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Math You
Oct 27, 2010

So put your faith
in more than steel

freehotel posted:

Proposed Budget: $15-20K Canadian, prefer to stay on the lower side
New or Used: New/Used, it seems the used cars in the types I am looking at are so close in price that I should probably go new.
Body Style: 4 door sedan
How will you be using the car?: Daily driver, commute maybe 40K+ or so per day, occasional longer trips
Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?: No, if the new options are there I will look at them but they are not the decider
What aspects are most important to you?: Initial price, cost of ownership/maintenance, reliability and safety are all >>>> than cool factor or fun-to-drive

First off - I freely admit that I know very little about cars. I'm looking for a reliable car that will last a long time. At this price point I seem to be looking between the 2013 versions of:

Hyundai Accent
Subaru Impreza
Chevrolet Sonic
Dodge Dart
Ford Fiesta

Any of these that are highly recommended or that I should initially stay away from? With MSRPs in the 15-18K range, what are my chances for negotiating below that?

I currently drive a Fiesta and I honestly love everything about it. Everything about it feels right. It handles great, I get between 35 and 42 MPG... All the time (you will not get near that in the other 3 you listed) . Driving position is very adjustable, gauges are brilliant, very low road noise, zero rattles. I live in Ottawa and it was great in the snow, what with it being so light and having slim tires.

As you may have gathered. I like the thing a lot. I've had a very significant increase in income since I bought it 1.25 years and 28k km ago, and I have been having a lot of trouble finding a car I WANT to replace it with, which is why I lurk this thread. I think I might not replace it at all.

On another note Honda has some pretty solid incentives going on right now. My girlfriends parents got a fairly loaded 2013 civic for $25k. Freight and taxes in. I'm sure you could do a bit better on a "base" model (the civic doesn't come with a stripper trim any more so it comes with quite a bit). The fit is a really solid car as well, but I don't have numbers on that.

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Literally Lewis Hamilton
Feb 22, 2005



Tahm Bwady posted:

Somewhat, I will be using it almost everyday. However, I can find alternative ways to get to where I'm going most of the time. What exactly is the market like for reliable sports cars?

Buy an S2000.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
Hahaha an S2K for $6k, yeah OK.

If you are not 6'+ tall, look into Miatas.

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

Tahm Bwady posted:

Somewhat, I will be using it almost everyday. However, I can find alternative ways to get to where I'm going most of the time. What exactly is the market like for reliable sports cars?

There are lots of reliable sports cars out there, and a twin-turbo RX-7 FD is not one of them. Your best $6000 sports car is going to be a Miata without a doubt, and $6000 gets you a nice one. Good fuel economy, extremely easy to work on, cheap and plentiful parts, and almost all of them are manual transmissions. Great first car.

Edit: Even if you do find a $6k S2000, DO NOT BUY it. Any S2000 in decent shape is worth more than $6k and one that cheap must have some serious issues.

Gunshow Poophole
Sep 14, 2008

OMBUDSMAN
POSTERS LOCAL 42069




Clapping Larry
I have another general question:

If I find a used car and want to have it looked over by an independent mechanic prior to purchasing, how do I go about this if it's a city far away where I don't actually know any mechanics to refer to?

Can I just drive in to a shop and ask?

VV thank you sir

Gunshow Poophole fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Aug 13, 2013

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Stew Man Chew posted:

I have another general question:

If I find a used car and want to have it looked over by an independent mechanic prior to purchasing, how do I go about this if it's a city far away where I don't actually know any mechanics to refer to?

Can I just drive in to a shop and ask?

You should call ahead to a shop and ask if they do PPIs, and if so, get a quote for x car and find out if you can just show up with it or if you need to make an appointment. You can get recommendations for a shop from Yelp or Angie's List or maybe from a local goon or something.

Mederlock
Jun 23, 2012

You won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it
Grimey Drawer
As an update to my previous post, I found this MX-3 with a japanese V6 engine in there already (the upprade I wanted to make anyways), and its supposedly the 25 year anniversary model they released in Canada with heated seats and such. Does this ring any alarm bells? I'm totally confident in redoing the brake rotors/pads/ etc.

