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Uziel, definitely measure out everything in the Mazda 5. I never checked it when I was solving the same problem, since the reviews I read indicated leg room in the driver seat was constraining for tall drivers. We ended up with a Dodge Grand Caravan. I liked the Toyota Sienna and Odyssey better, but not so much better to spend that much more on one (options put them $10k CDN more than a comparable Grand Caravan.) Keep in mind that infant car seats aren't the biggest car seats you can have. When the kid outgrows the infant pod, the next models take even more space while they rear face, and rear facing is the safest option. Pricewise the Mazda 5 is a bit cheaper, but it may not solve the space problem with two car seats.
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Nov 7, 2010 22:14
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I'm in somewhat of a jam and I need internet advice. I've never owned a car in my life. Last five years I've had a company vehicle I could use for most things. I accepted a promotion to a position where I would work at one location, so they will take away the vehicle. So I need a car by February 21st. My budget is ~$5k cash. Is it possible to get a reliable car for that amount of money? I could get a car loan, but my interest rate would be fairly high - is it worth it to loan out another $5k and get a better car? I'm not very interested in aethetics, just point A to point B, gas mileage and reliability. I'd prefer not to get a loan, but I'd much more prefer not to purchase a car and have it go kaput in a year or two.
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Jan 11, 2011 04:37
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$5k and $1k a year (at the very very most) for maintenance will get you years of reliability from a variety of several year old economy cars.
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Jan 11, 2011 05:39
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Get a car savvy friend to help you find something that suits your needs for around $5,000. I've got a 99 Camry I bought off my dad a few years ago for $4,000 that has been very reliable for the 50k miles I've put on it. I would recommend you buy something around the turn of the century and Japanese (preferably Toyota or Honda) and laugh all the way to the bank.
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Jan 11, 2011 14:25
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There are a number of cars out there that are cheap and reliable that aren't Japanese either. Usually people recommend Camrys and Civics and Corollas and Accords and while they're reliable they can command a premium depending on where you are. Ford Focuses (Focii?) are decent as long as you stay away from the first two or three years. Geo/Chevy Prizms are also excellent because it's a domestic-badged Corolla, so you get all the benefits of the Corolla with the depreciation of a Geo/Chevy! Older (first gen) Neons can be had for a song, just make sure you get the 3-speed auto rather than the 4-speed and the head gasket issue has been resolved (ir probably has by this point unless you get a super-low-mileage car). Any Nissan with the VQ engine is going to be fantastic as well. Those engines are built.
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Jan 11, 2011 14:49
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CornHolio posted:There are a number of cars out there that are cheap and reliable that aren't Japanese either. Usually people recommend Camrys and Civics and Corollas and Accords and while they're reliable they can command a premium depending on where you are. I had a Maxima and an I30 with a VQ engine and while the engine was great, all other kinds of poo poo broke on that car including window regulators, fuel pumps, wheel bearings, etc. My Camry has been relatively low maintenance and I've owned it three times as long as the other two.
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Jan 11, 2011 16:13
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Nocheez posted:The reason we recommend those cars and the reason they command a (small) premium is because they are reliable through and through. Anecdotes, anecdotes. I had an Altima with the worse 2.5L four cylinder (that apparently catches fire) and it needed very little until I sold it at 96k miles. My point is, Hondas and Toyotas have a premium, sometimes significant, and their parts also tend to be more expensive. Heck my brother's Accord (1998 model) has been a piece of poo poo for him. His distributor went out and I think the part alone was close to $200 because it's some Japanese wizardly or something (for comparison, the distirbutor for my PREMIUM AUTO MACHINE VOLVO was $40). His transmission has been giving him grief, his door handle snapped off, his gearshifter came apart, and he's been having the well-known Honda main relay problem for awhile now, a problem that often leaves him stranded and which is very expensive to fix. Many Honda Civics have an issue where the engine block splits in half; Many Honda Accords have weak transmissions; Many Toyota engines have serious sludging issues; Whether or not the cars are worth their premiums is a big debate and I tend to think they're usually not worth it. Your Maxima was probably a rare case; I'm assuming it was a second gen Maxima and if that's the case those tend to be pretty reliable and reasonably priced and I would probably recommend one over a similar year Camry, your anecdote notwithstanding. Any car could need a wheel bearing or a window regulator, the former is technically a wear item anyway and the latter is something I think every manufacturer has problems with, some more than others (I'm looking at you, GM). Nissans are known for cheaper-quality interiors but I don't think that's a very valid reason to look past them. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Jan 11, 2011 |
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Jan 11, 2011 16:41
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CornHolio posted:There are a number of cars out there that are cheap and reliable that aren't Japanese either. Usually people recommend Camrys and Civics and Corollas and Accords and while they're reliable they can command a premium depending on where you are. Don't forget Hyundais and Kias, either. The Korean builders seem to be offering better cars for lower prices and with fantastic warranties, and that's been true for a few years now.
