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smackfu posted:Have people tried to buy an SUV without AWD?The theory of why you don't need it is fine, but finding a non base model without it is impossible on a lot of the brands. I had no problem finding a FWD CRV or CX5 when I was shopping them in 2013. Also, how is the new CRV giant but the old one not? If the quick facts on Google are to be believed, the new one is an inch shorter, two inches wider, and five inches taller. It is a total mom-mobile but that's what pretty much every crossover is because wagons and minivans are dirty dirty words.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 00:56 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 09:24 |
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IOwnCalculus posted:I had no problem finding a FWD CRV or CX5 when I was shopping them in 2013. Huh, maybe it just looks bigger because it's taller. Like I said AWD isn't a dealbreaker I've just been enjoying driving around in the snow and ice with the AWD Subaru much more than my FWD Hyundai the past week so it's been on my mind.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 01:00 |
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Buy a lightly used prius. Buy some Nokian Hakkapesomethingfinnish tires (the studlessones designed to be studless) with the leftover money and prepare to wonder how you survived, even with a subaru. I say this as a subaru owner who used to live in Minnesota and ice race. The only prius issue is ground clearance, but if you've survived with a veloster, you'll be fine with a prius. If you manage to break a prius, you should probably pull a das volk and buy fragile european sporty cars because you may have the same curse he does. smackfu posted:Have people tried to buy an SUV without AWD?The theory of why you don't need it is fine, but finding a non base model without it is impossible on a lot of the brands. Come to California, they're everywhere. nm fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Jan 4, 2016 |
# ? Jan 4, 2016 01:36 |
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How's the cargo room in the Prius? I wouldn't mind a hybrid with my commute (~40 miles one way) but I do need some cargo space preferably without sacrificing the back seat.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 01:45 |
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:How's the cargo room in the Prius? I wouldn't mind a hybrid with my commute (~40 miles one way) but I do need some cargo space preferably without sacrificing the back seat. Pretty huge. Bigger than the small CUVs and fit you are looking at. If you need more they make the prius V.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 01:50 |
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:So my current car is having some massive electrical problems that may be more expensive to fix than the car is worth. I'm still trying to see if I can get it fixed for a reasonable price, but I'm also considering just saying "gently caress it" and buying something more reliable. Current car is a Hyundai Veloster. Shouldn't the Hyundai still be under warranty? What kind of electrical problem on a car that at the earliest came out in 2011 could render it worthless, Is it literally on fire? What a strange situation. There is a plug in hybrid Ford C-max, it's $30k but your local government might have enough incentives to bring it under your budget. Otherwise either get a Prius, or look at a Golf Sportwagen which will be cheaper (probably) and also a hell of a lot faster with the 1.8T engine, but ovbiously will have much worse fuel economy.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 03:41 |
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Could be over miles? The C-max has had fairly serious reliability issues.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 03:42 |
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Yeah with my commute adding at least 500 miles a week to the car it's right around 50k miles which puts it out of warranty for pretty much everything but the powertrain. I'm still getting a mechanic to take a look but from others' experiences with the same issues for the same same model year I'm headed straight down a very expensive hole that ends with replacing the wiring harness (a $5000 part by itself without dealer markup and labor) so I'm weighing my options of ditching it before I get too far down that hole while I can still get some money out of it or not. Edit: I should probably add this car is entirely paid off
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 03:56 |
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Yeah with my commute adding at least 500 miles a week to the car it's right around 50k miles which puts it out of warranty for pretty much everything but the powertrain. I'm still getting a mechanic to take a look but from others' experiences with the same issues for the same same model year I'm headed straight down a very expensive hole that ends with replacing the wiring harness (a $5000 part by itself without dealer markup and labor) so I'm weighing my options of ditching it before I get too far down that hole while I can still get some money out of it or not. Are you the first owner? The Hyundai should go to 60k for the bumper to bumper and 100k for the power train. I'd imagine a wiring harness would be a power train component.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:04 |
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Bovril Delight posted:Are you the first owner? The Hyundai should go to 60k for the bumper to bumper and 100k for the power train. I'd imagine a wiring harness would be a power train component. By the time the idiots at the dealer admit it's a wiring problem and not a battery problem I'll be over 60k, but I'm gonna try. These chucklefucks took four separate tries to patch a hole in my tire (they even tried to return my car to me with the warning light still on and the tire pressure still low and claimed it was all fixed) so I'm not holding out much hope for them actually correctly diagnosing and fixing the problem on the first five tries and since it's a warranty thing I can't take it to a less lovely mechanic without voiding the warranty.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:08 |
