Car suggestions?

Jon Bond said:

Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I don't
want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can talk
down to 15grand or so.

You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your car
is going to cost more than your bike :~)

Do they have Focus' in the US? A bit ubiquitous, but good drivers cars,
reliable, safe with decent engines (avoid the 1.8 though). Best of all, a
decent second-hand model should set you back much less than $15k.

"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Bond said:

Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I
don't
want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can
talk
down to 15grand or so.

You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your car
is going to cost more than your bike :~)

Do they have Focus' in the US? A bit ubiquitous, but good drivers cars,
reliable, safe with decent engines (avoid the 1.8 though). Best of all, a
decent second-hand model should set you back much less than $15k.

I can't stand fords. And i've driven a focus and despised it.

rule number 23408923409234 : no fords.

Jon Bond

Jon Bond said:

"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Bond said:

Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I
don't
want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can
talk
down to 15grand or so.

You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your car
is going to cost more than your bike :~)

Do they have Focus' in the US? A bit ubiquitous, but good drivers cars,
reliable, safe with decent engines (avoid the 1.8 though). Best of all, a
decent second-hand model should set you back much less than $15k.

I can't stand fords. And i've driven a focus and despised it.

rule number 23408923409234 : no fords.

Jon Bond

Can't beat a Honda or a Toyota.

- Zilla

"Zilla" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Bond said:

"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 15 May 2005 04:14:47 -0400, Jon Bond wrote:

>Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I
>don't
>want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can
>talk
>down to 15grand or so.

You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your car
is going to cost more than your bike :~)

Do they have Focus' in the US? A bit ubiquitous, but good drivers cars,
reliable, safe with decent engines (avoid the 1.8 though). Best of all, a
decent second-hand model should set you back much less than $15k.

I can't stand fords. And i've driven a focus and despised it.

rule number 23408923409234 : no fords.

Jon Bond

Can't beat a Honda or a Toyota.

- Zilla

yes you can...

Baja Subaru

Quoted message said:

Baja Subaru

Or just a plain old ugly Legacy...like mine. :-)
As long as you don't wrap your identity up in your car (That's what
bikes are for anyway right?), it will work well. Bigger than a WRX too.
Not as fast though.

Shawn

Jon,

If you're doing lots of highway driving ..how about a VW TDI. I have an
2002 Golf and it's a great and fun car.

I put a performace chip in it 😉 and now it has 120-125 hp and 200-205
ft/lbs of torque and it still gets....60 -65 mpg highway & 40+ city. I
get about 800km per tank in city driving and I've driven from Calgary to
Vancouver on a tank 1100km!!!!!!

VW's really are drivers cars as well, fun to drive, tight steering, great
high speed handling and fairly good reliability.

and another bonus is that diesel is usually cheaper than gasoline here in
western Canada anyways!!!

"Jon Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My Jeep is on its last legs - it still runs, the engine is still great but
everything else is fallin' apart around it. Its to the point where its
not worth repairing anymore, so I'm looking for something new.

Anyway, I'm looking for the following:
Used car, post 2000 model year
Decent gas milage - driving 2 hours twice a week between boston and CT all
summer
Not huge - its being used in and around boston
Well handling, decent acceleration - I don't need a rocket, but I want a
driver's car
Something I can fit my bike in the back without too many issues - I don't
mind taking off the front wheel and folding the seats down, or doing a bit
of in-car maneuvering, but its gotta fit!
Decently safe - I don't need a volvo, but dual airbags, side airbags would
be nice.
Under 16grand or so

I was thinking a used WRX wagon, but that was nixed by the parents (too
fast for them...) but they have OK'd the Acura RSX. I'd prefer the NSX
personally, but its a wee out of my price range 🙂 I still have to check
if my bike fits, but I think it should.

Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I don't
want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can talk
down to 15grand or so.

I will have a roof rack on it for long trips or multiple bikes, but I like
being able to throw my bike inside the car both for security and to keep
it out of the elements if I'm alone.

Thanks for the suggestions!