Edit: I'm an idiot and forgot the link http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1993-25th-anniversary-Mazda-MX3-W0QQAdIdZ504767005

Mederlock fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Aug 13, 2013

Tahm Bwady
Aug 7, 2008

Its 1 thing to jump and be able to land on 2 feet but I had no idea I was landing in Heaven.Hope all is well on this good Friday

Weinertron posted:

There are lots of reliable sports cars out there, and a twin-turbo RX-7 FD is not one of them. Your best $6000 sports car is going to be a Miata without a doubt, and $6000 gets you a nice one. Good fuel economy, extremely easy to work on, cheap and plentiful parts, and almost all of them are manual transmissions. Great first car.

Edit: Even if you do find a $6k S2000, DO NOT BUY it. Any S2000 in decent shape is worth more than $6k and one that cheap must have some serious issues.

Found a 92 Miata about 2 miles from me

http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/3946731720.html

Kinda worried about whether or not I can fit in it, since I'm about 6'1". Would a FC RX-7 be any better in the reliability department? Sorry to sound like pining really hard for an RX-7 but I kinda fell in love with it via YouTube videos :v:

Ofaloaf
Feb 15, 2013

One of my dad's coworkers is looking to sell his old family 1994 Dodge Caravan with 100k miles on it, and I'm a recent graduate who needs a car and a job. The guy seems amenable to selling the car for something between $1000 and $1500-- is that thing something worth pursuing? My dad's known the guy for decades, so at least the seller's bonafides are solid.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Tahm Bwady posted:

Found a 92 Miata about 2 miles from me

http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/3946731720.html

Kinda worried about whether or not I can fit in it, since I'm about 6'1". Would a FC RX-7 be any better in the reliability department? Sorry to sound like pining really hard for an RX-7 but I kinda fell in love with it via YouTube videos :v:

People are being someone oblique with you. The rotary engined RXes are not reliable cars. They are finnicky high-revving sports cars that are a lot of fun, for sure, but you will either spend a lot of your personal time working on them, or a lot of your money having someone else work on them.

Tall people seem to fit pretty well in Miatas. Try one out.

Kenny Rogers
Sep 7, 2007

Chapter One:
When I first saw Sparky, he reminded me of my favorite comb. He was missing a lot of teeth.
GOONS - I think I found the right car for me, my GF, and our 107 pound Great Pyrenees, but I need a cross-check from Internet Strangers Who Had Ten Dollars At One Point on whether or not I can afford it. You may or may not have my best interests at heart, but at least I can count on you guys to not really give a poo poo one way or another be dispassionate. :v:

quote:

Proposed Budget: I'm approved for up to 24,000 and 105% LTV, 7 years or less in age, 70k or less in mileage. Must be a franchised dealer. We're thinking about driving down from Denver to Santa Fe and buying the linked 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman S this coming weekend, but we're also open to going to look at other suggestions.
How will you be using the car?: 44 mile per day round/trip commuting, Autocrossing, some road trips, spirited mountain driving. My current car is a '97 M3, and I'm a HUGE fan of how it just feels planted on the road.
What aspects are most important to you? I like the reliability that my current BMW has given me. Mostly it's been tires, brakes, oil changes for 5 years. Cooling System is fresh, Suspension is on the to-do list (Struts, Shocks, Ball Joints, Control Arms, Bushings will be about ~$1100)

Auto Situation
I've got a '97 BMW M3 that I bought in 2008. It's been paid off for several years. It's got some maintenance debt (suspension parts) that needs to be handled ($1100-$1200 to get the car back to 100%), but it's otherwise rock solid and otherwise well maintained at 194,999 miles.
She has a 2007 Yaris S Automatic Sedan, financed through her Credit Union. She owes $6300 on it. Autotrader says the national average for '07 Yaris' is $9300. (~$3000 equity)
I also have a 2000 Suzuki DRZ-400E Dual Sport motorcycle that I haven't registered or ridden this year. It's got a ton of extra stuff (5 Gallon Clarke tank, two sets of plastics, two stock gas tanks, Baja Designs lighting kit, and a complete 440 Overbore kit), and it's probably worth $3500 for everything on Craigslist.

