(sigh) I need to get a new car

[JLMannin]

Well, new to me, anyway. My Saturn got totaled in a wreck. Totaling it was not hard since the NADA value was 3400 and the airbags went off, and new airbags alone are just under 2 grand.

I'm looking for something similar in size and function to my trusty SL1. So, what I am looking for is four doors, compact, and decent gas mileage. And I want to get it in the next three or four days.

[SteveH]

Good luck. Hope the car salesmen are hungry.

[Gnam]

GM heavily discounted Saturns and Pontiacs. Might check a dealer near you.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/12/29/business/econwatch/entry6033741.shtml

[TravelGal]

At least you won't have to worry about lack of dealerships.

Other than that (which was no help), I am of no help. You are looking at someone that drove a Gremlin for so long I started to get approving nods (in deference to its antiquity) when I drove it through Beverly Hills.

[nrc]

How do you feel about cars with big, goofy grins? If you can tolerate it the Mazda 3 may be a good choice. If not, Civic, Imprezza, Jetta? The Mazda 6 is nice but a bit larger.

[WickerBill]

You say "new to you" which seems to indicate you don't want to buy a new car; and you want something that acts and performs like your SL1. If you're looking for used, around $10k, consider:


2007-2008 Nissan Versa
2006-2007 Saturn ION3 (if you want to stay domestic)
2005-2006 Mazda 3
2005-2007 Honda Civic
2005-2007 Toyota Corolla


Two things: the last two on this list are the safest choices but also the least inspired; and this list is only the type of car that is the rough equivalent of the SL1 -- if you're willing to go bigger and lose some fuel efficiency, your options grow.

[JLMannin]

You say "new to you" which seems to indicate you don't want to buy a new car; and you want something that acts and performs like your SL1. If you're looking for used, around $10k, consider:


2007-2008 Nissan Versa
2006-2007 Saturn ION3 (if you want to stay domestic)
2005-2006 Mazda 3
2005-2007 Honda Civic
2005-2007 Toyota Corolla


Two things: the last two on this list are the safest choices but also the least inspired; and this list is only the type of car that is the rough equivalent of the SL1 -- if you're willing to go bigger and lose some fuel efficiency, your options grow.

Uninspiring is fine, and in some ways actually preferred. You see, in addition to being my commuter car, this will the the car my kids will drive on evenings and weekends.

And, yes, I am leaning towards used. Late last year, I heard at least one consumer expert saying that new cars were actually the better deal, but only due to the extraordinary conditions in the car market (HUGE over supply). After cash for clunkers, I would think that market has shifted back towards normal. I guess I could always get a scream of a deal on a new Pontaic or Saturn right now if I were willing to go that route.

Even now, three days later, the accident keeps replaying in my mind in super slow motion. :cry: I wish I could just make it stop.

[JLMannin]

You say "new to you" which seems to indicate you don't want to buy a new car; and you want something that acts and performs like your SL1. If you're looking for used, around $10k, consider:


2007-2008 Nissan Versa
2006-2007 Saturn ION3 (if you want to stay domestic)
2005-2006 Mazda 3
2005-2007 Honda Civic
2005-2007 Toyota Corolla


Two things: the last two on this list are the safest choices but also the least inspired; and this list is only the type of car that is the rough equivalent of the SL1 -- if you're willing to go bigger and lose some fuel efficiency, your options grow.

I ended up getting a 2007 Toyota Corolla LE from CARMAX. I test drove a couple of Pontiac G6's (a 2006 and 2008) and I was totally unimpressed. They looked sharp from the outside, but inside, GM has changed nothing in the last 20 years - literally.

[chop456]

Good job. Can't go wrong with that. :thumbup:

[JohnHKart]

I test drove a couple of Pontiac G6's (a 2006 and 2008) and I was totally unimpressed. They looked sharp from the outside, but inside, GM has changed nothing in the last 20 years - literally.

Agreed. Coworker rented one recently and wasn't too impressed. Gm dealership buddy (who I've mentioned here before) says the real problems with those cars are when they hit 50,000 miles and start to become rattle boxes. The G6 is just a Cobalt anyway.


JH

[Indy]

Pontiac had the cheesiest interiors. They were kinda cool in about 1985.

I should add, though, that Chevrolet has greatly improved their interiors. They finally seem to be using materials at the level of VW. Very nice! :thumbup:

[oddlycalm]

Gm dealership buddy (who I've mentioned here before) says the real problems with those cars are when they hit 50,000 miles and start to become rattle boxes.

That was the GM way, even on their higher end products, going way back. Every time my dad got a new company car he spent the first month tuning out the squeaks and rattles. After the first week he would spend an entire Saturday taking off interior panels and using rolls of this dark green fabric tape he got at the Milford Proving Grounds along with some foam and soft card stock to shim, pad and isolate all the squeak and rattle points. He would put around 55,000 on them in a year and every couple weeks there was new squeak or rattle. On some cars he never did get all of them. That was on upmarket Oldsmobile 88's with all the options. I guess that's why the Proving Grounds had a big inventory of that green tape...:gomer:

When I got the the age where I was driving and working at jobs where I was driving a lot of different cars I quickly realized that not all cars were similarly afflicted. Ford built cars that were much tighter as did all the Euro competition.

GM did a lot of product comparison testing, everything from Ford and Chrysler to Ferrari, but I never saw where it made one bit of difference in the end result. Glad they finally decided to change, but it's around 40yrs late.

oc

[JohnHKart]

Pontiac had the cheesiest interiors. They were kinda cool in about 1985.

I should add, though, that Chevrolet has greatly improved their interiors. They finally seem to be using materials at the level of VW. Very nice! :thumbup:



I noticed this. Went to the LA Autoshow in 2007 and 2009 and I did notice that the 2010 HHR interior was way better than the 2008 I sat in in 2007. Not saying it's as good as the 2010 TDI Golf I drove for a week in Der Vaterland, but it's great to see it improved.

JH

[Gnam]

New Federal website for info on used cars: http://www.nmvtis.gov/

stands for "National Motor Vehicle Title Information System."
Still not sure how it's different from CarFax. This is the claim.


How will NMVTIS differ from Carfax and Autocheck (Experian)?

When it is completed, NMVTIS will offer consumers more complete, accurate information than Carfax and Autocheck, at a lower cost. Currently, a single Carfax check costs about $24. (There are discounts available for subsequent vehicle history reports, for a certain period of time.) The Anti-Car Theft Act requires that the data be made available to the public at cost. That is expected to be far less expensive.