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Agreed. Have a 2001 Subaru Forester and have had problems with it that I have never had with the Toyotas or Hondas I have owned... I'd look at the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CRV for AWD....
I have an 04 Forester so I'm hoping the reliability is good, but I just bought in February this year. I took it to three different shops and everything checked out excellent. It had the head gaskets replaced and timing belt done. I think the older Foresters were more prone to the leaky head gaskets due to the open deck design on the 2.5 liter engine.
FrugalYankee: Sadly, I do not know of anyone in my circle being knowledgeable enough about car internals . Thus, I think it is best I get references and advice.
BTW, it is quite interesting and informative to read about people's experience with cars. (Here I was, thinking that Subaru must be hands-down winner, given that I see a lot of them in NH.) This forum is of great value for precisely this kind of information.
maire8: Your points are on the money. My wife and I have discussed them before, but driving around NH has made us constantly question and reevaluate our needs/preferences. (Another benefit of moving outside one's comfort zone.) Thanks to your questions, my wife and I plan to collect our thoughts. I will write again after that.
One thing my wife and I have discussed: Back on the west coast, we have so many friends that we never really didn't have to (consciously at least) wonder what people/homes/businesses are like. So, the current situation is foreign to us. To remedy, we think we need to socialize in the physical world, say, join a reading group or get a gig. Any suggestions on safe means of socializing? Here are some things that might help in suggesting places/events:
* We have no kids.
* We are not all that into night life. (Late-evening dinner is fine, but we are not drawn to dance scenes.)
* We prefer personal-ish smaller groups. (Many groups OK, but we are better at working with a smaller group at a time.)
* We have traveled internationally quite a bit and have some interesting stories to share with others.
* We love cooking and do cook European and Asian food, including some dishes/styles unlikely to be found in local restaurants.
* We have a decent grasp of European and Asian philosophy, culture, history.
* We love reading, writing, talking.
* We can be amusing.
* We try to do the right thing in any circumstance. We also generally like doing things right.
[I use the terms European and Asian loosely. Obviously, our knowledge is limited only to parts of those continents, but those broad terms serve the current purpose. JICYAW, we also know American history/culture ]
Back on the west coast, we have so many friends that we never really didn't have to (consciously at least) wonder what people/homes/businesses are like.
I see the double-negative there . Please read as if I wrote "...we never really had to..."
maire8: Your points are on the money. My wife and I have discussed them before, but driving around NH has made us constantly question and reevaluate our needs/preferences. (Another benefit of moving outside one's comfort zone.) Thanks to your questions, my wife and I plan to collect our thoughts. I will write again after that.
Sounds good - I'll check for your next posts, and try to answer any questions and/or make suggestions for areas based on your thoughts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SMUR
One thing my wife and I have discussed: Back on the west coast, we have so many friends that we never really didn't have to (consciously at least) wonder what people/homes/businesses are like. So, the current situation is foreign to us. To remedy, we think we need to socialize in the physical world, say, join a reading group or get a gig. Any suggestions on safe means of socializing? Here are some things that might help in suggesting places/events:
* We have no kids.
* We are not all that into night life. (Late-evening dinner is fine, but we are not drawn to dance scenes.)
* We prefer personal-ish smaller groups. (Many groups OK, but we are better at working with a smaller group at a time.)
* We have traveled internationally quite a bit and have some interesting stories to share with others.
* We love cooking and do cook European and Asian food, including some dishes/styles unlikely to be found in local restaurants.
* We have a decent grasp of European and Asian philosophy, culture, history.
* We love reading, writing, talking.
* We can be amusing.
* We try to do the right thing in any circumstance. We also generally like doing things right.
[I use the terms European and Asian loosely. Obviously, our knowledge is limited only to parts of those continents, but those broad terms serve the current purpose. JICYAW, we also know American history/culture ]
You may want to check the websites of the libraries for the towns you are considering, as they usually list any available book groups. Also, some bookstores host book groups, writing groups, and other events (e.g. RiverRun bookstore in Portsmouth: Events | RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth NH ; Toadstool Bookshops in Milford, Peterborough, Keene: Events | The Toadstool Bookshops of Keene, Milford, and Peterborough, NH ; not sure if larger bookstores like Barnes & Noble host any similar groups or events).
Sometimes there are various activities for adults provided through town parks and recreation departments too, so you could check into that also.
I just thought I would add that two of my siblings both owned Subarus, one here in NH and one in CA. They are the only vehicles I have ever heard them complain about. They both thought they were lemons, needing constant repairs, and both now think of Subarus as unreliable and wouldn't own one again.
