Whats up guys?

[comingbackdown]

Trust me, I would have no qualms with getting a cheaper car. It's more my parents pushing that price range because my mom thinks getting the newest possible car will be the safest car.

Unfortunately, she is not necessarily correct.

My first car was a beat up, busted up, piece of shit 1994 Cavalier. It survived an accidental (and I might add, totally out of my control) off-road incident. That incident took that car a good 100-200 feet north (my reckoning of distance sucks. More like half-again as much) of the spot where I left the road, and a good 80+ feet away from the road itself with a good 15-20 foot drop. The only reason my strut towers didn't punch through my hood was because the ground was soft, but it survived. After that the unibody started to separate, but it got me through that incident alive and totally unharmed. No airbags, no frills, just a seatbelt and a shell of rusted metal.

Now I drive a 1992 Dodge Dakota Sport.

I have no fear for my safety. I trust the vehicles I drive with my life, and haven't been let down, and I have never routinely driven anything newer than a 2005 model year. 90% of the time, I drive my truck.

Yeah, I know that she isn't necessarily correct But you understand how moms can be when it comes to their children. My sister had a experience of where she was rear ended at approximately 45 mph while she was at stoplight, and pushed into the car in front of her, and she escaped with only minor injuries, despite her car being totaled. My mom believes that her car has protected her well and that I have to get a newer car to be safe. I wouldn't mind getting an older car, as they can be just as safe,but this is one point that my mom really won't budge on.

So, either roll with it or prove her wrong.

[beowulf80]

So how stuck are you on a foriegn over a domestic? If we were talking about a late 80's/early 90's car I could understand some trepedation. Hell, you should probably run. But for the newer stuff, the domestics are either very close, and in some cases better quality than the foreign brands. Additionally, if it does break they generally are far less costly to repair.

Just to tempt you/get you thinking...2005 Cobalt SS. http://www.insideline.com/chevrolet/cob ... arged.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_ ... ifications

Sure, its "only" supercharged with 205HP. More than enough by your definition.
In your case the 2008's being turbo'ed to put out 260 HP means the desireability, and thus the price of the '05 to '07 models is lower. A good thing when you're on a budget. Now you won't be as fast as at Nürburgring as the BMW M3, Nissan Skyline R32, Evo VI and VII like the '08 model is. But that does not make an '05 slow.

Price: Right on your target of 11K, maybe a little lower.
http://www.automotive.com/2005/101/chev ... index.html

Safe you ask?
Cobalt NHTSA sedan crash test:
Frontal Driver: 4 Star
Frontal Passenger: 5 Star
Side Driver: 3 Star
Side Rear Passenger: 5 Star
Rollover: 4 Star

Compare to Civic Si
Frontal Impact: 5
Side Impact Front Seat: 4
Side Impact Rear Seat: 5
Rollover: 4

About the same, maybe a slight edge to the Civic.

To recap: Fun? Check. Quick? Check. On budget? Check. Safe? Check
Murder on Insurance? Probably.

My buddy has a Focus ZR3 manual, its a good commuter car as well. Might want to check that out also.
I'm obviously a biased Chevy fan. There's nothing wrong with a Civic Si or a TDi, I encourage you to make your own choice. I'm just hoping you don't narrow down your search and miss out on a great car.

[theholycow]

my mom thinks getting the newest possible car will be the safest car.

Unfortunately, she is not necessarily correct.

My first car was a beat up, busted up, piece of shit 1994 Cavalier. It survived an accidental (and I might add, totally out of my control) off-road incident. {...}
Now I drive a 1992 Dodge Dakota Sport.

I have no fear for my safety. I trust the vehicles I drive with my life, and haven't been let down, and I have never routinely driven anything newer than a 2005 model year. 90% of the time, I drive my truck.

Your examples fail to support your thesis. Your examples show that an older vehicle was decently crashworthy, not that newer vehicles are not safer.

I'm not saying that everyone needs the safety of a 2010 model...

[FDSpirit]

So how stuck are you on a foriegn over a domestic? If we were talking about a late 80's/early 90's car I could understand some trepedation. Hell, you should probably run. But for the newer stuff, the domestics are either very close, and in some cases better quality than the foreign brands. Additionally, if it does break they generally are far less costly to repair.

