Considering a new(er) car...

[SaturnManiac]

I'm considering a newer car as my car has seen its better days. Would like some help deciding what I should get...so far my choices are:
1) Another S-Series (Probably SL2)
2) Saturn ION Sedan
3) Saturn ION Redline
4) Ford Fusion
5) Possibly a 2009 Toyota Corolla

[twhitney]

I voted another Saturn S-Series just because they are inexpensive... easy to work on... and have proven their reliability. Great excellent cars.

If I had to take that stuff out of account and think newer... I'd go with the Ion Redline personally... I used to want one real bad. Third choice then would be the Ion Sedan...

Seeing as though my dad works at Ford, I'd say the Fusion is ok... I like the new Focuses though... have the Sync system... Id get a red 2 door coupe type... as close to my current SC2 as I can get! haha...

Don't like Toyotas...

Seriously though... go with one of the Saturn choices.

[SaturnManiac]

I'm most likely going to get another Saturn...I would love the ION Redline, but they are hard to find...then again, I have a while to wait before I can even get a newer car, but I'm already doing my research ahead of time. I don't really care for Toyotas like that either, the only advantage to one is that my local Toyota dealer offers an unlimited mileage lifetime warranty...of course with fine print, like keeping track of all maintenance. I would buy a Saturn from the Toyota dealer simply because they offer a lifetime warranty on certain used cars, but unfortunately the guy said not on Saturns because it's American...how racist or whatever, LOL. Unlike most GM people, I don't really have anything against Ford...and yes the Sync thing is very nice...but I'm most likely going to have to consider a used car. I can't wait until the 2011 Saturn Switch (Crossover truck) comes out!

[PurdueGuy]

Originally Posted by SaturnManiac

I can't wait until the 2011 Saturn Switch (Crossover truck) comes out!

No such thing - that was part of a forum's dream/guess lineup of future vehicles. There has been essentially zero indication that such a vehicle has ever even been considered. Throw recent sales trends away from trucks in the mix, and I guarantee it won't happen.

[SaturnManiac]

Originally Posted by PurdueGuy

No such thing - that was part of a forum's dream/guess lineup of future vehicles. There has been essentially zero indication that such a vehicle has ever even been considered. Throw recent sales trends away from trucks in the mix, and I guarantee it won't happen.

Oh well, I'll just have to settle for something else...but by then maybe it will happen.

[bigfatdave]

The best advice I can give you is to BUY your car, don't get roped into a payment.
Other than that, I'd say buy what car you can afford when you need to, but start saving now. The more you save the more car you get when the time comes.

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/lms/drive_free/

Oh, and on a personal note, why in the world would you want the ION sedan? Get the quad coupe if you go ION!

[OnDaGround]

though most people would say another s but.... you wont have a warranty. everyone will say,get an exstended warranty. If you worked for a dealer or you have tried to use yours before. They dont cover ****. They are more likely to buy you a used engine with lore knows how many miles or not buy you one at all. You pay money for it... like insurance but they cover nothing. The new Ions are junk. I wouldn't be caught dead in that POS. plus on top of that. Gm looks to be going down hill at a phenominal speed so, I would not invest money in something with no sure garuntee of what may happen. Next you got the ford. Ford is not as bad as we all may joke about. I know, I do it too. "Found On Road Dead" They are decent cars. The fusion seems to be doing alright for themselves, they look alright and you get a warranty that of which you dont get with a S. In this day and age... you want a car with a warranty. Can you honestly afford to keep paying for parts, or would you rather put yourself in a decent car with a decent warranty and then sell it later with a higher value then that of a Ion or S. Sometimes you gotta do things you dont like to, to survive.

[OnDaGround]

if I were buying a new car, I would go dodge or chrysler. They are not the sexiest cars I know that. But life time warranty, and the whole 2.99 a gal for gas. Econoically for yourself, that is the best investment you can make. You can get a 2.4LT pt cruiser if you like. Yes, ugly car, but they get decent gas milage and are turbo charged.... rather quick for what they are. Just a tuned down Srt 4. They actually are decent cars on the inside. Right now, saturn used or new is not a choice I would make if money is the issue, or may become the issue (gas).

