Looking at Cars

I am car shopping. My 96 Saturn is ready to go - it has 255,000 miles on the original engine. It's due for a clutch, and tires, and shocks and struts, it burns a bit of oil, the front end is loose. It's past the point where I can justify putting more money into it.


I'm considering a Saturn to replace it. Because (a) when you get 255,000 miles out of a car, it builds a bit of brand loyalty, (b) I remain stubbornly convinced I should buy American if I can, (c) I've driven one (rental) and liked it and (d) nothing that Ford, Chevy, or Dodge (or the affiliated brands) makes blows my dress up. So I have an appointment tomorrow to look at a pretty stripped down Saturn Ion 2 - manual transmission. Honestly, I'd just as soon have crank windows and stuff although I suspect that might be hard to find. But we are talking basic. I really do not care about color. I suspect I might end up with a leftover 2007.

But just in case, I did some tire kicking today at the Nissan dealership, looking at the Versa. A small car, but plenty roomie. (I'm concerned the Saturn might be a bit tight in terms of headroom) Not bad - the only real thing I did not like were the environmental controls (felt kind of delicate). So the Versa is a decent fallback option.