<p>If you purchase a 2013 model this time of year while the 2014s are just coming out the 2013 is called an end of year car. Brand new, but last year’s model.</p>
<p>Yeah, sharing a car could be a pretty big pain…especially since we both tend to keep gym/dance stuff in ours. </p>
<p>I am crossing my fingers that the old guy’s insurance company will be fair to us. We got a great price on my daughter’s car by shopping extensively and driving 150 miles to get it. It had far fewer miles on it than most of the others we saw so I hope they will take that into account when they estimate the replacement cost. </p>
<p>I would be happy having her in a used Saab or Volvo (I have had both, and loved them). They are so sturdy and great in winter, but the repairs can be pricey. I will look into the other suggestions above as well. Everyone has been so helpful–thank you!</p>
<p>kiddie–thanks! We bought my H’s car that way, but didn’t know the term. </p>
<p>Sally–do you ever come across used Subarus? (That looks odd in the plural.) I would second the suggestion of Honda or Toyota as I have had luck with both. Had an Infiniti for ten years w/ no service issues also.</p>
<p>I bought a used car (for myself) from Enterprise, the car rental company. It was two years old, looked brand-new, had 23k miles on it, came with carfax and service history and the remainder of the manufacturer’s warranty. You can look up cars on their database:
[Buy</a> Used Cars at Enterprise Car Sales, Rental Cars for Sale](<a href=“http://www.enterprisecarsales.com/gate/pp?gatedItem=4&gatedPath=~%2Fbuy-a-car-hub]Buy”>http://www.enterprisecarsales.com/gate/pp?gatedItem=4&gatedPath=~%2Fbuy-a-car-hub)</p>
<p>Definitely a better deal than I found at car dealerships.</p>
<p>If you have something to trade in, so much the better–they often have sales during which they offer a premium over the Blue Book value of the trade-in. I traded in a 1996 minivan with 199k miles and a slipping transmission. The value was zero but they had a $1000-plus-book-value deal so the car I bought was $1000 cheaper.</p>
<p>Also, you can bring back the car within 7 days and get all of your money back except for the registration fees if they take care of that.</p>
<p>Good idea to look for used Subaru, with all wheel drive, if snow is a problem often.</p>
<p>
I like to watch HDTV and H watches regular channel. As an example, channel 4 (NBC) is regular and 504 is HDTV. He likes volume high and I like it low, so it irritates me when I turn the TV on and the volume is so high that I jump. This is what happens after 30 years of marriage.</p>
<p>We are big fans of Toyota. We’ve had two Toyota trucks and two Toyota cars. We’ve gotten great service from all. I love my Toyota Prius. A used Prius might be a good car for your D. Great gas mileage and a surprising amt. of storage in the back.</p>
<p>I’ve had luck in the past with Hertz car sales. In general, since I buy cars until they are pretty far depreciated, I have handed down my cars and buy a late model used for myself. I did need car for D who is in a remote college town the middle of her junior year. I bought a used 2009 Honda CRV with 93 K miles on Craigs list for about 10K. Yes, I thought about all the options you had and decided that 10K was what I needed to spend for a reliable car that would make the trip to and from her college town about 13 hours away. If you can find a Honda, Subaru, or Toyota with less than 100K they should still last a long time and very reliable. </p>
<p>Hand me downs are the best. My parents just gave me their 2005 Toyota RAV with only 24K miles on it!!! What a gem and I love it. Now I can hand down my 2008 Toyota Matrix.</p>
<p>1214, a Subaru would be great but they are very popular here and apparently not cheap, even used. I am looking, though! People also love their Hondas and Toyotas–have never had one but the reviews on most models are good.</p>
<p>I will also check out the rental car websites. Looking forward to Monday (for once:)) so I can make a little more progress with the insurance company and damage estimate.</p>
<p>I’m offended by the very term “beater”. I drive a 1995 Saturn that is now worth more than would I paid for it 8 years ago, and I laugh as I watch my friends with newer cars pay out thousands of dollars in the shop. It seems they have the “beater”, not me.</p>
<p>If the car’s totaled, shouldn’t you get enough money from the insurance company to buy a car of similar value?</p>
<p>One of my coworkers used to drive a 2003 car that he liked very much, but a few months ago, somebody hit it while it was parked. The damage did not seem extensive, but because the price of the repairs exceeded the value of the car, his insurance company declared it totaled. Since he could not afford to buy a newer and better car at the moment, he took the insurance company’s money and bought an almost identical car, also a 2003 model.</p>
