[thegelding]

these are the options, which would you choose

new scion XA---approx 13 to 14 thou
2 year old corolla, toyota certified--with toyota extended warrenty---abput 13 to 14 thou
1 or 2 year old echo--toyota certified---with extended---about 10 thou

2 year old civic--approx 13 to 14 thou

so all about the same, but echo is cheapest, but no Anti lock brakes and such

scion is new, but not sure of its record

thanks

g

[Brad]

Go for the Civic. Yeah, people razz on them, but from my limited experience (family and friends) the Civics are built pretty well and are easy to service.

[torifile]

Mileage on the used ones?

[johnq]

Spend the money on a nice little studio apartment in a city that has public transportation.

Ok I'll shut up now.

[kretara]

Well....I would suggest a 3-4 year old Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis. They are big and very safe. I tend to go for safety, especially with a new driver.
If you must go with toyota/honda then I would suggest the corolla.
The echo is tiny and I've seen a few who had encounters with SUV's and bigger cars. The echo always came out looking pretty bad.

[alcimedes]

did you look at Mazda's Protege line? nice cars for a good price.

[kretara]

Originally Posted by alcimedes did you look at Mazda's Protege line? nice cars for a good price.

I'll second that. The protege is nice and is alot more fun to drive then a civic or a corolla.

The sentra is pretty decent and is usually alot cheaper than a civic/corolla.

[Maciej]

Have you asked her? Or you don't care?

I'd probably go for the Scion, purely cause its a pretty cool car nowadays, but I guess thats because I'm all about looks.

[thegelding]

the used cars have about 20,000 miles on them...

i have taken her to look at all of them....she was just put on our insurance, so she couldn't test drive them when we looked before...

she didn't want a hatchback, but i convinced her to try the scion when we go next time...

i was leaning toward that car, but consumer reports just rated it average (while the corolla and civic were rated very good)....

will look at the protege also when we go test driving...

she gets a large say, but i reserve the final call (she liked the echo, but i will likely nix that due to the lack of anti-lock brakes and such)...leaning toward the corolla (larger engine than civic-127 vs 115 hp-, and higher line of site)

but the test drives, and price a bit, will lock it down likely...

anybody have a scion Xa?? anybody know why it is rated as low as it is?? just the size or are there concerns with it?

g

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Sh0eWax Have you asked her?

C'mon! He's the father! He's supposed to be the one making the big, important decisions on his own.

[Maciej]

Yeah, I guess my parents were just too nice to me. I'm a fan of the Scion, and the Civic, but don't spend too much. As the rule of thumb goes, anyone under 19 with a new car is bound to total is somehow, hell, it happened to me.

Edit: Ohhh yeah, I forgot what I was writing this post for.

The Echo, get rid of it, definitely not a good car. Other than the cheapness, I don't see much of any advantages to buying it, and one of my friends has one so I speak from riding in it.

[kretara]

I've spoken to a few kids here on campus and the ones who have a xB are much happier than the ones with a xA.
Both have VERY anemic engines, I'm talking like you want to punch holes in the floor so that you can help the car get going like the Flintstones did. I've sat in both and thought that the xB was a much nicer car.

[kretara]

Originally Posted by Sh0eWax Yeah, I guess my parents were just too nice to me. I'm a fan of the Scion, and the Civic, but don't spend too much. As the rule of thumb goes, anyone under 19 with a new car is bound to total is somehow, hell, it happened to me.

That was why I suggested a big Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis. Big safe cars that can take a beating.
How about looking at a 5 year old Volvo? They are very nice and really safe.

[thegelding]

actually...and it gets confusing here so either pay attetion of just skip right by this whole post...we are making this decision together because we are playing musical-chairs with the family cars (except my wife who doesn't want to play)...ok, here we go...

my car (1999 volkswagen golf in perfect condition) is going to my eldest daughter...she is heading to college early and i wanted her to have a nice, but not new, car that will get her through the four years cheaply and safely (that car is a little tank)

my eldest's car (1990 acura legend) will go to my youngest daughter...yes it is an old car, but only has 110,000 miles on it and will get her through high school fairly cheaply and safe...and if she gets in fender benders with it, no biggie...it is also a bigger car and i feel quite safe with her in it

since i will be giving up my car, i will need a new or newish car... but i plan to give that car to my youngest when she goes off to college...want it to be a good car as she is heading to one coast or the other (stanford or harvard or yale are her choices right now)...so we need a car i can live with that she will like also (i usually bike to work anyways, so she will get to use it quite a bit over the next couple of years till she gets it forever)....

then, when she heads to college, i will need another car...of course i will be 45 at that time and have told everyone that i get any freakin car i want because i will be old and cranky (older and crankier)...at this time i am leaning toward the lexus
because i like the luxury and sound system and fuck it i won't have too much longer to live so i might as well have a nice freakin car

g

[bastard]

crown victoria and grand marquis are so ugly-- i cant imagine a teenage girl riding around in one of those monsters... ha!
but a volvo, that sounds good

u should shop around more... theres plenty of nice used cars for 14g

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by kretara I've spoken to a few kids here on campus and the ones who have a xB are much happier than the ones with a xA. Both have VERY anemic engines, I'm talking like you want to punch holes in the floor so that you can help the car get going like the Flintstones did. I've sat in both and thought that the xB was a much nicer car.

she hated the look of the xB...didn't really like the xA till she sat in it...nice seats and youthful pluses (cd player does mp3 etc)...


my wife is against the volvo purchase, she thinks repair bills are too high...

told my youngest i would get it before march, but we still have time to look and shop and change our minds before settling on any one car

g

[murbot]

Originally Posted by kretara Well....I would suggest a 3-4 year old Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis. They are big and very safe. I tend to go for safety, especially with a new driver.

