> They're so much trouble and yet, it's very difficult to live without one! I'm trying to buy a car(price range up to $1800) and was wondering ifanyone could give some advice on what kinds of cars are good(dependable, good mileage, etc.). I was thinking of buying this one(see link below) and would like advice on that, also. Please help; thanks!
> --mpython"lemon--that's a fruit, right?"girl

Having just gone through the car-buying experience myself, I can give you some advice I hope will be helpful.

First of all, listen to Brunnen-G. Don't buy a car on-line. It's okay to *shop* for a car on-line (I did), but only if you're able to actually go and see the car, and test drive it. Once you've find a car you're interested in, tell the seller that you want to take it to your mechanic (i.e. someone that you can trust) for an inspection. I don't know how much an inspection will cost you; mine were $30. It might seem expensive, but trust me, it's worth it. Getting an inspection saved me from purchasing a car with a hidden problem that would have cost me $700 to fix if I had bought the car without knowing about it.

Make sure you know what you're getting. Ask about things like warranties and what they cover, and when you test drive the car, don't just drive it. Test everything to make sure it works... lights, turn signals, windshield wipers, AC, the radio, etc. Everything. If you find stuff that doesn't work, you want them to fix it BEFORE you plunk down money.

If you're getting a used car loan to pay for your car, realize that you either have to pay for sales tax out of your pocket at the time of sale, or you have to work it into the loan, which means you'll either have to get a loan for more than $1800, or find a car that costs less than that. If you're paying for the car out of your savings, obviously you'll have to pay the taxes out of your own pocket up front.

I used both CarFax and Consumer Reports on-line during my search for a used car. I recommend doing the same. Like Randy said, once you find a car you're interested in, before you get it inspected, sign up for a CarFax account and run the VIN number through it. You can sign up on a monthly basis, with unlimited reports during the month, and it's not too expensive. CarFax will tell you the vehicle's history.

You can sign up for a Consumer Reports account the same way. They provide ratings for just about every make, model, and year of automobile that exists. The only exceptions would be models that are too new to have a significant statistical history built up yet, such as the Ford Focus.

Some car models I personally would recommend looking into are the Honda Accord, the Honda Civic, the Nissan Sentra, and the Ford Escort. All of these models get very high reliability ratings from Consumer Reports. I personally ended up getting a Ford Escort, and so far I've been very pleased with it. I had a Honda Accord prior to that, and it was also quite reliable. Just keep in mind that if you get a foreign car, you're probably going to end up paying more for routine maintenance, although they generally require maintenance less often than domestic cars.

Gri"and whatever you do, DON'T get a Chevy"shny