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Proposed Budget: $6,000 or under New or Used: I think it's gonna have to be used Body Style: Don't care much but would prefer something not tiny and not huge How will you be using the car?: Scooting around town and the suburbs on errands, occasional road trips. Will only see use a couple times a week tops. What aspects are most important to you? (e.g. reliability, cost of ownership/maintenance, import/domestic, MPG, size, style): Reliability, cost/ease of ownership and maintenance, reasonably pleasant to drive or ride in, doesn't have a jillion miles on it Where?: Portland, OR, USA Right now we have a 2005 Prius. We moved out here from the Midwest a year ago and we've only put about 2K miles on it since then. It's a great car but we just don't drive enough to justify keeping it around. Instead of continuing to pay off the loan on it, we want to sell it and buy something more practical with cash. I don't want a beater, just something humble so I don't have to feel terrible about leaving it outside and people door-dinging it constantly. I'm OK getting something with less-than-stellar gas mileage because we drive so little. Any ideas?
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Jul 19, 2012 08:29
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Thwomp posted:I hate to be the one to say this but why not just keep the Prius? You didn't say how much you had left on the loan but Prius models have shown to be some of the most reliable vehicles on the road. Plus they get their high gas mileage, retain their value pretty well, and have average to lower maintenance costs. It's coming up on 100K miles so it has some maintenance stuff coming. My b/f and family said to either commit to it or sell it at this age. I assumed that selling while it had value still would be better, plus I'd be getting out of paying interest on loan payments. I could be wrong though. I have just under $8K left on the loan if it matters. Edit: It's a Prius so that drat battery replacement is looming over the horizon. That's the main thing I'm scared of since it still costs $3K last I checked. If I picked up a normal car now I could dodge that bullet. HondaCivet fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 16:13
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nm posted:Stop listening to the internet (except me). There is no battery problem on priuses and they're going to 300k on them. Car has a huge amount of troublefree life left. Keep the car. I'm more worried about time killing the battery than mileage since it's an '05 but I have decided to keep it after all since it really is pretty much what I want even if it's a bit big.
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Jul 20, 2012 21:23
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Dangit I should've asked BEFORE I paid hundreds of bucks to get it presale detailed. Oh well, at least it's pretty and clean now.  Thanks everyone, I now feel confident in my decision to be an eternal Prius owner.
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Jul 21, 2012 06:05
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Proposed Budget: Around $20K or less? New or Used: Either Body Style: 4-door hatch How will you be using the car?: Probably not commuting, but weekend shopping poo poo, road trips, etc. Sometimes I need to put big things like bikes or animal cages in it. No kids anytime soon for me so that's not a concern. Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?: I would like some gizmos, but only stuff that's actually practical, not really interested in luxury for its own sake. What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability, easy to care for, has an auto transmission, driving enjoyment (yes I know that usually conflicts with the previous thing), build quality especially on the interior, comfortable and quiet, small so it's less unpleasant to drive in the city, good cargo space/usability for a small car, useful modern gizmos, classic looks, something I'm gonna want to drive for half a decade at least If you do not live in the U.S. you should probably say so because what's available can vary a lot: Nah I'm  I'm kicking around the idea of getting a different car. I have a 2005 Prius with 112K miles or so. I don't have any pressing reasons to ditch it, mostly just because the odometer ain't getting any lower, I'd like something more modern and fun and I am far enough into my career to where I can afford something a bit better. I still have a little left on the loan but I'm definitely at least few G's above water on it if I sold it or traded it in. Anyway, I've looked at the following current models and had the following thoughts: VW Golf: It sounds like this thing is a near-perfect fit to what I want but I'm afraid of buying a VW because of their reputation for unreliability and expensive repairs. Coming from Hondas and Toyotas, VWs sound scary. I haven't done the research to know if unreliability is actually an issue with this model though. Heck I am not really sure how to do that kind of research for a newer car. Ford Fiesta and Focus: I love how they look but reviewers seem meh about the non-ST versions and I can't get an ST because Ford didn't give them ATs. Ford hates ATs apparently because no one seems to like the ATs for these two models. The Fiesta's cargo room and interior design sound inadequate. Honda Fit: Was looking very hard at this one but it sounds like the build quality and interior aren't that impressive to where I'd want to actually hold onto it for several years. It's adorable and clever though. Haven't been anywhere near one in person so maybe it's fine, I dunno. Seriously I don't think I've seen one "in the wild" yet, it's weird. No one in Portland can afford new cars I guess. Mazda MAZDA3 MazdaMAZDAMazda whatever the gently caress it is god Mazda is poo poo at naming things: Reviewers seem to love it but I think it's kind of ugly, it's just as long as my Prius and I've heard the ride is kind of rough and loud. Toyota/Scion anything: Sounds like they are all pretty mediocre, they're ugly too. Any advice? Other models worth looking at, even from previous years? I really haven't paid attention to the car scene for the past several years so there's likely stuff I've missed out on.