On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:04:25 -0500, me6@privacy.net wrote:

>My 19 yr old nephew will be off to first year of college next fall.
>
>He desperately needs reliable and economical transportation as he will
>be in college abt 4 hrs away.
>
>What vehicle.... model and brand....would be a good bet for him to
>buy? We are thinking brand new vs used....so that he will have a
>warranty and can fully concentrate on his studies at school (he wants
>to become dentist) ... and not have to worry abt a used car and
>breakdowns. But we are on a budget.
>
>he has worked hard and has a good savings.... plus his family (uncles,
>parents) will help him with cost a new car as well.
>
>We need something that will help keep his insurance costs low as he is
>in that high risk "bracket" at his age level.

College is a "high risk" car environment - lots of beginner drivers and
many just don't give a shit about fender benders, bump parking etc. I
wouldn't go new here unless you're rich enough to have the same attitude -
scars are just part of the game here. For dependability I'd probably favor
a Toyota Corolla - probably big enough for shuttling the usual college
clobber back and forwards and has a low theft profile.

For my kids, they both inherited a family car which was ~5 years old and
which had been maintained by me, so I knew they were in decent condition.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??