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Unread 19-10-2011, 21:52
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Billfred Billfred is offline
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Re: What to get as a good first car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor View Post
Avoid Pontiac vehicles if possible, especially mid-90s to mid-00s. I and several of my acquaintances have had major (costly) electrical issues with these cars.
I'll throw in another vote for Ford Escort, Toyota Corolla (or any of its sister cars). Saturn makes a good automobile, but in my experience they fit a certain body type that I just don't have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karibou View Post
Just be warned, mine came with no ABS and no key fob. Don't just assume that ABS is standard on older cars, because apparently it's not.
Full disclosure: I work for a Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership that had a Pontiac franchise until that division's closure, and own a 2009 Pontiac Vibe myself.

While I can't comment on the older Pontiacs (not enough experience), the final lineup from Pontiac should actually be a pretty good value at this point. Pontiac (as well as the also-departed Saturn) shared platforms across the entire GM lineup*--the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura, for example, share a number of components with the Chevrolet Malibu--which makes parts and service generally pretty easy to acquire. More useful to you: those two brands seem to have suffered significantly more depreciation compared to other GM models still in production. If you're going to drive it a long time, it probably won't matter to you.

*There are exceptions: the Saturn Astra was only imported for one year, the Pontiac Vibe shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Matrix (and the 2009-2010 models are decidedly not cheap on parts), the Pontiac GTO was only imported in small numbers, and the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky both went out of production together. I doubt Solstice, Sky, or GTO will be on your radar, though.

As for Kara's G6 story: many of the base G6 models (especially the 1SV "Value Leader" ones) lacked things like ABS, keyless entry, and XM radio. If you have a question on the equipment a car comes with, you can often find out by calling a local dealer; for example, GM dealers can pull up build information on just about anything made in the past decade or so online.

As with any purchase with this many zeros on the check, do your homework! I would also encourage you to take any potential purchase to a trusted mechanic for a proper inspection, and getting a vehicle history report certainly never hurts. You'll also want to see the title, to ensure there are no liens on the vehicle from banks. (If you buy the car and there's a lien on it, you're on the hook for paying off the loan!)
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William "Billfred" Leverette - Gamecock/Jessica Boucher victim/Marketing & Sales Specialist at AndyMark

2004-2006: FRC 1293 (D5 Robotics) - Student, Mentor, Coach
2007-2009: FRC 1618 (Capital Robotics) - Mentor, Coach
2009-2013: FRC 2815 (Los Pollos Locos) - Mentor, Coach - Palmetto '09, Peachtree '11, Palmetto '11, Palmetto '12
2010: FRC 1398 (Keenan Robo-Raiders) - Mentor - Palmetto '10
2014-2016: FRC 4901 (Garnet Squadron) - Co-Founder and Head Bot Coach - Orlando '14, SCRIW '16
2017-: FRC 5402 (Iron Kings) - Mentor

94 events (more than will fit in a ChiefDelphi signature), 14 seasons, over 61,000 miles, and still on a mission from Bob.

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