Aug 7, 2009

car broke down.

on a beautiful sunday morning, we were driving the GW parkway enjoying the gorgeous weather. then...the trusty mazda 626 sputtered...shook...and died.

after 2 zipcars and a trip to the auto fix-it store, and time spent over the hood...i think we've made a decision. time for a new car. the money it would take to tow the car into town, fix the broken parts, and get it inspected (its overdue by about 4 months. shhh.) is not even worth the price of the car.

TH has been socializing the decision all week and friends come back with a resounding "buy a new car". but i think we're both a little nervous to lock ourselves into a car payment (when i say we i may be referring to just TH), unless we know its going to be a reliable car.

so now i'm socializing the decision here on my blog. we're wanting a slightly used car and we want a compact car with good gas mileage with a little flair.

i would love to hear from you, dearies. what have been reliable cars for you? and subquestion, if reliability wasn't a factor, what would be your dream car?

gnomie's dream car:

6 comments:

JD said...

go japanese.

not quite sure what you mean by "flair", but they're reliable, get good gas mileage, retain their resale value. the newer honda civics look nice, scions are made by toyota, mazda 3's are pretty sweet, i hear.

Eric said...

I bought a stripped down Toyota Corolla. There are no power locks or windows and the Redhead hates it because it has no cruise control. Then I found out it used to be a missionary car. A part of me dies every time I drive. Learn from my mistakes. Tell my story.

The Sullengers said...

I've loved my nissan altima - I have had one since 2000 (on my second one) I've been lucky to not have had any major problems! It's been a great car and at a pretty dang good price right now for a new one.

Dream car: black lexus SUV

modestmuse said...

I love my 99 Toyota Rav4. It's (finally!), as we speak, on a ship on its way here. I had two Fords before that, a Tempo and an Explorer Sport. Problems with the Tempo. As fun as the Explorer was -- tons of cajones, leather, sun roof, 6-disc changer -- it had occasional problems. I've never had a problem with the Rav, despite its age. Love, love, love it. But wish it had a sunroof. Plus it is super-easy to parallel park and drive in the city, and there is room to put stuff in the back and the back door opens like a normal door, not overhead like the Explorer. So yeah, def recommend a small, Japanese sport-utility. Dream car? 1992 Jaguar XJS convertible. Black.

Heath said...

Eric kills me... love that he bought a missionary car... it fits him well :) If your going for good millage my Toyota corolla was great. a lot better than my subi. But I sure love the subi. It's a great family wagon too. Hey, I'm just saying. Love the swimsuits on your other post. Much better pickin's than our Salt Lake adventure looking for our Mazatlan trip... remember??? Oh' Salt Lake. Miss you! Heath

Lars said...

Toyota Tercel. Hands down best car ever. Remember pushing Myrtle up the hill in wellsville canyon at three in the morning? You just can't get any better than that!