Car buying

Just curious about people's thinking, when shopping for a car what are the most important things you look for?

Fuel Economy
Price
Performance (aceleration)
Handling
Ride
Room
Ergonomics and Standard Features
Brand Name

I choose my car by price and the amount of seating because I am poor and having 5 kids I need a lot of seating and room. The vehicle I drive now is a Ford explorer 4 wheel drive, it's a gas guzzler so I just have just cut the amount of driving I do.

I go for an older car as they are cheaper however I look for wear and tear on the car and check the pedal for either a new cover (which means it could of been clocked if low milage) wear on the seat for same thing, history of the car how many owners the fewer the better.

Has it a full service history etc, if you look hard enough they are out there great bargains, I have a ten year old car with 38 thousand miles on the clock (genuine) with one owner I paid four hundred pounds for it ! Had it a year and it flew through the MOT !

I use it for running my youngest son to and from nursary and going to the shops .....

5 Kids, Wow!!! I see where you are coming from on that one! The Mazda5 Microvan can seat 6 and gets 28MPG, and starts under 20K, Ditto the Kia Rondo. Lately both been selling quite well due there ability to satisfy people's need for room and getting better gas mileage while doing so.

The next Ford Explorer is going to be taken off the truck frame and will be re-launched as Car-based crossover for 2010, it will remain roughly the same size. The change is being made so it can better compete with the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and GM's Lambda quadroplets ( Arcadia, Outlook, Traverse, and Enclave)

I agree that a well maintained used car is a very smart buy. That is exactly what I do! The chief advantage is being able to get a much nicer class of car than I could afford new.

Over here we have something called Carfax which enables you to enter a car's VIN number, thenget a report that shows if it has been reported as stolen, or if there has been a damage claim made on the vehicle. It is a good resource.

"Program" cars are a good buy too, these are off-lease used vehicles that have low miles and are recondition to near new quality by the dealer. Of course nothing beats buying an old "creampuff" from that "little ole lady in passadena". LOL

Missing the most important thing of all. Reliability! All the fuel economy or handling is nothing if it breaks down and requires frequent repairs. I am driving a 18 year old Lincoln Town Car. With a 302 V8 engine, I get 26.4 MPG highway. 21.4 overall. Which is better than sneering neighbors get with their compacts. Wish I could say it was mechanically perfect. But the stereo is out and the rear door windows fail to operate.

you are right, an oversight on my part. In fact when I look for a car, I scratch anything off my list that consistantly reports "Below average" in consumer reports.

If you have the money to fix her, that boat you drive will be a sure collector's item, Ford discontinued the Town Car for private sale last year.

By the way, my not so compact Acura TL gets 28 Mpg is 8 years old and is flawlessly reliable.

I thought I would bump this once before the poll closes--

I get forty Miles to the gallon in my little car and its reliable hasnt broke down once (well once it did lol) in the year I have had it and only cost me £400 a good buy by any standards.

I chose comfort because we have four fully grown kids. All three of our boys are over 6 feet tall and when we travel, it's got to be something that will hold us all. In the past 15 years I've purchased Chevy's. Hubby was always a Ford man, but all of our Fords have been money pits.

We bought a Chevy by chance 15 years ago used and that thing is still running. It is very important to me to buy an American made vehicle.

I chose fuel usage. I've had gas guzzler and I love my little Saturn. I'm not sure how many mpg I get but it is good. I put about $10 in every week and it fills it up and away I go.

I love the feature mine has. It has this button I can push that makes the engine go into performance and gives it an extra little boost that if I need to pass a truck and need to get up speed fast I can press this button and it kicks it up a notch as Emeril would say. I then press the button again and my engine goes back to normal. I also have a remote start on it. I need to get a new battery for my remote starter but when it is freezing rain or snowing it is nice to stand inside and start the car so it is nice and toasty warm. The guy who had my car before me was a shade tree mechanic so he put some extra toys on my car. The booster for my engine came from the factory though.

The only thing I would change about my car is that the back window leaks so when we get serious rain my passenger side gets wet..note to self clean out car in the morning...and I would put in a CD player. But other than that I love my car. OH also I would fix the oil leak. I burn oil and have to add oil every other week.

