Buying A New Car
Posted on June 27th, 2008 - 10:30 AMAbout the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.
Lea la versión en español a continuación de esta entrada en inglés.
Some links exit EPA or have Spanish content. 
At home, we will soon be looking into buying a new car for our eldest daughter. Her present car needs a replacement. Given the rising gas prices and the long distances she has to drive, we’re definitely looking at cars that get excellent mileage. The good thing is she’s over the stage of purchasing a vehicle just for its looks or because it’s the coolest car on the block. That makes it much easier on us. Nonetheless, we have to study our options carefully in order to spend our money wisely while ensuring fuel efficiency.
Personally, I would love to buy a hybrid. Wish all our cars at home were hybrids, but I don’t think that’s going to happen right now. As a mother, I’m looking at two main concerns. First, how safe is the vehicle. Second, the mileage. There are some good resources on the Web to help us make the right choice. For example, the site www.safercar.gov gives you extensive information on crash test and rollover ratings. You can even compare the different vehicles by class, year, make and model. Now for mileage, we have www.fueleconomy.gov and EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide where you can also explore green options for the cleanest and most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs.
We’re starting to narrow our options. I think we’ll be able to find a car that will be good for the environment and our family budget. My daughter also wants a fuel efficient car because she needs to save money on gas. So far, she’s been flexible during these family negotiations. There is only one non-negotiable requirement on her part: it has to have a good sound system.
We can live with that.
Al comprar un auto nuevo
Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.
En casa, estamos considerando comprar un nuevo automóvil para mi hija mayor. Su carro pronto no dará para más. Dado los precios de petróleo que siguen subiendo y las largas distancias que ella tiene que recorrer, definitivamente estamos interesados en los automóviles que tengan un millaje excelente. Lo bueno es que ya ella ha pasado la etapa de interesarse en la compra de un vehículo simplemente por la apariencia exterior o porque es el último grito de la moda. Eso nos facilita el proceso enormemente. No obstante, estamos estudiando varias opciones para usar el dinero prudentemente mientras aseguramos la eficiencia del combustible.
Personalmente, a mí me encantaría tener un auto híbrido. Quisiera que todos los vehículos en casa fueran así. Obviamente eso no va a ocurrir por ahora. Como madre, tengo dos preocupaciones importantes. Primero, cuán seguro es el vehículo. Segundo, el millaje. Hay buenos recursos cibernéticos que nos ayudarán hacer la selección correcta. Por ejemplo, el sitio www.safecar.gov brinda extensa información sobre las pruebas de choques y probabilidades de volcarse que tiene el vehículo. También puede comparar los diferentes vehículos por clase, año, fabricante, modelo. En cuanto al millaje, tenemos www.fueleconomy.gov y la Guía de Vehículos Verdes de EPA donde también puede explorar opciones verdes para los vehículos más limpios y eficientes energéticamente hablando para cumplir con sus necesidades.
Ahora estamos identificando cuáles son nuestras verdaderas opciones para hacer una selección. Creo que podremos encontrar un automóvil que sea bueno para el medio ambiente y el presupuesto familiar. Mi hija también quiere un auto eficiente porque no quiere gastar tanto dinero para la gasolina. En fin, ha sido bastante flexible durante estas negociaciones familiares. Su única exigencia no-negociable es que el auto tenga un buen sistema de sonido.
Creo que eso es totalmente aceptable.
Tags: Al comprar un auto nuevo, buying a new car
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Question of the Week
June 27th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Lina, I don’t know what you’re planning to spend but do recommend you look into the Mazda “Mazda6″ model. I bought a 2007 Mazda6 for my kid and it is an excellent car, nice looking, nice ride, great BOSE sound system, and although it is a V-6, it has 5-stars on frontal driver & passenger crashes; 5-stars on roll-overs, and 4-stars in driver/rear pasenger side crashes. The car is quite sporty too. The Mazda-3, a lesser model in size and amenities rates mostly 4- & 3-stars on crash ratings, but am sure it is more economic in the gas.
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June 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Great blog, mom! I didn’t know I’d be a source of inspiration for your writings!
I’m just kidding. Anyway, we’ll keep looking and looking until we find something that fits, right?
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June 28th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Mario–We’ll look into it.
Leila–You’re my inspiration for many things! Love you!
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June 30th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Yeah, check it out. I now own three Mazda’s and they are very nice cars.
Mil saludos de un colombiano en Chicago!
A proposito, te cuento, cuando compré el carro (Mazda6), compré el mejor modelo (i-Grand Touring) nuevecito (6 millas) y fully-loaded for $25K, el cual trae el mejor sistema de sonido, GPS, sun-roof, asientos de cuero, timón y palanca forrados en cuero, xenon lights, fog lights, spoiler, y rines de lujo. Una belleza. Chequealo.
Chao.
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August 26th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Hey guys, I stumbled upon your car buying comments… I have just used a service which saved me lots of hassles and the intimidation of walking in to the Lions den …called the car dealership.
Man I hated the feeling the last time, 3 years ago when I leased my Mustang.
http://www.miautonuevo.com is bilingual …
The service I used was the Dealers Compete You Win. It works similar to lending tree instead of Banks, you get offers from multiple local car dealers.
I had 4 dealers competing for my new toyota Prius, which I can’t believe the deal I got …ya hooo “oh what a feeling!”! it was the best car buying experience I have had, and this is my 3 new car… this time I went for Green..! and Saved a lot of Green in the process.
Best of Luck with your searches… hope this helps you all..!
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September 8th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Having accurate MPG ratings is critical when buying a new car. It’s disappointing to hear that the EPA would required the GM VOLT to recharge it’s battery with gasoline for the MPG rating when the car is designed to plug in for the recharge.
This electric battery motor/gas generator car needs an accurate EPA gas mileage number that shows MPG for various distances traveled per day. If I travel less than 40 miles per day, the car won’t use any gasoline at all. If another driver travels about 88 miles per day, then the car only uses one gallon of fuel after their plug in recharge at night.
Hopefully the EPA can develop an accurate standard that will show the extremely high MPG that the VOLT is capable of.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Thanks for the advice–gracias por los consejos.
We finally bought my daughter thew new car. Got a good deal on the 2009 Toyota Matrix. Mileage 21-29, safety rating–five stars, good sound system and she can connect it to her MP3 player. She’s set. Still would have loved to get a hybrid. Guess that will be our next car–several years from now or who knows what technology will be available then.
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September 11th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
The new gas nozzle extension is a HUGE error; the force with which I, a 5′10″, 175 lb. male, must use to shove it down into the gas tank opening is so great that I need to do it several times before I can pump gas.
You need to revist this contraption. I’m sure I’m not alone in my estimation of this fool hardy design that, for dubious reason, you have foisted upon the American public. I’m just as certain that you’re gonna hear from a lot of angry people.
Good luck with all that.
Your neo-Nazi, Puritan, mystic–and myth spinning–mindset needs to be challenged at every turn.
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September 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Over here in the UK we’re very much into small high mpg cars. The cost of fuel is $10 a gallon at the moment. Hybrid cars aren’t always the most economical in terms of mpg and the environment.
For good source of information and an easy search mechanism for new cars have a look at http://www.newcar4me.com where your are able to search by emission types.
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September 30th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
If your looking for some help in buying a new or used car I used a web site at http://www.car educator,inc.com their videos http://www.easi.info/new-car-buying/, were most helpful,hope they do the same for you.
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