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Jan 11, 2011 16:49
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You can call them anecdotes if you wish; a well-taken care of car should generally outlive a battered one as well. But in my experience, Camrys and Corollas are plentiful and parts cheap due to oversaturation of the market and by being considered "boring" by most of the public. Find one that's been cared for and pay a little more and you'll spend less in the long run. The stingy person ends up paying the most. The few times I've needed repairs on my Camry I've been able to buy the parts locally for cheap, and working on it is almost too easy. I should be able to make this car go another 100K miles and will laugh all the way to the bank if I can.
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Jan 11, 2011 17:12
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I've done some preliminary looking around and research. There are a ton of turn of the century Camrys around South Florida but most of them in my price range have 90-120k miles on them. For the same price I'm seeing American cars (i.e. Focus) four or five years newer with 30-50k fewer miles on them. Will the Camry really be a better value assuming both cars are maintained properly?
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Jan 12, 2011 05:55
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corded ware culture posted:Thanks for all the suggestions. I've done some preliminary looking around and research. There are a ton of turn of the century Camrys around South Florida but most of them in my price range have 90-120k miles on them. For the same price I'm seeing American cars (i.e. Focus) four or five years newer with 30-50k fewer miles on them. Will the Camry really be a better value assuming both cars are maintained properly? In this case I would go with the Focus, though the Camry is probably a bit bigger. I go with the Focus because I'm pretty familiar with the model years and the various small problems that Focuses have. That kind of anticipation and awareness of issues can help you budget maintenance and give you peace of mind. A quick example: B-engine Saabs and VR6 VWs tend to have ignition issues. In both cases, the fix for a no-start condition is a ~$100 part that you can carry around in your trunk and replace with very basic tools in 10 minutes, if you know the issue and are prepared. This can save you a couple hundred in diagnosis, shop labor, and even a tow. Note that I'm not advocating you get one of those cars, as their reliability pales compared to what we're recommending. I'm just illustrating what a bit of reading can get you prepared for.
