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Entry bubble Car Trouble

By: Joanne | December 02, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

overheating car

Our cars have had a bad week. First the Subaru broke down 40 miles away from our house while we were on our way to a funeral, and then the Ford broke down when we were on our way home from Thanksgiving at my mother’s house. The Ford at least had the decency to break down on the road directly in front of our house.

I try to do a good job of maintaining the cars and I’ve never had a car break down on the road. Until now.

Getting the Subaru repaired has been problematic. It broke down about 50 miles from our mechanic, and we saved money on the towing and had it repaired locally. The local mechanic had it for a week, and we’re now having it towed to a dealer. I think it would have been smarter to have it towed to our regular mechanic. Lesson learned: carefully select your repair shop and stick with the people you trust.

One thing that I didn’t mention is that both of my cars are pretty old. The Ford is a ’94 and we’d get rid of it, but we don’t drive that much and the darn thing won’t die (until now, at least). It’s been a perfect backup car. I know in the back of my mind that we’ll be buying a car soon. I usually don’t buy a new car, but opt for a used car that’s only been on the road for a year or so and has very low miles.

I haven’t been seriously in the auto market for 7 years now. What car do you recommend for an active mother of two who’s concerned about safety, reliability, fuel economy and price?

| View Comments [12] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: car   garage   joanne   mechanic   new   repair   tow   used  

Comments (12):

blue comment bubble Posted by single Dad on December 02, 2008 at 07:40 AM EST

as a single father of 3 (the oldest is 5 yrs old) i enjoy a good reliable car. back in july my hyundai Accent (which got abotu 25-30 mpg) was totaled in an accident, i decided to get another Hyundai. They are relatively cheap, and low maintenance. This time i opted for the SanteFe and love it. It's a litte harder to parallel park a larger SUV after years driving a compact.

Also the prices of Compacts and other "fuel efficient" vehicles had theri prices artificially inflated over the summer becasue of the panic over high gas prices. This is not the time to buy a fuel efficient car, but as such the larger vehicles with a stigma of being gas guzzlers are artificially price depressed now. My sante fe still gets a god 20 mpg and is considerably more comfortable.

BTW.. hyundai has an asembly plant in Alabama. American jobs.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Vee Dubb Lady on December 02, 2008 at 10:22 AM EST

In 2006 I bought a new Volkswagen Rabbit. It's been a great car. I bought the fully loaded new for $18k then but you can probably find a used one at a decent price by now. The 4 door hatchback has a ton of room - I just moved and couldn't believe the things I fit back there! It gets about 25mpg on highway, 20mpg or so in the awful Birmingham traffic. I should note that I drive a stickshift which is about $1k cheaper and gets better gas mileage. This model is built in Germany and never given me a problem, however some models (Beetle, Jetta) come from South America and tend to break down more.
As for the American jobs comment above, VW is planning to open a new plant in Huntsville, AL. :)

Buying any car is stressful....I hope you find a good one!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Fred D on December 02, 2008 at 10:54 AM EST

I would go for a Honda or Toyota. One doesn't have to go for big bucks but you do get reliability and good fuel economy.

The worst cars I ever owned (and I've been acquiring cars for many years) or were on leases were GM and Ford products.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on December 02, 2008 at 11:15 AM EST

Thanks everyone. Sorry your Ford didn't work out for you Fred. Mine's already got a shiny new water pump and is ready to roll. So it looks like the 15 year old car once again refuses to die. I'm not so sure about the Subaru - my next blog post might be about my experience in filing a consumer complaint against an auto repair shop. I've got nothing against the Subaru though - we've had it for 8 years and it's been a wonderful car. I hope we can get it back on the road soon.

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blue comment bubble Posted by SJHS1 on December 02, 2008 at 11:23 AM EST

I am single and live alone, so a reliable car is a necessity for me. My '93 Volvo began to be unreliable and require expensive repairs. So, I started looking. I, too, would never buy a new car and I was not thrilled about using a dealership because of all the manipulation that goes on. There are a number of websites that were helpful. Ultimately I found my "new" car on Craigslist.com, which I checked at least 3 times a day. As I got closer to making a decision, I also signed up for a one-month account with CarFax.com to get a vehicle history report on any car I was seriously interested in purchasing. Cheap insurance! Bottom-line: Through a private sale, I bought a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid with only 1600 miles on it for a very decent and affordable price. The transaction was completed easily without all the nonsense that goes on at a dealership.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Thomas on December 02, 2008 at 11:38 AM EST

I am currently driving a 08 Ford Fusion. I found the car a comfortable drive last summer when I made a round trip from WI to DC. My car has the 2.3l engine and it averaged the low thirties for the round trip. Ford list the gas mileage at 20/28. Currently I am averaging mid to low twenties with most of my driving in the city. The 08 Fusions has a 4 star crash ratings and the 09 fusions has a 5 star crash ratings.

Nicole a former GovGabber wrote a good post on finding a good mechanic. http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/entry/frustrated_by_car_repairs

Thomas

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blue comment bubble Posted by Mema on December 02, 2008 at 12:44 PM EST

I am so sorry about your misfortune. I opted out of mpg trouble and broke my vehicle lease. I had to pay through the nose for extra costs, BUT I went from a gas guzzling Forester to a great Toyota Corolla. My mileage actually went from 23mpg to a grest 35 miles per gallon.
Yes, the price of gas has come down, but I would not go backwards at this time.
Good luck.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ed on December 02, 2008 at 01:01 PM EST

To answer your question, really quickly: I would buy or lease a Honda or Toyota from a "certified pre-own" Toyota or Honda from
their Dealer (yes.). I have been driving each of my Toyota (Corolla) for more than 12 years each, without much problem!
And, if you're in the Queens, NYC, area, I have a good Toyota
Dealer you can check out! Good luck.

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blue comment bubble Posted by amerhome on December 02, 2008 at 08:41 PM EST

Here's the simple objective way to proceed:
Check the annual auto issue of Consumer Reports (April I think), published by nonprofit Consumers Union. Just about every library has past issues.
It has reliability ratings for used cars by model and year (based on reader surveys) and reviews for new cars including mileage and safety ratings as well. They also recommend specific cars in various price ranges (as well as cars to avoid).
You can use it to narrow your choices down to three or four, test drive them, and then use Kelly bluebook (which is online) to get the average selling prices for your choice so you don't overpay.

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blue comment bubble Posted by DrBB01 on December 02, 2008 at 09:59 PM EST

We've owned six Toyotas since 1975: 75 Corolla Wagon (12 years, 217,000 miles), 87 Camry (11 years, 210,000), 92 Camry Wagon (14 years, 220,000), 98 Sienna (10 years and still going, 191,000 miles), and a 2007 Prius (41,000+ miles, 48 mpg mixed city/hwy).

Even with today's falling gas prices ($1.84/gal. last fill here in SE PA), I'd recommend the Prius. Since cost is an issue, go for a 2005-2007 model. Even if gas prices stabilize, it's been a great car--peppy and stingy on gas. Toyota's rep for reliability--particularly between 100-200k miles--has been well deserved [at least at my house :-) ].

But if Toyota's not your style, get a Honda. Based on my friends' experiences, they also hold up well for the first 120k miles; if that's about your limitfor the life of a car, I wouldn't argue against it.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on December 03, 2008 at 09:20 AM EST

amerhome - that does sounds like a simple and objective way to gather info before heading to the used car lots. Thanks!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on December 03, 2008 at 09:24 AM EST

DrBB01, I am interested in the Prius for it's fuel efficiency. Even though gas prices are going down, I'd still like a fuel efficient car. I've never driven in a hybrid though, so I'll have to give it a try.

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