Car advice

I'm looking at ways I can keep my Civic, but also have something to get to the snow. I want to keep my car because I don't want to quit my job as a result of snowboarding.

One option is buy 1/4 of a Tacoma, have my younger brother pay for the other 3/4 since I will only drive it three or four months a year and he would drive my Civic during that time. He was actually pretty enthused about the idea. Sounds good to me.

 

Second the CR-V. I have a '98 with almost 105,000 miles on it, and it has never -- that's never -- been in the shop for anything but routine maintenance. Needs new shocks now, but otherwise runs fine.

And yes, I realize have just jinxed my CR-V and it will never start again. ;D

 

You'll never regret buying a four-wheel drive. Never. Look on AutoTrader.com and you should be able to find a good deal. I had to drive 200 miles to get my '92 Toyota, but for the price it was well worth it. It had 118,000 on it, and for a Toyota that's just getting broke in. I expect to put another 100K on it at least. With the snow and sleet and freezing rain in the past day, it will save me. Mileage sucks, but what the fuck. A man drives a four-wheel drive.

 

CradleRobber: An Outback would be a very good choice. So would an Audi wagon, if you can find a good deal on one. Or, given your youth, take a look at the wagon version of the Subaru Impreza WRX (wagons are built to haul stuff; the WRX wagon hauls ass ). SUVs and pickup trucks suffer from the problems of high weight and high center of gravity, and most have only part-time 4WD. True all-wheel drive is a better choice for driving to the ski resort.

Be very wary of any version of the Pathfinder, Frontier or Xterra built with Nissan's 3.0- or 3.3-liter engine (basically, any version prior to the current models). The exhaust manifolds on those engines are known for their tendency to rot.

 

I've decided I'd like to try to keep my current job for the foreseeable future. I get 30 miles per gallon now, and that still hits me with a hefty gas bill. With a 120-mile round trip, I would use 8 gallons in gas with most SUVs I could get. That's 20 dollars, when I'm only making 10 per hour and only working five or six hours each trip. Doesn't make sense to do that.

Thanks for the Audi suggestion, 2mcm. I'm still looking into everything and taking more suggestions.