[CMacDaddy]

My car of the last 2 years, a 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis just burned down. We were driving and a smelled smoke/saw flames coming from the hood. We cleared everything from the car that we could, and within 5 minutes there was a 10 foot tall fire

.

The things in the trunks seem OK, but the car is definatley totaled.

not a good night.

pictures to come later, assuming its not stolen.

*edit* pictures added.

she was a good car... while she lasted...

 

[Imyourzero]

I'm very sorry to hear that. My 94 GT caught fire in November of 02 and someone died because of it. However mine was due to a faulty alternator and although it torched just about everything under the hood, it only affected the engine bay and (thankfully) didn't charbroil the whole car. Now she's rebuilt, and much faster thanks to some extra goodies, but it sure is a terrible feeling.

I didn't have comprehensive insurance at the time, so my repairs were totally out-of-pocket. What about you, will the loss be covered?

 

[CMacDaddy]

No comprehensive insurance.

The car wasnt worth much, so we just had liability on it. Full coverage is too expensive for young males (even with clean driving records).

 

[braillediver]

Sorry to hear but glad no one was hurt.

My dads Cadillac caught fire while I was driving it. Wasn’t my fault man- really. Lucky I was doing 90 mph and that put the flames out. Everything on the back trailing edge was melted. The lights, the chrome, the paint. It got hot back there.

He was pissed boy ohh wee.


Mitch

 

[MrSlacker]

sorry to hear that man. car and things are replacable, but people are not. so its all good as long as noone got injured.

 

[CMacDaddy]

Turns out we do have comprehensive insurance. So we may get something out of it.

Hopefully before I have to drive back to austin in a week or 2

I dont know how we will get it moved though... It has no tires on it as of now.

... at least I get to do some car shopping (which I think is fun).

Any recomendations for a big 4-door car that gets decent gas mileage for $5000 -ish? I'm thinking a 2000 or so Chevy malibu, but also considering an older maxima, infinity, toyota, or passat

 

[MrSlacker]

what about Camry?

 

[CMacDaddy]

Shopped around a bit today, and there are no dealer certified cars I was looking for.

Top contenders now are a Toyota Camry 1997 60k miles and a Pontiac Grand Prix 1999 60k miles.

The pontiac has better performance, its newer, and I think it looks nicer

The Camry is a toyota so it will be more reliable, it gets better mileage, but its slightly more expensive and is very underpowered.

I was dissapointed with the interior quality of the Hondas I looked at and drove today, but a 1996 mazda 626 was the worst. I'm gonna try to find a V6 Camry or a 4 door grand Prix, maybe another car...

I'll be buying tommorrow morning... Cant wait.

Test driving cars is SOO fun!

 

[D-EJ915]

imo an imports more likely to be stolen but w/e.

Anyway, that sucks about what happened to your car.

 

[MrSlacker]

O M G! thank god everyone is alive!

 

[Mr.PD]

That was sure a sad picture of your car.

I must say something here. I have never heard anything good about the build quality of the Pontiac Grand Prix. Maybe a '99 is a good one, but I would certainly look into it's ability to stay running.

 

[CMacDaddy]

msn auto and consumergroup both say the 1999 is a safe and reliable car, or at least as reliable as anything I'm gonna get for about $7000.

thanks for advice everyone

*edit for clarity*

 

[Talonz]

Sorry to hear, but it's definately a good thing that everyone is alright.

I would go for the Camry.. we had a 1990 Camry station wagon that we sold a month ago for 2k. Good resale value, and it still ran fine. A testament to Toyota's quality.

 

[jbloudg20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMacDaddy Turns out we do have comprehensive insurance. So we may get something out of it. Hopefully before I have to drive back to austin in a week or 2 I dont know how we will get it moved though... It has no tires on it as of now. ... at least I get to do some car shopping (which I think is fun). Any recomendations for a big 4-door car that gets decent gas mileage for $5000 -ish? I'm thinking a 2000 or so Chevy malibu, but also considering an older maxima, infinity, toyota, or passat

Its infinitI . Take a good look at a 95/96 Infiniti G20. They should be right in your price range, and they are rated in the top ten for used car value. Its a fantastic car, and gets great gas mileage.

P.S. I have owned two of them now

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

I would go for the Camry.. we had a 1990 Camry station wagon that we sold a month ago for 2k. Good resale value, and it still ran fine. A testament to Toyota's quality.

Agreed. I had a '93 Camry wagon for 6 years and highly recommend them. I now have a 2003 Sienna van and it too, at 70,000 km. so far has been great.