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Jan 12, 2011 06:57
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Perfect goddamn thread for this. I'm in the market for a used light truck for beater driving. Our daily driver is an appliance. In proper BFC form, I put together a spreadsheet. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, but to help me make a decision I included a Miles Driven*-to-Price Ratio. *price / miles driven * 100, in currency format. Price is my most important factor, followed by miles driven, so I thought it would make sense to use a metric incorporating both. Not surprisingly, the trucks with higher odometer reading generated better M:P ratios. The downside to a higher reading is more frequent/costly repairs. This is keeping me from automatically gravitating towards the lowest M:P ratio, which is the $3,900 F150 with 167k miles. Anyone see a flaw to using this ratio? Is there another I should be using? Using the data below, what trucks would you put on your shortlist? I plan on running vehicle histories once the list is whittled down some. Year Years Old Make Model Price Miles P:M Ratio Cyl 2004 7 Ford Ranger $5,000 62705 $7.97 6 2005 6 Ford Ranger $5,878 83004 $7.08 6 2007 4 Ford Ranger $6,300 48000 $13.13 4 2004 7 Mazda B2300 $4,500 89000 $5.06 4 2004 7 Chevy Slvrdo $4,988 146971 $3.39 8 2006 5 Chevy Clrdo $4,775 129000 $3.70 4 2005 6 Ford Ranger $4,599 108000 $4.26 4 2004 7 Ford F150 $3,900 167779 $2.32 6 Right now the Chevy Colorado is looking good. At 5 years old it is the second youngest, has one of the lower prices, 3rd best P:E ratio, and is a gas sipper at 4-cylinders. It downside is having the 3rd highest miles driven, though. I'm also liking the 2004 Mazda B2300 with a neutral P:M ratio, low-to-neutral miles driven, gas sipper, and the 2005 Ford Ranger for $4599. Regardless of which way I go, I plan on negotiating the pants off the price. Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Jan 15, 2011 |
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Jan 14, 2011 22:05
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It's a little confusing because I think you're using the term "mileage" to refer to how many miles the truck has on the odometer. Whereas normally I think the term refers to fuel economy. It's not a terrible idea to take the odometer reading into account when shopping for used vehicles. However, miles-driven is not a universal constant. City miles put far more wear on an engine than highway miles. And, a truck that's been used heavily for off-road, work, etc. will be much more worn out in the body and trim, than a highway queen. How well the vehicle has been maintained is also a huge, huge factor. Finally, the list price isn't necessarily what you'll actually pay. From a dealer, you should definitely, absolutely underbid that price - nobody should pay asking price for a used car from a dealership. For private party sales, it's less sure - some people are firm on a price, others are being wildly optimistic or are asking much more than they expect to actually get. In the end, the take-away is that there are too many variables for a spreadsheet like this to be all that useful, unfortunately. You need to take each vehicle on its merits. It's worth researching individual models to see if any of them had problems in a given year - some unreliable engine or transmission or something, of course. That might help you eliminate some options. Beyond that, you'll be best-served actually investigating every potential purchase, even though that takes a lot of time and effort.
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Jan 14, 2011 22:52
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If you really want it to be a beater, you don't need to spend that much. As soon as I get my Miata sold (or maybe before if I find one cheap enough) I'm buying a '98+ Ranger. The Ranger is a particularly unique option here because aside from stylistic changes, and a revised engine lineup in '01/'02, the brand new 2011 Rangers you can buy today are identical to the '98. In my searches locally, I'm targetting something around the $2500 price point (after negotiations) and I'm coming up with plenty of '98+ Rangers that meet my requirements (four cylinder, five-speed stick, not wrecked). I also don't quite get how your "current price to current odometer reading" is supposed to tell you which truck to buy - it'll point you at the cheapest, highest-mileage truck there is. Across all of those trucks, parts and maintenance costs are going to be fairly similar. The big differentiator is going to be fuel costs (which can be a significant difference if you compare a 4cyl Ranger to a V8 Silverado), how beaten the truck has been over the years, and your initial purchase price. Also, in case you didn't know, the Mazda B-series is simply a rebadged Ranger. Strangely, everyone I find with a B-series to sell wants more than people with equivalent Rangers do. If you do go for an older Ranger, stick with '98+ as there were some pretty decent upgrades to the truck that year.
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Jan 15, 2011 01:19
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Leperflesh posted:It's a little confusing because I think you're using the term "mileage" to refer to how many miles the truck has on the odometer. Whereas normally I think the term refers to fuel economy. Correct, thought my asterisk would explain that but i'll edit the post. I meant odometer reading. quote:It's not a terrible idea to take the odometer reading into account when shopping for used vehicles. However, miles-driven is not a universal constant. City miles put far more wear on an engine than highway miles. And, a truck that's been used heavily for off-road, work, etc. will be much more worn out in the body and trim, than a highway queen. How well the vehicle has been maintained is also a huge, huge factor. I'm resigned to the fact that I won't know if it was highway or street driven, so I'm assuming street. I also have no way of knowing how it was maintained short of the owner showing me a log, which I'd be surprised if he did. quote:Finally, the list price isn't necessarily what you'll actually pay. From a dealer, you should definitely, absolutely underbid that price - nobody should pay asking price for a used car from a dealership. For private party sales, it's less sure - some people are firm on a price, others are being wildly optimistic or are asking much more than they expect to actually get. Like I said, I'm negotiating the pants off the price, regardless of who I end up buying from. I'm not hurting for a second car so if the owner doesn't budge, I'll go on my way. quote:In the end, the take-away is that there are too many variables for a spreadsheet like this to be all that useful, unfortunately. You need to take each vehicle on its merits. It's worth researching individual models to see if any of them had problems in a given year - some unreliable engine or transmission or something, of course. That might help you eliminate some options. Beyond that, you'll be best-served actually investigating every potential purchase, even though that takes a lot of time and effort. At the very least the spreadsheet is helpful in keeping the basic information in one place so I'm not referring to several bookmarked webpages. It's bad enough that all the trucks I found were the same color.
