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So I may be moving back to a city and getting a real job again after I finish my graduate degree, and here's what I'm thinking of getting so I can return the Ford Escort I've been borrowing to its rightful owner. Assuming this job thing happens, of course, and I don't foolishly sign up for 5 more years of graduate school. Proposed Budget: Under US$20,000, ideally around $18,000 or less New or Used: Either new or late-model (2009+) used Body Style: (e.g. 2 door? 4 door? Compact/Midsize/Fullsize Sedan? Truck? SUV?) 5-door hatchback would be my top choice, almost certainly compact. How will you be using the car?: (Do you tow things? Haul more than 5 people on a regular basis? Have a super long commute? How are you going to use this vehicle? Living in a city, almost certainly street parking. Daily commute to the suburbs most likely (20 miles or less, I hope), road trips of 1-6 hours each way every few weeks carrying a few people, camping and sports equipment, miscellaneous crap, etc. Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?) Not all the gizmos, but being able to hook up iPods and other devices, and getting good radio reception, are important for long drives What aspects are most important to you? (e.g. reliability, cost of ownership/maintenance, import/domestic, MPG, size, style) Miles per gallon, manual transmission (I feel really uncomfortable driving automatic for some reason), reliability, small enough to park comfortably in a city but large enough to haul a decent amount of stuff. I'm thinking a Honda Fit might be the best choice. Ford Focus looks good but is a bit out of my price range, and Ford Fiesta seems a little too small. I know the Nissan Versa is cheap, but it screams "uncool" to me and I don't think I'd enjoy driving it. VW Golfs are cool, but everything I've heard makes them seem overpriced and unreliable. Maybe a low-mileage used Mazda3 would be a good option too? Or a Chevy Sonic?
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Oct 20, 2012 23:04
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Fit, Sonic and Fiesta is what I would consider in this segment. The Focus hatch is 19,6 and you should be able to roll in under that, though Ford doesn't discount as heavily as they once did. Where would be the best place to look for 2012 models, say, next summer? If I could find a 2012 Focus Hatch I bet it would be somewhat cheaper than a 2013.
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Oct 21, 2012 23:16
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What about a Civic? You can get a 4-door Civic LX for $18k plus options and they look pretty cool. Mean, even. I'd definitely get one myself if they offered the hatch in the US, but they don't seem to.
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Oct 22, 2012 04:42
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I think it looks cool, dammit. But then again I did grow up with one parent driving a '95 Plymouth Voyager and the other driving a Toyota Tercel. Seriously though, for $20k, which is what I am projecting my budget will be too, I wouldn't worry about meanness.
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Oct 22, 2012 04:53
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Surely you mean with the front seat all the way back, yes?
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Nov 7, 2012 13:58
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Scipio posted:
One thing I have finally sussed out in my compact/subcompact research is that the Fiesta's interior space is actually quite small. It will get great mileage and is cheap, as well as being pretty cool, but it doesn't have the utility of a Fit. Interior space is very important to me because I am basically a hoarder, but if it's not that big a deal for you I think the Fiesta offers the best combination of fuel economy, low price, and cool factor.
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Nov 8, 2012 17:38
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Here's another question, on leasing versus buying: if I indeed get into a PhD program I will be in grad school for another 5 years, making little money but probably needing a car. Would it be a good idea to lease (for two 3-year terms) something like the Fit or the Fiesta and then, when I get a real job, buy a slightly better car? Or would it make more sense to try to find a cheap used car, get a loan, and buy it outright with the expectation of getting rid of it in 5-6 years?
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Nov 14, 2012 04:47
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Boten Anna posted:You're a student, get a used car you can make low payments on then get your Dream Economy Commuter Car when you get that awesome job you're totally guaranteed straight out of college. Actually, I've been out of college for almost five years; I'm doing a (fully funded) MA program now. I used to have a real job before I decided I wasn't as good at it as I wanted to be and returned for another 2 degrees. I'm assuming you purchased from a dealer, yes? What kind of financing arrangement did you work out? skipdogg posted:I would suggest someone in your position find a cheap, reliable used car and not lease a new vehicle. Would going through a bank or credit union be the best way to go about this, or would dealer financing (assuming it were available) be better? Actually, I suppose that's probably too dependent on individual circumstances. The real issue is, I've never actually been the sole buyer of a car before, having had vehicles handed down to me or bought them for a nominal amount. (the other issue is I am and will likely continue to be a graduate student making very few  , of course)
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Nov 14, 2012 09:16
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This is more of a general BFC question and less of a specific vehicle question. How does one approach the prospect of owning two cars? Or assuming a family, more than one car per driver? I ask because I literally cannot think of a single person I know who has more than one vehicle, yet I get the sense that one does not need to be a millionaire to own, let's say, a practical station wagon to drive during the week and a sports car on the weekends. I look around on Craigslist, eBay, cars.com, Autotrader, local dealerships, etc. and see plenty of cars like the RX-7 or MR2 available at reasonable prices, no more than a Matrix or Fit. With a good knowledge of amateur auto maintenance (something I'm working on, and will continue to work on if I end up somewhere where I need to keep driving as much as I do here in north FL), a reliable and honest mechanic, and safe driving habits, the prospect of owning a sporty yet tiny and impractical car as well as a boring yet capacious and efficient vehicle seems fairly affordable. But is it? What sort of things would someone need to know before considering a second vehicle? Is a house with driveway and garage necessary, or could a person who lives somewhere with street parking pull it off?