[PurdueGuy]

Originally Posted by OnDaGround

though most people would say another s but.... you wont have a warranty. everyone will say,get an exstended warranty. If you worked for a dealer or you have tried to use yours before. They dont cover ****. They are more likely to buy you a used engine with lore knows how many miles or not buy you one at all. You pay money for it... like insurance but they cover nothing. The new Ions are junk. I wouldn't be caught dead in that POS. plus on top of that. Gm looks to be going down hill at a phenominal speed so, I would not invest money in something with no sure garuntee of what may happen. Next you got the ford. Ford is not as bad as we all may joke about. I know, I do it too. "Found On Road Dead" They are decent cars. The fusion seems to be doing alright for themselves, they look alright and you get a warranty that of which you dont get with a S. In this day and age... you want a car with a warranty. Can you honestly afford to keep paying for parts, or would you rather put yourself in a decent car with a decent warranty and then sell it later with a higher value then that of a Ion or S. Sometimes you gotta do things you dont like to, to survive.

I agree on not buying extended warranties.

You talk about GM going down hill like he should avoid GM, then you recommend Chrysler. Someone's not keeping up with the news...

I agree Fords are generally fine.

No, you really don't need a warranty. Used cars are always cheaper than new. The depreciation on something new (or close to new) quickly turns into a value loss that would pay for MAJOR repairs. Used cars like the S-Series have already lost most of their resale value, so you don't take a huge automatic loss just by owning the vehicle. People whine about paying for parts, but it's usually pretty cheap stuff that's far less costly than the value loss on a new or near-new car.

if I were buying a new car, I would go dodge or chrysler. They are not the sexiest cars I know that. But life time warranty, and the whole 2.99 a gal for gas. Econoically for yourself, that is the best investment you can make. You can get a 2.4LT pt cruiser if you like. Yes, ugly car, but they get decent gas milage and are turbo charged.... rather quick for what they are. Just a tuned down Srt 4. They actually are decent cars on the inside. Right now, saturn used or new is not a choice I would make if money is the issue, or may become the issue (gas).

The lifetime warranty thing is nice (assuming Chrysler is around to honor it...), but the 2.99 a gallon thing is a scam. They trade off other incentives for the gas thing, limit how much you can buy, and in the end, you would have come out ahead paying full price for gas but getting more off the price of the car up front.

If money is an issue, a used S-series is about THE best choice a person can make.

a) they get awesome gas mileage, better than most compacts today
b) they're cheap to buy
c) they're reliable, and cheap to fix if/when they break

Buying a car is never an investment, you will always take a loss (aside from some collector cars that you'd never use for regular transportation, buying something to fix and sell at a profit, or the occasional stupid good deal).

[OnDaGround]

I know the gas thing is a little outta wack. They charge full price for the car or, you can use the gas price thingy to subtract from the total of the vehicle. But with the say gas prices fluxuate at the 3rd year you may be saving yourself quite a bit. Chrysler is going down hill, this I know, but you can take it to dodge and they will work on it. Its not about them honoring the lifetime warranty. The contract you sign abides them to uphold their promises made on the vehicle. Otherwise people would sue the crap outta them for fraud and faulse advertising. They probably just have a strict service plan. Ford would be a great selection in this issue, but to look for a money saver in the future I would take a new car. Im not a fan of paying for someone else's car. Even with service records there is no way to tell how it was driven. But how many people honestly have their service records to begin with

[OnDaGround]

sattys are a great car. I love mine, but i dont think I can buy another yet. I want to get what I want for a change not what I can afford. I want to have my gas hog toy car now before gas really gets outta hand. So I'm getting my supra soon. The one I was gonna get, this other dude got to it before I could call him again.

[irish56]

I'm not trying to start a flame war, OnDaGround, but if you think Ions are "junk" and are recommending a turbo PT Cruiser instead, I'm guessing you've never owned or serviced an Ion or any Chrysler product made after 1981.

SaturnManiac, I don't see a bad choice on your list of five cars, but the Ion might be the best compromise between price and reliability (if you like the looks and that Cyclops dashboard). S-series are great cars, but let's not forget that the newest one is seven years old now. And a brand-new car is a good investment ONLY if you plan to keep it at least ten years.

[OnDaGround]

Originally Posted by irish56

I'm not trying to start a flame war, OnDaGround, but if you think Ions are "junk" and are recommending a turbo PT Cruiser instead, I'm guessing you've never owned or serviced an Ion or any Chrysler product made after 1981.

SaturnManiac, I don't see a bad choice on your list of five cars, but the Ion might be the best compromise between price and reliability (if you like the looks and that Cyclops dashboard). S-series are great cars, but let's not forget that the newest one is seven years old now. And a brand-new car is a good investment ONLY if you plan to keep it at least ten years.

its not that... your getting the wrong idea. its that even with that POS like a chrysler... you have a lifetime warranty... so its taken care of. dont get me mistaken... I think dodge and chrysler are junk more so than an ion... but I would get a car that has a life time warranty... If I were choosing from the cars listed and I had the money, Id go with the Ford Fusion. end of arguement.