Jan

it would make sense in your case since you need the room to have something large with big cargo space.

I negate the whole "American" vs "Foreign" car arguments by buying a used car, in doing so the purchase money all stays in the US and in the local economy. I am then free to buy the best car regardless of brand name without guilt.

I have not had good luck trying to buy American and I think it comes down to timing. Back in 2003 I wanted to replace my Civic with a bigger car. I looked at a number of vehicles including the Lincoln LS and Oldsmobile Aurora. Also included were the Mazda Millena, Nissan Maxima, Lexus ES 350, Acura TL and Chrysler 300. I did not look at any Buicks due to the fact I am not a retiree LOL

I extensively researched and test drove all of them. The Lincoln and the Chyrsler were both nice cars but the Lincoln lacked good throttle response and scored below average in CRs reliability records, Ditto the Chrsyler, which looked good but on closer examination had subpar fit and finish( Cheap, "clackety" switch gear) The Mazda lacked low end torque and had some questionable erogonomics. I really liked the Aurora a lot, but then I found out Oldsmobile was being shut down and when that happens the resale value of the car plumets. The Lexus, true to its rep had an ungodly smooth, quiet, ride but lackluster agility and very bland styling too close to the Camry on which it is based crossed that one off the list. The Maxima had a lot going for it but at that time Nissan was cash starved and was doing a lot of cost cutting, the twist beam suspension was suprisingly sporty, but the car had a very rough highway ride on the interstate and the transmission was sluggish to move through the gears.

That left my Ohio built TL, a car that had an ideal combination of agility, grip, acceleration, smoothness, style, room and reasonable (for its size and performance) fuel mileage.

After 6 years the car has not had a problem yet (it is based on the faultlessly relieible Accord) and I have been most pleased and since I bought the car used all of my money went into to the pocket of the local car dealer, so I supported the North Carolina economy with my purchase.

The heartbreaking thing here is that in the last 2 years Detroit has actually gotten its act together and is turning out some really good cars, the new Tarus, Malibu, Fusion, Cadillac CTS and forth coming Lacrosse all have the right stuff to compete with Japan's best but it may be too little too late, I hope not. It is a real shame that the big three, took Americans' patriotism for granted in the previous 2 decades rather than building higher quality, more technically advanced vehicles than foriegn automakers.

I will be going back to a small car in the next couple of years. Once again Detroit comes up a bit short in the category. The Focus, the Caliber and the Cobalt are sub par products compared to the Mazda3 and Honda Civic. The Saturn Astra is not bad but the exchange rates mean a lot of money for a car that is not well equipped. I will again be looking at a used version of the cars.

My best friend drives an Astra and it is a fun car. Surpisingly roomy for such a small car. It drives well..at least it seems to. I've never driven it just rode in it.

Jan

The reviews on it note that it does drive well, in fact out of all the domestic label compacts it is considered the best driver. Unfortunately Saturn is not going to be around much longer. GM's viability plan submitted to congress has Saturn either being sold off to another party or closed down within the next two to three years.

I had to buy a truck to haul my horse trailer......went looking for a good used truck & ended up with a 2005 dodge 1500 quad V8....lousy gas milage especially when hauling. Don't have the money to buy a second car, so just don't go anywhere when gas prices are too high

Debbie

Unfortunately anything that can pull a horse trailer is never going to get great gas mileage, the best gas mileage amoung full size trucks is the Chevy Hybrid pickup which does about 10 percent better than the regular light duty, just a fact of physics, but I am glad you have something that takes care of your needs. May the Dodge serve you well.

TJ

the results are in and then majority of responders chose Fuel Economy and Purchase price as their primary concerns, which in this economy makes sense.

thanks to all who answered

TJ

I need a truck for work....no carpet...no power windows...no fancy stereo...4 wheel drive...V-8 and
long bed....

Most of the Automakers who sell full sized trucks can sell you what used to be called a "work package" This would be a truck with minimum equipment in 4WD and a V-8, at a substancial discount. you may want to check it out with your local chevy, ford or dodge dealer.