We own two Saturns, a 1999 and a 2001. The idler pulley on the 2001 keeps breaking and after the last time, I just parked it and started driving my daughter’s car, the 1999 model. One nice benefit of a home office; I don’t have to drive much. But I do have to leave the house occasionally, and today the engine light came on for the 1999 Saturn. I really hate to spend the money – we’ve been focused on getting out of debt – but I hate being stranded somewhere even more. If two clients will very kindly pay me what they owe pretty soon, we’ll have a decent down payment. So it seems to be about time to go shopping for cars.
I can’t think about car shopping without thinking about a certain South Park episode. 
No, a Prius is not on the list. Though it would be amusing… Could I drive it without generating a big cloud of smug? And I don’t think the Deathmobile is street legal. In any event, something medium-sized and with good gas mileage is what I’m looking for. Big enough for my 6′2″ husband to have enough leg room.
I’m starting to hit the car websites to see what’s out there; I’d rather make up my mind before we even go to a dealership. And I dread trying to bargain. I’m terrible at that sort of thing. There are several Toyota models that look good. I have a friend who bought an Avalon several years ago and still raves about it; we also know a couple of Camry owners who are pretty happy. I’m not sure about another Saturn. They’re supposed to be so reliable… these have been well-maintained and have less than 90k miles but the last six months have been one problem after another. So if you have any recommendations, please post ‘em in the comments.
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