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.

heaping ~ma for your mom Aims.

I phone trained two people on a CMS today. Which went great except for the one person who didn't show up because she was working from home and forgot she didn't have a computer there.

I have a CR online subscription, which I find really useful. One good thing about their overall discussions of cars is the focus on safety features. Their top cars in this class are the Altima V6, Accord and Camry V6, but all of yours are recommended. While I'm sure other people have had good experiences, I am not a fan of Ford. There are many reasons, but one of them is that Ford's corporate representatives were mean to my mother. I don't hold many grudges, but the ones I hold, I hold tightly.

Signed, Has Not Purchased Anything from Exxon Since 1989

Yeah, safety ratings are important too. All of those choices have good safety ratings (all but the Camry and Altima are close to 10). I have appointments to drive the Fusion and Altima today, and I'll see if I can walk in for the Mazda and Chevy dealerships that haven't gotten back to me from the Internet yet. I hope to try the Sonata tomorrow; it's in San Leandro. Hyundai is intriguing because they're cheap and offer the best warranty. They don't have a good reliability score on U.S. News, though. This is all very confusing.

One thing I really like about the Camry is that it has knee airbags. I wish that were standard. I always worry about that. And although the Malibu looks good, there was a troubling statement about the crash tests: "Forces on the right tibia indicate that injuries to the lower leg would be possible." I don't know if that's something to freak out about. (Oh, they have that same statement for the Ford Fusion, and it's still a Top Safety Pick. And that car even has possible neck injuries as well. Altima has no warnings. Mazda has the leg thing. Eep, Sonata does not look like it takes side impact as well. I'll keep that in mind if I think I might like it. Camry, of course, has great safety all around. It's the safe choice in more ways than one.)

I was going to say that we have one of the CR annual report books floating around our place and it's yours for the asking, but it sounds like you've already got everything you need off their website.

(Our new old car? Even at 10 years old, still on CR's top 5 most reliable used cars list. Our old old car? On the CR top 5 suck-ass 4-wheeled money pit list.)

So I thin Rose spent most of the day trapped and wedged behind the washer. I took the folding doors off and pushed the dryer over more so she can get out (I think).

Sadie is hiding behind my couch and hissed at me. Not hissed like Rose, but years flattened and then growled. With Rose, if she hisses, I just put my hand down and pet her. With Sadie. I felt like she might take my hand off.

I'm sure Sadie would be doing better if she knew where Rose was. I'm doing a load of laundry and kinda hoping the dryer sounds will scare Rose out. Id on't think she's STUCK but if she doesn't wander around tonight I'll know to be worried.

This getting a new cat thing is not easy. Maybe I should have gotten a kitten.