"Dave W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Zilla" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Bond said:

"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

>On Sun, 15 May 2005 04:14:47 -0400, Jon Bond wrote:
>
>
>>Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I
>>don't
>>want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I can
>>talk
>>down to 15grand or so.
>
>You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your
>car
>is going to cost more than your bike :~)
>
>Do they have Focus' in the US? A bit ubiquitous, but good drivers cars,
>reliable, safe with decent engines (avoid the 1.8 though). Best of all,
>a
>decent second-hand model should set you back much less than $15k.

I can't stand fords. And i've driven a focus and despised it.

rule number 23408923409234 : no fords.

Jon Bond

Can't beat a Honda or a Toyota.

- Zilla

yes you can...

acura = honda

I was thinking vdub, still gotta go try some out, but diesel can be hard to
come by around here. Plus diesel models are a LOT harder to find used.
Thanks for the suggestion tho

Jon Bond

"D. Dub" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:cdMhe.1360743$6l.761574@pd7tw2no...

Quoted message said:

Jon,

If you're doing lots of highway driving ..how about a VW TDI. I have an
2002 Golf and it's a great and fun car.

I put a performace chip in it 😉 and now it has 120-125 hp and 200-205
ft/lbs of torque and it still gets....60 -65 mpg highway & 40+ city. I
get about 800km per tank in city driving and I've driven from Calgary to
Vancouver on a tank 1100km!!!!!!

VW's really are drivers cars as well, fun to drive, tight steering, great
high speed handling and fairly good reliability.

and another bonus is that diesel is usually cheaper than gasoline here in
western Canada anyways!!!

"Jon Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My Jeep is on its last legs - it still runs, the engine is still great
but everything else is fallin' apart around it. Its to the point where
its not worth repairing anymore, so I'm looking for something new.

Anyway, I'm looking for the following:
Used car, post 2000 model year
Decent gas milage - driving 2 hours twice a week between boston and CT
all summer
Not huge - its being used in and around boston
Well handling, decent acceleration - I don't need a rocket, but I want a
driver's car
Something I can fit my bike in the back without too many issues - I don't
mind taking off the front wheel and folding the seats down, or doing a
bit of in-car maneuvering, but its gotta fit!
Decently safe - I don't need a volvo, but dual airbags, side airbags
would be nice.
Under 16grand or so

I was thinking a used WRX wagon, but that was nixed by the parents (too
fast for them...) but they have OK'd the Acura RSX. I'd prefer the NSX
personally, but its a wee out of my price range 🙂 I still have to check
if my bike fits, but I think it should.

Any other suggestions, guys? Car has to last me at least 5 years, I
don't want to have to take out a huge loan so really I want something I
can talk down to 15grand or so.

I will have a roof rack on it for long trips or multiple bikes, but I
like being able to throw my bike inside the car both for security and to
keep it out of the elements if I'm alone.

Thanks for the suggestions!

"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Baja Subaru

Or just a plain old ugly Legacy...like mine. :-)
As long as you don't wrap your identity up in your car (That's what bikes
are for anyway right?), it will work well. Bigger than a WRX too. Not as
fast though.

Shawn

Legacy wagons are a little bit bigger of a car than I wanted to get. The
sedans just don't make that much sense for throwing a bike in. I'm not a
huge fan of just how much overhang the legacy wagons have - when I drove
one, the swing size of that car was nuts. For a city like boston, with so
many tight spaces, I'd really prefer somethinig a tinnnnny bit smaller. The
sedans are nice, but I looked in the trunk and my bike would have been a
super tight fit.

As for the Baja, I don't mind throwing my bike on the roof, its the ability
to keep the bike INSIDE the car if its raining or (especially late fall or
early spring with all the salt still on the roads) to prevent me from having
to repack bearings all the time and clean up any corrosion.

Jon Bond

"Jon Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Baja Subaru

Or just a plain old ugly Legacy...like mine. :-)
As long as you don't wrap your identity up in your car (That's what bikes
are for anyway right?), it will work well. Bigger than a WRX too. Not as
fast though.

Shawn

Legacy wagons are a little bit bigger of a car than I wanted to get. The
sedans just don't make that much sense for throwing a bike in. I'm not a
huge fan of just how much overhang the legacy wagons have - when I drove
one, the swing size of that car was nuts. For a city like boston, with so
many tight spaces, I'd really prefer somethinig a tinnnnny bit smaller.
The sedans are nice, but I looked in the trunk and my bike would have been
a super tight fit.

