Car Talk

[madbaker]

I drive a Saturn wagon. It's nine years old and has 128k on it. With my 70 mile round-trip commute, I make sure to get regular maintenance done, so it's in reasonable shape - for its age and planned obsolescence status. It's an American car, after all; it's not made to go this far. Nothing major is wrong with it - yet - but lots of plastic bits have broken. Annoying things, like the driver's side sunvisor snap and the overhead light clips (the light falls down, suspended from wires, and has to be awkwardly jammed back in...)

It's also black and has no air conditioning. Granted, I live in the Bay Area so it's not as bad as many places, but still. The car is an oven and doesn't cool down if it's a sunny day. It can be 70 degrees out but 95 inside.

Can you tell I'm getting sick of this beast? It's had a decent run but it's time to consider alternatives. Originally we were going to wait until next year, when the wife is (knock on formica) gainfully employed and we're no longer paying school tuition. Dunno if I can make it that long though.

We haul a lot of stuff and weight to SCA events. I don't want a minivan or a pickup, so I'm looking mainly at large wagons and SUV/wagon crossovers. The biggest problem has been finding something that not only has more cubic, but more payload capacity. The Subaru Forester, for example, only hauls 50 lbs more than the Saturn. We could get that increase by committing to a diet!

One of the vehicles worth considering is building a hybrid version next year. That might be an incentive to wait since I don't think gas prices are going back down. I haven't been able to try any test drives, though, so we're not even at the serious consideration stage. I'd like to get there, but the father-in-law bureaucracy comes first...

What I'm reading: Peter F. Hamilton, The Neutronium Alchemist

Comments

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

What about the PT Cruiser? They are compact, yet, being based on old panel trucks, they have a lot of storage room...

I got a lot of stuff in my old Honda Wagon...

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

My parents just bought a highlander. I wanted them to wait for the hybrid, but they only drive 8,000 miles a year, so figured it wasn't worth it for them. :-> They got a great deal -- my sister-in-law's brother's friend (what a mouthful!) is the Toyota fleet manager for the region, and they got exactly what they wanted, when they wanted it, and didn't have to screw around with any middlemen. They told him I was looking at a Prius, but with a 5 month waiting period, I'm obviously not in any rush. :->

Man, that reminds me -- I need to get my subaru in for its 60K maintenance. Gah. That's going to be expensive. I've been really happy with it, but it only gets 25 mpg, and I've got a 52 mile round trip commute.

[roswtr.livejournal.com]

I haven't done any serious investigation, but I saw an ad for the new Ford Escape hybrid that's supposed to be available starting Real Soon Now.

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

We're going to have to start considering options sometime in the next couple years. Our car is just a bit older than yours, has more mileage, and has been through three major accidents (you can't tell by looking at it -- good body work!). Having just spent somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand dollars this year in maintenance/repairs (oil leaks, and such), we're hesitant right now to do anything (not counting my job situation ... sigh). But I fear we will have no choice in the next couple of years.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

If you want a hybrid next year, go to a dealership and put in a deposit now. My sister, who has a Prius, says her local dealerships have waiting lists longer than a year.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I forgot: if you only need to haul to SCA events, you might want a smaller car that can take a trailer. That way you're not paying for (via $ and gas) everyday, just when you have a trailer on.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I put 22K on the Saturn in the last twelve months - so a hybrid does sound better than the 18 MPG the regular version gets.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

(2nd try)
I like the looks of the PT Cruiser. Unfortunately, being on a subcompact chassis, it only has 4 more cubic feet storage than the Saturn. And the exact same load capacity.

[loup_noir]

I'm driving a '90 Subaru Legacy wagon. Bits and pieces are falling off of it, but I can fit just about anything inside. It gets 28 mpg without any babying. I'd love to get a newish Forrester, but there's that silly money thing.

The hybrids are pretty darn cool. They're all the rage out here. Did they overcome the power problem? That's been my main reservation about them. You need to be able to hold your own on the freeway system and be able to climb a grade without endangering yourself and other traffic.

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

Well, hey, if you decide you're interested, I can see if I can get this guy's contact info for you. The wait list for the hybrid, as Cynthia says, is pretty darn long, so you have lots of time to decide.

He's on your side of the bay (either Belmont or Brisbane -- I can't remember), so it's much more convenient for you than me. And since he knows my folks now, we can just make you an honorary cousin. :->

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Thanks! If we decide that this is what we want, we'll take you up on the offer. 8)

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

My sister goes 75+ in hers often. She's a madwoman.

[farmount.livejournal.com]

Hybrids are way cool. I love my little hybrid, and the biggest thing that pisses me off with it is that it only takes 2 people. It hauls an astonishing amount of stuff given the size, though.

Have you thought of getting something that could haul a trailer? That way the payload capacity wouldn't be as much of an issue. I've found that I am much happier now that we have the trailer versus all the years I struggled with wagons, vans, etc.

9 years old and only 128K miles on it? Wow. I figure I'll turn over 100K sometime this year or next. Granted, I do have a not-so-short commute.

[farmount.livejournal.com]

One day I got really pissed and floored my little Insight.

111 miles per hour.

I routinely average 70-80 mph on my commute. Still get around 50mpg while doing that and going up mountains on a daily basis.

Yeah, they're way cool.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

But we've put over 50K on it in just the last three years...

We still need payload capacity for things like the pavilion poles, which are too long for a trailer. I dunno, I'm happy with wagons.