miles for around 5-7K. Check Craigslist and the used lots at dealerships. I personally don’t like dealing with dealerships on used cars, but that’s just me. After the flooding we had several months ago, be very careful about noticing where the car came from and the time frame it last had major work done. If you see things like “brand new interior!” STAY AWAY!
If I get murdered in the city, don’t go revenging in my name…
I can recommend this model. We purchased one brand new and it has been a phenomenal car. No one knew it at the time these came out, but look at reliability now for these models and the quality of their engines. Strong SUV for the money. Also, Mitsu’s don’t carry the premium like other Jap models, so they are priced well. I don’t think going from a Vue to a Suzuki or Cobalt/Neon would be a good move.
The 2014 Outlander Sport won most reliable small SUV. It is the exact same car as the 2005-2013 model, except they cut out the 3rd row seat. Great car, we are driving our 2009 model another 5 years.
Thanks for the responses!! Spent yesterday shopping for cars. Haven’t bought one yet but narrowed down the possibilities. These are some generalization gleaned for yesterday’s efforts.
Dealerships have some nice used cars, in fact almost exclusively nice used cars, and priced as such (I guess I should have known this…)
CarMax doesn’t have the lowest prices but they do make car shopping easy.
Not all Hendrick dealerships are the same. We walked out of one very aggravated, had a much better experience at another one.
Also, if you have an independent mechanic that you know, ask if they will check it out. They can let you know other things they see and hopefully give you peace of mind. I do it a couple times a month for some people and just try to give them a heads up on what they are getting.
Also, if you have an independent mechanic that you know, ask if they will check it out. They can let you know other things they see and hopefully give you peace of mind. I do it a couple times a month for some people and just try to give them a heads up on what they are getting.
Great advice. Let a pro check it out. Some will give you a detailed written report.
If buying from a dealer ask them to put it on a rack. Look it over from end to end. I bought a new car once and found a bunch of rust and some stretched marks on the frame. come to find out it had been damaged on the delivery truck and the dealer knew about it but let it slide.
so glad she was ok!!! there have been a few cars parked up at the bank at harris teeter the last few weekends on harborview
We too will keep our eyes open…and Donnie said if he can help with any car info to give him a call.
Thanks again for the yummy fresh fish the other day!! It was deeeelicious and much appreciated!
and much appreciated!