Financial Situation
Buying the Car
The monthly payments on the MINI would probably come to about $390/mo/60 months. with my pre-arranged financing. The kicker is that it's in New Mexico, so Tax/Title/License won't be rolled into the loan like it would be if I bought in Colorado, and I'd have to pony up about $2200 for that stuff here.

So - the tentative plan would look like this:
17 August: Drive to New Mexico, Buy the MINI, Drive back to Colorado.
19 August: Pay Tax/Title/License in Colorado with a credit card.
19 August: Put the DRZ up for sale on Craigslist for $3500, take $3000.
19 Autust: Put the Yaris up for sale on Craigslist/Autotrader/Cars.com/Etc. for $10000. Take $9000-9500.
~15 September: Pay off the credit card. Buy the parts required to do the remaining repairs on the M3. Use any remaining balance from the sale of the bike and Yaris to pay down the MINI loan.
21 September: Do the repairs on the M3.
~21 September: First payment due on the MINI. Pay $400/mo for 60 months.

Debt and Budget
I'm currently making about $3500/mo net, and I've been on a mad crusade to eliminate the credit card debt that I've had, paying down about $470/mo. If I keep the pace, I'd have zero balances by the end of January.
I've got an additional $250/mo over and above monthly expenses in the budget that has been going into a Buffer/Emergency Fund - which is where the money came from to catch up the repairs on the cooling system for the M3, etc. It's also where infrequent expenses like Car Registration, new Tires, and the Steam Summer Sale come from. If I reduce that surplus, the money would likely come out of the Dining Out budget column, which is currently about $300/mo.
Car Insurance would go up from $77/mo for the M3 to $93 for the Mini. Negligible difference, IMHO.

I can post a detailed budget if there's interest.

So...would you, or would you not?
Should I? Should I not?

Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Aug 15, 2013

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."
You aren't getting $9-10k for an 2007 Yaris. Maybe $8000 if it is in really nice shape.

At 60mo note on a used car, particularly a turbo mini, not known as a reliable car seems a bit much especially as you'll be out of warranty soon if you aren't now.

Also, please tell me you aren't paying anything near $18k for that car. Try $14k, $15k at the very most.

Kenny Rogers
Sep 7, 2007

Chapter One:
When I first saw Sparky, he reminded me of my favorite comb. He was missing a lot of teeth.

nm posted:

You aren't getting $9-10k for an 2007 Yaris. Maybe $8000 if it is in really nice shape.

Also, please tell me you aren't paying anything near $18k for that car. Try $14k, $15k at the very most.
I'm curious where you got your pricing numbers because it sure wasn't any of the Big Three Pricing Guides?
KBB is $19,204.
NADA is $18,900.
Edmunds (which I can't link direclty to) says $19,501. Trade-in is $16,500.

As for the Yaris, yeah, we're being a *little* optimistic, but overly so.
KBB says $7300
NADA says $9,100, but that's "Clean Retail".
Edmunds says $6,912
However - the average price for all 2007 Yaris Sedans under 100k miles on Autotrader is $9472 today, and we've got maintenance records from the day she bought it, so 9k isn't entirely moon pie in the sky.

We'd need to squeeze about $3500 extra out of the Yaris and the DRZ both, which means that the Yaris can, in theory, go for as little as the $6300 payoff, if the bike sells for $3500.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。

Tahm Bwady posted:

Found a 92 Miata about 2 miles from me

http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/3946731720.html

Kinda worried about whether or not I can fit in it, since I'm about 6'1". Would a FC RX-7 be any better in the reliability department? Sorry to sound like pining really hard for an RX-7 but I kinda fell in love with it via YouTube videos :v:

Fast, cheap, reliable: Pick Two.

The RX-7 is fast and cheap.
The MX-5 is cheap and reliable.