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:05
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H110Hawk posted:You still owe a couple grand on a 10 year old car worth $5k where you have "no pressing reason to ditch it"? I would suggest getting rid of the loan and learning the joy of being car payment free. Unless it's 0% then ride that into the sunset and ignore what I'm saying. Not quite 0% but close enough. HondaCivet fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Dec 17, 2015 |
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Dec 17, 2015 05:37
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nm posted:Wow, we found someone who thinks the new mazda3 is ugly. Well OK, not quite "ugly" but I don't like how it looks at any rate. Did I say I don't know how to drive one? I said I don't want one for this particular car purchase.
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Dec 17, 2015 06:56
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I don't like the long bulgy hood on the Mazda, it looks like it's stuffing the front of its figurative pants. If it weren't for that I think I'd like it well enough.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:52
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No Golf love? Reviewers seemed nuts about that one too.
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Dec 17, 2015 10:32
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Throatwarbler posted:Why would you buy it over the Mazda? I prefer the styling and it sounds like it's more comfortable and practical if only by a small margin. I think I'll test drive them both at least, maybe the 3 will impress me in person. I'd feel pretty douchey buying a GTI since I'm obviously not a big car enthusiast.
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Dec 17, 2015 11:45
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Auron posted:The GTI only outsold the Golf the last few months, and I'm guessing that's mainly because of the whole diesel fiasco. I don't know why they don't separate the TDI from the regular Golf in their sales figures either, as I'm sure that's the best selling model. Look at the sales difference between Nov 14 and Nov 15. Do you agree with reviewers that the Mazda's ride is rougher and louder? If so is it a big difference or not so much? I guess I just want something that's comfortable because I'm gonna be doing some long drives in it. Also how does Mazda's infotainment system fare? One thing that I really like about the Golf that I probably shouldn't care so much about is that it has Android Auto which basically lets you use your phone on the car's touchscreen, making it 1000% less useless than a normal infotainment screen. Is there any way to do things like use Google Maps on the Mazda without having to buy a dumb navigation package thing?
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Dec 17, 2015 19:30
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OK I have a more general car-buying thread . . . so I'm noticing that a lot of places have big sales events stuff posted on their websites this time of year. Some of the offers seem pretty nice, like 0% APR for 60 months, $1500 cash back, etc. Should I wait until sale events like these to buy a car or is it easy enough to get this kind of stuff while haggling? I ask because I have literally never bought a new car and have paid no attention at all this whole time.
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Dec 18, 2015 01:29
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silence_kit posted:Try test driving both cars to compare how they drive and how their touchscreens are. You can buy the nav separately? The little "build and price" app doesn't show it, but the brochures do show it as "optional" for the Touring now that I'm looking. Well that's confusing as hell. 
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Dec 18, 2015 08:45
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Welp you guys were totally right, after doing lots more research and test drives the Mazda 3 came out on top for me. Just picked up a '16 i Touring hatchback in red tonight.  Are extended warranties a good idea ever? They offered me a 6 year/75K bumper to bumper with a $100 deductible (so it'd kick in after the 3 year included warranty ends) for $2,200. I took it because they said I could cancel it whenever so it seemed low-risk to take advantage of the discount they had if I got it right away. I have never had a new car before so I'm really not sure if I should expect any expensive repairs from 3-6 years of age. I'm heading over there tomorrow anyway, should I just be a jerk and cancel it then?
