# Make a decision for me......Please??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044 "2003-11-30T10:50:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/41 "2003-12-02T06:41:55Z")
What do you know about Oldsmobile? I found a 96 Cutlass Supreme with 125000 miles on it. It’s red with black leather interior. It looks like this…[http://edmunds.com/used/1996/oldsmobile/cutlasssupreme/coupehatchback/midsize/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.typemindex.content.num12.2.\*](http://edmunds.com/used/1996/oldsmobile/cutlasssupreme/coupehatchback/midsize/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.typemindex.content.num12.2.*) Damn…Long link. Anyway. I like it. And I can’t buy it unless you say it’s ok. This is your decision, remember. Or maybe I’ll say screw it and buy the damn thing anyway. 🙂 So, is it OK??? By the way Opal, Neither have I… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/42 "2003-12-02T09:11:26Z")
I have a 1997 Mazda Protege that cost me $2400 and only had about 90,000 miles. I don’t know about that car at all, but it seems 'spensive to me. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/43 "2003-12-03T03:25:17Z")
ok ok ok I took the Oldsmobile and everything checked out. If all goes well I should own it tomorrow. It;s SO COOL! It has seperate temp specific climate control. All the stereo buttons are on my steering wheel!!! And dammit, it’s just damn fun to drive!!! ---
**Author:** ![Extraneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/44 "2003-12-03T03:36:28Z")
Anyone else see a pattern developing? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/45 "2003-12-03T04:40:46Z")
HEY! The mech said it was in great condition. A good friend of mine is a mech who specializes in Oldsmobiles. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/46 "2003-12-03T04:40:58Z")
HEY! The mech said it was in great condition. A good friend of mine is a mech who specializes in Oldsmobiles. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/47 "2003-12-03T04:43:16Z")
If it is not too late, check out the Car Talk Car-O-Scope. For what it is worth, I think it is uncanny in choosing good cars for people. > **[Car News, Blogs & Analysis | Cars.com](https://www.cars.com/news/)** > > Browse up-to-the-minute automotive news and analysis, including expert reviews of the latest cars on the market, at Cars.com. ---
**Author:** ![Extraneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/48 "2003-12-03T05:25:49Z")
Let’s review… What should I buy? Everything I buy dies horribly and quickly… Saturn! Honda! Toyota! (a few muffled voices chirping something else) I know! An Oldsmobile! It’s got all these high-maintenance features! Um… I have a friend who says it’s in good shape! That brings us up-to-date. Now: how many friends have you consulted on previous purchases? What is the track record of friends, mechanics or not? ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/49 "2003-12-03T06:35:06Z")
My friend IS a Mechanic. I’ve never consulted anyone on a purchase before. Unfortunatly all the Hondas, Toyotas, and Saturns in this area are out of my price range. The ones that are not out of my range are cheap because they are missing parts. They just hold their value well. I live in an area where everyone inflates car prices. Around here they are MAJOR MAJOR status symbols so people pay more and charge more. It’s a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Extraneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/50 "2003-12-03T07:09:00Z")
Good luck - I’m just pointing out that the same process generally produces the same result - it sounds like you are falling for “sexy” while you should be looking for “reliable, cheap to maintain” (preferrably bullet-proof, given your track record to date). What is the current equivalent of '65 VW bug - that was a bullet-proof car. Note that “bullet-proof” and “sexy” are generally mutually exclusive… ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/51 "2003-12-03T07:21:19Z")
🙂 I get ya. Are Cutlass Supremes sexy?? I never considered them so. The comfort factor and all the OLD ASS Oldsmobiles I see on the roads around here are contributing more to this decision. Plus one of my best friends owns, fixes, and works with these cars Cheap labor :biggrin: 65 Bug??? Where am I going to find something like that??? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/52 "2003-12-03T07:38:02Z")
I have a 1994 Saturn SL2 with 215,000 miles on it, with absolutely no problems. Fiven that it was my mom’s car first, I can tell you everything that’s had to be replaced in the last 10 years: Water Pump Tensioner Alternator (2x) Yup. If you get a Saturn, get a pre-1997 model. Back then, it was still Saturn, not GM. Everyone I know with a newer model Saturn has had a ton of peoblems. Let’s take my mom for example, who has a 2000 now: MAJOR alignment problems started soon after it was driven home. Pulled very hard to the left. Took a year to fix. It threw a piston last year (2 years old), and the entire engine had to be replaced. That’s a lot to go wrong in 3 years. So, I reccomend older Saturns, as long as you can drive it first. If it wasn’t taken care of by its last owner, it’ll be a piece of crap (as a friend of mine found out the hard way - a `95, not well taken care of, with half as many miles as on my car, didn’t drive nearly as well as mine did. A few weeks ago, the radiator went poot). ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044/53 "2003-12-03T21:34:38Z")
Well. the oldsmobile was sold out from under me. I liked everything about this car…back to the drawing board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-a-decision-for-me-please/216044.md?page=2)