Car shopping

[lihtox]

Jen and I have never owned a car (together or separately), but with the baby coming it seems important to us that we get one a) for when Jen goes into labor, b) for any emergencies with the baby, c) because hauling baby stuff around on the bus is tricky, and d) the long commute times we accept now on public transportation will be less acceptable when we are trying to take turns working and parenting.

Of course, we've gone through periods before where we decided it was definitely time to get a car. Heck, when we were living in Lowell for several months, Jen had a 3 hour commute each way into Boston.

The whole process of buying a car, however, overwhelms and terrifies me. It's such a big purchase and a big risk: buy the "wrong" car and WHAM you have a lemon, and it's in the shop all the time, adding to its cost. Cars are insatiable money pits. Buy a car from a dealer and you have a salesman trained to lie, cheat, and manipulate you. Buy a car from a private seller and who knows what you're getting. (This is the paranoia talking, mind you.) I have a hard time deciding what I want for lunch on any given day, and I have to decide what multi-thousand dollar vehicle to buy?

AAAA!

*breathe breathe must go to happy place*

Of course, not having a car has been a great source of pride for me as well; it is amusing how often I try to slip it into unrelated conversations. That's hard to give up.

Anyway, while we had fantasized about a Prius, we've decided to go cheap instead, and buy with cash (Jen's preference). Looking for something small (but with a back seat), good gas mileage, under $6000. The Kia Rio fits the cheap bill (not the best mileage-wise but small), but I'm not sure about the quality of their cars. I like the Toyota Echo. I was intrigued by the Scion xA, but that doesn't seem to reach down into our price range. Honda Civic is ok too, of course. I hunt around the web at various sites, trying out different search engines and classifieds, but it's undirected searching, without very firm goals in mind. It's hard to know where to start in all this: do we start by finding a car first, or arrange insurance first, or find a mechanic first to whom we can bring the car for an inspection? Is it worth it to go to a car lot and look around?

Advice and/or consolation welcome. :)

Comments

[heef.livejournal.com]

Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic Civic

because

Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable Reliable

[samtheeagle.livejournal.com]

Thou mustest test drivest any car you buy. Any car you buy. Any. Regrettably, that means going to the lot... which hopefully won't cause you to panic.

But thou mustest test drivest any car you buy.

Also, small car payments aren't terrible if it buys you safety. Side-impact air bags, crumple zones and other now-basic safety features aren't optional anymore, especially with the new Hill Enterprises thingy on the way.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I'll ditto heef - I have a Honda Accord which I bought used, and it's a great car. Very basic, no bells and whistles, but it's in great shape, and is incredibly reliable. Mine's a '93, and when I bought it in 2000, it only had 63,000 miles on - had been owned by the proverbial little old lady who only drove it to the grocery store and back. I want all my future cars to be Hondas, because I've had such a good experience with this one.

Check out Consumer Reports - I'm pretty sure that reliability and ability to hold value are two of the factors they consider in their rankings.

Visits to a lot might be good just to confirm what you do and don't like, which might help you better focus your searches through the classifieds and whatnot. But I think you can likely get a better deal from a private seller.

[ltlbird.livejournal.com]

Basically, I agree with what everyone else says. Hondas seem to last a really long time. That said, because they are so reliable, sometimes they depreciate less quickly than other cars, so used ones aren't necessarily inexpensive. And test driving is a great idea, since people seem to have very different ideas of what works for them in a car.

My father, who knows quite a bit about cars, says that the Kias are actually good cars. As I recall, the Consumer Reports car guide backed him up. Plus they have crazy long warranties (which don't cover everything, I understand, but would still be nice.)