The Car

[Failed Bridge 0]

I have never purchased a car before. I have never looked at purchasing a car before, thus I come to you people with my inquiries.

 

I make roughly $2k a month before taxes. My cost of living every month is about $500 total. What kind of car should I be looking at picking up? I don't want a piece of shit but at the same time I'm not looking at luxury. Most important to me is milage. I don't give two shits about safety. As long as there's an airbag on the driver's side then I'll be happy.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Find a small Japanese car.

[Guest Vitamin X]

If you really care that much about mileage, go for the Honda Insight or the Toyota Prius.

 

Insight gets 60-66 MPG, and Prius gets slightly less. Neither of them are too bad, but don't look at them for horsepower. With your monthly income, you should be able to afford one or the other, plus part of the cost is tax-deductible anyways.

[tominator89 0]

Definitely look into the Japanese cars.

[Guest Felonies!]

I take it you're not in the market for a heavily used minivan with a hole in the door, then.

 

....what am I gonna DO with this thing?

[Art Sandusky 0]

Buicks. Comfortable, and second in the world behind only Lexus in terms of reliabity. Just don't buy Japanese.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Messed up... look below.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Japanese cars rule.

My father owned a new 1980 Toyota Corolla and he got rid of it in 2000. It could have made it a few more years.

The 1989 Ford Taurus barely made it to the year 2004. It's gone now.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I take it you're not in the market for a heavily used minivan with a hole in the door, then.

 

....what am I gonna DO with this thing?

 

If it has air conditioning, I'll gladly trade you.

[Guest Felonies!]

It doesn't. This is the most pathetic thing I own. And I own books by Molly Ivins AND Ann Coulter.

[Sideburnious 0]

Make the best of a bad situation. Patch the hole in the door with the books.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Okay, go ahead, sell out your country's economy. Buy Japanese.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Konichiwa!

[iggymcfly 0]

I'm getting a 2005 Hyundai Sonata this week. They're comfortable, get around 30 MPG, and they're very affordable. With the prices on domestics nowadays, I think imports are the way to go.

[SuperJerk 0]

Every time we have this discussion, Toyota always wins. They're just great cars, and you can get a new one for under $15,000.

[Guest Felonies!]

Is buying a Toyota REALLY selling out America's economy, considering more and more of them are manufactured here?

 

Also, I was told that the minivan will be replaced within the next fortnight. I'm gonna get one trip to Arlington Heights out of it today to go shopping and eat amazing Swedish pancakes, but then it's done.

 

EDIT: Maybe I won't. Nobody deserves to be a passenger in this thing.

Edited May 30, 2006 by Felonies!

[EricMM 0]

Corollaaaaaa!!!

[Guest wildpegasus]

Okay, go ahead, sell out your country's economy. Buy Japanese.

 

So what? The Japanese have just as much right to make money as the Americans do. It doesn't matter where you buy your car from. We're all equal well except for Canadians because we experienced old school hockey.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Abraham Lincoln discussed this principle, Keep the Money in America. He said that if he buys an American made coat, he keeps the coat and America keeps the money. If he buys an Italian coat, he keeps the coat and Italy keeps the money. The truth is that Italy or in this case Japan, buy things from America, so he economy does not lose any money.

[EricMM 0]

Is it selling out your economy buying better merch?

 

Wasting your money on substandard parts isn't going to help anyone.

 

Except mechanics.

[Art Sandusky 0]

If you think the Asians are the only ones who charge less than $15,000 for a perfectly reliable and comfortable new car, you really need to do some research.

 

Yes, it is hurting America. Those profits don't go to Americans, they go to Japanese people. It's nice to see that their current brainwashing campaign ("we're as American as apple pie! Honest!") is working on the public. Of course, all we see are reports of doom and gloom regarding domestic automakers and any news of import recalls are quietly done without any fanfare. But if Ford, GM, or DCX issue recalls it's the end of the fuckin' world and domestic cars are SO TERRIBLE! This perception issue snowballs like a motherfucker and thus everyone's convinced that the Asians are good automakers. Know why Hyundai and Kia can swing those low prices and incredible warranties? Their government subsidizes them! Take a look at Honda's own president admitting a couple of weeks ago that their quality has slipped in the last 5-10 years. How can the domestics compete when import companies are virtually GIVEN the land on which they build their factories? The whole country is selling out its automotive industry in the name of short-term profit without looking at the actual economic implications of, say, GM going bankrupt (which is a VERY real possibility within the next year).

 

Get the fuck off your high horses. Maybe 5% of this place actually knows what its talking about on this one.

 

It's one thing to say "I don't care as long as I have a way to get from place to place," that's cool. But to just say to the guy "buy a Japanese car" is fuckin' stupid.

[Guest Felonies!]

Okay Fridge, get a Ford Focus

[{''({o..o})''} 0]

Buicks. Comfortable, and second in the world behind only Lexus in terms of reliabity. Just don't buy Japanese.

 

Totally agree about the Buicks. I just bought a La Sabre recently and it is just the greatest vehicle I've owned.

[Guest wildpegasus]

If you think the Asians are the only ones who charge less than $15,000 for a perfectly reliable and comfortable new car, you really need to do some research.

 

Yes, it is hurting America. Those profits don't go to Americans, they go to Japanese people. It's nice to see that their current brainwashing campaign ("we're as American as apple pie! Honest!") is working on the public. Of course, all we see are reports of doom and gloom regarding domestic automakers and any news of import recalls are quietly done without any fanfare. But if Ford, GM, or DCX issue recalls it's the end of the fuckin' world and domestic cars are SO TERRIBLE! This perception issue snowballs like a motherfucker and thus everyone's convinced that the Asians are good automakers. Know why Hyundai and Kia can swing those low prices and incredible warranties? Their government subsidizes them! Take a look at Honda's own president admitting a couple of weeks ago that their quality has slipped in the last 5-10 years. How can the domestics compete when import companies are virtually GIVEN the land on which they build their factories? The whole country is selling out its automotive industry in the name of short-term profit without looking at the actual economic implications of, say, GM going bankrupt (which is a VERY real possibility within the next year).

 

Get the fuck off your high horses. Maybe 5% of this place actually knows what its talking about on this one.

 

It's one thing to say "I don't care as long as I have a way to get from place to place," that's cool. But to just say to the guy "buy a Japanese car" is fuckin' stupid.

 

 

Is it okay to buy a Japanese car if I'm Canadian?

 

Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with supporting a Japanese product instead of an American product. We're all people. We're all human beings.

[Art Sandusky 0]

You're Canadian. Since there are no domestic brands for you guys, it's different. It'd still affect you guys if any of the big three US automakers went under though.

 

By the way, I'll gladly eat crow since this was on the CNN.com front page tonight: http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/05/30/toyota...reut/index.html