And because I just thought this should be a separate post, you're in my heart Aims. May your mother's symptoms turn out to be a panic attack, or the like, which is no fun, but is a damn bit better than a heart attack. Hugs and ~ma.

And happy birthday, Suzi! You deserve a good day, so you might as well have it be this one. After all, you made it through another year, and grew in hard but wonderful ways. Whoot!

Mom ~ma, Aims.

Happiest of Birthdays, Suzi!

PC, rather than just relying on U.S. News and Buffista hivemind, I'd get a copy of Consumer reports. Buy the latest annual car guide, then go to the library and look up the magazine updates. This does not mean it should be deciding. (And there are statistical flaws in CR methods, but still their reliability data is generally right on. They really are the best guide to how likely your car is to break down. (Not perfect, those statistical flaws, plus your car can be tghe exception, but still the best out there.)

libkitty, we get a magazine (more like a newsletter) here at the theatre called "Previews" that is published by the National Association of Theatre Owners. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind?

If you are looking at these new might I suggest you go take a look at a 2005 or 2006 Mercedes C230. They can be had for less than $20,000 with very low miles and will be a much safer and better built car than almost any of these.

I appreciate the advice, but if I open my mind to more possibilities at this juncture, I will go even crazier. Also, the nearest CarMax is seventy miles away. Heh. (I did check the two CarMaxes within a reasonable distance, and they did have some decent 2008 vehicles with under 10K miles on them, but I figure I can get closer to what I want if I buy new. The Mercedes C230s all have about 40K miles. If I'm going to pay $20K, I should get something new, I think.)

So much ~ma to Aims' mom. Hang in there, honey.

Happy Birthday, Suzi! I hope you're having such a fabulous day!

I have had a day. You know it's a day when missing the fire at the school you work at was the good part of the day.

I'd get a copy of Consumer reports. Buy the latest annual car guide, then go to the library and look up the magazine updates. This does not mean it should be deciding. (And there are statistical flaws in CR methods, but still their reliability data is generally right on. They really are the best guide to how likely your car is to break down. (Not perfect, those statistical flaws, plus your car can be tghe exception, but still the best out there.)

Ooh, good idea, I forgot about CR. According to the latest reliability report, Ford is really good now, and the Chevy Malibu is better than average, which is good to hear because that's a new car whose reliability I was a little worried about since it hadn't been tested much. (The Malibu and Fusion are also both on the "Best vehicles for $25,000 or less" list. As are the Sonata, Altima, and Camry. Curiously, the Mazda6 does not feature. Hm. The Malibu is also the highest-scoring family sedan [at its highest trim, though]. Geez, I am excited to try this car out now. It's like the popular kid at the party.)

I'd look at safety ratings as well as reliability. All the other factors -- like noise level , driveability , etc are more subjective.

I decree that EMT's are, for the most part, Still Hot.

For every dark cloud, a silver lining. I fully suspect if we ever had a house fire, I'd be outside oggling watching the firefighters.

P-C, talk to someone in the insurance business--an actuary who handles property casualty in auto, if you can. They have access to a lot of data, crash data, repair costs, resale value, insurance value, theft statistics, etc.