ultimately about 2 grand maybe 3 I would prefer vehicle more like car rather than pick up as I have a small child,
as long as it runs well minimal damage then I'm good to go
Originally Posted by Saige
Hi Saige,
Would defer to the many experts here on auto issues. Just my 2 cents here, from past mistakes.
Regarding pickups, here are some pros despite a few cons.
The cons are reduced fuel efficiency, higher insurance of certain kinds, e.g. liability [where you hit someone], perhaps less easy for a spare person like you to handle under some circumstances. Maybe others friends could add.
Pros are this:
1.For Ford and GM, the quality of the pick-ups seem to be quite a bit better than their cars. I should like to be corrected if I am misleading you with erroneous biases. It is my impression that these pick-ups, especially the diesel ones, will be the slightly better buy than gasoline cars of equivalent age. Of course, there are certain RAV-4's that are built on a true truck chassis and which are excellent for true heavy duty work. Other RAV-4 [Toyota] are not, and they are not diesel. In any case you are not buying RAVs. However, if the pick-up is indeed "tending" towards a TRUCK chassis, then it would be a good buy.
2. Buffalo has DEEP snow and ice conditions, and this type of pick-up would make me happier if my child were in it for many reasons, side and frontal impacts included, by lower-slung cars slipping and sliding into my vehicle. I would check if both front and side passenger & driver airbags are available. Those are a MUST for me, if my spouse and child were driving.
3. Please compare INSURANCE RATES for any car or pickup you buy, and also do the Edmunds.com. research suggested. Don't be too concerned about the operating costs for the year or the life of the car. Those are imponderables, and do not really apply to ordinary mortals, but are a rough guide only. But, reliability statistics are not to be taken lightly!!
4. We all know to ask the seller to either finance a trip to a mechanic of your choice or pay a VERY good mechanic, usually a dealer of that brand, to do a thorough check of the car or pick up. Especially things that might cost a lot later, and could escape a mechanic's hasty once-over: brake lines, pads, sensors, including fuel tank sensors, electricals from bumper to bumper, engine gaskets of all kinds, fuel injection/whatever wear on electrical elements within engines -- don't have them say, we need to pull this engine out and rebuild, this, that or the other, 4 months after you buy the car.
BE gently insistent, because people try to make fools out of women and those they feel are "not real Americans" (!! the Chinese were building railroads here before most Irish and Italians arrived!!!), and are often not very competent or honest and really careless.
Timing chains, belts, radiator condition, tires and tie-rod ends, tire wear, balance, all details, fluids, clutches if there are those, transmission, things I have no idea a car has inside the dashboard, starters, system by system. Make a checklist and MAKE them write down LEGIBLY that they have checked and cleared individual items on that checklist not just by visual inspection. They try to charge you by a Blue Book rate which is ridiculous but not all mechanics are like this. A few rare ones are conscientious and can be found.
Ask around in churches like the Mennonites, the Society of Friends [Quakers] or the LDS, where the morals outweigh profit, one hopes! You can call the Church authorities, and tell them you are a mom needing a car for your child. Explain your problem about finding a good mechanic. Then segue into the idea, Hey can you help me find a good car? You never know, there might be people there wanting to help out. You know how to gently talk to people and appeal to their best nature! Easter is at hand. Use psychology. The whole world is about hearts and minds. Would you care to read what I wrote in my posts that all exchanges ultimately amount to redemptive exchanges, and this redemptive element is key to understanding the human heart, yearning and need? So, are you able to use it with great circumspection in this case?
5. Insurance: please carefully go over this with a reliable agent. What each type of vehicle will entail for you both. I will pm you my thoughts should you care for them.
6. Look outwards into the Cortland, Endicott and similar areas; call dealers there via internet if you can. Autoworks of Ithaca also sells cars; George is the owner.
Be careful about one thing. Many dealers buy wrecked cars wholesale and repair them. By law, they have to declare certain things, because structural integrity can be compromised.
Please get the car ID number and ask if the vehicle has ever been in a major accident before. Get your insurance agent or your roommate's insurance agent help you negotiate this legal thornpatch.
They can do in seconds what will bog you down. They also do NOT want you buying these chopped up/refurbished cars, for obvious reasons and are happy to help!
God bless.