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:By the time the idiots at the dealer admit it's a wiring problem and not a battery problem I'll be over 60k, but I'm gonna try. You can't "void" a warranty like that. They can only refuse service. If you want a new car then by all means go for it, but this issue isn't really something that requires you to buy a new car.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:14 |
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I know it's not a "need to buy a new car now because this one is going to go up in flames" it's a "do I want to deal with this when I have the option not to" thing. Just keeping my options open in case it does end up being a major hassle. Hell for all I know I could take it in and they could be like "oh yeah you've got a loose connector here" and bam solved.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:21 |
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I'm trying to imagine a situation that would require replacing an entire engine harness, and I'm coming up blank. I could see a pinched wire or loose connector causing electrical problems, but why wouldn't you just fix that specific wire? Also, LOL if you think a bundle of wires literally costs the dealer a quarter of what the entire car sells for new.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:29 |
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:By the time the idiots at the dealer admit it's a wiring problem and not a battery problem I'll be over 60k, but I'm gonna try. FYI, if you complained about the issue and they didn't fix it on first attempt and meanwhile you cross 60k, it is still under warranty.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:32 |
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nm posted:FYI, if you complained about the issue and they didn't fix it on first attempt and meanwhile you cross 60k, it is still under warranty. This is also true. It's when the problem occurs, not when they fix it.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:36 |
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100% Dundee posted:I think the point he was making is that it's probably better to just learn where the front of your car is so you don't have to use the parking blocks or drive up on the curb. What do you guys who don't know how to park do when you parallel park? Just stop when you bounce off the car in front of you? Parking blocks are for your wheels. They're put in, in such a way that the blocks are before the end of the parking space, normally like 2-3 feet away from the end. If the front of your car hits them, then the parking space is shorter than it should be and it sucks. I don't see why this would make anyone a bad driver. It's a reason not to get a super low car.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 10:21 |
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redreader posted:Parking blocks are for your wheels. They're put in, in such a way that the blocks are before the end of the parking space, normally like 2-3 feet away from the end. If the front of your car hits them, then the parking space is shorter than it should be and it sucks. I don't see why this would make anyone a bad driver. It's a reason not to get a super low car. 2-3 feet? What? They are usually right at the end of a spot and are designed so a car would stop if it rolled. They aren't designed for you to drive forward until you hit something.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 13:46 |
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redreader posted:Parking blocks are for your wheels. They're put in, in such a way that the blocks are before the end of the parking space, normally like 2-3 feet away from the end. If the front of your car hits them, then the parking space is shorter than it should be and it sucks. I don't see why this would make anyone a bad driver. It's a reason not to get a super low car. If your car clears them and you don't have enough spacial awareness to understand where the front of your car is then by all means, feel free. Just don't fool yourself into thinking you are doing it right and people with lower cars are doing it wrong or whatever.
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# ? Jan 4, 2016 18:59 |
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nm posted:^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This. My dad lives at 8,000' in Colorado and drives a Prius with whatever the best studless snow tires are at the time. Any 2WD with good snows kicks the poo poo out of every AWD. quote:Come to California, they're everywhere. Phoenix is really good also, with the bonus that it was almost certainly driven only 4,000 miles a year by a 74 year old.
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# ? Jan 6, 2016 02:48 |
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If you are having trouble in snow AWD is the loving worst thing you could throw at the problem. All you're gonna accomplish is getting up to speeds your lovely all seasons cannot safely stop or manoeuvre at.
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# ? Jan 6, 2016 12:42 |
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I called a local shop with a good reputation about a pre-purchase inspection, he said they'd do a basic inspection for free and it'd be $80 if I wanted one where they put the vehicle on a lift and take the tires off (this is the one thing he said to differentiate it from the other). Should I pay for the more comprehensive one? The car drives and brakes fine from my 20 minutes behind the wheel. Not trying to be a cheapass, just wondering if that's overkill for a pre-purchase inspection.