As for the Baja, I don't mind throwing my bike on the roof, its the
ability to keep the bike INSIDE the car if its raining or (especially late
fall or early spring with all the salt still on the roads) to prevent me
from having to repack bearings all the time and clean up any corrosion.

Jon Bond

Late 90' ish Chevy S-10 Blazer. I've got the 4WD version, and it comes in
handy. I would think it really would up there in the colder mths. I found
one used for around 2.5K w/ 52,000 miles on it. It now has 185,000. Granted
I've been having to replace a few exterior engine components, but it's been
a great ride, for me and my bike. Just fold the seat down, and toss er'
in...

Quoted message said:

Baja Subaru

I dont understand the usefullness of a vehicle like that or any of the
4 door pickups that have such small beds you have to use an extender to
get a bike to fit in it.

Jon Bond said:

"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Baja Subaru

Or just a plain old ugly Legacy...like mine. :-)
As long as you don't wrap your identity up in your car (That's what bikes
are for anyway right?), it will work well. Bigger than a WRX too. Not as
fast though.

Shawn

Legacy wagons are a little bit bigger of a car than I wanted to get. The
sedans just don't make that much sense for throwing a bike in. I'm not a
huge fan of just how much overhang the legacy wagons have - when I drove
one, the swing size of that car was nuts. For a city like boston, with so
many tight spaces, I'd really prefer somethinig a tinnnnny bit smaller. The
sedans are nice, but I looked in the trunk and my bike would have been a
super tight fit.

As for the Baja, I don't mind throwing my bike on the roof, its the ability
to keep the bike INSIDE the car if its raining or (especially late fall or
early spring with all the salt still on the roads) to prevent me from having
to repack bearings all the time and clean up any corrosion.

Jon Bond

How about a Forester? I recently got one and love it. Mine's the turbo
but the NA ones are pretty nice too. Not bad (or really fun in some
cases) to drive and practical.

Matt

"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You realise the fundamental error you're making here, don't you? Your car
is going to cost more than your bike :~)

i've got this covered.

Jon Bond said:

I was thinking vdub, still gotta go try some out, but diesel can be hard to
come by around here. Plus diesel models are a LOT harder to find used.

I used to have a Mitsubishi (rebranded as a Dodge) compact that was
essentially the same shape - it was amazing how well a bike fit in there.
Nice to be able to lock it all up, too.

Mazda has some pretty decent cars with that same sort of body style.

--
-BB-
To e-mail me, unmunge my address

Jon Bond said:

My Jeep is on its last legs - it still runs, the engine is still great but
everything else is fallin' apart around it. Its to the point where its not
worth repairing anymore, so I'm looking for something new.

I was thinking a used WRX wagon, but that was nixed by the parents (too fast
for them...) but they have OK'd the Acura RSX. I'd prefer the NSX
personally, but its a wee out of my price range 🙂 I still have to check if
my bike fits, but I think it should.

This thread has talked all around it, mentioning the WRX, Legacy,
Forester and Baja... but it seems the Impreza (or Outback Sport)
wagon would satisfy you, your bike and your parents.

G
--
Gregory S. Sutter "How do I read this file?"
[email hidden] "You uudecode it."
http://zer0.org/~gsutter/ "I I I decode it?"

"MattB" wrote in message...

Quoted message said:

How about a Forester? I recently got one and love it. Mine's the turbo
but the NA ones are pretty nice too. Not bad (or really fun in some
cases) to drive and practical.

I've got the NA model, not particularly quick, but good to drive and very practical - you can fit 3 bikes & 3 people inside.

Parbs

Put it in the car.Years and years ago before I got a
trunk rack I use to do the same and it was a pain. Seat had to come
down,front wheel off, and frigit just to get in the car. Then one day I
had to get in a Mirage. Well both wheels off,seat down,and handlebars
turned. What a pain and what pain putting it back to ride. A Baja you
lay whole bike down and snap the tarp down and go or in good weather let
it ride in the bed like on a roof rack. But if you must go your own
way. By the way Boston to where in CT?

Scottie still using public transportation services? Bus.