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The Fusion and Milan (same car) are larger than the others you metioned so I wouldn't compare them. All the others are good cars so I think it gets down to style and perhaps brand loyalty. I would also consider the Mazda3. If I had to choose from those in the poll with all things being equal I would buy the Subarau because of the four wheel drive. Other than that I don't think you would go wrong with any of them. By the way we recently purchased a '07 Ford Fusion SEL/AWD that is loaded. The car is fun to drive, handles very well and is smooth and quiet (I've been buying Fords since 1986 because of the deals I can get and have not had any major problems with any of them). As far as the Scion I would say "NO" just due to the fact that the price you see is the price you pay. My niece went to buy one and she said that her particular dealer was very arrogant. It was basically if you don't buy it someone else will. Anyway good luck in your search.
I know that the Fusion and Milan are more "mid-sized", but I'd be willing to trade-up a size class if the car was truly worth it, which is why I tossed those two in. As far as the Mazda3 is concerned, I just have to say "No" to them for personal reasons---I'm admittedly a "masculine" gay guy, and seemingly every "feminine" gay guy that I'm friends with drives one of these vehicles. It's not saying anything bad for the Mazda3, but I just don't want to have to deal with a barrage of "OMG! That's so fabulous! We're all car buddies! How precious!" LOL! I don't know why they've all chosen the Mazda3 as their token gay guy car, but I'm just really not comfortable giving them the impression that I'm "getting more in touch with my feminine side."
As far as dealers go, in general I think most of them are "sharks." Whenever I drop by a car lot to poke around, I immediately notice two or three of the associates running at me with $$$ in their eyes! LOL! No offense to anyone who may be a car dealer, but what I expect as a consumer is for one of you to approach me, introduce yourself and shake my hand, inquire if there's anything you could be of assistance with, and then LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE if they say "we're just looking, thanks." If I find something that grabs my attention, I'll seek you out and then we'll talk more. CAPECHE? I don't want to hear "what can I do to get you in this car today?", as that's a direct line for me to say "nothing" and to hop back into my car and scout out another lot or to return to yours after regular business hours. I don't think aggressive sales associates are limited to Scion; my dad had one when he was scoping out an Audi TT Roadster as well, even though he was clearly going through a "mid-life crisis" and didn't need any encouragement to waste what little savings he had! LOL! Fortunately, my miser mother talked (slapped) some sense into him!
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SWB. I like reading your posts. You are hysterical and you write so well.
Keep it up. You sound like a really nice guy.
By the way, more "men" should show their feminine side more often. :-))
There are small, real cute Volvos now that personally I think are really a little stiff but they're cute and am sure, expensive. The Volvo SUV is awesome (looking at least). Save your pennies for the future.
SWB. I like reading your posts. You are hysterical and you write so well.
Keep it up. You sound like a really nice guy.
By the way, more "men" should show their feminine side more often. :-))
There are small, real cute Volvos now that personally I think are really a little stiff but they're cute and am sure, expensive. The Volvo SUV is awesome (looking at least). Save your pennies for the future.
I agree with vpcats, you are a hoot Scranton, and it relly is nice if more men could show the more feminine side, at least we would know that they had some feelings. Good luck in your car search!!!!!!!!!
I know that the Fusion and Milan are more "mid-sized", but I'd be willing to trade-up a size class if the car was truly worth it, which is why I tossed those two in. As far as the Mazda3 is concerned, I just have to say "No" to them for personal reasons---I'm admittedly a "masculine" gay guy, and seemingly every "feminine" gay guy that I'm friends with drives one of these vehicles. It's not saying anything bad for the Mazda3, but I just don't want to have to deal with a barrage of "OMG! That's so fabulous! We're all car buddies! How precious!" LOL! I don't know why they've all chosen the Mazda3 as their token gay guy car, but I'm just really not comfortable giving them the impression that I'm "getting more in touch with my feminine side."
As far as dealers go, in general I think most of them are "sharks." Whenever I drop by a car lot to poke around, I immediately notice two or three of the associates running at me with $$$ in their eyes! LOL! No offense to anyone who may be a car dealer, but what I expect as a consumer is for one of you to approach me, introduce yourself and shake my hand, inquire if there's anything you could be of assistance with, and then LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE if they say "we're just looking, thanks." If I find something that grabs my attention, I'll seek you out and then we'll talk more. CAPECHE? I don't want to hear "what can I do to get you in this car today?", as that's a direct line for me to say "nothing" and to hop back into my car and scout out another lot or to return to yours after regular business hours. I don't think aggressive sales associates are limited to Scion; my dad had one when he was scoping out an Audi TT Roadster as well, even though he was clearly going through a "mid-life crisis" and didn't need any encouragement to waste what little savings he had! LOL! Fortunately, my miser mother talked (slapped) some sense into him!
That's why I've been buying Fords for years. I am good friends with one of the owners of a local Ford / Dodge / Subaru dealership. I call him up, tell him what were interested in, drive to the dealership, see him and the sales manager, take a test drive, if I like it I drive the car home in about an hour. No fuss, no muss. The best part is I don't have to haggle. More times than not I get either the A plan or X plan price from him (which is below the so called invoice). I also never have to wait for a service appointment. I just give him a call and I'm in the same day. I guess sometimes it pays to know someone. What I was saying about the Scion was not that the dealer wouldn't negotiate a price on them but evidently it's company policy (Toyota). It's the same concept as Saturn. If you are considering the Fusion/Milan (which have the same drive train as the Mazda 6) try test driving one with the 6cyl and AWD. It's really a blast to drive. By the way the answer is "NO" I can't get a deal on the new Shelby GT500 Mustang I already asked . Ditto on the Ford GT.
SWB. I like reading your posts. You are hysterical and you write so well.