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 12:49 |
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jarjarbinksfan621 posted:I called a local shop with a good reputation about a pre-purchase inspection, he said they'd do a basic inspection for free and it'd be $80 if I wanted one where they put the vehicle on a lift and take the tires off (this is the one thing he said to differentiate it from the other). Should I pay for the more comprehensive one? The car drives and brakes fine from my 20 minutes behind the wheel. Not trying to be a cheapass, just wondering if that's overkill for a pre-purchase inspection. A good pre-purchase inspection (the paid one) should include: -wear check on brakes (they'll tell you what percentage is left on pads/rotors) -a look at ball joints and suspension components (perhaps a sense of what will be due, even if things feel fine) -a look at the tire wear patterns (will suggest problems with suspension, or evidence of accident/abuse) -a scope of the exhaust (don't know if you need an emissions test and it's a pretty new car, but if it's been abused badly it may reveal engine issues) -a look at the panels and underbody (may reveal unreported accident damage) -a compression/leakdown test (probably unnecessary for a 2013, but would reveal engine problems, or serious wear on higher mileage cars) -pull all codes from the car, and review (this should absolutely be done on modern cars) Some shops charge a pretty good chunk of money for pulling codes, which might make you consider buying an obd2 scantool and an app like torque, or get this which comes with some of it's own software. I have no idea if compression tests, and scoping are common, but I paid ~$120 for my inspection, so perhaps it would be an extra cost for most inspections. Bear in mind that stuff like brakes and suspension are often considered wear parts, and are not included in powertrain warranties. I don't know where you live but in some places if you have your car inspected, and have a subsequent problem that was assessed as good, you can hold the inspecting garage to repairing the problem. I'm sure it's the kind of thing where your milage will vary, but I brought a car to a friends' mechanic uncle, and within 5 minutes on the hoist, he'd noted two unreported accidents (rear quarter and front, plus a suspicious number of new parts on one front corner (hard curbing), and had comments on low quality bodywork in three other panels (played with a magnet accross panels, looking for bondo'd areas. The seller looked shocked when I told him this, and either was an excellent actor, or had bought a seriously trashed car he thought was minty.
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 16:09 |
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Since it's a topic that comes up often in this thread, is there a guide to buying snow tires or hints for what to look for?
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 16:43 |
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antiga posted:Since it's a topic that comes up often in this thread, is there a guide to buying snow tires or hints for what to look for? I prefer dual compound tires, with a heavily siped treadblock - Nokian and Blizzak "studless" winter tires are good examples of this. I don't have recommendations beyond either of those brands (cause it's all I've bought) but looking at tire rack reviews the Blizzaks and Michelins are well regarded. I don't think tirerack sells Nokian tires, so not so good for comparing, but the Nokian Hakkapeliitta's are generally seen as being the best ice tire. If you're going to swap tires on your existing rims, be prepared to deal with the annual costs; if you get a set of steel rims, you have some other options to consider - the ideal winter tire has a taller sidewall and is narrower than your ideal summer tire. You will want consider going with a smaller rim diameter for more sidewall, but there are potential fitment issues (will it clear your brakes?), You will want to consult your dealer/manufacturer, an appropriate forum, or a knowledgeable tire store before you pick out your rim/tire combo. If you've never had dedicated winter tires, be prepared to be surprised. Also, remember that the static coefficient of friction is still very low on ice/snow, even if your dynamic coefficient of friction is pretty good from your winter tires. This is to say, you've got lots of grip until you are sliding out of control, and even with great tires on ice/snow you're going to be hard pressed to make a recovery. Learn the limits your tires for the given conditions, and enjoy the winter!
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 17:28 |
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antiga posted:Since it's a topic that comes up often in this thread, is there a guide to buying snow tires or hints for what to look for? When my mom was shopping for them, I just established her price range, went to Tire Rack, put in the wheel size, and chose the ones that had the best reviews. She says they're the best snow tires she's ever used, heads and shoulders above the rest. I can ask her what brand they are but really, as long as there are a decent number of reviews for a tire there I think you can trust the ratings.
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 20:40 |
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Tire Rack also does their own testing that can give you more of a direct comparison than user reviews might. I just went through buying snow tires on two cars and the newest Blizzaks, WS80, went on one, while the other got Michelin X-Ice XI3's.
