Looking for a good used car

I'm looking for a well-maintained small sedan or hatch for a good friend. Must be automatic trans and $3000 or less. Know a car like this?

It comes down to tires

I have to admit, I love good tires on our cars. Not 'good' as in long-lasting, necessarily, but in qualities that enhance performance and safety in all types of weather.

Consider the winter. I much prefer four modern snow and ice tires over all-wheel drive. Remember, you must do 3 things with any car -- accelerate, turn, and stop. All-wheel drive helps only with one of those -- acceleration -- and actually degrades the other two.

As this ABC News story my sister shared reminded me, though, it's also the age of your tires that matters. In short, tires age start to age the day they're made, and old tires can fail in ugly ways. I checked our cars and the tires were all less than 6 months old when we bought them, with the oldest set now almost 5 years old.

The Tire Rack, where I've bought most of our tires, has a good article on tire aging. The article has some good points about how tire inflation, speed rating, and where the car is stored can all affect a tire's lifetime. You'll also find a complete description on determining the age of your tires.

So, what do I mean?

So, what do I mean by "A Car Does Not The Driver Make"?

Years ago I owned a Nissan Sentra. While having a particularly good balance between power and handling, it was nothing close to what anyone would mistake as a sports car. With 68 screaming horsepower, it was best to turn off the power-grabbing air conditioning off to avoid holding up cars behind me on hills!

It was with this car that I began autocrossing, a competitive event where you race against the clock through cones, typically in a parking lot. And it was at this point that I realized it didn't matter so much the kind of car you drove, but rather how well you drove it. In a lively discussion with friends regarding the Porsches, BWMs, and similar around us, I soon said the words "a car does not the driver make", meaning, well, that even if you have a good car doesn't make you a good driver.

These days I'm often reminded of this. Tools do not make the carpenter. Education does not make the student. Technology does not make the software developer. And so on. And now that I have a real sports car, I still have plenty to learn before I can drive it as well I'd like!