My next car...

[Scrooge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azanon The law's slightly unfair to the person who rear-ends the guy in front of him, because its perfectly legal for a driver to slam on his brakes on a highway whether you had good reason to do so or not.* *Less tailgating would help all-around, but so would drivers who anticipate stops better thus deaccelrating more gradually and reducing the frequency of collisions via better defensive driving.

It can be hard to tell whether the person who hit the brakes first had a legitimate reason for it. The one time that I was rear-ended was when somebody hit the brakes 5-6 cars ahead of me, causing a chain reaction. I barely managed to stop in time with 2 feet to spare, but the girl behind me (who was drinking coffee at the time!) didn't. How could we possibly tell who started the whole mess and why? I know that part of the highway system very well and chances are that they were trying to avoid collision because somebody had megred too agressively, but that's just speculation on my part.

[Texas Proud]

Azanon...

It should not make any difference... you should have room to stop. The law in Texas (from what I have heard) is that if the person in front of you ran into a parked car and stop in a few feet, you should have left enough room in front of you to stop... not doing so is a ticket for failure to control speed...

I have been rear ended twice.. once while sitting at a red light for over 30 seconds.... I watched the guy in my rear view mirror keep coming until he ran into me...

The second was like you described.. I had to stop quickly to prevent hitting the car in front... very close... the car behind was not as quick...

Both creased the wheel well in front of the back wheels...

[samclem]

I've thought about the advantages of some type of squirt dispenser hidden beside the exhaust pipe to slightly mist tailgaters with diesel fuel. It might encourage them to back off a little. Of course, that would not be nice.

When I was a motorcycle rider, nothing was as scary as being stopped at a light and hearing brakes lock up behind you. You realize just how vulnerable you were. In California it is (or was) legal for motorcyclists to "split lanes" and go between cars. Car drivers don't like it, but I did it a lot, and am sure it was much safer than sitting there waiting to get hit.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I've thought about the advantages of some type of squirt dispenser hidden beside the exhaust pipe to slightly mist tailgaters with diesel fuel. It might encourage them to back off a little.

Or make the road surface so slick the tailgater can't slow down at all before they cream you!

[IBWino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem In California it is (or was) legal for motorcyclists* to "split lanes" and go between cars.* Car drivers don't like it, but I did it a lot, and am sure it was much safer than sitting there waiting to get hit.

It's still legal, I see people do it all of the time in slow/stopped traffic.

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Azanon... It should not make any difference... you should have room to stop. The law in Texas (from what I have heard) is that if the person in front of you ran into a parked car and stop in a few feet, you should have left enough room in front of you to stop... not doing so is a ticket for failure to control speed...

It's probably the same everywhere. It does make sense that the person looking forward at the car in front of him/her should maintain enough distance (and control his vehicle's speed) to be able to stop before hitting the vehicle in front of him that stops suddenly.

[ladelfina]

you should absolutely be able to stop for whatever reason.. I think about it more or less like this: Imagine if a truck tire or a load of wood or a refrigerator were to fall off the back of the car/truck in front of you.. could you stop in time?

Of course, that means I'm always letting people in front of me.. but that's ok.

I love the truck bumper story!
I personally pay close attention to extremely beat-up cars and give them a wide berth. Driving around with obvious signs of previous frontal crashes would help clear your path in a hurry!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I've thought about the advantages of some type of squirt dispenser hidden beside the exhaust pipe to slightly mist tailgaters with diesel fuel. It might encourage them to back off a little. Of course, that would not be nice.

I had a similar device installed in my old 300TD mercedes...its was called an "old motor"...over 220k. If someone was on my ass I could pump the pedal about 5-6 times and the car would lay down a smoke screen that would make any navy ship proud. Smelled pretty nice too.

And yeah, if the guy in front of you slams on his brakes for ANY reason and you hit him, you either werent paying attention or you were following too closely. The need for emergency stops or even the butthole who slams on his brakes because you're tailgating doesnt take away a drivers responsibility to pay attention to the road and maintain a safe distance.

[saluki9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Why isn't there a market for a car that can take a 20 MPH collision with no damage? I would buy that car.

Because the energy of that 20mph collision has to go somewhere, so please choose one of the following

1. Aluminum, steel, plastic, rubber & glass

2. YOU


Personally I would choose number one, if you would like option #2, there are plenty of cars still left from the early 80's and before

[PsyopRanger]

Sort of off the topic but in the ballpark….

Do most of you buy new cars or a couple years old?

I am stationed in Europe and it seems everyone is running out and buying up all the latest European models (BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Audi,) this to me is ludicrous on a military salary. I work with people with little to no retirement funds, no emergency funds, but they have a brand new BMW and $600 per month payment.

We have a mid-sized SUV my wife and kids use but I opted for a 1997 Inncoenti Small 500 (think of a smaller Mini Cooper). I bought it for $225 from a guy leaving and I only fill the gas tank once per month. I use the money not going to my car payment to start investing in the TSP (after advice from this forum )

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I tend to buy new cars, and the brands I usually buy dont give you a lot off for buying a little used.

We dont put a lot of miles on them, I private sale them rather than trade them in after about 7 years, and I get a good chunk of my money back on them.

When I've bought cheaper cars with faster depreciation, I've had more problems and given the total costs of the transaction I'd rather buy a better brand at a higher cost, drive a better car and get my money back at the end.