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# ? Jan 7, 2016 21:35 |
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I am going car shopping and we need a mid-sized SUV for less than $15k for impending children and two mid-sized dogs. We want the SUV because our car can only fit dogs or children, not both. And the mid-size will fit dogs in the back storage area no problem for most models I've seen. I live in great lakes region so there is snow but I'm fine at driving it and 4WD doesn't matter to me. Our pre-approved loan through a credit union means we need to go 2011 and newer. I see a lot of Ford Escapes from 2012 around here. They seem to have decent reviews. Really there isn't much else besides Equinox's in that range. We'll have to buy from a dealer, though. Any opinions on other models to look at ?
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# ? Jan 9, 2016 03:34 |
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Sylink posted:I am going car shopping and we need a mid-sized SUV for less than $15k for impending children and two mid-sized dogs. We want the SUV because our car can only fit dogs or children, not both. And the mid-size will fit dogs in the back storage area no problem for most models I've seen. Dodge Journey.
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# ? Jan 9, 2016 04:47 |
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regulargonzalez posted:When my mom was shopping for them, I just established her price range, went to Tire Rack, put in the wheel size, and chose the ones that had the best reviews. She says they're the best snow tires she's ever used, heads and shoulders above the rest. I can ask her what brand they are but really, as long as there are a decent number of reviews for a tire there I think you can trust the ratings. I had some good luck and bought a set of OEM wheels with blizzak ws80 tires mounted on them for $400 off Craigslist . If you drive a fairly popular car you will most likely find a good amount on there.
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# ? Jan 9, 2016 05:02 |
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Throatwarbler posted:Dodge Journey. These look neat, too. I hate buying cars because the internet sucks and every review is basically bad for everything. "Lamborghini 1-star did not include hooker"
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# ? Jan 9, 2016 14:43 |
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So my dad (and by extension, I) is looking to replace our 2005 Yaris 5-door. Nothing wrong with it, in fact it's holding a lot of value apparently, but that will go to the new car. And so we're looking around for what's what. Proposed Budget: ~15.000 euros. Probably negotiable a bit, but in that range. No financing or anything like that. New or Used: New. Non-negotiable. Body Style: Hatchback probably? How will you be using the car?: No towing or serious hauling. Primary use will be grocery-getter (mum driving, low speeds), or in-town driving, with maybe some holidays (needs to be able to carry 3 people and some luggage, optimally). What aspects are most important to you? To him, probably reliability. We're not the type to wrench on stuff (no space to do that, along other issues, despite interest), and issues would go to the dealership. There are some marques that have issues here in Greece, with parts availability and unreliable imports, for example, although that info is not necessarily up-to-date. For me, I'd like something that's not boring, or at least not completely boring. And, if possible, a gearbox that can withstand the occasional bad shift wouldn't hurt. The Yaris currently has some issues with going into reverse and first gear at times, sometimes groaning, sometimes returning to neutral. Cost to own would be a concern, but most of the cars in that category are around the same range, tax-wise and so on, so I don't think it's really a specific issue? Might be missing something so I'm mentioning it, but vehicle tax in Greece is primarily based around engine size. Like I said, we're in Greece, so availability and prices can be a bit odd at times. That category shouldn't be much different to the rest of Europe though. Current prime candidate is the Ford Fiesta, with one of the 1.0 EcoBoost engines, but it seems like a pretty big category. Any obvious outliers within the competition, or other cars we should look at? He recently got a Clio as a rental for a trip, but it was a diesel auto, so that doesn't help too much (didn't seem to mind the car overall). I've also heard some varying reports about the 1.0 EcoBoost, so any input on that compared to the competition would be welcome. VV: I think Mazda is one of those companies that don't work in Greece. mazda.gr is apparently under construction (plain blue background with some text), although some internals work, and google brings up articles from the middle of 2014 about how the importer declared bankruptcy Serperoth fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Jan 10, 2016 |
# ? Jan 9, 2016 15:47 |
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Whatever they call the Mazda2 in euroland? There's one guy on here that swears the manual version is actually pretty good (the auto is anemic trash imo). It'll have the "driving slow cars fast" fun that comes with Mazda suspension. The ford may be a better option if they're super common in Greece. My understanding of how things are there is that you're not exactly doing so hot, in which case I would be inclined to get something with plentiful parts available. I can't comment on manual gearbox concerns for either.
