I am a female, but I have been around cars most of my life. Being one of Dad’s kids will do that to you, and then I went and started working for him. If I would have to buy a new or used car, which now thankfully shouldn’t be for a while because I went and bought my new Ram back in 2021, since I have been working with dad now full time for 10 years, here’s my opinion of what I look for.

Since working with dad, I can tell you what I don’t like when driving vehicles. I don’t like vehicles that make you all crammed up in your seats because they have the latest doodads and gadgets. I personally feel when I am driving, my first and foremost attention should be on the road and my surroundings.  Having the option to play solitaire with my car, or have my car read a book to me does not factor in as a good doodad. It’s one thing to have the mini screens and movie player in the back for the kids, but I as a driver do not need it. I do not like it when I am in a vehicle and have controls up and down the sides of my seat and throughout the console. If it looks like the cockpit of an airplane, it is not for me. I don’t want to have to worry about hitting a seat ejection button while driving, it’s not as cool as Fast and the Furious makes it look. And it is just more things to break down and drawl on the battery. Same goes for the compartments- I don’t need 2 glove boxes or 2 console bins. I don’t want to hunt for my stuff.

To me how I sit in the seat and reach for the pedals matters. I go bonkers when I have to drive any Ford SUV or Truck. It doesn’t matter how I arrange the seat, reaching for the gas and brake pedals makes my bad ankle hurt. I like to drive on road trips, I wouldn’t be able to do it in a Ford. I am 5’3 ¼” so even if I must put the seat all way forward, I don’t want my body touching the steering wheel, some vehicles I have noticed their steering wheel comes out further than others and that 1-2 inches matter, when you are short stature.

 I personally will do everything in my power not to buy a vehicle with bigger than 18” wheels or anything low profile.  Low profile is anything with a middle number below 55 (so if your tire size is say- 215/50r17 you are low profile.) When it’s low profile you are at bigger risk for bent wheels and tire bubble issues.  The larger tires aren’t made of gold, but they are more expensive. 17” is the new 15” they tend to be less expensive and roll just as good, and they will not cost me an arm and a leg every year in repairs.

I will also bypass something that isn’t seen every day. I don’t care how cheap a KIA soul or Nissan Juke is. The easy answer is because it will be more expensive and time consuming to fix it. Most dealers and parts stores stock what sells, so if the Jukes and Souls aren’t being driven, they aren’t breaking, so the stores are not stocking the parts. It means I may pay shipping on those parts, and it’s going to take them longer to get me my parts. I don’t have a different vehicle for every day of the week, so I need this one to be up and running as long and as fast as possible.

I would also look at the overall recalls for a certain brand. For instance, KIAs are notorious for being recalled for catching on fire. For that reason, I will not be buying a KIA in the near future. If the recalls are stupid ones, like the windshield wiper motor linkage binds up or they must move and secure the drivers floor mat, that’s one thing, but to legit catch on fire and have there be nothing left, yeah no I am not spending my money there.

I like big butts and I cannot lie. Same goes for my vehicles, I need a decent trunk. I don’t like to bug people into swapping cars so that I can go get a washer, a stove or a sheep. Yes, I used to put sheep in the back of my Subaru, until they got to be too tall to make it feasible.  Having a bigger trunk or truck bed to me gives me more independence. Also, I like to go on road trips and I like to go car/truck camping. It makes it hard to do that in a sedan or car like a smart car where there is no trunk. Ask Sam and Dean Winchester after sleeping in the Impala, they were cracking their back and neck for days after an overnight in the impala (which in reality was 10 minutes of the show. The other nice thing about wagons or trucks is that the trunks are more open so you can see what you got there, and it is level, you don’t have to lift up and out, you can just lift out.

Overall, the mechanical specs of my vehicle would be as follows:

*Must be All wheel drive or 4 wheel drive
*Must be Automatic (Trying to find a manual trans when yours goes bad is like looking for gold, chances are you won’t find a good one)
*Must be to make do with Regular octane gasoline can’t be high test only
*All recalls must be performed up to date
*IF used, it must come with a prepurchase inspection
*For me I like a manual seat( power seats make feel like I am on the stair lift chair when I move it forward or backward)

* No custom wheels- stock only cause if one bends or cracks – which in PA is not out of the realm- I want to be able to find a replacement
*Electrical extras kept to a minimum ( radio with am/fm & back up camera definitely, heated seats, Bluetooth, and navigation if possible but not necessary)
*Engine a right size for what I am doing with it ( I don’t need a 5.7L  hemi engine in a car cause it’s useless, almost too much power for the car. I ain’t Dale Earnhart and the road isn’t Nascar, but I do have a 5.7L hemi in my Ram Truck cause she works for a living, she tows quite a bit and hauls a lot).
*No custom window tint, wheel spacers, or exhaust- I am not failing inspection for that
*Overall the vehicle must be stock or as close to manufacturer specifications as possible, the more people upgrade, the more you have to wonder, did they have it professionally done, if not did they know what they were doing, can I get replacement parts, will it pass state inspection? All these questions become a non-issue if you don’t do it in the first place.

My vehicle is a tool, it is not my identity. I don’t pimp out my vehicles or have every doodad on the planet. I do my best to keep my vehicle in the best possible condition available. By following my own advice, either I am really lucky, or there’s something to it, because while customers cars/ trucks in the same age range have come under recall, had some funky scenarios, or flat-out dumb things happen, my new vehicle has not had a single recall or broke down on me since I have had her. If you wanna give your car attitude, buy some seat covers, a steering wheel cover, and throw on some tunes. Stay safe out there and we are here when you need us.