Another "new" car for GF

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|Chaz|

Well-Known Member
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She totalled her Hyundai back in March. Finally got all her insurance crap/gap insurance taken care of. Checks and everything taken care of and deposited/etc.

Want to spend $5000 or less.

We're looking for something "comfortable" that gets reasonable gas mileage, 23+ mpg.

Insurance is an issue with her driving record. A 1992 Civic sedan like mine, runs her $175 a month for the basic comprehensive insurance. So it's been hard to find cars that aren't ridiculous for insurance. A 04' Corolla runs her like $300 something a month for insurance.

So if you have any knowledge about how the whole insurance breakdown works based on what car you get, speak up. I was thinking that with how few of Volvo's are out there, insurance could be cheaper. But I am not positive. I've heard they're also supposed to be fairly safe.

I think that the 1999 Volvo V70 looks nice. They look super comfortable on the inside.

I was also contemplating something like a Saab 9-5, but I also don't know anything about them.

Open to suggestions, just has to be fairly comfortable. Preferably not EG Civic, smallness. A little bigger car is nice, it's nice to have extra room for shit. Would like to be able to get a couple bicycles into it.

Corolla's, Elantra's, all of the typical suggestions are out, simply because insurance is astronomical.

I had been looking at fourth gen Accord's. They're alright, insurance price wise.

Lets here some suggestions!
 
1. if it the higher horse power model they consider it a "sport car", ie: EX or Si, or my 1990 ford probe GT, was 2x insurance cause it was a GT
so you want to stick with some thing more base engine, but with the features and shit she wants

2. she should shop around for ins, and potentially use a "safer address"
ins companies divide areas into districts, and if you can swing from a higher rate district down to a more rural one it can save money
shop around is easy. Geico prog, allstate all have easy quote systems but be prepared for the price increase between final offer and payment time if you fail to disclose

3. if the insurance company "finds something else" after you purchase the policy call to find out why.
if someone with a similar name had an accident they can try to pin it on you and increase rates
recently happened to my friend when switching to geico
same name and state but that was it, cheap shot money grab cause most people just grab the ankles, say ok, and pay the increase.

4. 23mpg is a joke unless youre looking into pickups or other 4wd/awd. i would shoot for at least 30+mpg and safe driving should yield as much as 35mph

5. i have had much success with 94-97 accords, which i think is 4th gen, and the f series are pretty reliable. just dont chase after an ex. prob save a shit ton of money by buying a swapped accord because any modded honda resale sucks taint
these cars can be had for $500 or less with popped motor or trans and the parts are easy to find and cheap. f22 with auto trans still netted me over 30mpg

6. blasphemy? yes... but you may consider domestic
i have had reasonable reliability with my 2003 taurus, insurance is cheap-ish and the base v6 should hit your mpg goal, and theres good room and its like driving in your couch

left handed typing FTL

edit: dont know shit about volvos but the insurance might not work too well since they can inflict much damage with increased weight etc, not sure though
i have not seen a saab yet that didnt need something... every other week. i would cross that shit off but YMMV
 
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You're all just wrong.

And NEVER suggest a V70 on a forum that Celerity is a member of. I'll smack you upside the head. These are the worst cars ever made.

The smartest car anyone can buy is a 1988-1991 Civic hatch. Everything else has pros and cons.
 

Personally, I hate these... lol. Ugly and I think they're garbage. Unless they're the new ones.

1. if it the higher horse power model they consider it a "sport car", ie: EX or Si, or my 1990 ford probe GT, was 2x insurance cause it was a GT
so you want to stick with some thing more base engine, but with the features and shit she wants

2. she should shop around for ins, and potentially use a "safer address"
ins companies divide areas into districts, and if you can swing from a higher rate district down to a more rural one it can save money
shop around is easy. Geico prog, allstate all have easy quote systems but be prepared for the price increase between final offer and payment time if you fail to disclose

3. if the insurance company "finds something else" after you purchase the policy call to find out why.
if someone with a similar name had an accident they can try to pin it on you and increase rates
recently happened to my friend when switching to geico
same name and state but that was it, cheap shot money grab cause most people just grab the ankles, say ok, and pay the increase.

4. 23mpg is a joke unless youre looking into pickups or other 4wd/awd. i would shoot for at least 30+mpg and safe driving should yield as much as 35mph

5. i have had much success with 94-97 accords, which i think is 4th gen, and the f series are pretty reliable. just dont chase after an ex. prob save a shit ton of money by buying a swapped accord because any modded honda resale sucks taint
these cars can be had for $500 or less with popped motor or trans and the parts are easy to find and cheap. f22 with auto trans still netted me over 30mpg

6. blasphemy? yes... but you may consider domestic
i have had reasonable reliability with my 2003 taurus, insurance is cheap-ish and the base v6 should hit your mpg goal, and theres good room and its like driving in your couch

left handed typing FTL

edit: dont know shit about volvos but the insurance might not work too well since they can inflict much damage with increased weight etc, not sure though
i have not seen a saab yet that didnt need something... every other week. i would cross that shit off but YMMV

I said 23 mpg because we carpool, and will to continue to for the foreseeable future. (in my sedan) I want her to have a nice-ish car for us to drive for when we feel like going out to the movies, dinner, a drive into the mountains, etc.

