Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Looks like I'll need another car....suggestions???

Well - our claims adjuster finally called us today. He went out and looked at my car yesterday. He said he won't know for sure if the car is totaled, until monday. He said he has to compare prices, ect... but he says it looks like it "might" be a total.

So in the mean time, I've been looking for other cars that might be suitable. I know this is a contour website, but would anyone have any suggestions on a nice car, that won't be too expensive?

I have to buy a used car, I cannot afford a brand new one. (A year 2000 is as low as I will go though.) I'm just not sure which kind of a car to go with. I wanted to stick with Ford, but everyone says, "NO - not fords!" Then I say Chevy, and Dodge, and I get the same response! What is a girl to do???

I know I want something with a V6 - no 4 bangers allowed. Any suggestions for a good vehicle out there??

Thanks,
~ Kari ~

You don't say but it might help if you tell what you are able to spend and other than V6, what are your other desires in a car? Try looking at Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds to see what is out there in your price range. You could look for another Contour, they won't be too expensive.

Depends on what price you want, my father in law just picked up a 01 regal GS for about 15k. Nice car, accellerates like a bat out of hell and rides quite nicely, doens't handle the greatest though. Buick has a great reputation for quality, actually better then Mercedes (funny isn't it) I don't know how they do it especially as buicks are so similar to the other GM lines. The 3800 is a pretty durable engine, though it's been around for way too long.
What price are you looking at?

Ahh...sorry - I left that out. *smacks head*

The highest I *think* I can go is about $12,000 and that may be pushing it. I just don't want a 4 cylinder engine. They are way to slow, and most don't have good acceleration.

I was looking at the Chevy Malibu's BUT I haven't heard a lot of good things about those cars. I was also looking at the Monte Carlos or Impalas.

I would still consider another Contour if I could find a nice one. I've seen a few in papers from Dealerships, so I may give them another look.

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance
~ Kari ~

You can pick up contours for cheap! otherwise I would suggest you look at the saturn L300, you can pick one up for around 10-13k with low miles a nice 3L V6 in the 2000-2003 range and it is loaded with safety features! Starting in 2002 they came standard with side head curtain air bags, aside from the front air bags, offers 5 star crash rating and they dont corrode! I have worked at a Saturn dealer for 7 years and I used to sell these cars. I would avoid the 2000 model if your interested in the car because that is the first model year as with any 1st year car, will have some problems but anything from 2001 up is a good deal and you get a lot for the $$. Just a suggestion. I use www.autotraderonline.com and www.carsoup.com to look for vehicles. Good luck!

You could always grab a 2001 SVT for in the neighborhood of 9-10K pretty easily.

Problem would be finding one more than anything.

How bout a taurus......they're only old people cars if you let them be . You can get 2 V6s the vulcan is a lil less powerful, but very reliable and easy to maintain; the duratec has more power (3.0 Duratec ATX taurus feels faster than my 2.5 Duratec ATX stique) and are pretty reliable to the best of my knowledge. Over time my family has had a ton of Taurus and Sable models all have been very reliable and had minimun problems. And I'm sure that if you look around here in SE mich you can find a very nice one for your price range. Just an ex., my sisters 2000 sable we bought like 1.5 yrs ago, it has leather/cloth seats, 6 disc changer, pwr pedals, 16" wheels, mach audio, and vulcan and it had about 35K on it when we bought it for $13500. So, ya, you can prolly find one with lots of options and fairly low miles for that price. Personally for looks i would go with a last gen sable LS, they look very classy and have lotsa goodies, then next a last gen taurus. Try to get one with a floor console and shifter if u do. They're roomy, big trunk....they're a lil larger than the tour all around, but if you're ok with that go for it. Good luck.