Car woes

I've got car woes.

Oh, there's really nothing wrong with my car. It's nothing special, but it gets me from one place to another. Yes, its fenders are rippled and dinged, its bumpers scuffed. There's that annoying indicator light that stays on all the time, even though my mechanic's says the light's the problem, not the thing it represents. It still runs.

But I want a new car.

I've been driving the 1999 Volkswagen Passat Wagon we bought for Our Son when he learned to drive back in 2005. It was economical; it was safe - drivers, passengers, and side airbags - it could carry around the musical instruments he was playing at the time. It wasn't racy or something that would tempt him into reckless driving; yet at the same time it wasn't a lame grandma kind of car. Nor was it a giant gas guzzler.

When we bought the Volkswagen, we already had a 2001 Mercury Sable wagon - bought because [The Man I Love] is an upright bass player and we needed a vehicle that could haul one around. It also came in handy, with its back rumble seat, for ferrying the middle-school car-pool from our neighborhood to the bus-stop. I could carry seven kids in that car, all wearing seat-belts!

We also had a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder convertible - that was my very own personal mid-life crisis car that I chose for myself. Unfortunately for me, when I bought it I had a 40 mile commute on the freeway, and quickly learned how uncomfortable it is to drive a stick shift - let alone an open converitible - on the 405 everyday.

That's how I ended up with the Sable, driving the carpool, and [The Man I Love] got to cruise through Brentwood everyday with the top down in the Eclipse.

But that was all before Our Son went to college. When he left, we were a 3-car family with only 2 people at home. It turned out that the Passat - wrinkled fenders and all - was more fun to drive to drive than the Sable, which heaved and bounced like a couch around the S-curves of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. So I drove the Passat throughout our son's freshman year, [The Man I Love] cruised in my convertible, and the Sable sat in the driveway, its wiring and engine cavities tempting our rural wildlife for nesting and chewing on its tasty insulation.

When Our Son came home for the summer, we got the Sable running again, and then when Our Son went back to school, it was the convertible that sat under the oak trees, where rats hid acorns in its engine compartment.

All our cars suffered high maintenance bills from wildlife activity, but eventually we were faced with a $2500 repair bill for the convertible. By that time, it was an 8 year old car with 90,o00 miles on it. The mechanic offered to buy it from us, and we agreed.

So we were a two-car family. With two cars in bad shape.

It was the Sable that gave out first. So we bought a new car for [The Man I Love]. But the Passat is on its last legs. We recently had a repair estimate for about $600.00.

We're going to wait until June, at least, to make any changes, but in the meantime, I'm planning on doing some car shopping to figure out what I want.

I know I want a small car, inexpensive, with great gas mileage. The Fusion Hybrid is our "deluxe" car, so for me I just want a commuter car. And I want to spend less than $20,000.

So that means a Mini is out, at $28,000 new, and $22,000 for a recent used.

A while ago, I rented one of these, and it was a lot of fun to drive. It goes for about $16,000 new, and holds its price pretty well - used Smart Cars are about the same price as new ones. I had a blast driving it, and I loved the attention people gave to it. But I'm not sure it's the best for our rural roads. And it's not a conventional choice.

And it reminded me a little of a car I once had in the '80s. A little odd.

Renault Alliance

I admit I am aware I've made some pretty quirky car choices in the past. Like this one.

Fiat 124

And this one. I bought that one from a friend. Six months later the frame broke apart.

But this time, I'm not buying old used cars. I want something reliable. I'm looking at modern technology cars, new or a couple years old if used.

Toyota's Yaris is a small car that's supposed to get good mileage and be reliable. They go for about $18,000 new, and a recent used one goes for about $13,000. It looks a bit like an egg. Only boring.

The Honda Fit looks a little more interesting. They cost about $19,000 new, and about $16,000 used.

But neither of them are a hybrid, and I really like [The Man I Love]'s hybrid. Why doesn't someone make a mini-compact in a hybrid?

Honda's new Insight is probably the cheapest hybrid on the market, at about $20,000 new.

But you can get a 1-2 year old used Toyota Prius for about the same price.

I've also had people recommend that I look for a used Toyota Camry. You can get a 1-2 year old Camry Hybrid for about $20,000, or a used non-hybrid for about $14,000. Camrys are reliable - but I find them boring. And I don't think I need that big a car.

So....what would you buy, if you wanted a small, energy efficient commuter car for between $12,000 and $16,000?