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# ? Jan 10, 2016 13:15 |
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Sylink posted:These look neat, too. I hate buying cars because the internet sucks and every review is basically bad for everything. But aren't dodges like legit unreliable? I mean, you can find a bad review for a corolla, but there's like 20 shining reviews for every lukewarm one. With dodge-jeep-chrysler, it seems like for every person who bought a car and had no problem, there's 10 people whose lives have been ruined by owning a jeep.
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# ? Jan 13, 2016 08:07 |
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jarjarbinksfan621 posted:But aren't dodges like legit unreliable? I mean, you can find a bad review for a corolla, but there's like 20 shining reviews for every lukewarm one. With dodge-jeep-chrysler, it seems like for every person who bought a car and had no problem, there's 10 people whose lives have been ruined by owning a jeep. It's one of the better ones as far as reliability goes, mainly because it's old as hell. Most of the known issues with that JS platform are with the suspension, which is annoying but probably won't strand you or give you a massive unexpected repair bill you have to pay right loving now. Compared to a Toyota or Honda, they're not great. Compared to an Escape or Equinox, it's unlikely to be much worse and you'll save some money up front. Well the Equinox might be a bit better but boy is it a hateful vehicle in every other respect. You need to go with the 2013+ model, which has a much improved interior and substantially bigger brakes which the truck really needs. Throatwarbler fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Jan 13, 2016 |
# ? Jan 13, 2016 19:54 |
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My 2003 Vauxhall Corsa just died on me, probably the head gasket failing. I don't want to get it repaired, as there's over 90,000 miles on the clock, and I'd just be waiting for the next repair bill. I'm looking at getting something more reliable that should last me for a few years, and is more comfortable for long distance driving. The dealership I originally bought my Corsa from has a Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Titanium that I can get for a little under £3500 with part-ex. It has about 80,000 miles on the clock, but I'm told that is no big deal for a diesel. Is this a good deal, or is there something better I could be looking at in the sub £4000 range?
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# ? Jan 13, 2016 22:19 |
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I doubt you can get a 2013 journey for under 15000 V6 I should say. Don't get a 4 cyl. euphronius fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Jan 14, 2016 |
# ? Jan 14, 2016 00:53 |
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Soylent Yellow posted:My 2003 Vauxhall Corsa just died on me, probably the head gasket failing. I don't want to get it repaired, as there's over 90,000 miles on the clock, and I'd just be waiting for the next repair bill. I'm looking at getting something more reliable that should last me for a few years, and is more comfortable for long distance driving. The dealership I originally bought my Corsa from has a Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Titanium that I can get for a little under £3500 with part-ex. It has about 80,000 miles on the clock, but I'm told that is no big deal for a diesel. Is this a good deal, or is there something better I could be looking at in the sub £4000 range? I do not know the specific intricacies of the used car market in the UK, but it's very unlikely that you can buy anything significantly more reliable for under four thousand pounds. 90k miles is not that many, and you're really not getting a much newer car - 11% fewer vehicle miles traveled? Better to save the cash, fix the Corsa, and apply the money to continuing to keep the Corsa on the road.
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# ? Jan 14, 2016 01:14 |
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euphronius posted:I doubt you can get a 2013 journey for under 15000 Carmax is listing 2013s with fairly low mileage for $17,5 so I figure it's a stretch but makeable for a private sale.
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# ? Jan 14, 2016 01:16 |
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null posted:Proposed Budget: 20-30k Didn't see anyone respond to this, from a couple pages back, but I'm in pretty much the exact same situation, except I'm planning on test driving a Legacy instead of having already done it Any recommendations? I like the idea of AWD but am not set on it.
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# ? Jan 14, 2016 19:56 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 09:24 |
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Proposed Budget: ~10k New or Used: Used Body Style: Sedan (not too picky since I don't need much cargo space and rarely find myself carrying more than two people How will you be using the car?: Commuting (20 miles one way), two-four hours drives about once a month to go hiking and such What aspects are most important to you?: automatic, reliability, MPG, safety, cost of ownership, low maintenance My '09 Elantra was totaled a couple days ago and insurance only covers rental for a few days so I'm looking to get something relatively soon. They'll be cutting me a check for 7k and change to cover current value of the car and I'm fine with a budget of around 10k, although if I can get something appreciably better for a few thousand more I'm fine with that. I admittedly know virtually nothing about cars so some help would be appreciated.
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# ? Jan 16, 2016 07:05 |