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MarsellusWallace
Nov 9, 2010

Well he doesn't WANT
to look like a bitch!

jarjarbinksfan621 posted:

So it isn't unwise to spend more than 50% of a car's value fixing it? I know dick about cars, just seems like something you maybe shouldn't do. I don't know about it being on it's last legs, but my sis drove it for many years and it was a money pit, always breaking down. When she got enough for a new car, she just gave it to my dad. Not going to buy a new car, he was thinking of buying a different cheap used car instead of fixing this one.

This is a future value problem - If that big repair is the only thing wrong with an otherwise reliable car, then go for it, then it may be worth it.

Is there any cheap way to own a car for 1 year? I really like the current Mustang, and I'm assuming the next year's will be far better everywhere but the engine, but I need a car for the summer/fall, and they don't come out 'till fall of this year.

Having never owned a car, how good are the various "True Cost to Own" calculators online? I'm looking at Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds, but there's a large spread between them ($29k(kbb)/$35k(edmunds), with a lot of that being in insurance estimates).

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MarsellusWallace
Nov 9, 2010

Well he doesn't WANT
to look like a bitch!
Proposed Budget: $25,000 to $55,000. Basically whatever, if it's worth it we're fine with spending more on purchase price.
New or Used: New
Body Style: (e.g. 2 door? 4 door? Compact/Midsize/Fullsize Sedan? Truck? SUV?) Preferred coupe or hatchback, though a sedan is acceptable. FWD or RWD doesn't matter, we'll run winter tires anyway. Philadelphia has occasional snow, mainly rainy winters.
How will you be using the car?:
Daily commuting: 5 minutes city streets, 5-10 minutes stop and go highway, 5 minutes highway free-flowing.
Road trips, Costco runs, camping. Two person household, family is 8-10 hours away and we make that trip about 4-5 times per year.
No towing, rarely more than 2 people, no off-roading beyond occasional well-maintained gravel/dirt.

What aspects are most important to you? (e.g. reliability, cost of ownership/maintenance, import/domestic, MPG, size, style)

I'd like it to be fun-ish for the daily commute. I like low-end torque and manual transmissions. Tight handling is a plus, but highway comfort is also important, so nothing too stiffly sprung. We have a current-gen (2016) base-model golf, anything that handles as-good or better is fine. Our complete car-camping gear fits fine in the back of a Mustang/Veloster, which is our minimum cargo capacity requirement. We parallel park most days so shorter length is generally better. Android Auto required.

Current list is:
Honda Civic (Hatchback 1.5T/Manual or Type R): Don't know how comfy the Type R on the highway, reviews indicate it's smooth but noisy.
Veloster N: ditto to Type R probably? Cheaper and easier to park, less garish styling.
Elantra GT (1.6L/Manual): Same as the Civic Hatchback, basically.
Genesis G70 (2.0T/manual): Assuming it's really comfy, quiet and reasonably sporty. High insurance costs, basically the same as the Mustang for us at ~900 per 6mo.
Mustang (2.3T or 5.0L, Manual): Don't know how comfy it is on the highway, noisy.

Don't fit in the Camaro or Mazda3, Challenger felt too big. Corolla Hatch seems interesting, but no Turbo or Android Auto. The Golf has been a pain in the rear end to find basic parts for (wipers, air filters) and sometimes parts fall off while driving so no German cars ever again.

We're buying in the next 3 weeks. Anything else I should look into?

Edit: Also is there an easy way to compare insurance across different vehicles? The only way I've found is by creating an online quote in Progressive's site, then going back and modifying it for each car. They're the only site that seems to allow this.

MarsellusWallace fucked around with this message at 18:22 on May 24, 2020

MarsellusWallace
Nov 9, 2010

Well he doesn't WANT
to look like a bitch!
Drove the civic Sport hatchback, G70, Veloster N and Mustang GT non-pp. Leaning towards the Mustang, it's not that much less comfortable than the G70 and it's a hoot to drive. The civic felt very cheap (it is) and the veloster was too harsh even in its softest setting. In a surprise twist, the Honda dealer was shifty and aggressive while the Hyundai dealer was just fine.

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