Lots of folks ask us for car buying advice.  Our best advice is usually to buy something from Asia, America is good, stay away from Europe.  Tom’s overall pick year after year is the Toyota Corolla, a solid and reliable car that gets mileage competitive with the Prius, is reasonably priced, and will run for hundreds of thousands of miles if properly maintained.  However, other people have more detailed advice and this month we thought we’d tell you what Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has to say about the best way to spend your new car dollars…

Kiplinger’s actually has two lists of “cheapest cars” One to own and one to insure.  We’ve given you the list they came up with but only the list.  Kiplinger’s has much more detailed info on any car you’re considering.  Just click the link on the list name and you’ll find everything you need.  If you’d like more auto info from Kiplinger’s their Car-Buying Guide is here.  Our own website also has several resources you can use to make your next vehicle purchase as painless as it can be.

• Our Information Archive has everything.  You’ll find articles, links, and a full archive of our past newsletters that might have info you’re looking for.
• If you like the car you’re driving and want to keep it forever, our article on “How can I get the most value from my vehicle?” will be helpful.
• If you’re set on buying a used car, make SURE you avoid salvage title cars.
• We don’t use it very often at all, but sometimes we can sell someone’s used car on our Used Car Trading Post.
• If your car’s not running and you can’t figure out what to do with it, we have several Vehicle Donation Programs listed that could help.

But enough about our incredibly useful website.  Without further ado, here’s Kiplinger’s advice: