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glatt · 12-16-2013, 01:22 PM

first car was a hand me down from my grandfather. 1982 Buick century. comfortable car but took too long to stop and was too heavy for its 4 cylinder engine.

First car we bought was:
Year: 1996 (New)
Make: Geo
Model: Prizm
Sub model( LX,GT,Base): LSI
Color: Green
Cylinders: 4
Transmission: 5 speed manual
Notable options accessories (navigation,bike rack, etc) LSI meant it came with AC and I think fold down rear seat. Maybe rear defrost too. We paid extra for the ABS, which was brand new back then.
Financed, leased, paid cash: Cash
Extended warranty? No
What other cars did you consider? Corolla, Sentra
Now, why did you choose it? Of the cars we were looking at, it was the most car for the money.

Are you happy with your choice at this point? If you could have a do over, would you choose differently? Love this car. It wound up being too small once we had kids and they reached middle school age, but served us well until then. Now it's a great second car. Love it.

What will you want different in your next car? Go a little bigger.

Our "new" car, which we bought used last year:

Year: 2001 (12 years old!)
Make: Toyota
Model: Camry
Sub model( LX,GT,Base): LE
Color: ugly gray or maybe silver
Cylinders: 4
Transmission: Auto
Notable options accessories (navigation,bike rack, etc) It came with a spoiler
Financed, leased, paid cash: Cash
Extended warranty? No
What other cars did you consider? We were all over the place. Minivans and other Japanese and Korean mid sized sedans. Then we narrowed it down to sedans, and in my area, that meant about 75 or so cars to choose from at our price point. We rejected many based on online pictures and discriptions, and then there was only one left standing, and we test drove it and liked it.

Now, why did you choose it? Other than needing a car, and unless it was a gift, or a hand me down.... When you decided to go with your car, what was the one thing that separated it from the others? It was pretty low miles for the price and age, and was clean and appeared to be in good shape.

Are you happy with your choice at this point? If you could have a do over, would you choose differently? I'm pretty happy. I knew I was buying a used car and it would need some work and have some minor surprises. I changed the fuel filter, and it's run perfectly normally since then.

What will you want different in your next car? I don't like the spoiler or the color, but they are both cosmetic so *shrug*. I miss the manual transmission of the Prizm, but the automatic is good in stop and go traffic.

12-16-2013, 01:22 PM	#5
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	first car was a hand me down from my grandfather. 1982 Buick century. comfortable car but took too long to stop and was too heavy for its 4 cylinder engine. First car we bought was: Year: 1996 (New) Make: Geo Model: Prizm Sub model( LX,GT,Base): LSI Color: Green Cylinders: 4 Transmission: 5 speed manual Notable options accessories (navigation,bike rack, etc) LSI meant it came with AC and I think fold down rear seat. Maybe rear defrost too. We paid extra for the ABS, which was brand new back then. Financed, leased, paid cash: Cash Extended warranty? No What other cars did you consider? Corolla, Sentra Now, why did you choose it? Of the cars we were looking at, it was the most car for the money. Are you happy with your choice at this point? If you could have a do over, would you choose differently? Love this car. It wound up being too small once we had kids and they reached middle school age, but served us well until then. Now it's a great second car. Love it. What will you want different in your next car? Go a little bigger. Our "new" car, which we bought used last year: Year: 2001 (12 years old!) Make: Toyota Model: Camry Sub model( LX,GT,Base): LE Color: ugly gray or maybe silver Cylinders: 4 Transmission: Auto Notable options accessories (navigation,bike rack, etc) It came with a spoiler Financed, leased, paid cash: Cash Extended warranty? No What other cars did you consider? We were all over the place. Minivans and other Japanese and Korean mid sized sedans. Then we narrowed it down to sedans, and in my area, that meant about 75 or so cars to choose from at our price point. We rejected many based on online pictures and discriptions, and then there was only one left standing, and we test drove it and liked it. Now, why did you choose it? Other than needing a car, and unless it was a gift, or a hand me down.... When you decided to go with your car, what was the one thing that separated it from the others? It was pretty low miles for the price and age, and was clean and appeared to be in good shape. Are you happy with your choice at this point? If you could have a do over, would you choose differently? I'm pretty happy. I knew I was buying a used car and it would need some work and have some minor surprises. I changed the fuel filter, and it's run perfectly normally since then. What will you want different in your next car? I don't like the spoiler or the color, but they are both cosmetic so shrug. I miss the manual transmission of the Prizm, but the automatic is good in stop and go traffic.