(unless if it's my Miata, then it's pick zero :negative: )

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"
For a normal person on a public road you really don't need that much raw speed. My bloated SUV is ~ as fast as a Mini or an older 3 series but its sure as poo poo way less fun to drive.

I'd rather take reliable, cheap, and enough speed to be fun than go for crazy numbers.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Kenny Rogers posted:

However - the average price for all 2007 Yaris Sedans under 100k miles on Autotrader is $9472 today, and we've got maintenance records from the day she bought it, so 9k isn't entirely moon pie in the sky.

Dealers don't give you retail on a trade-in. They need to make money. So the asking prices on Autotrader are not really relevant (and you should be aware that the actual sale price is usually below the asking price, for used cars sold by dealers).

I think $8k for your trade-in is realistic. If you want $9k you may have to sell it yourself.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp3tvDNybzo

Hikaki
Oct 11, 2005
Motherfucking Fujitsu Heavy Industries
Proposed Budget: Under $4k is my goal, $5k hard limit
New or Used: Used
Body Style: Anything compact-ish to fit in my tiny garage.
How will you be using the car?: As a toy car to learn stick and mechanic skills on. I might also want to use it for my commute every once in a while.
Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?: No need
What aspects are most important to you?: Fun-factor, reliability

I can't drive stick and I don't know poo poo about working on cars but I want to learn. I'm leaning heavily towards an NA Miata but I was wondering what other good options are. I also like 70s/80s Japanese sports cars like the MR2 or RX7 but I feel like those might be unwise choices reliability-wise, considering how old they are. I don't want to be overwhelmed by repairs that I'm not ready for. Most importantly though, it has to be fun to drive (which to me means good handling, not necessarily high power) because that's pretty much the whole point of this.

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
Miata.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Kenny Rogers posted:

I'm curious where you got your pricing numbers because it sure wasn't any of the Big Three Pricing Guides?
KBB is $19,204.
NADA is $18,900.
Edmunds (which I can't link direclty to) says $19,501. Trade-in is $16,500.

As for the Yaris, yeah, we're being a *little* optimistic, but overly so.
KBB says $7300
NADA says $9,100, but that's "Clean Retail".
Edmunds says $6,912
However - the average price for all 2007 Yaris Sedans under 100k miles on Autotrader is $9472 today, and we've got maintenance records from the day she bought it, so 9k isn't entirely moon pie in the sky.

We'd need to squeeze about $3500 extra out of the Yaris and the DRZ both, which means that the Yaris can, in theory, go for as little as the $6300 payoff, if the bike sells for $3500.

Edmunds puts a clubman S with that many mils are more like $16k.

Ofaloaf
Feb 15, 2013

I just noticed a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit for sale on the local Craigslist listings. Is something that old worth pursuing as an everyday car? Is it worth pursuing if I'm a cheap bastard?

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

nm posted:

Edmunds puts a clubman S with that many mils are more like $16k.

I didn't think that dealers price was too bad. I looked at CarMax to see how many other white Clubman S models were around and they wanted about 20K for a similar car. CarMax is notoriously high on their prices though. Figure you can get that Lexus dealer down to about 18K flat and it's not a terrible deal.

Kenny Rogers
Sep 7, 2007

Chapter One:
When I first saw Sparky, he reminded me of my favorite comb. He was missing a lot of teeth.

Leperflesh posted:



I think $8k for your trade-in is realistic. If you want $9k you may have to sell it yourself.

Yeah, we're planning on private party sale after a good detailing thanks to the detailing thread suggestions. =)
It only took a dealer offering a friend half what the trade was worth for me to basically not ever consider that a viable option. She got boned HARD on her trade. No thanks. I'd rather deal with craigslist cranks, lowballers, and flakes than to bring a trade in to a dealer.

Edit: on value - The local Carmax has a horizon blue 2009 with 37k for $18,599.
Talking to a Wells Fargo rep, she took the VIN of both and valued the '10 at 18725, and the 09 at 18,000 even (we were talking about LTV at that point)

Double Edit: This is the Edmunds valuation accounting for the options I can (more or less) confirm from the pictures:
Example: I haven't found a car with heated seats where they haven't opted for the Cold Weather package, which includes the folding and heated mirrors.