[PurdueGuy]

Gas card scam:

http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/bl...ram-is-a-scam/

And I wasn't talking about Chrysler as a brand, but as a company, which includes Dodge. If the company goes belly-up, a lifetime warranty on a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep is worth as much as a lifetime warranty on a Montgomery Ward product.

[OnDaGround]

Originally Posted by PurdueGuy

Gas card scam:

http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/bl...ram-is-a-scam/

And I wasn't talking about Chrysler as a brand, but as a company, which includes Dodge. If the company goes belly-up, a lifetime warranty on a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep is worth as much as a lifetime warranty on a Montgomery Ward product.

mercedes bought out chrysler like 2 or 3 years ago. 2 companies now. But that whole article was about the truck with 14 mpg(from that website). It would make a "good" arguement for someone who has never heard of a caliber. try that with a car and see if its only 2500 dollars. The trucks true... mpg for city is actually 16 and 19 highway... now the caliber 24 city and 29 highway. This is from dodge's website. for the sake of the arguement a truck would be a wonderful choice but this gas card also is applied to 4 cylinder vehicles.

[OnDaGround]

so since chrysler is owned by dimebenz or something like that. (the father company of mercedes).... if they went belly up it wouldn't directly effect dodge.

[PurdueGuy]

Originally Posted by OnDaGround

so since chrysler is owned by dimebenz or something like that. (the father company of mercedes).... if they went belly up it wouldn't directly effect dodge.

You obviously have no CLUE what you're talking about.

Chrysler (the company, which INCLUDES DODGE, Chrysler, and Jeep brands) was bought out by Daimler-Benz in '98 for $36B. It was then sold by Daimler in early '07 to Cerberus Capital Management, and is now Chrysler, LLC, and once again is made up of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands.

Dodge is not it's own company. If Chrysler goes under, it's all of Chrysler, LLC, and Dodge and Jeep brands are in the exact same trouble as the Chrysler brand. Depending on what would happen through a bankruptcy, lifetime warranties may still be honored by new owners, but if happens and goes badly, they may be worth a whole lotta nothing.

Also, the gas card makes LESS sense on a fuel-efficient vehicle, as it will use less gas.

[MiSaturn]

We don't know your financial situation, but it sounds like a new(er) SL might be your most cost-effective choice, as you won't suffer the normal depreciation you'd have with a new/new car, pay Toyota prices for service/parts, and have a reliable and easy to work on vehicle with relatively cheap replacment parts.

Now might be a great time to locate a cherry SL - last ones came off the assembly line almost 8 model years ago, and won't get any younger. My dream SL would actually be a late model, one owner, non-smoking (driver and car) SW driven by an old lady.

[irish56]

Originally Posted by OnDaGround

its that even with that POS like a chrysler... you have a lifetime warranty... so its taken care of. dont get me mistaken... I think dodge and chrysler are junk more so than an ion...

OK, your post makes more sense now - IF we assume that Chrysler doesn't go under (as PurdueGuy points out) or if the service manager at the Chrysler dealership cheerfully honors the warranty and doesn't try to scam his way out of it every time you have a problem.

Search for posts by "delivery man" about his Ion that went 365,000 miles before the head cracked. And during that time, the car needed only a radiator fan and routine maintenance.

Low-mileage (36K and under) Ions are going for $10K-$12K around here right now. I've got to think that's a better investment than a $17K Corolla or an $18K Fusion (though I really did like the 5-sp Fusion I test drove).

[bigfatdave]

Originally Posted by OnDaGround

so since Chrysler is owned by Daimler-Benz AG or something like that. (the father company of Mercedes).... if they went belly up it wouldn't directly effect Dodge.

This is the danger of online forums. Opinions are presented as facts, and erroneous information looks as valid as the truth.

If you need info on Chrysler, Wikipedia would be a good place to start.
By the way, the current divisions of Chrysler appear to be:
* Chrysler — Passenger cars, minivans and SUVs
* Dodge — Passenger cars, minivans, trucks and SUVs
* ENVI - division for creating electric-drive vehicles and related advanced-propulsion technologies.
* Jeep — SUVs
* Global Electric Motorcars (GEMCAR) — Battery electric low-speed vehicles
* Mopar — Replacement parts for Chrysler-built vehicles. Also comprises Mopar Performance, a subdivision providing performance aftermarket parts for Chrysler-built vehicles.
* Chrysler Financial — Financial services for Chrysler customers and dealers


But back to the topic at hand, the money you save buying used [buying, not financing] should cover repairs. Once you have saved and bought a car, continue saving for a car repair fund and/or an improved car.