Keep it up. You sound like a really nice guy.
By the way, more "men" should show their feminine side more often. :-))
There are small, real cute Volvos now that personally I think are really a little stiff but they're cute and am sure, expensive. The Volvo SUV is awesome (looking at least). Save your pennies for the future.
Thanks very much for the compliments, and I'm also a fan of yours! (Does that make us a budding internet couple?) LOL! As far as my "feminine" side is concerned, other than gelling my hair and shaving my armpits to better apply my deodorant, I don't really have a "feminine" gene in my body.
By the way, I agree with your "save your pennies for the future" comment. Actually, my Contour has been showing signs of improvement lately; I just had the battery re-charged, the oil changed, new tires put on, and new brakes installed, and my baby is purring almost fine once again. I may just decide to drive this little car until it falls apart around me someday on I-81 so I can instead put my savings towards a down payment on my first starter home in the city. When it comes down to practical terms, I'd rather have a "putt-putt" car and a place to call my own than a flashy new car and still being stuck under the "you can't date anyone" roof of my parents.
Thanks very much for the compliments, and I'm also a fan of yours! (Does that make us a budding internet couple?) LOL! As far as my "feminine" side is concerned, other than gelling my hair and shaving my armpits to better apply my deodorant, I don't really have a "feminine" gene in my body.
By the way, I agree with your "save your pennies for the future" comment. Actually, my Contour has been showing signs of improvement lately; I just had the battery re-charged, the oil changed, new tires put on, and new brakes installed, and my baby is purring almost fine once again. I may just decide to drive this little car until it falls apart around me someday on I-81 so I can instead put my savings towards a down payment on my first starter home in the city. When it comes down to practical terms, I'd rather have a "putt-putt" car and a place to call my own than a flashy new car and still being stuck under the "you can't date anyone" roof of my parents.
My husband and I chose new cars over getting a house about 2 years ago.
We figured that we can always keep renting.. but if we have our cars broke down so much that we can't get to work.. that's a bigger issue because we couldn't have money to pay for our place to live!!!
I agree with vpcats, you are a hoot Scranton, and it relly is nice if more men could show the more feminine side, at least we would know that they had some feelings. Good luck in your car search!!!!!!!!!
Be careful what you wish for, Yorkie! There was an episode of South Park that poked fun at the metrosexual craze that was sweeping America back around 2002 or so, largely-inspired by "***** Eye for the Straight Guy," in which a group of gay guys would take it upon themselves to transform unappealing straight guys into being eye candy for women. While that may sound like a dream come true for most of you females, the episode showed the women eventually becoming frustrated by the lack of aggression and/or masculinity in their husbands and revolting as a result. Do you really all want a bunch of pampered doilies as husbands? I'm the "get your hands dirty" and "work out" type of guy, but I balance that out a bit with an Abercrombie fashion style. At some point down the line, you women may get your wish---Men will become so feminine that their reproductive genitalia will just fall right off after birth! LOL! That would make for some difficult encounters in the bedroom, would it not?
I can't believe they censor out the word "Quee-r" even though it literally means something to the effect of "odd", "askew", or "aloof." Talk about being politically-correct to the extreme! LOL! I'm gay myself and I'm not offended by that term in the least bit, as I AM "out there!"
My mother drives a Lexus ES330 in Iowa and loves it! It's based on the Camry and gets great gas mileage. Used ones can be had for right around the $20K mark and you really can't go wrong with a Lexus. Before I bought my Escape, I looked at the RX350 but the one I really liked was $45K and my budget was sub-$30K.
But as far as the ones on your list, I'd definetly look at the Corolla. But otherwise I'd highly suggest an ES330.
My mother drives a Lexus ES330 in Iowa and loves it! It's based on the Camry and gets great gas mileage. Used ones can be had for right around the $20K mark and you really can't go wrong with a Lexus. Before I bought my Escape, I looked at the RX350 but the one I really liked was $45K and my budget was sub-$30K.
But as far as the ones on your list, I'd definetly look at the Corolla. But otherwise I'd highly suggest an ES330.
Thanks. I think the Corolla has pretty much been the winner from this thread! As far as the Lexus is concerned, I just wouln't feel comfortable tooling around in a Lexus, Volvo, Audi, BMW, etc. while I'm just 20-years-old! I know a lot of the Jersey kids here on campus drive around in those vehicles, but I don't want to get a "rich spoiled brat" stigma associated with me, even if I am making enough money from my two jobs to possibly afford a used one. People tell me all the time to "not care about what others think", but this is something that has always haunted me. Class envy runs rampant here in Scranton, with people who dropped out of high school at age 16 thinking they are "entitled" to be driving around in Mercedes-Benzes and then begrudging those who are driving around in them for no reason other than "if I can't have something nice, then nobody should!" I'm going to look for a 2003-2004 model Corolla soon, as I don't want to buy a brand new 2007 or 2008 model only to have it immediately tank in value as I drive off the lot!
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As far as the Mazda3 is concerned, I just have to say "No" to them for personal reasons---I'm admittedly a "masculine" gay guy, and seemingly every "feminine" gay guy that I'm friends with drives one of these vehicles. It's not saying anything bad for the Mazda3, but I just don't want to have to deal with a barrage of "OMG! That's so fabulous! We're all car buddies! How precious!" 
LOL! I don't know why they've all chosen the Mazda3 as their token gay guy car, but I'm just really not comfortable giving them the impression that I'm "getting more in touch with my feminine side." 
I don't want to hear "what can I do to get you in this car today?", as that's a direct line for me to say "nothing" and to hop back into my car and scout out another lot or to return to yours after regular business hours. 
I already asked 
LOL! That would make for some difficult encounters in the bedroom, would it not? 