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Jan 15, 2011 23:18
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IOwnCalculus posted:If you really want it to be a beater, you don't need to spend that much. This got me thinking because I didn't see any trucks for less than $3900. I need to expand my search to Craigslist and local rags. quote:In my searches locally, I'm targetting something around the $2500 price point (after negotiations) and I'm coming up with plenty of '98+ Rangers that meet my requirements (four cylinder, five-speed stick, not wrecked). What odometer reading are you finding on those 98's? quote:I also don't quite get how your "current price to current odometer reading" is supposed to tell you which truck to buy - it'll point you at the cheapest, highest-mileage truck there is. Yeah, it's not useful for sorting them all into some ranked order. What I'm trying to accomplish is something like a price-to-earnings ratio. Something that can be applied to any car and would give me an idea if the truck is priced competitively or not. quote:Across all of those trucks, parts and maintenance costs are going to be fairly similar. The big differentiator is going to be fuel costs (which can be a significant difference if you compare a 4cyl Ranger to a V8 Silverado), how beaten the truck has been over the years, and your initial purchase price. Noted. I'll stick with the 4-cyl's. quote:Also, in case you didn't know, the Mazda B-series is simply a rebadged Ranger. Strangely, everyone I find with a B-series to sell wants more than people with equivalent Rangers do. If you do go for an older Ranger, stick with '98+ as there were some pretty decent upgrades to the truck that year. That I did find out in my research. I'm seeing less Mazda's for sale.
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Jan 15, 2011 23:37
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I've found that Craigslist (and very occasionally, kijiji / ebayclassifieds.com) has more or less killed everyone else's auto listing business for cars at or under about $4k. Nobody wants to pay for an Autotrader listing on a car that cheap. The downside is that on CL, you'll have to wade through terrible ads written by people who think they're being charged by the line like in a newspaper, and terrible ads written by people who are just plain illiterate. Plus all of the ads labeled "1994 SHITBOX WILL TRADE FOR S10 RANGER FRONTIER VIPER CRX 240D" Mileage-wise, it varies; they're all 100k+, with the majority at 130-160k. A handful of them are over 200k. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Jan 15, 2011 |
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Jan 15, 2011 23:52
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You nailed it. Autotrader is what I had used first and it returned nothing less than $3,900. I just finished scouring CL with a steel wool scrubber and I think I found a good one. I spoke to the owner and he was a pretty cool, talkative, blue-collar type. 2000 Ranger asking price $2,500 with 98k miles, 4 cyl with toolbox, no accidents, slight bumper damage. All the other like-year Rangers are easily into the upper 150k's on the odometer and a few hundred dollars higher in asking price. The next closest Ranger odometer-wise is a year old and asking price is $3,000. If the VIN and title clear out, I'm going balls deep on this guy. figuratively Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 16, 2011 |
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Jan 16, 2011 01:37
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You know how in those submarine movies there is always that time where where an enemy launches a torpedo, then the hero submarine throws out some spinning flares and poo poo and the torpedo turns a different direction at the last second? Well this truck was that spinning flare. As soon as I sat in it a feeling of dread washed over me. I can get past the obvious signs of a major yet undisclosed accident, the metal poking through the seat cushion. I can look beyond the absence of a radio and the shifter not showing if the car was in Reverse, Neutral, or Drive. But what I can't get past is the odometer starting with a 9 instead of a 0, as, you know, it was advertised to be. Someone had tried loving around with the odometer and failed miserably. Even if they had succeeded, there was no way that truck was clocking in at just under 100k miles. I couldn't even get it out of the driveway that's how sticky and jammed the shifter was. The search continues.
