INTJMom
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
- Messages
- 5,413
- MBTI Type
- INTJ
- Enneagram
- 5w4
I spent some time 2-3 weeks researching used cars, and about 3-4 hours a day on the last several days. I used Consumer Reports, the book, and the website mostly. I decided the most important priority was fuel efficiency. I have never considered horsepower before, but Xander asked me about hp and I realized that was important to me, too. The cars with the BEST fuel efficiency are hybrids, or very small cars with low hp, so I realized I would have to find a balance I would be comfortable with between ENOUGH fuel economy and ENOUGH horsepower. Another thing that was important to me was excellent reliability ratings and crash test ratings. And finally size was somewhat important because I live in a town where we all have to bring our own trash to the dump, or hire a company to do it, and once I get rid of my truck, if all I have is a small car, I would have the added monthly expense of paying someone to pick up my trash for me.
When all was said and done, it was down to a Honda Accord, or Toyota Corolla. I don't remember how I discovered it, but once I found out the Pontiac Vibe had a Corolla engine in it, it was pretty much a no-brainer.
Oh... of course, affordability was a consideration, too. I didn't want to spend over $7000. And there were a couple other parameters. One thing is that an older car tends to have a lower insurance premium than a newer car, so I wanted an older car... and they're more affordable. But I live in Maine, and we have so much salt on the roads in the winter that it corrodes our vehicles out from under us. That by itself is not a problem, but it becomes a problem because the state requires a "safety" inspection every year and rust holes bigger than a quarter fail inspection. So that forces you to either spend thousands of dollars on body work on your car, or to replace your car if it's not worth fixing the body. So all that means that the likelihood of me finding an older car in Maine that hadn't started seriously rusting yet was not good.
Eventually I honed in precisely on a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. It's the first year they came out. And I preferred red... because I even researched what colors get in the most accidents. Black, white, green and brown were the colors I wanted to avoid. Red or blue or silver were the colors I preferred.
The 2003 Pontiac Vibe has a 1.8L Corolla engine with 130hp... 29 city/36 hwy mpg... and it's lighter and smaller than my Dodge Grand Caravan and better quality in every way.
The least expensive 2003 Pontiac Vibe in the country - for the miles it had on it - was in Arlington, VA. Since I lived in Maryland for 17 years, I was able to find a friend to go test drive it for me. I had it trucked up here. I just got it on Sunday evening and I absolutely LOVE it. I hadn't even test driven one before! Or even touched one! I was really hoping I was going to like it and I do! I think it's going to turn out to be the most FUN car I have ever owned!
When I got into it after work today, I opened up the sunroof and burst out laughing! It's almost as much fun as a convertible! It's a very cool car! I'm really thrilled!
When all was said and done, it was down to a Honda Accord, or Toyota Corolla. I don't remember how I discovered it, but once I found out the Pontiac Vibe had a Corolla engine in it, it was pretty much a no-brainer.
Oh... of course, affordability was a consideration, too. I didn't want to spend over $7000. And there were a couple other parameters. One thing is that an older car tends to have a lower insurance premium than a newer car, so I wanted an older car... and they're more affordable. But I live in Maine, and we have so much salt on the roads in the winter that it corrodes our vehicles out from under us. That by itself is not a problem, but it becomes a problem because the state requires a "safety" inspection every year and rust holes bigger than a quarter fail inspection. So that forces you to either spend thousands of dollars on body work on your car, or to replace your car if it's not worth fixing the body. So all that means that the likelihood of me finding an older car in Maine that hadn't started seriously rusting yet was not good.
Eventually I honed in precisely on a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. It's the first year they came out. And I preferred red... because I even researched what colors get in the most accidents. Black, white, green and brown were the colors I wanted to avoid. Red or blue or silver were the colors I preferred.
The 2003 Pontiac Vibe has a 1.8L Corolla engine with 130hp... 29 city/36 hwy mpg... and it's lighter and smaller than my Dodge Grand Caravan and better quality in every way.
The least expensive 2003 Pontiac Vibe in the country - for the miles it had on it - was in Arlington, VA. Since I lived in Maryland for 17 years, I was able to find a friend to go test drive it for me. I had it trucked up here. I just got it on Sunday evening and I absolutely LOVE it. I hadn't even test driven one before! Or even touched one! I was really hoping I was going to like it and I do! I think it's going to turn out to be the most FUN car I have ever owned!
When I got into it after work today, I opened up the sunroof and burst out laughing! It's almost as much fun as a convertible! It's a very cool car! I'm really thrilled!
Actually, music is one of my favorite things and I'm trying to get back into it. I'm learning some music composition software I've had for awhile and writing some lyrics here & there. One of my short-term small-time dreams is to just find some local people to play with for fun, even if we don't play any shows.
