No, I'm serious, but my non-sense of humor indeed appreciates that my meme maps back to a Randy Newman song I forgot about. I meant that if MixedNuts is a small person, most any car will fit him, but if he's larger, a poorly designed hatchback might be uncomfortable for long periods of time.
I'm 5'11'' and don't fit properly in my small mid-size car. With the seat all the way back and the steering wheel lowered a lot, the speedometer is obstructed. I spent about 4 hours fiddling with the tilt and height controls on a late night drive back to San Francisco once and really just couldn't get something that was ergonomically perfect.
Basically ergonomics is sublimely important but most people don't attention to it. I'm currently planning a post on ergonomics.
MixedNuts? You mean me? :P
It's a good point though, I definitely intend to make a list of things that I need to check in any car inspection because if I miss them they will drive me crazy.
So I'm looking at buying a car. At the moment I am using my parents' old car, however when I move out of home I will not be able to take it with me, and it also lacks some of the features I would like (cruise control in particular).
I'm looking at buying a small car, probably a hatchback. At the moment I have saved around AU$12,000. My parents are willing to lend me some amount, probably up to $5000, and I work for a bank which can give me a loan at a very favourable staff rate. I earn a bit over $325 per week at the moment and I have few living expenses beyond luxuries, that income is bolstered semifrequently when I can work extra shifts. At the beginning of 2013 I will be seeking a full time job as a high school teacher.
Looking at a few car websites (in particular carsales.com.au) it appears I can buy a fairly good second hand car for around $15,000, or a brand new car that seems quite good for around $24,000. This is a very rough guide to local prices.
I am aware that my decision process in this judgement is very fallible because I don't know much about buying cars, e.g. the potential pitfalls of a second hand one, and any other things I need to take into account.
Being as this is by far the most money I will ever have spent on a single thing and it is likely to last me for most of a decade at least, I am strongly motivated to make this decision rationally.
Does anybody have any advice they can give on how I can decide how much money to spend, or things I should consider when comparing potential cars?