So, new car? Or fix the old one?

[derien]

It'll be almost $2,000 to fix, but looks in pretty good shape other than the damage done by the timing belt breaking (according to the mechanic). OTH a new car would be like $2,000 down. Less maintenance, maybe, in the next couple of years, but continuous payments. Buuut there's not really any good cars on the market - I want dependable and good gas mileage. Bleh, I think I'm talking myself into fixing the Aveo.

Comments

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

Buuut there's not really any good cars on the market

*blinks* What, like, NONE? There are NO good cars on the market? That's not true.

I like my Honda Civic a lot. Very reliable with excellent mileage (they make a hybrid, but it hasn't got any power, I've heard). My sister really likes her Nissan Versa - also very reliable, though a tad on the sensitive side (she calls it "Buster" after the character in Arrested Development). My parents just bought Hyundai and are very happy with it. If you want to fix your car, then of course you should do so - but there are some very good cars out there right now!

[derien.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* I think I knew that comment would draw something from someone.

Quite possibly I should have qualified that with "There's not a lot of good cheap cars," because the deciding factor for getting this car I don't like (Aveo) was the price - $8,000 - and the car I liked very much (Metro) before that was also very cheap, although honestly I'm not sure what they sold for new. Not much I think. But I'll consider your suggestions carefully, because I'm surprised at how little the Versa costs!

Really why I liked the Metro but don't like the Aveo is all about feel - the Metro felt tiny but you could put a sheet of plywood in the back, it turned on a dime without power steering, it handled well in the snow. The Aveo... has none of these features. How do you think the cars you suggest stack up as far as interior useful space and snow driving are concerned?

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't say anything about snow driving - I live near San Francisco and have never driven in the snow. But as far as interior useful space, my sister is a stage manager and often has to lug large amounts of *stuff* around for productions. Her Versa is a hatchback and she loves it. LOVES IT. My Civic has an enormous trunk that is very deep and I can fit a lot of stuff into it, but probably not as much as she can into her Versa.

Oh man, I got stuck with an Aveo as a rental car last year (because yeah, super cheap) and it was the worst POS I have ever driven. Pieces of it came off in my hand. I remember sitting there holding a windshield wiper going, "And Chevrolet is so baffled that no one wants to buy their cars . . ."