I still have a 90 Maxima with approx. 250K miles (odometer intermittant) and it still runs great. Only normal wear and tear items have had to be replaced. Plenty of power still (it's fun to "race" some of the newer sports cars and beat or at least keep up with them and watch their faces - I just laugh at them and pi** them off). Paint and trim and interior still look really good. Everything works. Gas could be going up to $4 in near future, so keep that in mind. I still get about 29 mph on hwy (checked when odometer is working) - not sure about city. Also not sure about 2000/2001 year for either model. Overall, I think they've both done well for all years. My timing belt change interval is 60K miles. Can't remember it it has the "interference" type engine that can be damaged if timing belt breaks (there's a web site of a timing belt manufacturer that lists this for all car - Gates Rubber, maybe?). I usually do the water pump at same time since they have it opened up - about $400 here to have independent mechanic do both). Good luck on your purchase, whatever you buy. I'm hoping to get another year or two from mine, before buying another good reliable used vehicle.

Congratulations, Kathleen. As some have said, you're making good progress. Next thing, as you say, get the debts paid off. May I make a suggestion? When the debts are paid, keep putting that amount away monthly for some time. When car needs repair (and not right away, of course) you can write a cheque. When it comes time for a replacement ... write a cheque. When you pay interest ... you put bread on someone else's table, not yours. My car, with just over 100,000 mi. on it, was 19 years old a year ago now when I bought it for cash. Later, an accident involved having the rear wheel track crooked, but I felt that, with not a lot over 100,000 miles on it, there were many good miles left in it, so instead of following the financially wisest path of scrapping it, I wrote another cheque for more to have it fixed than the price that I'd paid a few months before to buy it. Mainly to avoid the waste of precious energy, plus addition to the pollutant and global warming problems involved with building a new one, when repair involves mainly labour. No debt. But when one nears 80 one is in trouble if s/he needs to use debt to buy stuff. ole joyful

I keep a cooler in both of my cars. If I go to Pierre which is 40 miles away I uusally need it. When we go to Bismarck which is 3 hours away I for sure need it. I like to shop in ND because there is no sales tax on grocery and there is more competition because there is more grocery stores to choose from. In Pierre all we have is WM and a Super Valu. We have a grocery store 9 miles over but I don't go in there very ofter because the prices are high beins it is a town of 700

I've sold for 15 years for the same big Illinois company. Many things get factored into the rates. Experience ratings of both the vehicles and the drivers. Unfortuneately as we get older - 70 and above - rates increase. Your not going to see rate decreases unless you've lost a driving discount in the past and it is restored. Just because a car gets older doesn't mean diddly. That assumes if there is a loss that it will be a total loss and you will recieve a check for the cars value. Cars today don't get totaled that often, instead they are repaired and the cost for parts, labor etc. don't decrease so therefore they are passed on to us, the consumer. Cars that are 10 years old or more, the parts become a bit more difficult to find. Insurance companies don't want customers shopping every year or two and they certainly don't want stand alone policy holders. There's a lot of initial cost to setting up a policy, there's my time, the cost of running CLUE reports, credit and MVR's. Those are not free. Odds are a stand alone policy holder will file a claim while they are there, leave and the insurance company has lost money. Your Geico's, Nationwide and Progressive companies tolerate the "shoppers" until the claims hit them then they increase the rates to make up for it. They bring in the new blood which today is really your single under 30 drivers or those who only want liability insurance. Longevity does pay off with a company, it may not feel like it but it will. Having an agent to bounce things off of can be very beneficial. I have customers that I've worked with for 10 - 15 years, we both know they could probably go elsewhere and pay a little less but they won't get the service I give them. I'm licensed to sell insurance, I 've gone on websites to get quotes so that I can see what the average consumer is faced with when they do an online quote. How would you know what coverage is adequate and why you should have it unless you can talk to someone about it. If you do leave your company, don't immediately cancel your current carrier, big mistake. Cancel the automatic withdrawal and go to direct bill but wait until you have your new policy, the coverage's are what you wanted and the premiums are what you were expecting. Alot of companies underwrite after they bind you, pull the reports and guess what, there's a change in premiums. To keep the business, perhaps a deductible is increased or a coverage lost. Most companies can back date a termination as long as you provide proof that you are covered elsewhere. As for deductibles, in my experience the best way to go is a minimum of $1,000.00 on your home and $500.00 collsion deductible with a $100.00 comprehensive deductible. As for your homeowner's renewals, watch them closely. Many companies are going actual cash value for roofs and siding. Depending on the age of your roof, that can be a costly oversite. They will also offer you the renewal with a different deductible. I've seen the same company renewals come out with a 1% deductible. That is not 1% of a loss, that is 1% of your dwelling coverage. In this area our average dwelling coverage hovers right around $300,000 making the deductible $3,000.00. I could go on but I'll stop here. Just remember, insurance is one of those things we love to hate, it's not tangible but most of us today could not afford to self insure and that's what it's there for. Use it for the big stuff, forget about the small claims, they will cost you triple in the long run.