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Jan 27, 2013 06:18
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Yeah, I'd be looking to have one vehicle to haul camping gear and people on roadtrips, moving stuff, carrying bicycles, etc, with a sporty 2-seater for driving about town or zipping about on roads in the country. All the posts have been more encouraging than I expected--and I hadn't though about how the reduced usage would preclude insurance costs from going up a lot, but of course it makes sense that it would.
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Jan 28, 2013 00:39
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skipdogg posted:Lots of folks have more than 1 car. In my experience one of them is a 'beater' of some sort that addresses a certain need, while the other is the nicer vehicle that gets treated better. Some folks have beaters that are old pickup trucks, others have commuter cars where they don't care how many miles get put on them. Some (like AI posters) want an impractical fun to drive car like a Miata to mess around with on the weekends. A cousin of mine works at a dirty rear end chemical plant so he has an old car he just uses to drive to and from work. He doesn't give 2 shits about it, it's cheap to fix and gets good gas mileage. He doesn't have to worry about getting poo poo from the plant all over his newer truck. It's just a beater that fits his needs. Yeah, this is the way I picture my hypothetical 2-car arrangement. Maybe a ~2003 Outback as the hauler/commuter with a Miata as the fun car. I'm also curious as to how closely mileage is tied to lifespan for different makes/models of car. I see a lot of relatively late-model (2009, say) cars such as the Toyota Matrix with what seems to me to be high mileage, around 120k, but which don't seem to have any real issues beyond the mileage itself. My dad's had the same Passat wagon since 1998 and put about 250,000 miles on it with no plans for replacement (though he's in abject denial about how much he's spent on maintenance, which I would put at AT LEAST $1000 a year every year since maybe 2002) and I'm not especially concerned with getting a new car just for the sake of having a new car.
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Jan 29, 2013 01:31
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I have heard only good things about the Ford Focus, and the 2014 model will have even more gadgets than the current model. That being said, it doesn't have nearly as much space as I personally would like, so if internal volume is a factor you might want to look somewhere else. It seems that's not a big problem for you, though.
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Jan 31, 2013 03:10
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Is there a good guide to make/mileage, like a max. mileage for any given make/model/year of car above which a used car purchase is almost always a bad idea?
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Feb 6, 2013 23:16
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Phone posted:It was kind of obvious to draw the conclusion that VW owners are really enthusiastic about their unreliable cars. This is absolutely my dad and he is absolutely in complete denial about having had to spend more than 100% of the cost of his 1998 Passat wagon in repairs. Meanwhile he also spent $15000 on a restored 1936 canoe.
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Feb 8, 2013 18:08
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Cael - if I were in your position I would go with the Fusion in a second. All the reviews I've read give it top marks and it looks super cool to boot. For $30k you'll be able to get a VERY nicely equipped one.
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Feb 25, 2013 01:30
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So it sounds like I will, in fact, be in grad school for another 5-6 years. The annual stipend I'm looking at is around US$21k, and while from my earlier posts it sounds as though a Honda Fit is indeed the best car for my needs (i.e. not that big but with good internal volume, decent gas mileage, available in manual) it seems essentially impossible to find them in the sub-$10k range used, which is probably all I can afford if I want to be sane. Let me post this again and see what y'all think: Proposed Budget: ~10k, ideally more like $7500. I want to be paying something like $250 a month in payments, if I can't pay it all off right away. For a down payment I doubt I'll be able to put up more than $2500 given the other expenses I will incur from moving. New or Used: Used Body Style: Ideally 5-door hatchback, though a wagon or a sedan would also be acceptable. Usage: Most likely short-distance commuting to campus (not more than 5 miles round trip I hope) with weekend trips in the 100mi+ range including a lot of hauling furniture from IKEA and poo poo when I move. This may also be the car I drive down from my family's place, where all my stuff is stored, to the school, a 16 hour drive which will need to carry a good deal of my things. Important stuff: Good MPG, cheap to insure, and not a total wimp when it comes to driving in the winter or taking corners. I also would prefer not to have an ugly-as-sin car from the 90s with no features. Oh, and it has to be manual transmission, I cannot stand the automatic on this loaner I've been driving. Is a $10k car doable on $21k/year with $250/mo payments on a 3-year loan? Or should I be setting my sights much, much lower?