At the other end you can buy well used cars for little money, wear them out, and throw them away. Thats cheaper. I weigh that against breaking down on a country road in 110 degree heat with my 18 month old in the back seat and decide to go with the more reliable option.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsyopRanger Sort of off the topic but in the ballpark…. Do most of you buy new cars or a couple years old?* *

I have always bought new, but the last couple of times I have seriously considered used. Since I bought a honda and a subaru the last two cars, there wasn't enough of a discount for those cars used to make it worth the risk/hassle. OTOH, if I were looking for a Ford or another brand with lousy resale value, I would not hesitate to find a 2 or 3 year old car.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsyopRanger Do most of you buy new cars or a couple years old?

I generally buy 2-3 year old vehicles unless the auto manufacturers are offering big discounts on new vehicles, but that isn't a common practice. (Best deal ever was in 2004 when I got discounts and incentives totalling over $10K off a new car with a sticker price of $23K.)

Unless I'm in a real bind for a car, I tend to shop for months looking for the "right" used vehicle. Example: Three years ago DW wanted a :P minivan to haul around the grandkids. After poking around for a few months, I ran across one two years old with just under 10K miles on it. Still had the new car smell, protective plastic covering on all but the front carpets, and a year to run on the original warranty. I stumbled onto it while on my lunch break, took it home overnight for a test drive, and was pleasantly surprised to see it advertisesd in the paper the next morning, prominently featured as the dealer's "loss leader".

Only down side was I didn't have any real leverage to negotiate further price discounts.

[kat]

Brewer,

Take a look at used Subarus.

I drove Subarus my first 12 years of driving -- a Justy hatchback, then a Legacy sedan.

When I got creamed in a car accident, the insurance collision payment on my then 6 and a half year old Legacy (that I bought used at 3 years) was just a thousand less than I bought it for!!

I got a new budget model Honda Accord then, and sorely missed my sweet Legacy on the highway. (Accords are much better on turns than any Subaru I drove, though. They g l i d e .)

If I remember right, you're in the Northeast. Loads of Subarus, from Subaru dealers and other places selling used cars. I found them very willing to deal with me on the phone too. I've had the Accord for five years, but I kept wanting to sell it for a Subaru in the early years..... (Sigh).

kate

[brewer12345]

kate, with any luck, I will not be in the market for a car for another 5 years, since I plan to keep this one running as long as possible. Given my long commute, though, there will be a point where I upgrade simply due to reliability issues.

[AltaRed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsyopRanger Do most of you buy new cars or a couple years old?* * We have a mid-sized SUV my wife and kids use but I opted for a 1997 Inncoenti Small 500 (think of a smaller Mini Cooper).* I bought it for $225 from a guy leaving and I only fill the gas tank once per month.* I use the money not going to my car payment to start investing in the TSP (after advice from this forum )* *

Good for you. Out of about 12 vehicles I've owned, 3 were new with the intent to keep them for a very long time (and did for 11,13,15 years). Other times I found a good used vehicle typically 3 years old that also served me well.* However, as a reward for LBYM, and as a retirement gift, both DW and I decidied to buy brand new vehicles this year.

P.S. Re: original theme of the thread, I have only been involved in one slight rear ender and that was a case of an icy road and the guy behind me could not stop in time....about a 5-10 mph tap. My solution to aggressive tailgaters is simply to slow down gently until they get so po'd that they tear off and pass.

[Scrooge]

I used to favor used cars that I had good intelligence (maintained by my mechanic, etc) on and drive them until they fell apart. It worked for me, but it was a bit chancy since you never know what the previous owner's teenaged son did to the car while the dad wasn't looking.

My current car, a Camry, was brand new since I figured that $17K for a new midsize sedan was a better deal than $12K for a somewhat used one. You seem to get a couple more years out of the car when you buy it new if you drive as gently as I do.

[mathjak107]

we just got a bmw x3 3 weeks ago...we kind of figured it was our last chance before retirement to do something a little wild....it really is an incredible car,very different from anything i ever owned..the handling is just superb...after being unhappy with the performance of a rav4 and its basically rear wheel assist system of all wheel drive the bmw x drive is great for bad weather..just the thing for life here in nyc......only complaint i can think of is like all cars today the use of cheap plastics everywhere on the inside.

[justin]

Have kids, will continue to buy new hondas probably every 10 years or so (or as long as they are reliable, we're at the 6 year mark now). There isn't much of a discount for buying slightly used hondas vs. new. Reliability is a big concern. My DW commutes 50 miles/day, and I don't want her stranded on the side of the interstate. I also don't want to get stuck with 2 kids and a broken down POS.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i had company cars for probably 75% of my "career". when someone else wasn't footing the bill i'd buy a mid-level toyota. i was always careful about paying much for depreciating "asset" while i was trying to save money and i never bought a car without the help of a good friend in the industry.

it wasn't until i could see the light at the end of the working tunnel that i wasted spent what i considered to be significant money on convertibles. i'm on my second one. i might splurge on a vertible z next year but only because i'm considering the next 5 years of road trips with my mountain bike in tow followed by 10 years of either full time travel by boat or living country to country.

in either case i probably wouldn't own a car at that point. so i'm justifying to myself spending so much on the next one as it is really covers (sort of) the next 15 years.