I want to purchase a cellphone. I don't need any extras, I just want to carry it in my car for emergencies.

I'm about like you..just want a phone "just in case" and after checking all the plans out I could I went with virgin mobile. You have to add min every 3 months but they do roll them over and you can buy as little as $10.00 worth. two plans....25 a min for first 10 min every day and then .10 a min thereafter, or pay .35 a day and all min are .10. so it would cost you about $10.50 a mon and 10 cents a min. they have phones ranging from about 20.00 to 80.00.

The cheapest would be the first plan if you hardly ever use it. just top up every 90 days and pay .25 a min when you DO need it. And the rates are the same 24x7

you can buy phones online at virginmobile.com or at walmart and target.

Prepaid is definitely the way to go here. By purchasing a Pay As You Go plan, you can get a free phone, rollover minute balances, and you only need to refill your phone with minutes when you run out (which can be a very long time if you only need it for emergencies) and are easy to buy like at CVS, Rite Aid, and almost any supermarket.

From cingular.com, you don't need a credit check, a contract, no cancellation fees, or anything at all, and you can get a great prepaid phone.

If you're interested in Night and Weekend minutes, then you can still get prepaid by getting a Pick Your Plan prepaid plan. But is a little pricier.

The best thing to do would be to purchase a prepaid phone, buy a car charger, and just keep it plugged into your car (that way you don't have to worry about charging it at home every night since you need it in the car for emergencies).

They offer tons of phones, from free phones to the sophisticated Motorola razr v3. Check it out, it's worth it, I did the same for my car.

Sure! Tracfones (Spelling) are CHEAP and simple, sold at Dollar Stores and Wal-Mart etc.

The big companies also have such programs (such as Cingular, with Pay-As-You-Go or Go Phones) where you buy a certain number of minutes and reload when you want to. The benefit of the prepaid phones by companies like T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon etc is that you can talk to people in those networks for free. I would suggest finding out what service provider your friends and family use and getting a prepaid phone through that provider.

:)

I don't think you could find a phone where the minutes would stay permanently.Only a year is the most I know.i saw these one gadget from an old guy it's like a cellphone but the only number it would call is 911.You just wanna use it for emergency right?

if you just want a phone for emergencies, id go with iridium, the coverage is unparalleled by any other provider out there. And I think in most cases you can buy prepaid minutes that are good for up to a year.

t-mobile is good you dont have to pay much and you have 700+ when ever mins and you can get a free fone and you have unldt nights and weekends

get a prepaid phone plan.