Dependable Vehicles?

[Zoe 6]

Lisa, one of the reasons I got the PT was because it's a great dog car. Here's an unflattering picture of my dog Sophie (black & white) and her buddy Eli in the back seat. I have a big piece of foam rubber acting as a dog bumper just behind the front seat, so if I brake suddenly the dogs hit the foam, not a hard surface. One month after I got the PT, I took a trip to northern Minnesota and had to sleep in the car for a night. I took out the rear seats, adjusted the dog foam, and curled up with Soph, an 80-lb. lab mix. Not exactly comfortable, but I survived! I test-drove a Mini Cooper before I got the PT and rejected it because the rear windows don't roll down -- terrible quality for a dogmobile.

Good luck in your car search, Teresa. My mom has a Taurus, and it's been OK, although it has a high idle that no mechanic has been able to fix.

[New Hope 37]

"Mama, are we going on a road trip?" Too cute!!!

[hagerteresa 3]

After researching cars all night, Zoe you should be glad you got the Cruiser instead of the Mini-Cooper. The Consumer Reports gives the Cruiser good ratings for reliability and value but the Cooper got below average scores and overall poor quality. I do not deal with dealerships. Marie, you should check the kelly blue book site for classified listings in your area. I only believe in buying cars used from private people. You get more bang for your buck in most cases. I would like to have my mechanic check it out but he is very biased against fords. I understand the early models did have a lot of problems but evidently they have gotten better with time. I don't know... My mom is going to go look at the Taurus tomorrow. I have been looking at classifieds for other cars but they are a couple of hours away and I haven't gotten to go look at them yet. Anyway got to go. Teresa

[La_madam 20]

My hubby who is a mechanic swears by Fords..it is one of the cars he sees less of in his shop. Hyaundi's & Saturns are the worst according to him, very hard to find parts for and have lots of problems, at least that is his opinion and experience. I have had a For Aerostar for 11 years now and have had no problems with it other then normal wear and tare.

[HarleyNana 10]

You might want to check with a dealership, such as Toyota or Ford and see if they have any cars being returned that were leased. Often at the end of the year the discounts are better in order to reduce inventory.

[hagerteresa 3]

Well folks,

I ended up bringing that Ford Taurus home today. It is a gorgeous gray 2001 model in perfect condition. I had the brakes looked at today before the signing at the bank and they were 75% good in the front and 80% good in the rear and all the tires are brand new with the manufacturer markings still on the tread. It has 79k miles but it all looked good under the hood too. I ran a VIN check and that came out fine as well. It was evidently a fleet car for Chevron Corporation in Washington state. I paid $4900 to someone privately and thought that was a pretty good deal. Thanks for all of your advice. That horrible insurance company is still dilly dallying around with my totalled cars value and my medical claim. They just keep jacking me around. There is no question that they are taking responsiblity for the damages but they are being SLOW, flakey and rude. I had to leave them a message today reminding them that I am the victim here. Oh-well... At least I get 8 massage therapy sessions out of the deal. LOL. My neck is still stiff and sore so those will really be appreciated. Best wishes folks, Teresa

[nightingale2u 42]

I have a Taures wagon that I purchased used... I bought the extended warranty... THANK GOD... because it paid for itself with the first breakdown... it has had two major problems since that time. So... I got boring and undependable... I swear... I must have a rain cloud over my head. The BEST... most dependable car I ever had was a Maxima... I sold it when I started a daycare... and have never stopped missing it. I have owned two minivans... dodge... and both have been very reliable and handy for hauling everything under the sun... including children. Good luck Teresa... I'd sell ya my Taures... but I like you too much.

Darcy

[hagerteresa 3]

Hi Darcy,

How old is your taurus? I had an 89' that always seemed to have something go bad on it but it never had any engine or transmission troubles and lasted about 300,000 miles before I sold it to some Hispanics for $500. I have researched, researched, researched and everything says that Ford including the Taurus seems to have teething years on their cars. They often have several bad years and then they finally get it right. They all said the pre 1996 Taurus's were terribly and below average on dependablity. The same went for the Tempo but now the Tempo is on of Consumer Reports Best Bets. The Taurus rates Average for reliability but after that accident I am considering safety more too. The Taurus (and most Fords) has been rated one of the safest cars since day 1. I tried and tried to find one of those "historically good" brands but they all either had too many miles or were out of my price range. I needed something in my price range and figured I wouldn't be able to find anything else as new with those miles for my money. I also figure that if Chevron kept it and drove it 79k in 3 years, I don't think they would have maintained and kept a poorly running lemon type car. I wish I was pschic when it comes to cars. Hopefully I don't have too many expensive problems but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. It really only needs to last me a couple of years anyway because I'll purchase what I want when I get a teaching job. Best wishes, Teresa

