Buying a New Car

[glatt]

Originally Posted by monster

Um so I are a car idiot. But, after driving the 2012 T&C then going back to my 12yo windstar, I prefer my Windstar.

I know exactly what you mean. My 16 year old Geo Prizm is better than any new car offered for sale today. That I can afford, anyway. I'm gonna drive this thing into the ground. I figure if we spend on average $1K a year on repairs to keep it going in top form, we're better off than buying a new car.

Try shopping around for a transmission place before you need the work done. The chains and the dealers are going to charge the most. There's probably a hole in the wall transmission place that does good work and is half what those other places charge. About 18 years ago, our old Buick's transmission died, and the tow truck driver took it to a little shop he knew of. I forget the actual numbers, but a couple weeks later we went to a funeral and I was talking to an uncle who had just had the transmission fixed at Aamco for his car, and he paid 3 times more than I had paid. He was pissed when he heard that.