The Car Care Thread

[pathtaken]

Fuck cred.
More room =s less fighting in the back whilst driving.
Meaning less headaches and near accidents.

"He's touching me." "I always sit in the middle!"
"He's picking his nose and eating it! I can't sit next to him!" "She licked me."

[batmom]

Just a warning, deadduck. I mentioned that we would be looking at getting a new car in a couple of years and your mother is of the opinion that we need a minivan. I refrained from telling her that I would rather die.

But now I find myself in a bit of a bind, because I don't want an SUV either. My vote is for a large station wagon of some kind (I keep looking at the Subaru Outbacks - not pretty, but practical). I guess we'll just have to wait and see (particularly to see what the money front looks like).

[Sunnyhorse]

Batmom, my sister, who lives up a mountain in Idaho, looooooooves her Outback -- she doesn't have kids, but she's transported sled dogs in it, so space shouldn't be an issue.

Pathtaken, we've owned our Ford F150 for almost six years, and it's yet to have any real problems. We haven't been easy on it, either -- Mr. Sunnyhorse drove it 60 miles a day for several years, plus we've hauled everything you can think of in it and pulled a horse trailer.

[Ripley]

I had some friends who had either a Subaru Forester or Outback, and they loved it.

[woodchipper]

Go with the Outback! I love Disco Stu, my 1998 Subaru Outback. My in-laws have had Subarus for the last 20 years and convinced me to get one. Added bonus: dad-in-law will diagnose small problems over the phone in exchange for cookies. God willing this car will last 10 more years (and at my rate of 3500 miles a year, it just might!)

[Sunnyhorse]

Disco Stu

Quite possibly the best car name ever. <Stu>All right!</Stu>

[spider]

I loved my Outback. But the gas mileage is pretty awful, a function of the engine style, so I wouldn't recommend one for commuting. For taking 5 adults and all their shit to the mountain however it can't be beat. And you can sleep in it in a pinch.

So I can't find a good used Corolla anywhere but I have found tons of Saturns that fit the bill- I want a wagon for taking on trips and I want a 5-speed. What gives with the Saturns? They seem fairly simple mechanically (I'm looking at mid-to-late 90s models) and they seem to be pretty reliable and cheap to work on to boot. Anyone got any opinons?

And don't bother telling me to get a Honda, I would totally buy a used Honda Accord wagon if the hippies that live around here didn't think that a 15 year old Honda with 200,000 miles and a cracked head gasket was worth at least $4k. I suspect some kind of pyramid scheme.

[Metizia]

What are curb feelers?

[Brookie]

These things
I think the theory behind them is you install two in front and two in the rear near the tires to make sure you don't come too close to the curb while parking. I can't believe there are websites that still sell these damn things.

[topher]

They seem fairly simple mechanically (I'm looking at mid-to-late 90s models) and they seem to be pretty reliable and cheap to work on to boot. Anyone got any opinons?

The alternators in the SC were a problem for us. Yes, I did own a Saturn, actually my wife did.