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Mar 6, 2013 14:55
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Claverjoe posted:Well, here's a thing. What would be a good "not-Honda Fit" car that still has the same general set of features with regards to cargo space and mileage, a mid 2000s wagon? The Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe. They're nearly identical to each other, and both have fold-flat seats like the Fit does. They also get decent mileage. The only downside is you may think they are ugly; I personally don't, but I understand why someone might not want to be seen in either of them.
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Apr 26, 2013 03:01
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My opinion on the TT is heavily informed by this review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU6uvU1Ebnc I also think they look kind of silly, but, it's your aesthetics that matter. 2009 is, I believe, new enough that VAG cars are reliable-ish.
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May 3, 2013 17:27
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I personally think the Avenger is ugly as sin, and would not want to be seen driving one. The proportions look completely wrong to me, the shapes of the different boxes are not unified, and the hood has a bizarre slope to it that goes nowhere.
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May 15, 2013 03:28
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So my dad finally (and reluctantly) got rid of his 1998 Passat after 15 years and is looking to get a new car. As I understand them, here are his criteria: Location: Western Massachusetts Proposed Budget: 25k or less New or Used: New or very close to it Body Style: Wagon, hatch, sedan - nothing larger than a midsize, ideally a large compact How will you be using the car?: Commuting, running errands; road trips; road trips where he will need to carry an antique canoe on the roof. Also, the area he lives in gets snow pretty often and is hilly. What aspects are most important to you? To ME, reliability is important, because my dad was totally in denial about how much time his VW spent in the shop. But my dad wants good gas mileage, manual transmission (mandatory), and, as mentioned above, the ability to carry his canoe. Right now, he tells me he has narrowed it down to either a FIAT 500L or a Dodge Dart. He was thinking about a new Mazda3 HB, but the way its LCD is mounted on the Touring version (the only version with manual transmission) was very distracting to him and he felt unsafe. He's also mentioned the Impreza, but his mechanic is very skeptical about them so he's probably not going to want to go that route. What would y'all suggest, between the 500 and the Dart? Anything else he should consider, like maybe a Focus?
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Sep 19, 2013 20:01
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So *my girlfriend* has a new job and an old car, and she's looking to get a new car to go with the commute she'll be making. She's been driving a 2003 Mini, which she loves and has had since her parents got it for her brand new back in high school, and she wants to replace it with a compact or subcompact hatchback. Here's what she says she wants: - high reliability - fuel efficiency - leather seats - manual transmission (if available) - iPod/mp3 player connectivity - heated seats - folding back seats/good cargo space - as far under $30k as possible while still including the above The car options she wants to look at once we've moved into our new place are: - Mazda3 s 5-door Grand Touring - Ford Fiesta Titanium - next year's Honda Fit (whichever trim seems best) - keeping her current car and getting a bunch of maintenance done Anything else not on the list that would be a good option?
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May 8, 2014 04:10
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Throatwarbler posted:For the Fiesta I would look long and hard at what the actual difference in price would be between a similarly equipped Titanium vs the ST. The extra power, 6 speed trans, leather Recaros are pretty sweet, the actual difference is probably at beast a few grand and you are guaranteed to get that back in resale value on a ST vs a Titanium. The Fiesta does not have a lot of cargo space though. Yeah it's about $3k price different. Resale value is something she hadn't been thinking about, I believe you have a very good point there. Also the ST would be more fun for me to borrow, so....
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May 8, 2014 16:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Towards mid/late summer, you may see more incentives as dealers burn off 2014 inventory. So you would say my gf's plan of testing cars now and then buying in August is a good one, then?
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May 9, 2014 17:41
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btw the plural of Prius is Priuses if you're a normal person, or Priora if you're a Latin teacher like me.
