Comments on: Buying a New Car?

By: Carole

Carole — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:17:12 +0000

Julie—your comment about being called an idiot by someone in KY just cracked me up!

I agree completely with you and Kimberly. If we don’t support our American Auto Industry, it will have a landslide effect on more than just the big three. Big Three? We’d better start considering how many families count on those jobs provided by our auto industry. They need our support now more than ever.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:06:30 +0000

I agree with Kimberly. We need to support the Michigan auto industry.

In the last couple of Consumer Reports Ford has had excellent ratings!

I really like the look of the Edge. For a sedan I would look at the Fusion. The Flex is another one I would look at—especially for hauling dogs. The design would allow you to fit in several crates.

This Spring I rented a SUV to drive to KY to breed to Funny. The SUV I was given was a Nissan Muarado (or something like that). It was a very large vehicle but the usable space was less then a small sedan. The design had sloping sides that cut into space that would allow for dog crates. In addition the visibility was extremely poor and almost backed into another car that I could not see at all—if it wasn’t for a construction worker yelling at me, I would have wiped out another car. Do you know how humiliating it is to be called an idiot by someone in KY? Thank God the Nissan had Indiana plates!

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:00:55 +0000

I just have to chime in on this one. I have proudly and exclusively bought American autos my entire life. My husband is proud to be a Teamster. Those stats are shocking and disappointing. If we want good jobs we need to buy American made products, it is that simple!

By: Liesje

Liesje — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:32:54 +0000

Margot my problem is these cars are probably the LAST ones I would have picked, had I had a choice! I don’t care either way about the companies I just hate these cars. One is a Mercury Sable and I dislike everything about it (size, shape, how it drives, color, how much has gone wrong, recalls, etc). The other is a 94 Chevy Blazer and I like that one better as far as having a dog-mobile and how it drives but it’s been through the wringer and there’s so much wrong with it I will probably have to pay someone to take it off my hands. The Mercury was purchased used by my husband’s dad and my husband finished the payments in order to own the car, so no choice there unless we wanted a horrible car loan. The Blazer my dad bought from my uncle but then my brother bought his own truck so my mom “sold” it to us since they were paying insurance to keep it in their garage. It had so much go wrong when we got it, I told my mom it was a lemon and she didn’t make me pay the $600 she asked. It’s been owned by several men who have a VERY low standard of upkeep. For example last week I had a job interview and my car was in the shop (go figure) so I drove the Blazer and was so grossed out I had to cover the seat with towels to keep my nice clothes clean! I’m hoping to sell it to some high school boy who just needs something for cruising around town.

My next vehicle will be a Subaru Outback. If dogs did not factor in I would look at a Subaru Imprezza, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Pontiac Vibe.

By: Peter and Julie

Peter and Julie — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:23:26 +0000

Liesje, I LOVE my Subaru! Julie H

By: Margot

Margot — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:18:25 +0000

Ouch! I have to say that I have always owned Fords, Chevys or Dodges (plus one wonderful magical VW bus) and never had any major problems with any of them. I even kept one Ford truck for 19 years!

That was a great thing you did – volunteering after 9/11.

By: Liesje

Liesje — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:57:44 +0000

We have a Ford and a Chevy too, and I despise them both (the cars not the companies). My next car will probably be a Subaru. I volunteered for the National Relief Network and the Red Cross in NYC a few weeks after Sept. 11.