I wish I could find a site that did MINI VIN lookups with options the way BMWVIN.com can.

Would this be a fair price-match bargaining token to get the price down to someplace more palatable? Note: No heated seats, no automatic climate control (so, no Cold Weather Package), no sunroof on that one.

Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Aug 16, 2013

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Ofaloaf posted:

I just noticed a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit for sale on the local Craigslist listings. Is something that old worth pursuing as an everyday car? Is it worth pursuing if I'm a cheap bastard?

I learned to drive on a 79 Rabbit. It's an easy to work on car, if you do your own work. But it's also 30 years old, so you'll need to do lots of regular repairs and maintenance. Parts are fairly available, but not plentiful. You will find it very bare-bones compared to modern cars, in terms of amenities, power, and (especially) safety.

It will not be a super-reliable daily driver that you can rely on to get you to work and back every day. If you're handy, though, you can keep it running probably indefinitely, until/unless the engine dies at which point you can decide whether or not to just scrap it.

I think $1900 is too much. I'd offer $1k and maybe get talked up to $1200 if it's actually in the condition described. Get a PPO from a trusted mechanic, too.

e. If you don't do your own work, don't buy a 30-year-old car. There's too high a risk that you'll wind up spending more to fix it than it's worth. Better to save for a $4k-5k car that's only maybe ten or twelve years old, which will last longer and cost less to upkeep.

Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Aug 16, 2013

Arkane
Dec 19, 2006

by R. Guyovich
I just leased a car and wondering if I got a good/decent/bad deal. Also wondering what I could have done better in the negotiation process. Cool to post that here? This seems to be the closest that I could find based on a search.

Agronox posted:

Along those lines, there's a web site that will crunch the numbers for you and tell you whether or not your lease is a decent deal:

http://www.leaseguide.com/leasevalue-calc.cfm

When I was looking at various lease options, it seemed like if it wasn't a nationally advertised lease deal from the manufacturer it wasn't worth it.

With this, it seems like it is too easy to score an "excellent" or above. The current Acura TL nationwide deal ($319/month, $1499 down) scores an absurd 102.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Honestly if the deal is done and your happy I wouldn't worry about it.

Kenny Rogers
Sep 7, 2007

Chapter One:
When I first saw Sparky, he reminded me of my favorite comb. He was missing a lot of teeth.

skipdogg posted:

Honestly, if the deal is done and you're happy, I wouldn't worry about it.
I agree. Don't let a bunch of goons talk you into buyer's (Lessee's) remorse, when you feel you came out decent right now.

Agronox
Feb 4, 2005

Arkane posted:

I just leased a car and wondering if I got a good/decent/bad deal. Also wondering what I could have done better in the negotiation process. Cool to post that here? This seems to be the closest that I could find based on a search.

Agreed with others, the time to talk about it was before you made the deal.

quote:

With this, it seems like it is too easy to score an "excellent" or above. The current Acura TL nationwide deal ($319/month, $1499 down) scores an absurd 102.

Contrary to popular belief, it has been (and I think this will be ending within the next year or two) an excellent time to lease a car, particularly if it was a gas-sipper. The used market has been ridiculously hot, pushing up residual values, and nationally advertised deals were often pretty accommodative. That site might've been too lenient, but it's still good for measuring relative value.

DEUCE SLUICE
Feb 6, 2004

I dreamt I was an old dog, stuck in a honeypot. It was horrifying.
Proposed Budget: $6000-8000
New or Used: used
Body Style: probably small SUV
How will you be using the car?: City errands a couple times a week, very occasional longer trips (camping, Tahoe, LA, etc,) taking me and my bass gear to gigs.
Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos? Has to have power windows, locks, keyless, and a spot for a double DIN. Would strongly prefer with sunroof. Leather is always preferred due to a pair of very hairy dogs, but not required.
What aspects are most important to you? Ground Clearance / Size.

