Connect Before You Drive

Car shopping can be a good experience or bad experience depending on how you approach it. My very first car was a Pontiac Grand Am. I was 16 and did not have a clue as to what kind of car I wanted. I spent the entire day at the Pontiac dealership because of an advertisement they had regarding a special financing.

Then sometime in my late teens, I went to the Porsche dealership with my then boyfriend and fell into the same trap. Waiting and wasting time. Only if the internet and car review websites were available back then, our car purchasing experiences could have been more pleasant.

There is an online website called thecarconnection.com where you can read the reviews, see the ratings, find the MSRP, and understand what options are available for the car you want. They are connected to other services such as insurance and classified ads. I like reading their tips page, especially the one about squeaks and rattles.

My son recently mentioned that he wanted a Dodge Viper. I immediately pulled out my laptop and started searching for more info. It has been rated 7.6 out of 10, with a 10 for styling and 10 for performance. Tomorrow he might come to me and say he wants a Honda, and I will be able to pull-up the information for it as well.

Knowledge is power and it is a nice feeling to be able to compare cars and learn more of its performance and reliability before you decide.