Just to tempt you/get you thinking...2005 Cobalt SS. http://www.insideline.com/chevrolet/cob ... arged.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_ ... ifications

Sure, its "only" supercharged with 205HP. More than enough by your definition.
In your case the 2008's being turbo'ed to put out 260 HP means the desireability, and thus the price of the '05 to '07 models is lower. A good thing when you're on a budget. Now you won't be as fast as at Nürburgring as the BMW M3, Nissan Skyline R32, Evo VI and VII like the '08 model is. But that does not make an '05 slow.

Price: Right on your target of 11K, maybe a little lower.
http://www.automotive.com/2005/101/chev ... index.html

Safe you ask?
Cobalt NHTSA sedan crash test:
Frontal Driver: 4 Star
Frontal Passenger: 5 Star
Side Driver: 3 Star
Side Rear Passenger: 5 Star
Rollover: 4 Star

Compare to Civic Si
Frontal Impact: 5
Side Impact Front Seat: 4
Side Impact Rear Seat: 5
Rollover: 4

About the same, maybe a slight edge to the Civic.

To recap: Fun? Check. Quick? Check. On budget? Check. Safe? Check
Murder on Insurance? Probably.

My buddy has a Focus ZR3 manual, its a good commuter car as well. Might want to check that out also.
I'm obviously a biased Chevy fan. There's nothing wrong with a Civic Si or a TDi, I encourage you to make your own choice. I'm just hoping you don't narrow down your search and miss out on a great car.

As much as I dislike Cobalts, I actually like the SS. But it's probably just as rare to find one for sale, let alone one that hasn't had the piss beaten out of it like the Civic Si....

[dangler]

So how stuck are you on a foriegn over a domestic? If we were talking about a late 80's/early 90's car I could understand some trepedation. Hell, you should probably run. But for the newer stuff, the domestics are either very close, and in some cases better quality than the foreign brands. Additionally, if it does break they generally are far less costly to repair.

Just to tempt you/get you thinking...2005 Cobalt SS. http://www.insideline.com/chevrolet/cob ... arged.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_ ... ifications

Sure, its "only" supercharged with 205HP. More than enough by your definition.
In your case the 2008's being turbo'ed to put out 260 HP means the desireability, and thus the price of the '05 to '07 models is lower. A good thing when you're on a budget. Now you won't be as fast as at Nürburgring as the BMW M3, Nissan Skyline R32, Evo VI and VII like the '08 model is. But that does not make an '05 slow.

Price: Right on your target of 11K, maybe a little lower.
http://www.automotive.com/2005/101/chev ... index.html

Safe you ask?
Cobalt NHTSA sedan crash test:
Frontal Driver: 4 Star
Frontal Passenger: 5 Star
Side Driver: 3 Star
Side Rear Passenger: 5 Star
Rollover: 4 Star

Compare to Civic Si
Frontal Impact: 5
Side Impact Front Seat: 4
Side Impact Rear Seat: 5
Rollover: 4

About the same, maybe a slight edge to the Civic.

To recap: Fun? Check. Quick? Check. On budget? Check. Safe? Check
Murder on Insurance? Probably.

My buddy has a Focus ZR3 manual, its a good commuter car as well. Might want to check that out also.
I'm obviously a biased Chevy fan. There's nothing wrong with a Civic Si or a TDi, I encourage you to make your own choice. I'm just hoping you don't narrow down your search and miss out on a great car.

Funny thing about that was I actually had checked out the SS. The problem is that around here, the people that buy them seem to drive them until they blow up It's really hard to find one for sale around here. But they do fit my criteria rather well. I've got a few months to look, so I'll keep my eyes open

[94Corolla5Speed]

I'm late but welcome to the site! Your dad's car sounds like fun

[dangler]

Haha, it is! My dad's theory is that since he drive 120 miles a day round trip to work, he might as well drive something that he enjoy!

[beowulf80]

My dad's theory is that since he drive 120 miles a day round trip to work, he might as well drive something that he enjoy!

A standard to live by for sure!

A suggestion for something to check out this weekend:
2006 Red, Manual, 1SS model, 50K miles.
http://www.newjerseycarclassifieds.com/ ... index.html

[dangler]

My dad's theory is that since he drive 120 miles a day round trip to work, he might as well drive something that he enjoy!

I standard to live by for sure!

A suggestion for something to check out this weekend:
2006 Red, Manual, 1SS model, 50K miles.
http://www.newjerseycarclassifieds.com/ ... index.html

Nice! Thanks beowulf! Nice car btw I love the color you chose! I see a lot of red and yellows around here, but not many blue!

[beowulf80]

Thanks for the compliment! I had thought about red, but I'm a big fan of the metallics. There's something magical about them in the sunlight that doesn't come through even in pictures. Some more pics below:

http://www.standardshift.com/forum/view ... 22&t=12467

As for the Cobalt, or any other car you are thinking about make sure you take it to a trusted mechanic before making an offer. As has been pointed out, that car segment has alot of idiots who beat the hell out of thier cars. Then again, it could have been someone who took good care of it. Best to know what you're getting into before you lay the money down!

If the dealer / seller won't let you test drive or take it to a mechanic, run. They're likely hiding something.

[dangler]

Sick car, Beo

And yeah, always have to test drive and have a trusted mechanic check the car before buying it. My dad will be coming with me to test drive cars and have them checked out, so I won't be on my own.

[comingbackdown]

my mom thinks getting the newest possible car will be the safest car.

Unfortunately, she is not necessarily correct.

My first car was a beat up, busted up, piece of shit 1994 Cavalier. It survived an accidental (and I might add, totally out of my control) off-road incident. {...}
Now I drive a 1992 Dodge Dakota Sport.

I have no fear for my safety. I trust the vehicles I drive with my life, and haven't been let down, and I have never routinely driven anything newer than a 2005 model year. 90% of the time, I drive my truck.

Your examples fail to support your thesis. Your examples show that an older vehicle was decently crashworthy, not that newer vehicles are not safer.

I'm not saying that everyone needs the safety of a 2010 model...

Let's see... Toyota's recent issues... Then we have an OH news channel's investigation (General Motors has already been contacted, NHTSA is preparing a response) on a string of GMC vehicles, the airbags of which did not deploy in several collisions, including a few above 55mph, with a solid object.

There is no guarantee that newer cars are, in fact, safer. If any of their safety systems fail, their overall safety goes down the toilet. A bug in programming, a crossed wire somewhere, a sensor being located somewhere that passes fine in crash tests, but not in some oddball IRL scenario... Even with all the standards and safety experts and procedures and devices and features, every single possible hazard cannot be covered. No vehicle is totally safe. There will always be something that someone hasn't thought of yet.

Furthermore, there are still scenarios where you can have the safest vehicle on the road... and you'll still be dead before you even have the time to blink.

[theholycow]

^CBD, I don't disagree with those things, but let's be realistic here...a shorted wire is more likely in a 20 year old car, and a 20 year old car is likely to have a plethora of sensors that don't work right anymore vs. the possibility of a sensor that misbehaves in an oddball IRL crash.

There is no guarantee that newer cars are, in fact, safer, but there is a guarantee that older cars were engineered with less safety technology and less testing. They also weigh less, which becomes a big disadvantage in a collision with another vehicle, though I don't recommend choosing the heaviest vehicle you can.

Nothing you've posted argues against newer vehicles being safer, it just reduces the advantage a little bit.

Haha, it is! My dad's theory is that since he drive 120 miles a day round trip to work, he might as well drive something that he enjoy!

So many people have the opposite idea. They would rather suffer in something they hate for four hours a day, call it their beater DD, and have their nice vehicle rotting unused in their garage so they can save it up for car shows and the Pope. I don't get it, they put so much money and effort into it and then drive a piece of crap every day...

[FDSpirit]

No garage queens. F that noise. Although in some situations, such as a RWD in the winter, I can understand. My friend never drove his RX-8 when winter came around. One of my other buddies wanted me to garage my Civic. Hell naw! Best winter evar. Fresh snow tires, a huge ass snowstorm, and an empty street .

[AHTOXA]

A garaged stock civic? Hahahahahahahahhahahhahaha [breath] hahahhahahhahahahahahaha

not laughing at you, but at the idea!