<p>Perhaps your family could do something similar.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In theory.</p>
<p>However, if you know your own car’s maintenance history and mechanical condition, a similar used car from the used car market involves additional risk, due to unknown previous owner care and maintenance or lack thereof. Careful inspection can reduce, but not eliminate, such risk. You might get lucky to find a very carefully cared for car with full records, but many owners of such cars do not put them up for sale.</p>
<p>Of course, if you know of a hidden problem in your car that will bring an impending expensive repair, a total loss payout may be one of the best things to happen.</p>
<p>My d. totaled the car on her first attempt to learn to drive not 40 yards from the house. She drove under a truck. (;))</p>
<p>The insurance company gave us $400 more than we’d paid for it, and we bought the same car, even the same color. It then got totaled by someone on the highway (not my wife’s fault), and we made a little more. Go figure. Got a different so-called “beater” - a 1997 Saturn Wagon that my wife uses for work, and has 200,000+, and almost never needs anything but new tires.</p>
<p>NJRes,
The insurance company paid you for the totalled car and didn’t require you to turn over the title to them? I thought they usually required you to title. It over to them. My older s car was in an accident and although it was a relatively young car with not a lot of miles it was totalled out. Long story short, apparently the insu co sold it at auction , someone rebuilt/ repaired it and I ran into it and the new owner in a parking lot!! And apparently the insu co forgot ( well and my s too) to take our insu card out of the glove box!</p>
<p>Marian, in theory, I believe so. But determining the fair market value seems to be where the negotiations start. I just paid $600 not three weeks ago for a new radiator for her car. We have put in close to $1000 since she got it at the beginning of the year. It also came with an aftermarket remote starter which was the best thing ever since we don’t have a garage.</p>
<p>We have started accumulating Craigslist listings on similar models to make a case for fair compensation in case the amount the other guy’s insurance offers is too low. Apparently insurance companies are not allowed to use Blue Book values. So we now have a number of similar cars to choose from if we decide to go that route. </p>
<p>On another note, in my research I found a great car I had never known about–a Saabaru! Anyone ever heard of it? Apparently it was the product of a short-lived relationship between Saab and Subaru. My dad said it was like a Labradoodle.</p>
<p>A saabaru. That’s hysterical! Heck, we could fantasize about other possible car blends- how about a toyonda or a buouth? Or a corvedes, cheviniti or a jagura!</p>
<p>Really, Sally, can’t use the Blue Book value? </p>
<p>I once got book value for a car because the insurance company told me it would cost more than that to fix. It actually cost a lot less for me to fix and i pocketed the difference.</p>
<p>I guess car insurance is regulated by the state.</p>
<p>Haha, jym!</p>
<p>oldmom, I read that in a forum somewhere. The post was written by a former claims adjuster. Not sure what state he/she was in.</p>
<p>Quote:
In this family, the parents got the new cars and the kids got our reliable hand me downs. I just bought a new Volvo and DD was given my old one. </p>
<p>Us too. Except two weeks after we’d bought our new car and gave our D the “reliable” Honda Accord (shipped it across the country), it needed a new transmission. Everything else was great on the car, so we did repair it. I hope it was the right move.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The Saab 9-2x is basically a Subaru Impreza with a Saab badge and styling.
[Subaru</a> Impreza (second generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Subaru Impreza (second generation) - Wikipedia”>Subaru Impreza (second generation) - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Re: total loss valuation</p>
<p>An insurance company probably subscribes to a service that surveys cars for sale and recently sold at dealers and attempts to value the car based on year, make, model, options, mileage, condition (of undamaged parts of the car) in comparison to the cars for sale and recently sold. Note that use of mileage as a proxy for mechanical condition means that significant over or under valuation can occur when the actual mechanical condition differs significantly from what is assumed from the mileage.</p>