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Dec 28, 2015 07:49
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Michael Scott posted:So it's really $2,200 for a 3-year extension on the original warranty? I would say not worth it. Spontaneously needed repairs exceeding $2,200 in the first 6 years of normal driving seem very unlikely. Yeah minus the $100 deductible part it's exactly the same as the original 3-year warranty. But yeah, the more I read and think about it the less likely it seems like a thing I'd actually need.
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Dec 28, 2015 09:19
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Colour posted:If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay OTD? I'm going to check one out in a little bit, and I've checked out Edmunds and TrueCar, but it would be nice to get a better idea of what people are actually paying. If it matters, I'm in the Portland, OR area. On just the base car ('16 i Touring hatchback in red, which costs extra) with my own financing they gave me $20,840. With Mazda financing it would've been another $500 off but I got a way better interest rate from my own credit union of course. From what I can tell it was a pretty good deal. They also gave me a respectable amount on my trade-in, after some grumbling anyway, so overall it was hard to refuse.
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Dec 28, 2015 17:51
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Bovril Delight posted:In the future confirm if there is any required period you have to finance with them or any early repayment fee. There usually isn't and you can finance through the brands own credit arm for the rebate then immediately refi through your own financing. Oh yeah they did mention something like that. I was afraid that it'd be too much hassle and/or it was some sort of trap but for next time, whenever that is, I'll be sure to look into it.
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Dec 30, 2015 05:43
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Hi thread. This is probably a dumb question but it keeps nagging at the back of my mind so I thought I'd ask . . . so a few months ago this thread helped me pick out a new car, a 2016 Mazda 3. I love the car and got a good deal/financing on it, so normally I'd be pretty happy with it. However, recently I lost my job and did some soul searching and I realized that I'm very interested in going back to school full-time for a master's. I haven't finalized these plans in any way yet, but I was thinking about my finances and the only real problem I'd have is this car and its payments. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm really doubtful I could swing a $300+ car payment (got a 60 month loan) each month on a master's student's stipend, or that it would be smart to do so even if I could. So, assuming that I at some point fully decide on going back to school in the next year or two, I'm trying to decide what to do with this car. Should I: a) Sell it as soon as I can while it's still new and has low miles, replacing it with something I can buy with cash? My concern here is that being unemployed has tapped my savings a bit so I wouldn't be able to buy as much of a car. b) Just drive it and keep paying it down until I actually go back to school, THEN replace it with something cheap I can buy with cash? My only concern here is that a lot of jobs I'm looking at right now have commutes, so I would rack up some mileage on it, unlike right now where it's sitting a lot. BUT, I'd have more time to save up some money and get something nicer with cash. c) Somehow keep making payments through grad school? I dunno how this would work but just putting it out there in case I'm missing something. Thank you goons for helping me address my poor life decisions.
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Apr 27, 2016 21:45
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tater_salad posted:This is a poor decision but pretty sure student loans can be used for housing transportation etc.. I mean there was that one goon thst lived in a poo poo hole and had his kid taken away due to it and had a baller $3000 pc because he rolled it into a student loan. Hmm yeah, I like the car but not quite enough to be mega financially stupid over it. And I put a bit down, I had a trade in that was worth like $3K. Not sure if that counts as big rear end. I looked at KBB real quick and based on that and what I currently still owe on it, I'm about at parity. I don't know if that would hold if I kept driving it and paying it down though. KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Are you getting a remotely lucrative masters or is this like I'm following my dream to get a MFA? Haha! I'd be going for a MS in mechanical engineering so I think I'd pull through OK, and ideally I should be able to get it funded so I won't have giant student loans either.
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Apr 27, 2016 23:27
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H110Hawk posted:You're currently depreciating the car as rapidly as it ever will barring some horrible surprise flaw across the board on your model. If you intend to drive it for 10+ years I would try to ride it out. So I should try to keep the car through grad school, even if I have to make payments with student loans?
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Apr 28, 2016 00:54
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Thanks, very good points. I will definitely not be doing anything rash at this time.
