Originally Posted by
7milesout
Mark - Lots of good info there. While I probably agree with most or all of it, I have reasons for not following good advice.
The Camry - My parents bought that car when I was working at Toyota Technical Center. They owned it for probably 12 years. Then I bought it from them for cheap when they were going to dump it. My dad is afraid of any car with 100,000+ miles. As if it could explode at any second. I bought it in ~2015 with about 140k miles. I didn't like it. I thought it was ugly, plain, and underpowered. I drove it for a while before my oldest son began using it. I fell in love with it. It remains kind of ugly, the interior is plain, but I love the simple layout. I had to fix a couple things. But after I did, it is such a cream puff. It is SO NOT underpowered with the 2.4L I4. I was wrong. It is used as a "trainer" for my sons so they can learn how to flow with traffic. It is like a big golf cart. So easy to drive. It NEVER has a problem now, and everything works. If a son doesn't destroy it, they qualify for an upgrade (hence the G35 for my older son). My middle son uses it daily now ... he wants a G35 as an upgrade as well. My youngest son will use it next (assuming it doesn't get trashed). I love that car and will never tow with it. I'm not big on towing with automatics, at least those automatics not equipped for towing. They burn themselves up, so this is not a car I would to with.
The Matrix - It is kind of a turd. We had a 2004 Corolla LE with a 5 speed prior. I loved that car too. It was my daily for a long time. Bought it from Toyota when I was at TTC. The wife was using it in the end, with nearly 300k miles and it worked great. She pulled out in front of oncoming traffic and got it T-Boned. Neither left side doors would open any longer. I had to tape seal the left doors and windows, and climb over (not easy for Shrek) to drive it. It still drove fine and A/C worked great. I sold it shortly after for like $900, crashed and all. My wife's coworker was selling the Matrix at that time, and we got it CHEAP for $4,000. Had it a year this October. Had only 78k miles. It has had more problems than I expected. Drives turdy with the auto trans. Due to their failures, I've replaced the starter, alternator, spark plugs (because one fouled and it was misfiring), and the VSV. Spark plugs are of course easy, but it shouldn't have had that problem. The VSV would cause the car not to start after fueling. Had to search the forums quite a bit to identify the issue. But it was an inexpensive fix after that. The wife is driving it, and I refuse to buy her a nice car because she treats her vehicles like a mobile trash can. I think you're right, the Matrix might out tow the Mirage. But if / when I get a Mirage, it will be a manual (and MINE). And, if one is proficient with a manual, it is much more robust especially towing, than an automatic. The Matrix might burn it's transmission up towing. It's the wife's turd anyway.
That is an EXCELLENT ATV / tool for snow plowing. Heck, it's good for more than just plowing snow. I hope you enjoy it long term. When the apocalypse hits and people turn into zombies, I have a feeling an ATV will be a very handy vehicle.