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May 13, 2014 04:56
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So now that I'm done with grad school and have some job offers (don't get excited -- I'm staying in academia and the pay is meh) I think it might be time to replace my 1998 Ford Escort wagon. There's nothing wrong with it, except that it's unpleasant to drive in every way except visibility (and the excellent visibility is a function of its lacking modern safety features  ) and if I am going to need a car I'd like to have one that my wife can ride in without getting seasick from the mediocre suspension. Also, it has a slushy automatic transmission that fights me every time I try to go up a hill, since the engine is definitely not producing more than 100hp after 20+ years.My budget is around $15k (or less, obviously) and I want something that meets these criteria: - wagon, hatchback, crossover, or SUV (that has or can have a roof rack and trailer hitch) - manual transmission - 150+ hp - 32+ mpg - <10 years old With my credit rating I should be able to get a good APR on a loan, and I will be putting down at least $5k in cash. Does anyone have any thoughts on the following makes and models, and what to look out for? I'm leaning towards one of these: - Mazda3 - Mazda CX-5 - Ford Focus - Subaru Impreza - Subaru Crosstrek - VW Jetta SportWagen - Honda HR-V - Honda Civic Hatch (the new one with 4 doors) The Mazda3 hatch is my preference, probably, given its combination of MPG and handling, but OTOH it could be helpful to have something with a little higher suspension that could go on dirt/gravel roads better. Also: what's the thinking on mileage for used cars? I guess 12k/yr is "normal" usage, so should I just try to go off that? Is there a mileage range that I should just not consider at all?
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May 28, 2019 17:45
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KillHour posted:What are you trying to trailer? Most of those cars aren't rated to tow, and if you get into an accident with a trailer, your insurance is going to tell you to pound sand. A small sailboat, Laser-class or similar. They weigh <150lb, and most of the weight would be the trailer itself. Technically they're car-toppable, but they're also 14ft long and I'm not sure I'd trust a roof rack spaced less than 1/3 the cargo's length. But I don't know, maybe it's easier than I think and the roof rack would be okay. KillHour posted:If someone handed me $15k and told me to buy a hatchback, I'd be looking for a used Fiesta ST. No more slushbox! They do seem really neat, but they also seem just too small to carry anything in them, and part of my motivation for getting a hatch is the superior cargo capacity for the size class. Maksimus54 posted:Forget the Subaru's if you care about fuel economy and repair bills. Okay then. There aren't many available anyway so that's an easy note to take.
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May 28, 2019 18:54
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Do they come in manual transmission? Or am I being pointlessly nerdy for wanting a manual at all?
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May 28, 2019 19:25
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KillHour posted:They have a CVT that feels like its made of rubber bands. What do you mean by this? I don’t think I’ve ever driven a CVT so it’s hard for me to picture.
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May 28, 2019 20:51
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:You can probably find a manual Focus very very cheaply and I honestly think you should do that, since it is a pretty good drive (probably like 85% of the fun of a Mazda3, give or take), it's very cheap, it's very cheap to fix, and it's reasonably reliable. Most complaints stem from the god awful automatic transmission (not relevant for you!) or MyFordTouch, so just get a lower trim level. Dealers in my area are advertising leftover 2018s for like sixteen grand for a fully loaded slightly used top trim Titanium, so you can squeeze well within your budget. Unfortunately it looks as though literally every Ford Focus hatchback on cars.com within 200 miles of me that is listed as "manual" is in fact automatic, and mislabeled by some idiot who doesn't know what a manual shift knob looks like. However, there are a few Focus STs within my budget, and those are all manual and get ~32mpg.
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May 29, 2019 12:59
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I don't have a boat currently and would not be towing it more than once a week if I did. The fuel efficiency consideration is more for long-distance drives. 25mpg combined is about the same as my current Escort anyway, though I've been using it almost exclusively for highway driving (85 mile commute each way) so it's been getting ~30mpg on a given tank. When I was driving it mostly in city driving, it was getting like 19-20mpg. Maybe I don't need to worry about mpg as much if I'm not going to be doing that awful commute any more, because if I take the better of the jobs I've been offered I'd be moving out of state and live somewhere I can commute by bike. The money I would be spending on gas will instead be going to plane flights back home once or twice a month. But seriously though why are all those Ford Focuses listed as "manual" when they are obviously automatic?
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May 29, 2019 15:53
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Two more dumb questions: - Are there any consistent rules about how many miles on a used car is too many for it to be a good idea? Or anywhere I can find out stuff like "car X becomes less reliable after Y miles" etc? I know 12k/yr is considered "normal", but would I be stupid getting a 7yr old car X with 84k miles than a 5yr old of the same model with 60k? - Is it ever an okay thing to do to buy a car from someone on Craigslist or any private seller? This is assuming I took it to a reliable mechanic who could perform a thorough check on it, of course. I imagine it's a thing people do, but people do lots of stupid poo poo.