[New Hope 37]

Teresa, all you can do is try your best. It's nervewracking buying a used car. Hopefully, all will be fine, the insurance company will treat you fairly, and you'll heal withou any longterm, or hidden future problems. After a couple of months looking, we bought our son a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire on Thursday. It has an extended warranty, had an independent mechanic check it out first, bartered on the price. I can only pray that it's dependable and safe for my son to drive. I told my DH that I felt like I'd lost 20 pounds of stress once that thing was finalized. We don't buy cars that often and usually drive them till the wheels fall off. LOL (Now I remember why! LOL)

[hagerteresa 3]

Thanks Marie,

Yes, it will all work out. I just don't like the that insurance making me feel like I did something wrong when in fact there was nothing I could have done any differently. Since I had a well maintained, dependable vehicle and it was almost paid off, I think that is how I should end this deal. Shoot that guys bumper is going to cost more to fix than what they are offering me for my car. I'm like you though, I try to make my cars last as long as possible and keep them so they are dependable thru-out their life. I hate driving a car and worrying if I'll make it home. I think I'll like my newer car though. I has a lot of features I've never had including airbags and an alarm and REAL wheels! It is sharp looking too. I wish it got better gas mileage but decided it could be worst too. My dads truck gets like 10 mpg. My car should get about 20 in town and 27 on the hwy. My old car got about 28 in town and 34 hwy. Thanks for your reassurance though, Teresa

[New Hope 37]

Teresa, you didn't do anything wrong! You were minding your own business, in your well-taken care of car, and got rearended by an idiot. Hang in there and get everything taken care of. Once you accept, it's a done deal with the insurance company, even if you find other problems on down the road. The Taurus is a beautiful car and that is good mileage. You need to plan a nice road trip now and enjoy that beautiful scenery there (even just a day trip w/DH, a picnic basket w/ a nice bottle of wine.)

[nightingale2u 42]

Hi Teresa... my Taures is a 1999... I normally wouldn't buy a car with all the bells and whistles... but this was the one they had on the lot... needless to say... all the electronic fancy smanshy stuff has led to oodles of problems with the electronics... all of the seatbelts have needed to be replaced as well. I think it is just a bit of a lemon... my Mom had a Taures and it never gave her a days worth of trouble?

[hagerteresa 3]

I thought I would update everyone on my new car. I absolutely LOVE it accept for the poorer gas mileage. Otherwise it rides and drives like a dream. I drove it the longest today having to drive 2 hours each direction to see my band doctor and it went very smoothly. I also had an oil change done on it recently and got the history of oil change maintenace on it because I took it to the same company the prior people had. All of their little inspections came out great and the old owners had all of the little extra's done when they had serviced it. Anyway so far I am a happy camper with it. Did I mention how much I love it? LOL... Teresa

[New Hope 37]

Teresa, that's wonderful! So glad you got a good one! How are you doing since your car wreck?

[hagerteresa 3]

Hey Marie,

I gave a long update on the Sore Port thread. For the most part I'm fine but still have some neck pain and headaches. I am still getting massage therapy which is nice but I tried to lay off the pain killers and muscle relaxers a couple of weeks ago and had a massive flare up that lasted several days. It is all pretty tolerable but I still don't feel 100% either. Thanks for checking. I'm glad I am happy with the new car too. I tend to stay really happy with vehicles as long as they stay dependable. My part of the bargain is to keep up on the maintenance. Hopefully this one has a long life. I ended up buying the one that was a year newer than the other one offered and it didn't come with the automatic seats and a few of the other features but I was glad. This one already has enough power features for me. I was just imagining what would happen if the auto seats (adjusts at the push of a button) went out... What on earth would you do!?! I am glad I made the choice I did. Anyway I'll have to send you a nice long chatty pm soon. Best wishes, Teresa