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Why Did You Replace Your Last Car(s) - READ ONLY

61 messages,  Last post on Aug 07, 2012 at 7:32 AM

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Messages Page 5 of 7

#32 of 61 Re: Not very good reasons [larsb] by andre1969

Aug 25, 2010 (5:33 am)

Replying to: larsb (Aug 24, 2010 3:07 pm)
A friend of mine has a Toyota Camry Hybrid, and I rode in it a few times. That thing is a really nice car! And I'm not even a fan of the Camry! This thing was fully decked-out, too, and I'm sure would make a Civic feel like crap, in comparison.
 
Going from 48 mpg to 34 mpg, over the course of 68,000 miles, the Camry has used maybe 583 more gallons. Even if gas stayed at $4.00 per gallon, that would only come out to around $45-50 per month extra.
 
Back in May, I saw a used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid for sale, with fairly low miles, and asking around $22K. It was well-equipped, with Nav, sunroof, leather, etc. I gotta admit, I was pretty tempted, although in my case, I don't drive enough for the fuel economy to matter much. I just thought it would be kinda cool to have!

#33 of 61 Re: Why Did You Replace Your Last Car(s) [nj2pa2nc] by nippononly

Aug 25, 2010 (7:48 am)

Replying to: nj2pa2nc (Aug 25, 2010 3:07 am)
I have been surprised to notice lately that the 2001-2005 Civics were made really poorly. Everywhere you look the 4-doors have the headliners falling down, on cars that are only 5 or 6 years old! I thought we had left that behind in the 70s.
 
My mother has been most annoyed at her '01 for the last couple of years as the power lock in the driver's door quit in '08, rendering her keyless entry useless and causing her to forget to lock the car some of the time. Many of the bits in the interior of her car have come apart too, starting with the sun visors which shredded and fell off their mounting posts last year or the year before.
 
It only has 70K miles, but she won't be keeping it much longer, and she has said it will be her last Honda.

#34 of 61 Suggestions needed by mlevinedc3

Aug 25, 2010 (8:19 am)

My 20 year old daughter is in New England and wants a USED AWD type of car, preferably a hatch/wagon and absolutely not an SUV/CUV. Of course we are aware of the Subaru's. I've had an Audi quattro but I think that would be too much money. She wants to spend about $15K. What would you nice people suggest? I've found it hard to filter search results with awd specified. What's good out there?
 
Mark

#35 of 61 Re: Why Did You Replace Your Last Car(s) [nippononly] by andre1969

Aug 25, 2010 (8:40 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Aug 25, 2010 7:48 am)
I have a friend whose sister and sister's boyfriend both have Civics from that 2001-2005 era. One's a sedan and one's a coupe. I'm kinda curious now, to ask them how the cars are holding up.
 
As for the headliners, I've been noticing that problem on the 2002-2006 era Camry, for some reason. Not so much the fabric coming undone and billowing down, as the padding behind it dissolves, but more the whole thing popping loose by the back window, and hanging down.

#36 of 61 Re: Suggestions needed [mlevinedc3] by anythngbutgm

Aug 25, 2010 (8:40 am)

Replying to: mlevinedc3 (Aug 25, 2010 8:19 am)
Toyota Matrix?
 
Regarding Subies, my wife and I both have them and IMO they're the best cars of the money if you want AWD. Good power, top safety scores, reliability that is near the Toyo and Honda levels and they are fantastic in the New England weather. I've had snow accumulate up past the rocker panels of my little Impreza the thing just chugs right through it without issue.

#37 of 61 Re: Suggestions needed [mlevinedc3] by hpmctorque

Aug 25, 2010 (8:56 am)

Replying to: mlevinedc3 (Aug 25, 2010 8:19 am)
There aren't many models that fit the parameters your daughter is looking for. However, the Suzuki SX4 is a cute AWD hatchback. I'd view it as an alternative to the Subaru Impreza.

#38 of 61 Re: Why Did You Replace Your Last Car(s) [hpmctorque] by snakeweasel

Aug 27, 2010 (5:07 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Aug 21, 2010 3:04 pm)
Interesting question. For me the last car I traded in was a 200 Hyundai Elantra Station Wagon with around 175K miles on it. I mst likely would be still driving it today as the car was still running great and had given me no real issues.
 
What happened was that my wife kept on stating that when we were going to get a new car we she would like to get a convertible. Well it just so happened that last year I spotted a used Sebring convertible for sale at a dealership down the street from where I worked. Price was great, a few grand less than what all the guides said it should go for. So the opportunity presented itsef, the car was priced right, appeared good and rode well so we decided that now was the time.

#39 of 61 Honda for Mazda by benjaminh

Aug 27, 2010 (7:16 pm)

Our 02 Accord was having some issues, some of which were caused by a branch of a tree falling through the window in a storm. It was fixed, but it was never quite the same. I think the new window didn't quite seal 100% and so we had more road noise. And it wasn't super quiet car to begin with. Plus it was due for a timing belt change, had one lose piece of trim, etc.
 
Then saw an add for a new Mazda5 manual mini-minivan/station wagon from just $14,900 something. What a deal. Didn't get much for the Accord, but I realized they had to make up for their loss leader a bit.
 
Anyway, so far we love the Mazda5. The Accord gave good service, but I'm glad we made the switch.
 
I think the first 8 years of a cars life--if it's a good car to begin with, anyway--are the charmed years. After that it's one thing after another....
 
So that means our 08 Accord maybe ready for a new owner by...2016? Still love our 08 Accord. It's so much better than the 02 in every way.

#40 of 61 Easy, but painful by ajvdh

Sep 10, 2010 (3:33 pm)

The last car I replaced was a '95 M3. I bought it In June '09. One owner, dealer serviced, all records and only 88k miles. SWMBO and I drove it back from Florida. In February of this year, my son got rear-ended in his car. The other party's insurance paid for everything including the rental car we'd need for the one day my son's car was in the shop.
 
The fly in that particular ointment was that my son couldn't actually drive the rental as he was only 17. "Dad, since there's no school, can I take your car up snowboarding, and you drive the rental?" "Sure" (he'd driven it up to the mountains before with no ill effects).
 
You know where this is going: Coming back down, he put two wheels into some gravel and spun it backwards into a several ton boulder. According to the cop, he was probably 5 MPH under the speed limit when he lost it. In other words, no rampant idiocy, just a new driver's mistake.
 
No injuries, no other parties involved. At first glance it didn't even look too bad. Until you noticed the crease in the roof and that the wheels were pointing in three different directions. And that the doors couldn't be opened.
 
My insurance co cut me a check for almost exactly what I'd paid for the car (including sales tax). They then raised our rates $100/year, so they'll get it all back in a bit less than a century.
 
I replaced it with an '04 330 coupe. It's a bit softer in its reactions than the M3 and a tick slower too, but it's much quieter, the interior materials are better and it gets slightly better mileage. Being nine years newer doesn't hurt either.

#41 of 61 323 and Corsica by corsicachevy

Sep 13, 2010 (12:25 pm)

I only get rid of my vehicles when most of their usable life has been exhausted. My 1987 Mazda 323 lost its starter (along with a few fly wheel teeth), air conditioning, radio, shocks and had developed a severe case of cancer. I gave it to a kid who limped it around for about 5000 miles and then sent it to the scrap heap.
 
My 1996 Corsica was quite a war horse that really gave me little trouble, with the exception of the classic GM leaking intake on its 3100 V6. It lasted for 150,000 miles and, out of charity, I gave it to my brother-in-law who was heading off to college. He got rid of it last year with 200,000 miles on the odo.

Messages Page 5 of 7

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