New car buyers

[Ghoste]

Just wondering on this forum how many buyers of new cars are shopping for an image car and how many see a new car as nothing more than a transportation appliance. 
We have done both around here.  We used to shop by image, then came kids and minivans, now my wife wants things that are still a little practical but a little "cool" too.

[440]

I'm not a new car buyer but I'd say if I were looking for something I'd look for both.

You'd want something to be as cool as it can be while still remaining practical for the uses purchased for. What's also cool to one person might not necessarily be cool to someone else. My cars aren't the nicest on the road but they are well maintained and kept clean, and are cool to me, otherwise I wouldn't have bought them in the first place. I get commented on them quite often but I'm sure some people just see them as old clunkers. 

Every time I see a friend or somebody I know that has a cool car, and they drive around daily in a beat up Ford Festiva I cringe. How can you have something so cool on hand but present yourself to the world daily in the biggest turd on the road. I also get slightly annoyed by the "4 wheels and a steering wheel" crowd, although I respect their opinions as they probably have similar opinions about us car guys. 
 

[elacruze]

I've only ever bought one new car in my life, January 1997. I still own it and it's still in fine condition with 130,000 miles and my kid driving it.

I'll never buy another new car again, unless I accidently get rich enough to afford a Ferrari with pocket change.

[suburbanfireman]

I hate to admit that we still factor image into the equation.   We are almost 40 years old with 3 kids, but my wife and I both refuse to own a mini-van (we call them "me-too" vans).  We have been looking at the new Durango - the 6 cylinder version has all of the stuff that a mini-van would have (DVD/TV for kids, 3rd row that folds into the floor, room of 7 people, etc) AND it does not look like a "goober-mobile".  We have found a few 2011's (new) left on the lots in our area - dealerships should be willing to negotiate a lower price now that the 2012's are here.

Sorry if I offended any mini-van owners - it's just not our thing.

[PA Dodger]

X2 on the minivan comment. We are in our mid 40s with a teen daughter that never stops with sports. The obvious choice for sports gear and nonstop kid shuttles would be a minivan. We opted for a '12 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the new V6 for the wife. It's been enhanced already with more to come. We are now looking forward to a Jeep Jamboree soon as a family outing. I don't believe in owning just some daily transportation. While most everyone else wouldn't care less about our Jeep it's the image we like to be different.

I don't think there has ever been a vehicle that I owned that I haven't improved to give it a better image.       

[Dino]

When I looked for a car in the summer of 2010 I wanted something flash.  I came very close to buying a Delorean.  But then I started to wake up and smell the coffee.  They are not the most reliable cars, they don't handle in snow very well, and that's a must here, and I would probably get tired of hitting my head on the door every day.

After looking for months at used cars I decided to just take a look at the new cars out there.  My wife has an 03 Honda CRV and it's a good little car so I thought I'd check them out.  Took several test drives with different brands and the Accord stood out.  It's no image car, in fact it pretty much blends in with the other boring stuff out there but that's actually a good thing.  I just wanted something that would take me anywhere I wanted and doesn't look too ugly.  Since I bought it in August when the new models came rolling in I got several grand off so I think I did good.

Pictures are from the net, I don't have any on this pc.  Mine's black with a tan leather interior.