Car shopping
Apr. 12th, 2008 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icepixieSo, seeing as I'm going to be moving to Knoxville in less than four months, I need to get a car sharpish. (Yes, there's public transportation, but I've done the relying-on-a-bus-to-get-groceries thing, and unless you're somewhere like NYC or Chicago, IT DON'T WORK. Plus, driving home for vacations, etc., and, depending on my luck with finding nearby housing, to campus...yeah.)
I...would pretty much be okay if all we had was the modern equivalent of the Model T. No, seriously. This sucks. I have no idea what to buy, I have a relatively small budget, and seriously, all I want is four wheels, an engine that won't break down all the time, and enough steel around me to keep me from being crushed in an accident. All the different brands and models have such minute and arcane differences that do incomprehensible things to the price, and I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it. The only reason I'm not giving up and investing in a bicycle is because my dad is helping me shop, and at this point has probably done more looking than I have. (Also, biking back to Nashville would be a bit difficult.)
I'm looking solely at used cars, because my budget would allow me to get, um...a new tricycle, I think. (Well, okay, if I plunked down the entirety of my savings account, I could actually get something rather nice, but I also, you know, want to eat next year.)
Anyone have any tips? Brands you like? Bad experiences? I'm leaning towards something from Honda or Toyota because the idea of being stranded on the roadside periodically does not appeal (nor does shopping for another car for AT LEAST ten years), but of course that increased reliability and longevity comes with a corresponding increase in price. Sigh.
I...would pretty much be okay if all we had was the modern equivalent of the Model T. No, seriously. This sucks. I have no idea what to buy, I have a relatively small budget, and seriously, all I want is four wheels, an engine that won't break down all the time, and enough steel around me to keep me from being crushed in an accident. All the different brands and models have such minute and arcane differences that do incomprehensible things to the price, and I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it. The only reason I'm not giving up and investing in a bicycle is because my dad is helping me shop, and at this point has probably done more looking than I have. (Also, biking back to Nashville would be a bit difficult.)
I'm looking solely at used cars, because my budget would allow me to get, um...a new tricycle, I think. (Well, okay, if I plunked down the entirety of my savings account, I could actually get something rather nice, but I also, you know, want to eat next year.)
Anyone have any tips? Brands you like? Bad experiences? I'm leaning towards something from Honda or Toyota because the idea of being stranded on the roadside periodically does not appeal (nor does shopping for another car for AT LEAST ten years), but of course that increased reliability and longevity comes with a corresponding increase in price. Sigh.
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-18 12:42 am (UTC)I KNOW! I'm sooo hoping my new credit score and steady employment will get me out of a co-signer on my next lease. Co-signers are a pain.
I enjoy ABS.
Yup.
You could always come back to Knoxville and live with meeeeee...
Ooooh... I hadn't even thought of that... Although that might put me uncomfortably close to my mom... I do enjoy Knoxville, otherwise. Eh, I don't really have a clue what I'm doing, right now. I'm kinda just waiting around, hoping next-summer-stuff will magically fall together on its own. That works, right?
no subject
Date: 2008-04-18 12:56 am (UTC)Well, I have my dad, so it's not a pain for me...perhaps it is for him, although he can access my bank account, so it's not like I'd be keeping the money from him. *g*
Ooooh... I hadn't even thought of that...
YOU SHOULD COME!
Although that might put me uncomfortably close to my mom...
...Pretend you actually live in Chattanooga?
Eh, I don't really have a clue what I'm doing, right now. I'm kinda just waiting around, hoping next-summer-stuff will magically fall together on its own. That works, right?
Er, yeah, that works... On a more serious note, I will probably get an August 1-July 31 lease this year. You should come join me next August when I sign a new one... (Or run away and come live with me this fall! Hee.)
no subject
Date: 2008-04-18 11:06 pm (UTC)Ugh, I had to have Mom co-sign my current lease, and she gave me hell over it for *weeks*, telling me that I'd never be able to keep up with rent, and that I'd have to move back home in no time... Yeah, I don't want her co-signing this next one.
...Pretend you actually live in Chattanooga?
HA! I should just "forget" to tell her I ever left Chicago...
You should come join me next August when I sign a new one...
That is tempting... I'll keep that in mind as I start to make more concrete plans this winter.
(Or run away and come live with me this fall! Hee.)
Even more tempting, because then I wouldn't have to do my own apartment search next month! But no, I'm sticking with this job for another year, so my job history won't look so willy-nilly. (And I really don't want to have to go through a job search again so soon. Haaaaaaaate.)
no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 12:43 am (UTC)I can see why... That's one thing to be said for living at home for two years...I have no concerns whatsoever about paying my rent for the next two years. (It helps that K'ville is CHEAP cheap cheap cheap. Wow. Studios for $375 a month plus utilities? I'm there.)
I should just "forget" to tell her I ever left Chicago...
There's an idea!
That is tempting... I'll keep that in mind as I start to make more concrete plans this winter.
Yay!
Even more tempting, because then I wouldn't have to do my own apartment search next month! But no, I'm sticking with this job for another year, so my job history won't look so willy-nilly. (And I really don't want to have to go through a job search again so soon. Haaaaaaaate.)
Willy-nilly? How many years did you spend at camp, again?