Tuesday, March 11, 2008

My car was emitting a high pitched squeal whenever it was idling. G said it probably was a loose belt so I took it into my mechanics yesterday. They still haven't figured out what it is and need to keep it a few more days. ugh. My mechanic told me he thought it might be the air exhaust manifold - whatever that is - and he has to take something apart but they are slammed. Great. Times like these I think about selling my car. It's a 1996 Maxima with really low mileage, but I've been having shovel money into it that last few years. Still less than a new car note but... The Nissan Murano caught my eye and got me thinking about a "new" car. It's more than I want to spend, the new Nissan Rouge is more in my price range. Not quite as stylish but with excellent reviews are the Rav4 and CRV. Anybody out there have any of these and like to share their opinion? Too bad none come as a hybrid. Or maybe I'll just get a Vespa for short jaunts and as a back up when Max is in the shop...

And the whole reason I did this post is because I'm killing time waiting for my friend to pick me up for book club.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

C,

As a new owner of a Honda CRV and having done thorough research on small SUVs before this purchase, I strongly advise against the Murano. You will not get a bang for the higher price; in fact, it has lower gas mileage for costing 3-4000 more than a CRV or RAV4.

Between the CRV and RAV4, the CRV has better gas mileage and the highest industry safety ratings in the small SUV class. (Kinda critical for someone who was just in a really bad car accident in December!)

I bought mine at Royal Honda and my salesman, Robert Grind, was very courteous and not pushy at all. The finance guy who wrote up the final purchase was a bit of a pushy pain, but it all worked out in the end because my husband and I stuck to our guns and would not pay a penny more. Word to the wise: Don't accept any of the extras they try to sell you. That's what insurance and AAA are for.

You may also want to take a look at the Saturn Vue, which comes in a hybrid but not in the Louisiana market, because "no one drives hybrid cars down here." I liked some of the extra amenities the car offered (like built-in XM radio), but the Honda came out to be a more comfortable drive for the price.

If you have more questions, email me at maitri.vr@gmail.com and I'll give you my phone number.

Dave said...

Join the Vespa Revolution, man!