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Jan 17, 2011 14:02
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can I get some opinions on Mazda 3's? Thanks
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Jan 31, 2011 02:25
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Are the reports from fightingchance.com worth it or is it all just a rehash of whats available for free online?
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Feb 6, 2011 17:09
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trashy_j posted:can I get some opinions on Mazda 3's? Thanks What do you want to know? Solid car all around for the price, fun to drive, nothing really remarkable about it. It's the fun to drive option in the sub 20K compact 4 door sedan market.
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Feb 6, 2011 17:35
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trashy_j posted:can I get some opinions on Mazda 3's? Thanks I've got a 2006 with 75,000 miles on it and nothing except wear items have had to be replaced (front struts, fluids, tires, filters). Still on original brakes even.
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Feb 6, 2011 19:53
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Well I just bought a new 2011 Lancer GTS CVT with no extra options for $16850. I kinda just went with the last dealer on my list since they were supposedly a 'volume' dealer and would beat my best offer. Can anyone say if thats a good deal?
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Feb 7, 2011 19:33
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Seems like a pretty decent deal, for being 3k under invoice. A comparabale Corolla or Civic would be hard to get at that price, so I think you certainly didn't get screwed.
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Feb 7, 2011 19:44
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I'm trying to decide on a new car, between the Ford fiesta and Honda fit. I currently am driving a '95 VW Jetta with ~105k miles on it that has a problem that my family mechanic basically told me it would be more to fix it than the car is worth. the Jetta i drive now is as far as i can tell on it's last legs due to the problems it's having it won't be able to pass inspection. is there anything that anyone has heard about either car? I've been having trouble finding many complaints about either car. from what i understand sticker price is going to be between 15k- 18k depending on which car i go with. I'm not worried about depreciation in value because i plan on driving what ever new car i get for as long as possible.
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Feb 15, 2011 22:38
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They are both excellent cars. The Fit has been around for a couple years longer than the Fiesta (which is new in the US for 2010 I believe), so it's had longer to be vetted by the general public; i.e., if there are problems in the fiesta that take a couple years to manifest, then nobody could know about them yet. That said I personally like the styling of the fiesta better. I suggest you test drive both cars and see which one you like driving better.
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Feb 15, 2011 23:02
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I currently drive a 2002 Ford F-150 4x4 5.4L. It has been a great truck when I moved 4 times in 2 years, but now it's outlived it's usefulness. Specifically, all I do is commute now, and the 12 mpg is killing me - I spend about $170/month on gas @ $3 a gallon. Secondly, I live downtown and driving it (~50 ft turning radius) is a pain. It is 100% paid off, and has 90k miles on it and will need it's interval service shortly. I've settled on a Subaru Legacy for my next car. It's AWD (I live in the midwest,) has a great all weather package, and is fuel efficient. Secondly, I test drove it and it felt the best overall. Finally, the manual is 19/27 and auto is 23/31, essentially halving my fuel costs immediately. I only want the 2010+ redesign for the larger size. The rental returns are starting to come in (our Toyota Camry was one and we sold it at 286k miles) and they have a better than factory warranty (6 year/100,000 mile powertrain from date of purchase, IIRC.) I estimate I can get $7500 for my F-150 at trade in. I am weary of getting a rental return, but the warranty provides good peace of mind. What is really worrisome is the fact that 2010 was the redesign year, and I was raised to never buy the first model of anything. However, if I don't get a 2010 it means I would have to buy brand new, which is something I've never done before. Also, I could get 1.9% financing which is nice, so 22k total - 7500 trade in - 8000 down payment = 6500 or $214/month with a whopping total interest paid of $222 over 36 months. However with the fuel savings (again at $3/gallon) would make this like $150/month. I am up for any kind of adjustment of these numbers, as well. Does this make sense financially or ...?