I bought a nice new 2012 GTI right after moving to San Francisco, which I dearly love. Some time later we moved from an apartment complex to a house, and now the GTI doesn't make it down my driveway without scraping a few times. I'm not about to street park a brand new car. We also are trying to cut back on some expenses, so paying for a (dearly loved) brand new car seems silly when we drive it twice a week and have only put 6k miles on it in a year, including a trip to LA and back which is an eighth of the total miles on it. My wife and I both have jobs which we easily commute to via public transportation, so we've agreed that it makes sense to unload the GTI and get something significantly cheaper for the essentials.

I live in the city so I need something short for easier street parking. I do have a garage, but the entryway is tiny (83" wide x 79" high) so I need something narrow. The steep downslope means I need something with ground clearance. Automatic is probably preferred, as I'll be quickly getting a motorcycle for canyon bombing and fun - this is for the boring hauling stuff. I'll be throwing a Pioneer double-din nav unit in whatever I get.

I'm mainly targeting a 2g Rav4, but also looking at the 2g CRV, Escape, and Forester. I'd love another 2nd Gen Outback, but it's probably too long and my wife hates wagons (but SUV's and hatchbacks are fine.) I'll be doing any work myself as much as possible, and have a good amount of experience, and if the car has to go down for a bit it wouldn't be a big deal as we have plenty of other ways to get around.

Anything out there I'm missing?

edit: The Rav4 really seems like it'll be the best fit. Escape has always seemed cheap on the inside, has had a ton of recalls and I don't want to have to go for the V6 due to gas mileage but the 4 seems SO whimpy. CRV is much larger than it looks and I don't like the interior layout. Forester would work and I have a ton of experience working on Subarus, but the gas mileage on those suck too, potential head gasket problems, and it's tall without having the higher view (which I don't care about but my wife does.)

DEUCE SLUICE fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Aug 17, 2013

Arkane
Dec 19, 2006

by R. Guyovich
Point taken from all you guys.

I think part of the whole thing with leasing is that you are in the dark about a lot of things, and purposefully so. It breeds paranoia about whether the deal is good or bad or what the hell is going on...and I am very good at math and I still felt that way! Getting them to show you the sales price of the vehicle/residual, etc. can be like pulling teeth. They basically just want you to focus on the monthly payment.

I think this article is pertinent for anyone considering a car lease: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/what-i-learned-the-hard-way-about-leasing-a-car/?_r=1

In my case, the price I "paid" for the car was slightly higher than I anticipated and it gave me pause (on the other hand, they slightly overpaid for my trade-in, which compensated a bit). Truth be told, I felt like I got a very good deal but I still probably left $500 on the table. But I was glad to be rid of my previous car, which at this point was starting to leak both oil and gas, needed new tires, and I was sensing some slight engine problems. So yeah, all in all, I am happy and I guess a little bit of ignorance is bliss on the "did I get a fantastic deal?" front.

Demostrs
Mar 30, 2011

by Nyc_Tattoo
Proposed Budget: 10k max
New or Used: Used, but only a couple of years old
Body Style: 4 Door Compact (No preference on Hatch/Sedan)
How will you be using the car?: Generally, we'll use the car to fit 5 in smaller trips like small shopping trips or school rides. There's a minivan we have in case of long trips/guests.
What aspects are most important to you: MPG is a big one, as the minivan we currently have is terrible in this regard (2003 Kia Sedona, I don't even think it gets above 10 in the city despite what it was advertised to get). Probably want ~30 combined, though we may have to see if we need to go lower if size proves to be an issue.

Since my mom will be getting money from her parent's estate in September, she want to put it towards a new car. She's been gravitating towards Kia (more specifically the Soul, though she would probably consider the Rio and Forte as well) because of their 10-Year Power-Train Warranty and Nissan because she knows the owners of a Nissan dealership, so she feels that she'd be less likely to be screwed over by them. From what I've seen, both make nice cars nowadays, it's just that I want confirmation that there wouldn't be a significant advantage going with another brand.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."
5 adults or 2 adults and 3 children? Good luck getting 5 adults in a soul.
As far as I know the Kia/Hyundai 10yr/100k warranty is non-transferable, so used cars don't come with that.


