My approach would be to buy an exciting older car. I'd be more specific if I knew what excites you. :-)

Friends visited us this past weekend in their new Tesla. I drove it briefly and they were showing me the three performance settings: "Normal", "Sport" and "Ludicrous". It drove like a dream, but I think the price puts it far out of what I'd be willing to spend. Plus on their trip from Charlotte to Charlottesville, they had to stop once for 45 minutes to recharge, and again for about 25 minutes to top it off, since apparently there aren't any "supercharger stations" in the Charlottesville area.

Good luck finding a car you will love.

I love all cars! I have an appointment to go see a 2012 Hyundai Sonata this Saturday. My son has to drive this car and it's really what will be "his car" so I need for it to be reliable and safe. I still have my Miata and I might let him drive it sometimes. It needs to be a sedan, I think. We already have a cool sports car. It needs to be older so I can afford it. It needs to be, well nothing I can think of. I wish it would be a manual, but I do sit in stop/go traffic a lot so maybe not. I know, it needs to be fun if not sexy ;)

I'd take a Tesla Roadster even if it needed charging every five feet.

ETA to add the picture. Getting an idea of what I love? Can't have my son driving this sucker.

I bought a 2004 Chevy Cavalier Coupe new - only new car I've ever had. It's been the best car, even after 91,000 miles. Only now rust has reared its ugly head again along the rocker panel on the driver's side and where I had body work done and painted once long ago, there is minor paint peeling. Up until last Summer the Chevy garage where I take it for oil changes and gen. maint. practically begged me for the car every time. That was until more cosmetic issues began. lol

I just can't let go. Last time I checked, rust repair and paint would cost $2800 - that's $1200 more than the car is worth. Well not sure what it's worth right now, and I'm speaking of trade-in value. I kept telling the sales people that 2017 would be the year I'd buy a new car but I'm still hedging.

The Buick Encore keeps tempting me. However I've always wanted another dark brown car like I had long ago and the Encore doesn't come in brown. : )

Yea, I was hoping to wait until 2018, but now works ok. Just paint your Cavalier that dark brown and that's cheaper than a new car?

We have 2 older jeep grand Cherokees. (1996 and 2004) and a 2000 Saturn 3dr. It's awesome on gas mileage, runs great, cute little third door for getting in the backseat, but the older I get, the harder it is to get in and out of lol. My next vehicle will definitely be bigger than this one! I'm o.k. with a sedan, but I want 4 wheel drive. Not all wheel. This is my little Sat......

My husband bought a 2007 Chevy HHR (like the PT Cruiser) a few years ago at the car auction. It sat until he could repair the power steering and a few other things. I drive it now and I love it..Easier for my husband, who had surgery on both legs, to get in and out of, easier to put groceries in and take them out than a trunk. I like the style and the color, a champagne gold.

I remember those 3rd doors. Not a lot of them around; I'd hang onto that, since it's rather cool!

I thought four wheel drive was all wheel drive.

Love champagne gold! The first time I saw my "dream car" (Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4) it was champagne. Awesome. They don't make them anymore. All wheel steering, an absolute beast on the road. Bet my son could see himself driving it.

schoolhouse -- Ask yourself what *replacing* the car will cost.

We're still driving our 2005 X Type VDP (35K miles). It cost more than it was worth to repair it in 2012 -- after DH was T-boned at a stop sign by a teenage girl. (Her insurance paid, reluctantly.) It would have cost a lot more for us to *replace* it.

We'd traded in an a big sedan and bought this with 2700 miles and a 6 yr warranty. It has 'sports assist' and can really *move*. I'd buy this again if Jaguar still made it. (The warranty was nice insurance, but we never had any problems with this car.)

DH and I drive past a Tesla showroom often. (He's driving, which is why we never stop.) I like 'em -- as seen 'up close' around town, but never driven.

We just lost my car -- VW Jetta wagon. It was a diesel and VW had to buy it back since they lied about emissions. The good part is they had to pay more than the 2009 car was worth. The bad part is that I really liked that car -- wonderful mileage, easy to get in and out of, lots of hauling room, didn't take up a lot of room on the road, and the right size for me. We had to replace it before VW took it, so I'm now driving a 2006 VW Beetle, also a diesel, but old enough they didn't lie about the engine. No love there, but plenty to like. It's comfortable, has a vase for a flower, handles great, gets good mileage. It also has a radio with a short so it drains the battery, sits too low, lets me know about every bump on the road, only had two doors and limited (very limited) trunk space. But the grandkids love it -- named it Herbie. It's not my dream car, but will have to do until the real thing comes along.

chi, if you're a car lover, don't drive a Tesla until you're ready to buy. It'd make you sad not to have it (when it is in the ludicrous mode).

Nora, I hope you get to have your dream car. I'm just glad we can get something that runs. If I win the lottery I'll buy you whatever you want.

Thanks, Rob. Although I don't dream very high priced, I won't hold you to that. LF may have other plans for any lottery money!

Don't talk to me about cars.....you'll regret it! LOL! Rob, you know how much I know about cars. You'll like the Sonata......

What happened to the Acura? I know the Miata's not going anywhere!

rob, sounds like you'd be happy with something like this? You can lash grocery bags to the spoiler in back.