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Feb 16, 2011 01:43
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trashy_j posted:can I get some opinions on Mazda 3's? Thanks I adore my '07 Mazdaspeed3. The only non-maintenance / non-MS3 specific issue I've had with it so far is a wiring issue that was fixed under warranty, and is apparently quite rare. The other issues I've had have all been MS3 specific - throttle body, which is unique to the turbo Mazdas and was revised (I still have the old revision), and EGR which is an issue due to how dirty the turbo Mazdas run. Not bad for flogging the car to 75,000 miles already.
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Feb 16, 2011 02:03
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The_Fuzzinator posted:I'm trying to decide on a new car, between the Ford fiesta and Honda fit. I currently am driving a '95 VW Jetta with ~105k miles on it that has a problem that my family mechanic basically told me it would be more to fix it than the car is worth. the Jetta i drive now is as far as i can tell on it's last legs due to the problems it's having it won't be able to pass inspection. is there anything that anyone has heard about either car? I've been having trouble finding many complaints about either car. The Fiesta doesn't seem to have too many consumer reviews from Britain, either, which is surprising. I only found these: http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/ford/fiesta/2011/ http://www.thecarconnection.com/opinionscollection/ford_fiesta_2011_1 There shouldn't be too many problems, as even though it is new for the US, it isn't new worldwide, which means major problems would have been addressed by now. Any chance you'd consider a 1-year old Fit? The whole financial bit and all...
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Feb 16, 2011 02:57
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kimbo305 posted:The Fiesta doesn't seem to have too many consumer reviews from Britain, either, which is surprising. I only found these: i spent some more time looking around and came across the Nissan versa, which totally blew the fit and fiesta out of the water in terms of price, also was looking at cars through CostCo, because my parents have the membership with them, i'd be looking at ~15k on a fiesta, or 12k on the versa. as much as i like the fiesta a lot more than the versa, the price is hard to beat, while the only things i'm seeing that i'd be losing out on between the two is the versa doesn't have heated seats and does not look as good as the fiesta to me. probably going to go out to test drive some soon
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Feb 16, 2011 05:32
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The_Fuzzinator posted:i'd be looking at ~15k on a fiesta, or 12k on the versa. as much as i like the fiesta a lot more than the versa, the price is hard to beat, while the only things i'm seeing that i'd be losing out on between the two is the versa doesn't have heated seats and does not look as good as the fiesta to me. probably going to go out to test drive some soon It's not worth the 3k difference in price to most people, but the Fiesta has SYNC, which is one of the best audio/communication control systems out there.
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Feb 16, 2011 06:14
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kimbo305 posted:It's not worth the 3k difference in price to most people, but the Fiesta has SYNC, which is one of the best audio/communication control systems out there. the problem i have with the Fiesta is the history I've seen and read about ford cars while i haven't read anything bad about the Fiesta itself i have no clue if something is waiting and lurking to pop up.
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Feb 16, 2011 17:19
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The_Fuzzinator posted:the problem i have with the Fiesta is the history I've seen and read about ford cars while i haven't read anything bad about the Fiesta itself i have no clue if something is waiting and lurking to pop up. Unless it is very recent history (after 2006) it's not relevant. You should drive both and the new Hyundai Elantra, they're all good cars.
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Feb 16, 2011 17:27
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Ford has made some incredible leaps and strides, quality wise. I'd say they're better than most of the Japanese companies at this point, to be completely honest. I'd much rather have a new Taurus than a new Camry.
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Feb 16, 2011 17:27
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I absolutely agree. Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford managed to turn around their lineup well enough to avoid massive bankruptcy and bailout. The mustang is not my style of car but by all accounts it's a very good car especially for the price; their trucks are still great; and in the last four or five years they've been making more and more good quality small cars. So they have a good lineup and, since they're domestic, probably are much cheaper to maintain and fix than your typical import as well. That's not to say that a Fit is a bad choice - it's also an excellent car. I don't know much about the Versa, though; when I was shopping for used hatchbacks last year I definitely didn't care much for it, but mostly on aesthetic grounds.