I believe that right now she goes through an insurance broker of her parents, so shopping around isn't an issue. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what program she's using.

Fourth gen accord is 90-93. An SE would be nice, leather and sunroof/moonroof. With the increased gas prices in my area (I believe we are 35+ cents higher than the rest of the country) small good mpg vehicles are ridiculously priced.

Taurus's aren't bad but they're ugly as fuck. Preferably don't want something that's ugly as fuck...



You're all just wrong.

And NEVER suggest a V70 on a forum that Celerity is a member of. I'll smack you upside the head. These are the worst cars ever made.

The smartest car anyone can buy is a 1988-1991 Civic hatch. Everything else has pros and cons.

She doesn't drive a stick and is a driver that shouldn't drive a stick. I think EF hatches are great as well.

Care to elaborate on why a V70 is the worst car ever made? I trust you're right, but I am the sort that does like empirical evidence.
 
Get a 92 or 93, the front end lost that '80's' look. They've all got F22A's in them, its bulletproof. Its surprisingly comfortable and spacey. Gets 35mpg. Comes in a 5 speed. 4000 should still get a very nice one, even if they are overpriced. Only downfall is the rust on the quarters. Which isn't a problem in the south/west.
 
Get a 92 or 93, the front end lost that '80's' look. They've all got F22A's in them, its bulletproof. Its surprisingly comfortable and spacey. Gets 35mpg. Comes in a 5 speed. 4000 should still get a very nice one, even if they are overpriced. Only downfall is the rust on the quarters. Which isn't a problem in the south/west.

Yea I definitely like CB7's. They're nice and easy to work on. Helped my friend pull the motor and trans on his, it was about as easy as it was on my Civic. May end up getting one of them. Just wish there were more that came with nicer interiors. It's still ridiculous how much insurance is for her on them though.

She has a bad driving record. Three minor accidents in three years and a ticket.
 
unfortunately, at one of my client shops, I'm the guy they call for the FWD 6 cylinder volvos. Toughest things in the world to work on, have shit transmissions, shit electrics and the moment anything goes wrong on the car, it's a cascade failure.
 
That's too bad. I do like the way Volvo's look.
 
5k. Hmm....

Nissan 4 door sedans
Mazda 3 if they can be had that low. My gf has a 2009 and its great, and I knwo the body style hasn't ever changed.

Mazda wagon sedan 5 or whatever. Don't know model. Great car.
 
There was a V70 for sale near me, my dad was going to buy it. $500. AWD too.

He passed and bought an equally shitty car, the post-1992 Subaru anything.
 
There was a V70 for sale near me, my dad was going to buy it. $500. AWD too.

He passed and bought an equally shitty car, the post-1992 Subaru anything.

Your opinion just went down 5 notches in my book if you don't think the mid subaru's aren't ridiculously awesome. My buddy has a 1993 legacy wagon with 250k original motor/tranny and has had minimal work. His biggest purchase last 5 years was tires on this thing.
 
Ok, maybe 93. But when the outback line came out, that company tanked.

Now I grant you, they will RUN forever. my 97 burst into flames - twice - and it still ran to the day that the front main snapped (And then my dad JBwelded the goddam thing together for another 5000 miles before it met it's final fire). That thing looked like a struck match, and it ran like shit. But it always ran. My dad has an 05 right now with 180k, and it's a rattling piece of trash. Body falling apart, seals last about 100 miles, and the transmission can't be fixed. The replacement trans is just as goddam broken as the original. And it leaks oil like a Harley. I mean England would ban this thing for leaking so much oil.

My mother's 99 Legacy Had the usual body falling OFF the framework, but added to that the crunchy ECU (a result of Subaru just guessing windshield sizes, again, post 92) and the firewall had fist sized rot holes at 140k miles. Then the exhaust did it's usual detonation, the axles crumbled (About yearly, ala ALL subarus) And by then, it's not even worth it to fix the damned brakes and struts that wore out.

Even my 84's and my 91 ate axles about every year. The 91 was a great runner, but the body was so bad that the tire jack fell out of the trunk onto the road, and a small person could just climb into the back seats through the floor. Again, 150k miles. But that push button 4WD was pretty trippy though.



I have an 84. Totally different animal. It keeps getting better and better. And don't start me in on my opinion of the goddam WRXs.
 
Now you're talkin. A 1989 Turbo Grand Prix.

Well, for how she drives, prolly not.
 
Yes. Rode in my dad's 'new' beat to holy fuck it hit a tree hell, 150k mile supercharged Buick Ultra. Shit ran like a graped ape. Even shifted like the tits too.
 
Yea, from what I've read pre 99' Volvo's are reliable. 240's are supposed to be bullet proof, followed by the 850.

But the newer ones are garbage after 99' because of the Ford motor until they got them more figured out in 2003+. At least that's what I've read.

This to me is a good looking car.

629200712yb5.jpg


629200712yb5.jpg
 
/\ Those things are ugly. The old 240s are bullett proof. My grandparents had 2 of them. The 240s are slow which might be a good thing.
 
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