so my POS car finally has reached the end of my budget for maintaining it. It's a ten year old Chevy Cavalier that I've been driving for seven years, and the new work that needs doing just isn't worth it to me.

So I drove out of a dealership today in a 2003 Chevy Malibu; I was waffling and they told me take it home for the night, and when I told them I was leaving town tomorrow and couldn't get back in the morning, they said keep it for the weekend and bring it back monday after work! (they obviously want to sell this car)

So
--it has 47,000 miles on it,
--has had one owner (who I think was a smoker but it doesn't smell too bad, so a change of the air filter and a good airing out might be enough).
--is a light silverish color which I'm not crazy about ;)
--interior is very roomy, with the awesome trunk feature that i loved on my Cavalier--the back seat folds down to open into the trunk for major carrying capacity (and I actually used this feature a LOT)
--it's a big upgrade for me (power locks/windows, auto headlights, etc).
--The price they offered my is 8500 and they'll take my old car.

Ok--so I'm worried it's an old person car (no offense to anyone here who considers themself an old person :whistle: ) I know this car is going to have to take me into my childbearing years, though.

AAgh just want feedback from anyone who has one/has had one before, etc. Sorry for being so longwinded ...this is my first car I'll actually buy (Grampy bought me the cavalier when I was in college) and I'm just having major stress. I need a car (my old one is actually not safe to drive, especially if we get bad weather/driving conditions) Help!

I don't have one myself, but my mom/dad do... and I live with them and drive it now and again.

My mom bought it new in 96 or there close, I know she bought it when I graduated HS. Mom ended up getting a Saturn later on, so now Dad drives it. At one point it was my sis's when she went to Stephen F. Austin Univ. in Nac.

That car has been thru a lot, and keeps on running. I don't think the air in it runs anymore, but my dad just hasn't cared enough to fix it.

At one point my sister (while young and dumb) decided to drive it @ 70 mph while the roads were iced over ON A BRIDGE :rolleyes: I am shocked it didn't kill her, but the ONLY thing that went wrong with the car is some of the paint scraped off the front bumper... not sure if it was a good car thing or a she got really damn lucky thing.

My dad recently got in a wreck in it. It was cold, rainy kinda thing, hit the medium, and the car wouldn't start.. not sure why, the only thing that happened was the tire rim got bent. It did look really bad, but he ended up lucky there too.

IMHO, I think they are good solid cars, they do kinda look like what I call "soccar mom" cars, but not too bad. I think it drives good, has a nice layout and really hasn't caused us much trouble at all in the 10 years or so we've had it. (I can't really think of anything that has gone wrong with the car, I'm sure if it was mine and I drove it every day I could.) Oh.. I also drove it back and forth to Dallas (100 miles) everyday for work for awhile, and had no problems.

If it was me, I would prob. get it. I drive a two door Dodge Avenger and its a pain in the butt getting the car seat in and out. Jordan has had to learn how to climb from the driver's door to her car seat and sit down, then mommy leans in and over to buckle her up. When she was younger it was a HUGE pain in the ass. I had to get tottally in the backseat, put her in, buckle her up, then get back out, arrange the seat back, then drive off, and do the same thing in reverse when I went to take her out. As far as I'm concered when you're thinking of having kids/have kids that kinda deal trust me on this.. it'll be a LOT easier on you to have a 4 door!

thanks!

I've been searching around the local listings online and haven't found anything much comparable in this price range.

I'm going back to the dealer this afternoon, and I'm going to tell them the price has to come down by 500 dollars or I can't do it. As my dad keeps telling me; part of negotiating is being willing to walk out. So I guess if they say no, I just walk out and keep looking. I took it for a drive this weekend and it rode nice; I kind of think that the air in this one isn't up to par and I'll mention that to the dealer (interesting yours did the same thing).

So anyway, I'm terrified; this is my first "on-my-own" car buying experience and I'm flipping out a little. :rolleyes: I appreciate your advice, nmz, and it confirms what I"m feeling; it's a good car and would probably be a good fit for me, especially at my price range. Wish me luck!

I see you got it! Congrats again!!!

I've never had a "on my own" kind of car buying experance, unless you count taking over the payments on my sisters car when her sister-in-law backed out of buying it from her... but that wasn't anything special, it took about 2 mins in my parents living room :P