Car buying

Ginger · 09-27-2012, 12:31 PM

I'm not a "car person," so I had to approach buying my car in February of this year as a kind of research project.

I knew I wanted a small, fun, economic car, so I checked the top winners in that category in the US News and World Report as well as Consumer report ratings.

I saw that the Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Scion (I'm not talking about the boxy one), Ford Fiesta and a few others kept showing up at the top of the lists, so I test drove each one.

I also thought I could maybe afford a used Prius or one that's just coming off warranty, so I test drove one of those, as well as others that were out of my price range but I would consider if they were only a couple years old and had the pre-owned warranty.

I made a spreadsheet to compare the basic things that mattered to me: air bags, brakes, drive train, warranty, I forget what else, but you know what I mean.

I also put it out there on my Facebook page and poets from around the country weighed in on what I should get, which was pretty freakin' funny because they say things like, "I just think it looks anemic."

Don't even bother asking poets what kind of car to get.

Anyway, I thought the Fit was loud when you're inside it driving, and driving the Prius I felt like I had been imbedded inside a tank. I liked the interior better on the Toyota but the Hyundai had a better warranty, better brakes, better mileage, and was $1000 cheaper.

So that's what I went with. I still don't know if it was the "best" choice, but it was the best I could do, given what I know.

Good luck!!

09-27-2012, 12:31 PM	#5
Ginger Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Femme lesbian Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East coast Posts: 2,416 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,829 Thanked 12,296 Times in 2,057 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	I'm not a "car person," so I had to approach buying my car in February of this year as a kind of research project. I knew I wanted a small, fun, economic car, so I checked the top winners in that category in the US News and World Report as well as Consumer report ratings. I saw that the Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Scion (I'm not talking about the boxy one), Ford Fiesta and a few others kept showing up at the top of the lists, so I test drove each one. I also thought I could maybe afford a used Prius or one that's just coming off warranty, so I test drove one of those, as well as others that were out of my price range but I would consider if they were only a couple years old and had the pre-owned warranty. I made a spreadsheet to compare the basic things that mattered to me: air bags, brakes, drive train, warranty, I forget what else, but you know what I mean. I also put it out there on my Facebook page and poets from around the country weighed in on what I should get, which was pretty freakin' funny because they say things like, "I just think it looks anemic." Don't even bother asking poets what kind of car to get. Anyway, I thought the Fit was loud when you're inside it driving, and driving the Prius I felt like I had been imbedded inside a tank. I liked the interior better on the Toyota but the Hyundai had a better warranty, better brakes, better mileage, and was $1000 cheaper. So that's what I went with. I still don't know if it was the "best" choice, but it was the best I could do, given what I know. Good luck!!