Do Northern Virginians Define Themselves By Their Car? (maintenance, tax)

[katyusha25]

Speaking of cars, how is it driving in the winter in VA? Are the roads pretty well maintained, or will I slide everywhere and crash and burn?

I've driven in snow once in my entire life, in Vermont.

[ny2dc]

when you say came out, are you referring to the closet

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by katyusha25

Speaking of cars, how is it driving in the winter in VA? Are the roads pretty well maintained, or will I slide everywhere and crash and burn?

I've driven in snow once in my entire life, in Vermont.

I've only lived here for this past winter, and they did a pretty terrible job at clearing the roads. Hopefully this isn't a foreshadowing of how they usually are. I work for the Federal government and had no work for a week because they couldn't get the roads cleared. I lived along North Shore Drive at the time, which was a pretty busy road in Reston, and you couldn't see pavement for days after the storms blew through.

[terrence81]

W

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

I've only lived here for this past winter, and they did a pretty terrible job at clearing the roads. Hopefully this isn't a foreshadowing of how they usually are. I work for the Federal government and had no work for a week because they couldn't get the roads cleared. I lived along North Shore Drive at the time, which was a pretty busy road in Reston, and you couldn't see pavement for days after the storms blew through.

Well to be fair we did get like 3 feet of snow. The metro couldn't run trains above ground that was the main reason that the government shut down. I think they did a good job with the main roads its the side roads that they sucked at.

[Caladium]

One thing you'll like about winters here is even on those rare years when we do get a lot of snow they treat it mostly with sand, not salt. So your car doesn't rust away in a few years (as used to happen where I lived in Buffalo).

This past winter was quite an adventure for us. We broke the record books for this area, and then some! In some areas the plowing was well done and drivers had no problems. The HOAs, in particular, seemed to do a good job keeping their roads cleared. Other areas, espcially down towards Springfield, had more trouble clearing the snow. The biggest gripe seemed to be that major roads were cleared first, and then they tackled the side streets. I actually thought that was a smart move on VDOT's part, but it was very frustrating for some.

Just for the sake of general amusement, here's a sentimental journey from last winter...


//www.city-data.com/forum/north...-all-snow.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/north...ed-normal.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/north...s-p-l-o-w.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/north...um-redrum.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/north...-than-few.html

There's also a hilarious account somewhere of Normie driving her Prius through an unplowed area because a kid refused to drive his truck and she did his deliveries for him. I have no idea which thread that was in but if I ever find it I'm bookmarking it because that was funny.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

And? Being derived from an impoverished part of Pennsylvania I drove a 1998 Ford Contour before buying my Mazda last year, and part of the reason why I stayed with the Ford family was because of how thrilled I was with the reliability of my first vehicle (albeit it wasn't a very attractive one). Which one of the "Big 3" didn't take a bailout?

Heck, if you want to support American workers you should buy a Camry or Accord. Those two cars are more built "American" than your Mazda3 (which is built in Japan BTW): The Cars.com American-Made Index - Cars.com

My last 3 cars have been Toyotas. Even with their recent bad publicity, I'd buy another with no hesitation. Ford's build quality has been increasing the last couple of years, but they've got a long way to go before I would consider buying one.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by katyusha25

Speaking of cars, how is it driving in the winter in VA? Are the roads pretty well maintained, or will I slide everywhere and crash and burn?

I've driven in snow once in my entire life, in Vermont.

You won't have a problem. Nearly everything is cleared rather quickly. Even when I drove a BMW Z3, the worst car in the world in the snow, I rarely had any problems and the problems I had were VERY minor. I am NOT someone who would claim to be a great driver in the snow!

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

Heck, if you want to support American workers you should buy a Camry or Accord. Those two cars are more built "American" than your Mazda3 (which is built in Japan BTW): The Cars.com American-Made Index - Cars.com

My last 3 cars have been Toyotas. Even with their recent bad publicity, I'd buy another with no hesitation. Ford's build quality has been increasing the last couple of years, but they've got a long way to go before I would consider buying one.

We too have liked Toyotas but they are so boring. We have an Avalon now and it's been a great car, very reliable, and very comfortable, but oh-so boring. We also have a BMW, our second, and I love it to death. It's so much fun and reacts so well, stops on a dime, and maneuvers so well. LOVE IT!!! We were discussing tonight getting a new one.

We also want an SUV, a full size one. I love the Escalade but OMG, it's so expensive. Anyone have any SUV recommendations?

[katyusha25]

Originally Posted by Denton56

You won't have a problem. Nearly everything is cleared rather quickly. Even when I drove a BMW Z3, the worst car in the world in the snow, I rarely had any problems and the problems I had were VERY minor. I am NOT someone who would claim to be a great driver in the snow!

Good to know, thanks!

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Denton56

We too have liked Toyotas but they are so boring. We have an Avalon now and it's been a great car, very reliable, and very comfortable, but oh-so boring. We also have a BMW, our second, and I love it to death. It's so much fun and reacts so well, stops on a dime, and maneuvers so well. LOVE IT!!! We were discussing tonight getting a new one.

I agree on the "boring" factor. My last three cars have been Toyotas. I currently drive a 2005 Highlander. I commute in it and it was never intended to be a commuter car. My son get his license in March and he will use it to go to and from school (the thing will have 120,000 miles on it by then). It is the least boring Toyota I've owned. Then there was my 2002 Camry "Sport" Edition. I had to get the sport edition just to get a little bit better interior and some alloy wheels. My college-age daughter drives this one. Prior to that, I had a 1992 Camry that I sold. In the meantime, the snooze factor on Toyotas has increased. When I bought my 2005 Highlander, I had actually intended to get a Camry but I just couldn't do it.

Now I need a commuter car and, while I know the Corolla is excellent, I don't think I can get one. My mom owns one as does my carpool persion and geez it's boring. That's why I will take another look at the Mazda 3 and possibly the Jetta. Although I've got to do some research on the maintenance issues with these cars.

I would love a little Acura, Audi, or something more expensive but it just goes against my grain, I'm afraid--especially since I put so many miles on a car. I don't want to buy an expensive car that is essentially a shuttle to and from DC.

I purchased my 2008 sedan in Spring 2009 for about $15,000 (putting $4,000 down and trading in my old car for $1,000), which provided me with very manageable monthly payments of just over $200/month.

Well it sounds like the Mazda has come down or more in line in their pricing. As I said earlier, when I was looking at it, it was relatively new on the market and it was the "it" small car. When I went to the dealership, the best deal I could get was around $19,000. That's why I ended up with my 2002 Camry Sport Edition. Same price, more car. The price you got sounds absolutely in line with what I know people are paying for Corollas.