Also, if it is 2 adults and 3 children, go buy a gen 2 prius and never look back. If MPG and reliability are the priority, you can't do better for 10 grand.

Also, I'd avoid buying a used car from a dealer unless it is CPO (not for $10k cars because non-luxury CPOs are pretty useless) or a unicorn which you can only find at that dealer. Private party will easily save a grand or 2.

nm fucked around with this message at 06:52 on Aug 17, 2013

Demostrs
Mar 30, 2011

by Nyc_Tattoo

nm posted:

5 adults or 2 adults and 3 children? Good luck getting 5 adults in a soul.
As far as I know the Kia/Hyundai 10yr/100k warranty is non-transferable, so used cars don't come with that.


Also, if it is 2 adults and 3 children, go buy a gen 2 prius and never look back. If MPG and reliability are the priority, you can't do better for 10 grand.

Also, I'd avoid buying a used car from a dealer unless it is CPO (not for $10k cars because non-luxury CPOs are pretty useless) or a unicorn which you can only find at that dealer. Private party will easily save a grand or 2.

Alright, it is 2 adults/3 children, so I'll tell her that a Prius is the best course of action. Thank you!

Degren
Mar 23, 2013
Proposed Budget: We'll say absolute max of 42000 USD, preferred under 23k if possible
New or Used: Either, though most likely used so I can try to tinker with it
Body Style: Truck or SUV most likely
How will you be using the car?: I'd like something that can function on and off road. It also needs to be decent in the snow.
What aspects are most important to you? Reliability > Cost of Maintenance/Ease of Repair/Access to parts > MPG > storage room > else

Going in my idea is a Wrangler, but my concern is the MPG (and not knowing how much the love for Jeep is hype). I was wondering what vehicles are comparable/better, what kind of wiggle room I'd have to get more MPG vs off-road functionality, that kind of thing.

I'm looking to try to be able to repair the car myself, though as I'm a newb I'm hoping for a car that is pretty widely distributed with lots and lots of parts (and probably preferable to have fewer electronic components).

I'm currently in Hawaii but will be moving back to the mainland in about a year. I'll probably also be shooting for a motorcycle so the vehicle might not be my daily-driver except during the winter.

Edit: I currently have a 2001 Honda CRV SE I'm working on to sell so I'm used to roughly 20 MPG.

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

Degren posted:

Proposed Budget: We'll say absolute max of 42000 USD, preferred under 23k if possible
New or Used: Either, though most likely used so I can try to tinker with it
Body Style: Truck or SUV most likely
How will you be using the car?: I'd like something that can function on and off road. It also needs to be decent in the snow.
What aspects are most important to you? Reliability > Cost of Maintenance/Ease of Repair/Access to parts > MPG > storage room > else

Going in my idea is a Wrangler, but my concern is the MPG (and not knowing how much the love for Jeep is hype). I was wondering what vehicles are comparable/better, what kind of wiggle room I'd have to get more MPG vs off-road functionality, that kind of thing.

I'm looking to try to be able to repair the car myself, though as I'm a newb I'm hoping for a car that is pretty widely distributed with lots and lots of parts (and probably preferable to have fewer electronic components).

I'm currently in Hawaii but will be moving back to the mainland in about a year. I'll probably also be shooting for a motorcycle so the vehicle might not be my daily-driver except during the winter.

Edit: I currently have a 2001 Honda CRV SE I'm working on to sell so I'm used to roughly 20 MPG.


http://www.fourwheeler.com/vehicle-reviews/129-1301-the-ultimate-factory-4x4-shootout/

If you're OK with a 2 door Wrangler then a Frontier or Tacoma is probably enough, they're both reliable, relatively fuel efficient and more tolerable on road compared to a Wrangler. Frontier is less nice but should be cheaper. Everything else similarly off-road capable is going to be some combination of mega expensive, bigger than you need and/or a Land Rover.

Comedy Option: Last gen Cayenne S with the off-road sport package and locking differential.