Well, that's one way to get her walking more, and using public transportation.

I'm sure she'd rather get a nice bicycle.

[kretara]

Originally Posted by thegelding my wife is against the volvo purchase, she thinks repair bills are too high...

The repair bills are not cheap, but they are not any more expensive than a VW's. Heck the repair bills on my 97 Accord were higher than the bills on my 96 850.

Originally Posted by murbot Well, that's one way to get her walking more, and using public transportation.

I guess you have only seen them from the backseat
They are much nicer than you think. I suggested a CV/GM only for safety.

[bastard]

something tells me cv/gm arent safe for highschoolers...

[Random Hero]

Originally Posted by thegelding new scion XA---approx 13 to 14 thou 2 year old corolla, toyota certified--with toyota extended warrenty---abput 13 to 14 thou 1 or 2 year old echo--toyota certified---with extended---about 10 thou 2 year old civic--approx 13 to 14 thou

$13-14K on your kid?! Dammit why couldn't you be my parents? I got a hand-me-down truck, not that I should complain it's been great.

I highly recommend the Civics, Hondas have had a great reputation for low maintenance and high durability, my mother is on her 3rd right now.

Plus I think those Scions are ugly and tacky, within a couple years we will probably be comparing them to parachute pants.

[johnq]

Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis safe?

Keep in mind "manslaughter" as a possible outcome of not begin able to handle too big a vehicle.

It's not merely an issue of her own safety. It's also "do I want her going to jail for clipping someone".

[kretara]

Originally Posted by johnq Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis safe? Keep in mind "manslaughter" as a possible outcome of not begin able to handle too big a vehicle. It's not merely an issue of her own safety. It's also "do I want her going to jail for clipping someone".

safe in a wreck.
Take one of those scions and have it hit an SUV or a caddy or a bigger mainivan and see who comes out ahead. I've seen examples of the xA, xB (and lots of civics) that have hit telephone polls and other cars (usually bigger than the xA, xB, civic) and none of the little cars did very well.
If G's daughter (or mine) is going to get into an accident, and they quite often do during their first 2 years of driving, I would want her in the safest vehicle available.

If one cannot handle a midsize (a CV/GM is smaller than the full size boats from the 60's and 70's) vehicle then one should not be driving, period.

[johnq]

I know what you meant, I was suggesting that "safety" is not merely physical but legal, especially for new drivers. Bigger might not always be better.

[Random Hero]

Originally Posted by kretara safe in a wreck. Take one of those scions and have it hit an SUV or a caddy or a bigger mainivan and see who comes out ahead. I've seen examples of the xA, xB (and lots of civics) that have hit telephone polls and other cars (usually bigger than the xA, xB, civic) and none of the little cars did very well. If G's daughter (or mine) is going to get into an accident, and they quite often do during their first 2 years of driving, I would want her in the safest vehicle available. If one cannot handle a midsize (a CV/GM is smaller than the full size boats from the 60's and 70's) vehicle then one should not be driving, period.

You're much safer in a newer vehicle because even though they are smaller they are designed to crumple on impact, unlike older crown vics and other full frame cars. Older cars have nothing to absorb an impact so the brute force trauma is more harsh on the body. Plus most older cars have inefficient seatbelts and usually no airbags.

The disadvantage to the newer cars is that they are obviously destroyed buy the people inside suffer less injuries. With older cars it's the other way around. If we could look into the future and see which types of accidents G's daughter would be getting into we could figure out which car would be best for her. If she would be having all minor fender benders than an older bigger car would be great because it would suffer less cosmetic and almost no structural damage, however if she were to ever be involved in a high speed accident a newer vehicle would be the one to have.

Odds are she's 10x more likely to just have a bunch of little fender benders, every kid has a couple, maybe a rear ender or two, but who knows.

[billybobsky]

On college choices, have your daugher check out smaller colleges as well... Better value for the buck...

[ohara]

get her a $2,000 car and spend the rest on opera recordings, symphony tickets, etc.

Gelding! you're dying?

buy the Lexus then

[LoCash]

I almost bought the Lexus sports coupe. Then I realized I didn't have that much money and settled on the G35 instead It's a very sexy car though.

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by LoCash I almost bought the Lexus sports coupe. Then I realized I didn't have that much money and settled on the G35 instead It's a very sexy car though.

yeah, if i feel the pinch financially i would go with your car locash...but i can likely spring for the more expensive car with the kids out of the house in a couple of years


plus i'm like twice your age...hell, in my twenties i was happy when i sold my old ford fiesta to get a new sentra....kids today
g


ohara...not dying, just aging...and never know when either a bus will hit me or the grim reaper will tap my shoulder due to bad salmon puffs

[LoCash]

Hell, with the kids gone, buy that BMW 6 series. I saw one the other day and they looked pretty posh. They even have a HUD.

[ohara]

kind of off topic

wierd, right after i finished reading the post i was thinking about death because gelding was talking about it

1 minute later
(i'm at my parents house right now)my mother walked in crying and told me that my former best friend - still really close - died at age 22.

i'm shocked, not crying, and going to the library............. death doesn't really startle me... although I expressed sadness at Gelding's possible condition, I only did that out of propriety. Am i heartless if I view death as a natural and inconsequential event?