I think I need to find a car...

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Yes, '04 was the first year. They are unlikely to be available in her price range. But some of the older Mazda's (626, for example) can be good options (Mazda's a little hit and miss reliability-wise, so research would be in order).

Right - I was throwing it out there because of Kevy's suggestion.

[lindyhop]

What about buying new? Use the five grand as a healthy down payment and you should end up with low monthlies.

Or only put three grand down and use the other two for reserves.

Was the Corolla the only family car? Or do you have another one. The reason I ask is if you have your own car and the Corolla was just the boy's, then give him your hand-me-down and get yourself the new one.

Just a thought.

I'd really like to avoid a car payment for a while longer. I drive a 2001 Saturn and I'd thought about handing it down when I was ready for a new car. That's how Dylan got the Corolla. But I'm thinking I'd rather get something that would suffice for a few years until he can handle this financially on his own. (That will happen, right?) Because I'm not ready for a new car just yet.

Hey, don't I remember you saying that you care less about what happens to your car once you've paid it off? Guess you ought to be careful what you wish for.

Yeah, throw that back at me. This car has been beyond that for years. But it's been reliable for all these years and probably would have been for one or two more. So it's annoying that some doofus runs into it and now that's all over.

[lindyhop]

The settlement on the Corolla was way more than I expected so that was good news. I guess they use the Blue Book value to determine if the repairs are feasible. Then they go to an outside company to determine the street value, what similar cars are actually selling for.

We went car shopping and found a '96 Camry with more miles than I would like but I know it will last. It's clean and the body is in good condition. There wasn't much in my price range even though I upped my price after getting a reality check. I could have gotten something cheaper if I had the time and patience to check out private party ads but I just don't.

We had a great experience with one salesman who actually took the trouble to show what they had in inventory that met my specs. I told everyone I was looking for something under $10,000 and all the other salesman wandered around showing me stuff that was higher. The Ford Expedition was the last straw. When I said it was too big (besides being too expensive) the salesman said, well there's a minivan... Why don't they listen? We bought the car from the salesman who listened. Get a clue, people.

[blueerica]

Listening is a good thing.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by lindyhop

The settlement on the Corolla was way more than I expected so that was good news. I guess they use the Blue Book value to determine if the repairs are feasible. Then they go to an outside company to determine the street value, what similar cars are actually selling for.

Did you get to see the breakdown? When I got my check for the charred remains of my Hyundai, they gave me a sheet that showed the Blue Book value, the Edmunds value, prices for comparable cars at local dealers vs. individual sellers. Best of all, it had a breakdown of what factors added to and detracted from the final bottom line. They deducted something like $45 for the color. Damn if that wasn't an ugly color.

[lindyhop]

The only real deduction was for the high mileage. The best part was the offer to help us find a similar vehicle as a replacement. Uh, no thanks.