Let's be honest here: yes, the kind of vehicle is a consideration, but what is much more important is how much you're going to wind up forking over for insurance. Alberta has private insurers who will totally take you to the cleaners if you fall into one of these categories or a combination of them:
(1) Male driver, single and under 25 years of age;
(2) Car newer than six years old;
(3) Driving record containing moving violations.
In any of these situations, private insurers will use them as justification to shake every cent out of you that they can.
Why? Because they can, and the free enterprise system in regard to car insurance in most of Canada allows for this (except for in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where all car insurance is through the government, and the rates are much lower, owing to the fact that everyone is insured by the same "company" and it's all no fault).
To get around the insurance problem, you can get your rates to drop if you:
(1) Get married even though you are still under 25; and if you have dependents, so much the better, because you will suddenly be seen by the insurance company as being "more responsible", whatever that means;
(2) Buy an older car that can be written off easily vs. making a claim to fix it;
(3) Keep a clean driving record.
By far, the easiest solution is #2.
The other consideration is "What do you want your vehicle to do?"
Before, you had a minivan, which:
(1) was a good winter starter;
(2) had a good soundsystem;
(3) could travel backroads with ease (and presumably had enough clearance to do so wihtout concern);
(4) etc.
Unfortunately, it sounds like it got written off because of being rear-ended by a pick-up, so it sounds like you would want something a little more rugged, or at least fixable after an accident.
Realistically, I would have to say that nod2003 (above) was on the right track with his suggestion of a Crown Vic, but because of a police interceptor engine and the fact that this body style is still in production (which practically makes it a new car according to the insurance industry), you will wind up paying fairly high insurance. On top of that, any ex-police car with 100,000 miles on the odometer likely has had the $%#^ driven out of it.
However, the idea is right -- what you really need is a "tank" of some sort.
(1) Cheap enough that it is easily replaceable or can stand being written off if need be, plus it would also result in cheaper insurance rates becasue of age.
(2) Safety aspect -- if anything, you want anything that hits you to practically "bounce off" you, and let it have all the damage instead of you. Replacement parts must be cheap (which lets out most imports).
(3) Cheap to run, but this can be balanced off against cheap to buy and insure in the right circumstances.
(4) However, it must look cool, or at least, classic.
Based on all of these, I would suggest a mid-70s Ford LTD or Mercury Marquis. They're cheap to buy, cheap to insure, fun to drive, a veritable tank, very safe, have rear wheel drive (and are therefore cheaper on tires), are capable of high speeds, have excellent ground clearance, nice looks, and depending on the model year can be two-tones with ease. They're good starters (even without being plugged in) have excellent heat and AC when you want it, and despite their large size, are very easy to drive with a high degree of being manouvreable. On top of that, they are so confortable, especially if you're over 6' tall.
The only drawback is that they are a little more expensive to run than an average car, and a 351 under the hood will likely give you 9 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway, but then again, this is offset by the cheap insurance costs and cheap parts costs.
Typical example:
http://ajcexchange.com/2-Cars-Other...74568/detail If you can find an example locally, so much the better.
Note that antique cars (and this would now qualify) are duty-free from the US (as long as they are US cars and not imports), although you have to pay sales tax.
For a frivolous spend, used Vettes can be picked up anywhere from $9,000 - $16,000, and a Vette is a Vette -- there is nothing else like one.
)
to jokes at the expense of friends
and feel free to include your own!
Posted 02/09/2010 06:32 am