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May 30, 2019 16:17
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That's really good to have put in perspective -- for comparison, mine is 21 years old now with just over 150k miles, but it had only 32k miles when I got it in 2012. I suppose I could keep it running longer, but I'm just sick of the thing. So if I were to try buying a car over Craigslist, perhaps in cash, what do I need to keep in mind in order to get what I want and not be screwed over? I gather I'd need to see the title and its full maintenance history, test drive it, and then take it to a mechanic whom I'd expect to pay $100-150 to check it out and comment on the condition of the body/frame and parts. What else?
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May 30, 2019 19:43
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Maybe I’ll swallow my pride and get a CX-5 with auto then and in a few years—hopefully if I have a tenure-track job, or have changed careers to one that pays a decent salary—I can get a car I actually like. But dang do I really miss actual shifting.
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Jun 1, 2019 12:55
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That’s one arrangement I’ve thought about, for sure. My wife isn’t too enthusiastic about it, though, since our current house has just a one-car garage. At least one person in my sailing club (to which I should renew my membership) tows their boat with a Mazda3, and it’s a larger class boat than the type I’m interested in. Others use Outbacks or various CUVs. Anyway a lot of this depends on which job offer I take this week, since one would mean moving temporarily to a new city where I may only have street parking, and the financial picture would change too. Apollodorus fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Jun 2, 2019 |
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Jun 2, 2019 14:42
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Coincidentally that's exactly what I found on Craigslist the other day
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Jun 2, 2019 17:27
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What do I need to know in order to buy a car from a neighboring state? I think the previous discussion(s) have given me a clearer picture of what I want, but I'm trying to cast as wide a net as is practical. I live in NC within a fairly short drive of both SC and VA, so there are plenty of options within a ~2 hour drive, but I'm not sure if it would be worth the hassle to buy a car and then register it across state lines.
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Jun 5, 2019 17:52
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I've been doing a 170mi roundtrip to work for the last 3 1/2 years, in my 98 Ford Escort wagon. Depending on job-related news, I'll either be doing a much shorter ~60mi round trip, or walking. 
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Jun 5, 2019 18:42
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I’ve always liked the look of the GTI a lot. The discussion above made me think a Focus or Focus ST was the right choice, but I gather that they are even less reliable and have less cargo volume than the GTI. I’m envisioning a GTI with a hitch to mount a bike rack and also a roof rack for a roof-mounted kayak or cargo carrier and it looks pretty neat. And much more enjoyable to drive around on daily errands/commute than a CUV with CVT...
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Jun 10, 2019 14:25
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big crush on Chad OMG posted:I’d 1,000% have a small trailer for kayaks than trying to heave them up on the roof, especially if you’re doing it solo. Kayaks only weigh like 40-50 pounds, ie the weight of an unloaded barbell. I’ve loaded my dad’s ancient 75lb aluminum canoe onto his Outback solo, and that thing is way more unwieldy. Dealing with a trailer is much more of a hassle in my opinion, at least if you’ve only got one or two kayaks. I might want a trailer later to tow a sailboat, but this would be a racing dinghy that would weigh like 130-300lb, and I know I’ve seen people tow those behind hatchbacks with less power than a GTI.
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Jun 11, 2019 08:24
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Picking up on the BFC discussion: I feel like I know what I want in a car thanks to everyone's suggestions, so it's more a question now of what I can find for my budget. From looking at my savings (what I've been able to set aside during 8 years of grad school, LOL) I can put down up to $9k in cash, and then when I start my fancy visiting professor job I should be able to manage around $200/mo in car payments--long story short, the best offer I got was out of state and so I will be paying half of my current mortgage plus the rent for an apartment where I'll be working, plus at least one roundtrip plane flight per month back home. Once the academic year ends, I'll be back home and have three more paychecks without the extra expenses, though while I don't currently know what the job situation will be the following year I can tell you that academia definitely does not pay $150k/year, not at my career stage anyway. My credit rating is over 800, I have a very small (<$3k) amount of student loan debt and a mortgage (but we have equity in the house now), and if my wife co-signs the loan our household income is well over $100k/year. Is it reasonable to expect I can get around a 4% APR? And if so, is a $15,000 total budget (plus interest on a 36-mo loan) realistic? I might spend less, but going over $12k seems to open a lot of options on the used market in my area.
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Jun 12, 2019 01:24
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