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Feb 17, 2011 02:25
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Leperflesh posted:I absolutely agree. Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford managed to turn around their lineup well enough to avoid massive bankruptcy and bailout. The mustang is not my style of car but by all accounts it's a very good car especially for the price; their trucks are still great; and in the last four or five years they've been making more and more good quality small cars. So they have a good lineup and, since they're domestic, probably are much cheaper to maintain and fix than your typical import as well. I decided that beyond my only thing i wont negotiate on (power windows cause gently caress diving across my car to roll down a window for the gas attendant, nothing against him more against the car) Everything else takes a small back seat to price. while i definitely like the way the Fit looks over everything else I've looked at, but the price tag Makes me shrink a bit. Between the Fiesta and Versa that I'm looking at I'm leaning more towards the Versa due to the price and having the features i want, and I'm not too sure that the SYNC in the Fiesta and the option for butt heaters is enough to warrant the price difference to me. While butt warmers are nice i can survive without them, and when it comes to music, so long as i can plug in my MP3 player and blast out "Get Low" like a moron I'm happy.
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Feb 17, 2011 03:47
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If you are that price-conscious, you should be shopping for a used car, not a brand new one. Most cars depreciate by at least 25% the moment you drive them off the lot. You can buy a Versa or a Fit that's just a year or two old and save a ton. If you need financing, you can get used vehicle financing by buying from a dealer or by applying for a used vehicle loan from your bank. Not that I'm arguing against buying a less expensive car new, mind you; just that if the difference between like $12k and $15k is a big deal to you, but you really want a Fit, why wouldn't you just spend $12k or so for a used Fit? Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Feb 17, 2011 |
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Feb 17, 2011 05:58
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Look for a used Hyundai. If you buy certified pre-owned the warranties carry over and will cover you for 5 years/60,000 miles. For their price level they have some really nice features.
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Feb 17, 2011 06:08
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Leperflesh posted:If you are that price-conscious, you should be shopping for a used car, not a brand new one. Most cars depreciate by at least 25% the moment you drive them off the lot. You can buy a Versa or a Fit that's just a year or two old and save a ton. I've given though to getting a "slightly used" 2010 or 2009, i'm not worried about depreciation of the car because i plan on driving it for quite a while. CornHolio posted:Ford has made some incredible leaps and strides, quality wise. I'd say they're better than most of the Japanese companies at this point, to be completely honest. I'd much rather have a new Taurus than a new Camry. managed to miss this earlier, this is nice news to hear from multiple people, because i was really liking how the fiesta looked. When it comes to price I've been being a stickler about it because i said i want to stay under $20k, but at the same time I'd rather be closer to $15k than $20k. alreadybeen posted:Look for a used Hyundai. If you buy certified pre-owned the warranties carry over and will cover you for 5 years/60,000 miles. For their price level they have some really nice features. as far as cars in general go I've pretty much narrowed what i do want down to the Fiesta or Versa, with the fit being more on the back burner. Something else that just occurred to me now, I have also been keeping an eye on rear leg room, due to with the people I hang out with I end up being the driver, so the Fiesta's 31" to the Versa's 38 may seem like 7 is a small amount but I'm imagining it will make a big difference. also, right now I'm basing everything I've researched off of paper values. the 28th is when i plan on going out to finally test drive vehicles. I'm hoping the Fiesta recovers it's edge in person because i do really like the way it looks over the Versa, (which really is a small difference to me). kimbo305 posted:If that's the case, you only stand to save more by getting a used one and running it as long as you can. the problem i have with used is the irrational fear that getting used (even if it's a used lease car for example) that i'll end up with a car that may only be a year or two old, but has been treated like poo poo and and up having to fix it up a lot sooner than i'd hope to. The_Fuzzinator fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Feb 17, 2011 |
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Feb 17, 2011 06:37
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