Ofaloaf
Feb 15, 2013

Leperflesh posted:

e. If you don't do your own work, don't buy a 30-year-old car. There's too high a risk that you'll wind up spending more to fix it than it's worth. Better to save for a $4k-5k car that's only maybe ten or twelve years old, which will last longer and cost less to upkeep.
Well alrighty. What about a 22-year-old Pontiac Grand Am? Already went down and had a look at it-- very little rust, engine runs, but the tires are near-bald and serpentine belt looked frayed when the guy popped open the hood and started the engine. A/C worked strongly, interior was clean, most of the rubber was dry and/or gone due to the march of time on an old Grand Am. 2.5L engine and most of those parts seems to've been fairly common, though, so repairs and tire replacements would tally up to less than a grand themselves, right? I'd been willing to lump the cost of repairs along with cost of the vehicle and just treat it like a $2X00 purchase for a functional, barebones beater.

Diplomat
Dec 14, 2009


Arkane posted:

They basically just want you to focus on the monthly payment.

If you have absolutely no intention of purchasing the vehicle after the lease term, that doesn't really seem like a bad strategy.

Dominoes
Sep 20, 2007

Dominoes posted:

Any more input? Looking for summary:
-Available in England
-Fun car
-Ideally RWD (may not be realistic)
-Used, ideally only a few years
-Ideally less than 14,000 gbp.
Still looking for recommendations. I may have to settle for a FWD car. Scirocco/mini? Maybe a FR-S, but couldn't really get a used one, so it'd wipe a good chunk of my savings, even after selling the Miata. Also, buying new, riding the worst of the depreciation, and selling in a few years when I move back to the US doesn't make sense.

Maultaschen
Jan 19, 2004

I've posted in this thread a few times already, but I keep doubting myself. So now I'm looking for advice from square one.

Given a situation where I need a new car within the next month or two due to severe mechanical problems, only have about $1000 for a down payment saved up (but could raid my buffer for more), and need to save for two other very important things (wedding and honeymoon) during the same period, what's the best approach?

- Grab whatever I can for less than $7000 and sell it once I'm through this?
- Find a good year-end lease that gives me room to save for a replacement when it's up?
- Finance a greater amount to get a car that will last me longer, with higher payments?

For reference, I take home around $2800 a month and currently spend ~25% on monthly bills and 40% on savings/buffer. That doesn't include a car payment or insurance. It would include both of those once a new car enters the picture. I also intend to move next year to a better (read: more expensive) location.

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Kenny Rogers
Sep 7, 2007

Chapter One:
When I first saw Sparky, he reminded me of my favorite comb. He was missing a lot of teeth.

Maultaschen posted:

I've posted in this thread a few times already, but I keep doubting myself. So now I'm looking for advice from square one.

Given a situation where I need a new car within the next month or two due to severe mechanical problems, only have about $1000 for a down payment saved up (but could raid my buffer for more), and need to save for two other very important things (wedding and honeymoon) during the same period, what's the best approach?

- Grab whatever I can for less than $7000 and sell it once I'm through this?
- Find a good year-end lease that gives me room to save for a replacement when it's up?
- Finance a greater amount to get a car that will last me longer, with higher payments?

For reference, I take home around $2800 a month and currently spend ~25% on monthly bills and 40% on savings/buffer. That doesn't include a car payment or insurance. It would include both of those once a new car enters the picture. I also intend to move next year to a better (read: more expensive) location.
Were it my situation, and my money, I'd try to put 25% down on a $4000 car someplace, and pay well over the monthly payment to try to knock out the other 3000 ASAP. Your budget numbers indicate that you're socking away $1120 bucks a month. Making 6x $500 car payments shouldn't set your savings back too much for too long.
I think that's about where I think you generally get into serious "decent, reliable car" territory.
These are the car's I'd be going to look at in your shoes (but with my Metro area :v: )
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4009108776.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/3993874204.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/3970855832.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/3991436384.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4008450438.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/3915553847.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/3946475781.html

That'd be my starting point - On the surface, none of them is a *great* car, but they're good enough to get you through the wedding and honeymoon - and then some, probably without a whole lot of drama.

Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Aug 18, 2013

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