Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Bethany, West Virginia

Bethany, WV Car Consumer Discussions

Changing Lifestyles...

by lemko on Tue May 27 14:50:37 PDT 2008

...to Dodge Hefty Fuel Prices: As rising gas prices leave drivers with ever-heftier tabs at the pump, Americans have started looking for ways to reduce the drain on their budget. For some, transitioning away from a one-person, one-car lifestyle has proved rewarding. Janaki Purushe, a 22-year-old genetic researcher living in Rockville, Maryland, bikes just about everywhere she goes. "When I had the opportunity to finally plan my own life after I graduated college," Purushe explains, "I took into consideration where I was going to shop, where my friends live, where my boyfriend lives, and I definitely tried to plan the location of my home around where I was going." Now, although she still has a car, Purushe bikes to work every day. It's a 10-mile round-trip commute, and she carries a change of clothes for when she gets to the office. She says she loves it. "When I'm riding my bike, I really pay attention to what's around me, and the weather's been great. I feel like I'm getting more out of my days." Purushe also enjoys biking to the grocery store, and the bank. She admits that such convenience came at the price of living in a costlier part of town, but maintains that by not driving, she's made up for the extra expense. "I know I'm lucky to be able to bike everywhere," she says. The Department of Transportation said Monday it had seen the sharpest monthly drop in driving since it began keeping records. In March, Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles than in March of 2007. When rising gas prices coincided with a baby on the way for Lucas and Naomi Smith, they knew they had to make some quick changes help keep life affordable. The first move the Smiths made was to sell one of their cars. Between insurance, gas and the depreciation of the car's value, Lucas Smith says the couple saves about $350 a month. Another benefit of sharing the car is that the Smiths, Herndon, Virginia, residents, now spend more time together, in the car and at home. "We have to plan out our weeks," Smith explains, "When are you going to pick me up? What days am I going to work later? It actually facilitates conversation." In making room in the budget for the baby, the Smiths each also gave up their cell phones and cable TV. Smith thinks the change has been nice. "We've found that there's just such an emphasis on having things, that you don't realize there's a stress cost, the cost of maintaining those things. Although it seems like you have less convenience," he explains, "you also have less stress." Besides a drop in stress, the money the couple has saved will allow Naomi Smith to stay home with their new baby. If he had all the money in world Smith says the one thing he might do differently is buy a fun car. "There's something different about having a fun car than having an efficient car," he muses. Bethany Dietz of Baltimore, Maryland, is the stay-at-home Mom of two daughters, ages 1 and 3. Dietz says her husband works 20 miles from home, so his gas tank gets first priority. "If I stay home all week with the kids," Dietz says, "so be it -- it saves us on gas." Dietz waits until Friday, when her 3-year-old goes to school, to run all of her errands. The rest of the week, she and her daughters don't really go out. Although she doesn't mind not driving, Dietz says, "It can get kind of hairy sometimes because my daughter's 3 years old and she likes to go out and do things. She gets a little stir crazy." Dietz says the family's gas bill is encroaching onto the food budget. "You just have to make the choice," Dietz explains, to conserve money on gas in order to afford food. With respect to the gas prices that show no sign of leveling, Dietz says, "I see a lot more complications in the future."

While the Prelude sits

by nyccarguy on Sun Jul 22 19:24:48 PDT 2007

as I'm off for 2 weeks, so does the Protege. We actually took my Dad's '04 X5 to Bethany Beach, DE for a week. I love being on vacation. The Protege's problems are kind of a long story that started a few weeks ago with 2 flat tires from one pothole, a dead battery the next day, and the resulting alternator that wouldn't charge and had to be replaced. Then we brought the car in for what we thought was a transmission problem, but turned out to be a timing belt tensioner problem which only made me weary of what lies ahead. My wife needs a car for work and she chauffers our 10 month old son around so... We actually looked at quite a few cars before we rendered our decision on the X3. We wanted to lease to keep the monthly payments low. from the Honda corner, we looked at the Accord V6 and the CR-V. She liked the CRV for its smooth ride, manuverability, and vast cargo room. I felt like I was sitting on a toilet when I was driving it and it makes the Protege feel like a Porsche as far as power goes. I liked the Accord because it was so cheap to lease ($350 per month for 36 months/15K per year with $0 cap cost reduction) & smooth without feeling isolated. She thought it was OK, but didn't love it. She doesn't like the fact that lots of "mature" people in our condo complex drive Accords. I then stumbled across a special lease offer on A VW Passat wagon. We both like it a lot. It had a beautifully crafted interior, good pickup (from the turbo 4), handled nicely, and had loads of cargo room. I emailed a dealer who actually got back to me via email with a quote including the lease rate, residual, & selling price. The problem was she sent me an email Sat AM while I was at work and I didn't check until I got home later that night. She told me the lease rates would probably go up on Monday, which they did so the effective lease payment went up by $45 per month. $400 per month was a good price for the VW, but $445 was way too much. We left the VW dealer very dissapointed and almost disheartened. All the while I'm negotiating a deal for my Dad on a new '07 X5 3.0si. I brokered a great deal for him on a pretty hot new X5. My Dad doesn't deal with the car dealers, I do. The salesman called him at work after I left to get a deposit. My Dad is a man of few words, but seems to always get his point across. He told the salesman I was interested in an X3 and since we're buying an X5 from him in August and my wife is going to get another BMW when her lease is up at the end of December to make me an offer I can't refuse on an X3. We're supposed to pick it up Tuesday. I can't wait!

Re: Is Porsche Cayenne comfortable? [6degrees]

by pepperlover on Mon Jun 18 09:12:35 PDT 2007

My wife and I went on a nice road trip. We live in DC, drove to Philly, New York City, and Bethany Beach DE within about a week. I was commenting to her about what a sweet ride it is for a road trip. We were going between 65-80 the whole way, very very smooth ride, AC worked great, and we got good gas mileage (around 19-20mpg, so says the trip computer). No snags whatsoever. We had a baby in the back seat, he slpet the entire way... The driver's seat is awesome. Good support and the lumbar support is nice, too. All in all, one of the best "road trip" cars we've ever owned.

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by ateixeira on Sat Mar 27 08:36:48 PST 2004

Dan: you called it, buddy! They accepted our 2nd (best and final) offer and we are now under contract! :-) And Patti was right, they were anxious because they're buying a new home. That means The Fence got a little reinforcement and should hold up a couple more years now. Loosh: don't worry, doesn't look like you have any frame damage. Could have been a lot worse and noone got hurt. Plus now you can come visit me in Ocean City and when we hit the beaches with our Foresters in North Bethany you won't be cringing as much. LOL -juice

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by ateixeira on Thu Mar 18 12:56:19 PST 2004

You can drive on the beach in N. Bethany, that would be fun. Have a little Forester gathering. -juice

Re: Element [1racefan]

by ateixeira on Wed Dec 14 08:45:15 PST 2005

Beach access is plentiful in the Mid-Atlantic. I can choose between North Bethany, South Bethany, Assetegue, Chincotegue, or any of the beaches in the Outer Banks if I drive a bit south. But you gotta have a full-size spare or they stop you right at the gate. -juice