There's a difference between all-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive. 4-wheel drive provides far more traction, and the vehicle is not put into 4-wheel drive until needed--as in the case of snow or off-road travel. Our pickup has 4-wheel drive, with two different levels (one is "heavy duty" for big snows or driving through mud or sand)--that is a must to get up our driveway when it snows.

Glad to see this post! Good luck. I am also car shopping. I am a budget shopper as well. I've had great luck with Honda.

elmer, dee is right, I still have the grocery getter. Red and fun, just not as fast as that. Might be fun though!

dee, the serpentine belt broke in addition to something breaking off the engine and putting a hole in things. $3000+ to fix. I was getting a new car within months anyhow, and I've been eyeing the Sonata. The one I have on hold is the top of the line luxury edition. I'll drive you around in it (you can drive it too) if it's as nice as I think. Up to my highly reliable mechanic. PS the mechanic has been best friends with my brother since we were all in high school. He's worked on my red baby when I didn't want to. He's done me right plenty. I know I can trust him

>>four wheel drive was all wheel drive.>>

Wanda's correct, there's a distinct difference. If you are really dealing with off-roads, mud or heavy snow on hills, you would want 4-wheel drive.

AWD helps with sloppy street and highway road conditions, and is suited for light-to-moderate off-roading. If you're driving in snowy winters, it's best to switch to snow tires even with AWD.

A front-wheel drive car with snow tires can match most AWD cars, if ground clearance is not an issue.

A lot of people confuse the increased stability of "traction control systems" that go under various names, with AWD. I have heard it described as AWD can be very useful getting you STARTED on a snowy road, but it's a traction control system that will be more helpful when the tires lose their grip on the road.

A full explanation of the differences between 2WD, 4WD, and AWD was summarized by Consumer Reports:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/2wd-awd-or-4wd-how-much-traction-do-you-need/index.htm

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In my dream life (or when I win the lottery, which would be difficult since we never remember to buy tickets), my perfect home would be relatively modest but have a 6-car garage. I want:

- Bentley Continental GT. Because it's big. And beautiful. OK, it's nouveau riche flashy (it's also known as the "Beverly Hills Corvette"). I don't care, I want one.

- Tesla S. We live in NorCA, so supercharger stations are common. 300 miles gets us to Monterey and back, that works!

- Rebuilt Jaguar XKE with a Ford V-8 engine. Simply the most gorgeous car ever designed, even if it was a piece of unreliable carp.

- Mazda 3. Small, fast, fun to drive. This is what I'd take to go to the grocery store when I'm craving Italian gelato or forgot to buy a loaf of bread.

- Mercedes AMG S65 coupe. Finally, MBZ makes another sexy, super-fast, two-door coupe. Yum!

The sixth slot is for the next gorgeous, sexy, fast, car that catches my heart, LOL. Something with auto-drive, for when I'm feeling lazy, maybe?

Sigh.

In reality, we're looking for another SUV and I'll probably end up with the Ford Edge Sport. I will look at the Honda CR-V to check it out (the storage specs are actually the same with the 2017 Honda as they are with the much bigger Edge) but that 315 hp twin-turbocharged engine is beckoning me..........

My DH is no help at all. He says he can drive anything, and I just have to pick what makes me happy. That's great, but that means the additional cost of the Edge over the CR-V is all on me!

katlan, that is also one disadvantage of my Cavalier - it's getting to be a bit of a pain to get out of. Also there is a rip in the upholstery on the driver's seat back, really can't be stitched or patched properly. I hunted all over the internet for seat covers for a 2004 Chevy Cavalier and they don't make them anymore nor a style that would fit.

Incidentally, while at the town market the other day I pulled up next to another black Cavalier very similar in style to mine. As soon as I walked into the store I saw a young man in line at the register and asked if that was his Cavalier. He said he had just found it and it was a 2002 with 98,000 miles. I could see where bits along the rocker panel had been painted, but not professionally. Looked ok tho. The rest of the car looked to be in good shape. He said it runs great and why make car payments when you don't have to.

Paint it dark brown! Hey, you may have something there. LOL

I rode in a Miata one time. We attended a reunion In New Hampshire, and the pastor from our old church had a Miata, and I went with him to get more ice cream. I was sure glad we only had to get a couple gallon buckets of it. LOL It was tiny, but lots of fun.

I drive a nice little Hyundai Elantra. We leased one on a quick trip to Florida, and just loved driving it. Plus the trunk is big enough to put a body or two if needed. =0) I got this one almost new in 2008, with just 6000 Miles on her. It belonged to one of the doctors where my Cardiologist has his office. He was going back to Korea to care for his aging parents and so wanted to sell it quickly. He told me what he wanted for it and it was super reasonable, so I took a look, drive it down a few windy roads, etc, came back and wrote him a check. We take it with us when we travel with the RV. I don't drive it a lot since we still have our "main" car, a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis. But sometimes Tobey goes in one direction and me in another. My Elantra has 72,000 mile and the Mercury has 140,000 plus. He had all new belts, hoses, and some other stuff done at 100,000 miles, so it's good for another day or three.

Good luck car shopping. Hope you find an amazing car.

OT

Lamborghini Countach 5000S Coupe