The sibling in NH has owned all 2WD vehicles since moving here in the 80s - three small trucks, three mini-vans, three BMWs. All have been used to commute to Boston for many of those years. The beds on the small trucks were loaded with granite slabs over the rear tires during winter to keep them from sliding. They have never owned snow tires. They live in Londonderry, whose roads are almost all paved, and plowed early and often (in my experience). I'm sure if they lived in a more rural community it would be different. I commuted to Manchester in my own 2WD truck for a year and a half, and being a Californian who had never driven in snow, found all the roads plowed and sanded well during my commute times and not particularly challenging. I drove fairly slowly and very carefully, and did have a couple problems going into a slide, but managed to not hit anything (knock on wood). Do what others suggest here, find a large parking lot and practice when the first snow arrives, it helps.
The sibling's last small truck, a 1998 with only 89,000 miles on it, didn't pass inspection last year due to rust. One day they had a truck, the next day they didn't - it had to be junked. I have been looking at used cars for over a year, and the really big problem is, if the car has a few years on it, you are most likely going to have to deal with rust, and possibly buying a vehicle that in just a couple of years might have to be junked. I have seriously considered buying a car in another state, as Frugal Living has suggested, and flying there and driving it here or having somebody do it for me. Because of what happened with my sibling's truck, I think it would be worth the additional expense to do so. If you are able to afford a relatively new vehicle, this may not be as much of an issue for you.
If you are into wildlife at all, you might want to join New Hampshire Audubon. There is a nice center close to you, going east, in Auburn, off 101 and Route 28 Bypass, just south of Lake Massabesic. There are also other centers, the one in Concord is fairly close to you too, and the Amoskeag Fishways center is right in the middle of Manchester. They have lots of programs where you might meet people: Massabesic Audubon Center, Auburn | New Hampshire Audubon | Audubon NH | Birds NH Here is their fall newsletter: http://www.nhaudubon.org/wp-content/...-afieldweb.pdf
That's all I've got for now. Welcome to New Hampshire.
Last edited by C2ShiningC; 08-21-2012 at 04:48 PM..
I have spent some time looking for cars in NC (Greensboro, Denton). I think it is possible to find a decent car for a reasonable price. (For example, among others, I spotted a Honda Accord wagon 1996 for $3500 at a dealer; KBB $3623.)
BTW, I am looking for cars on Craigslist. Do people have experience with other sites? (KBB is one I guess.)
If I do buy a car in NC, am I right in assuming I can drive the car to NH with NC plates and register the car in NH within a certain number of days? Also, I assume I can get insurance for the car as soon as I purchase it. (I have purchased insurance over the phone in the past and the insurance has gone into effect immediately.)
I will research online the answers to these questions, and post here what I learn. In the meanwhile, I'd love to learn from others experience.
C2ShiningC: Thanks for the welcome and for the suggestions. My wife and I had a picnic near the Audubon center in Auburn. There were too many school kids there that day, but the surrounding looked great.
I created a thread in the Greensboro NC forum about this topic and also inquired at DMVs in both NC and NH. My learning from conversations with DMV folks is at //www.city-data.com/forum/25788521-post9.html. (You can also see the entire thread from that link.)
As of now, I have not figured out how sales tax works. Please share your thoughts and experience. (I am hoping FrugalYankee has some info.)
Hubby tells me that when he got his car in NC the last time, he did not have to pay a sales tax (actually it is a vehicle tax) because that does not get paid until the car is registered.
Neighboring states such as VT and NH are used to dealing with NH buyers and if a sales tax exists, they are able to sell to NH customers without collecting a sales tax.
Assuming you take the car to a mechanic to be checked out, I would take it to a small independent mechanic. There is one chain auto place whose name I won't mention that is likely to tell you that the vehicle is in imminent danger of falling apart unless you consent to allow them carte blanche to repair anything and everything on it. Definitely look up service stations near the dealer before you go and check BBB reports, ripoff report etc to scope out who you want to take it to.
Another update: I have posted a summary of my research into NC and NH vehicle inspections: //www.city-data.com/forum/green...l#post25874388. I hope the summary (and that entire thread) is useful to others pondering buying a car in NC. (Please post comments on that topic as replies to that thread so the related information helpfully remains in one place.)
Having conquered the car-buying problem, my wife and I are back to scouting neighborhoods (in our trusty "new" car of course). The more we drive around, the more we are convinced we can find a house and town we can call ours. The friendly interactions with the people we run into has also been very encouraging.
We have been scouting towns around I-93, Rte 3, and 101; with emphasis on towns east of I-93 and south of 101. Driving around, we like what we see in Fremont and neighboring towns, but we did observe that roads in Fremont appear consistently poorer than roads in adjacent towns.
I have started a thread to understand Fremont's priorities for its tax dollars. I appreciate your input to that thread.
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. Thus, I think it is best I get references and advice.
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