the other day, as Chris pulled out of the driveway to go to a store for me I noticed that our car was making spluttering sounds as he drove away. I gave him a call on the cellphone and asked him if he heard the car making funny noises but he didn’t think that it did … still … our car is getting kind of old. It’s a 1996 Ford Contour. So it’s 13 or 14 years old.
I’m actually amazed at how good it looks. It has a few tiny rust spots but other than that you’d never know the car was as old as it is.
I have a feeling, given it’s age and the spluttering sounds I heard the other day (no matter that my husband didn’t) that we’ll be looking for another car in a year or so. Hopefully not sooner! I mean it’s bound to start having some kind of serious problem – right?
Hmm maybe I’ll check online to find out which cars have the best safety ratings, best mileage etc. That’s what I did last time when we were getting our current car. I also spent some time looking for insurance online where I could compare or get quotes for car insurance prices for the cars we were interested in.
I’d love to get a Hybrid, maybe a Smart car … but I think they are too pricey for us right now unless we get a “mildly” used one. As it stands, unless Chris or I start making a ton of money our next car will probably be a used one, no matter what kind we get.
Are you driving an older car? Have you been thinking about getting a new or used car soon to replace your current one?
Our last two cars we’ve bought 2nd hand and really haven’t had any problems at all. In fact, both of them we ended up getting good deals on and the cars themselves were in pretty good shape. Both cars being automatic versus stick, stick is normal in Europe. Also, both cars were/are originally equipped for a disabled person so the cars were in relatively good shape considering the previous owners didn’t drive them often and took good care of the cars. So that could be an option, trying to find a 2nd hand car being handicapped equipped, within reason of course. You may find a better deal, especially in today’s economy. Our current car is still handicapped equipped. It has a “ring” right behind the steering wheel to act as the gas pedal and a handle off to the right of the steering wheel to act as the brake. One can still use the pedals if you wish. We saved a good chunk of change (probably to the tune of over $4k) buying this specific car compared to the same model and more kilometers that wasn’t handicapped equipped.