I'd suggest using the Internet as your guide to car buying. truecar.com can give you a good idea of a fair price to a new car. For used cars I like to shop with autotrader.com so I can compare prices on the Internet rather than going off what's on the lot. It's easy to see what a fair price is for your area.

There is also CarMax which is a chain of big used car places that have no haggling and prices that are acceptable though you won't get the best deals there.

My friend Miriam (who used to be on the board back in the TT days) spent over a year trying to decide if she should replace her old Prius with a new one or with a new Subaru.

She liked the Subaru for its all-wheel-drive, but then she found out that a 2-wheel-ddive car with snow tires will have better traction in the snow than a 4-wheel-drive car without snow tires. Also, she could not get the Subaru with the options she wanted but without leather (she's vegan).

I have never liked Prius's because the interior is so noisy, but the loaded '17 Prius she bought is so much quieter and smoother-riding than even a 2016 she test-drove.

Will car dealerships take a big chunk of cash and then finance the rest? Or is it a situation of, if it's legal tender they'll do whatever it takes to get it?

I'm always boggled by the car ads that say "Only 299 a month!" Who has $299 a month laying spare in their budget?

It would be good if you could work out something with your mother, Sophia. Is she considering not driving anymore? How far away from you is she?

I think the new Kia Niro is kinda interesting with Prius-like mileage for a little less money and a SUV like body for nice utility. Not that I'm planning to replace my 10 year old Ford Focus with 212,000 miles anytime soon.

Or is it a situation of, if it's legal tender they'll do whatever it takes to get it?

Yes.

Not that I'm planning to replace my 10 year old Ford Focus with 212,000 miles anytime soon.

Wow. My Focus is almost 6 years old and only had 46,000 miles on it.

Are there models I should avoid like the hounds of hell closing in when the devil's contract has just come due? Are there models you'd trust your sainted Granny in? I have time to contemplate, so I'm going to use it.

Take a look at the Mazda CX-5. It's available in AWD, and the tend to be pretty well put together.

It would be good if you could work out something with your mother, Sophia. Is she considering not driving anymore? How far away from you is she?

She's about 30 minutes south, by car, but since she is in the country, literally not able to be accessed by my current public transportation situation. Her vision is very bad, but I think she is currently hoping the treatments she is having (shots in her eye) will work. She isn't very forthcoming with me. Frankly the easiest thing would be for me to move in with her and take her car to work, and take her around when she wants to go. However we do not always get along very well- she gets paranoid and I get frustrated, so that is probably out. Also, I am not sure I want to move back to my home town, and my mom is convinced her house is trying to kill her.

Why the fuck is Mike Huckabee apparently pursuing a second career as a stand-up comedian?