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Apr 28, 2016 02:36
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Howdy folks, my partner is having car trouble and I'm not sure what we should do. Right now he has a mid-2000's Jeep Liberty that's probably worth $2K. He has been working poor up until recently and has just driven beaters he buys from friends. The Jeep is mostly OK but it desperately needs brake work, probably replacement. He keeps thinking about getting a different car, mostly because his commute right now is sizeable and the Jeep gets pretty poo poo mileage obviously. For now I imagine that we'll just have to fix up the Jeep but we are thinking about what to save up for next. Proposed Budget: As low as possible tbh New or Used: Used obvs Body Style: Sedan How will you be using the car?: Daily driver What aspects are most important to you?: MILEAGE, then reliability/low maintenance costs, after that basic modernities like Bluetooth connectivity So basically what is the best basic bang-for-your-buck used sedan right now?
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Jul 31, 2019 19:21
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zapplez posted:Your friend needs to figure out a real budget besides "as cheap as possible". Fair enough. I do want to ask, is there a dollar amount below which it's stupid/impossible to get a used car loan? Right now he's in a spot where he could probably do a loan but doesn't have much cash. shovelbum posted:If he's made a serious jump in income and isn't servicing a ton of debt he just needs to get a late model Corolla or whatever with all the standard tech features He is making OK money now but has some massive student loans for a degree he didn't finish so that's pretty fun. :\
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Jul 31, 2019 19:41
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zapplez posted:What state are you in? Wisconsin! shovelbum posted:BFC time for sure Yeah probably
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Jul 31, 2019 21:36
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OK I'm back with better information about my boyf. He tried to fix his rustbox Jeep but once they got a good look at it, the cost to fix was going to be greater than its value so he's moving on ASAP. Proposed Budget: 12K or under New or Used: Used Body Style: Sedan preferably How will you be using the car?: Daily driver What aspects are most important to you? : Great fuel economy, small size, reliability, simple and cheap maintenance Right now he is in love with a 2017 Fiat 500 Pop we found at a local dealership. It's very low miles and still under warranty which he loves (also it has a digital dash which I admit is pretty cool). Fiats have massive depreciation though, is there a good reason for that? I haven't been able to find a lot of good information about them and what I've found has been mixed. What do y'all think of them? Is there something else I should try to steer him towards? It sounds like the Chevy Sonic is pretty OK if we can find one? Or would we be better off with a Honda or Toyota even if in that price range they are going to be older and have higher mileage?
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Aug 27, 2019 15:44
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Uthor posted:The Fiat does, like, one of those things. I'm not seeing a lot of used Civics in that price range around here. I have a 2016 Mazda3 (as recommended by this thread, thank you) and he doesn't like how long it is I guess? Which I can agree with kinda, I've had it 3 years and I'm still not very good at parking it because it's hard to see where the long-rear end nose ends. I'll see if I can nudge him towards a Prius, my 2007 was really easy to park (although everything in that price range around here is pretty old and higher mileage). Do used Priuses still have the thing where you've gotta drop a couple grand when the batteries die though? I know he wouldn't go for that.
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Aug 27, 2019 16:17
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:look i'm an italian car apologist but there are limits. If an Italian car apologist says the 500 is that bad, I'll believe you then. I'll try to talk him away from it. quote:also: how can you own a car for 3 years and not figure out how long it is drat I don't have to parallel park much anymore so I've gotten spoiled. 
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Aug 27, 2019 17:00
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It is extra funny because he's like 6'1", the Fiat rear seats don't fully fold down, even if you take the headrests out, when he has his seat set correctly. 
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Aug 27, 2019 18:41
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:please tell me its an automatic Pop of course
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Aug 27, 2019 20:37
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I think I've seen like 2 Mazda2s in the wild in my life
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Aug 27, 2019 21:35
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nm posted:They're actually surprisingly common around here, you just don't notice them unless you own one or they're bright green. You have strange powers; I stopped right behind a bright green Mazda2 on the drive home today.  I hear you folks loud and clear on the Fiat. However, he seems to figure that anything that's 3 years old and under 5K miles will have lower maintenance and repair costs than an older, higher mileage Honda or Toyota, especially since it still has a couple years of "bumper to bumper" warranty left. Maybe he's right somewhat, at least for the first year or two?
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Aug 28, 2019 03:04
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Bad news everyone, he went with a 2011 Corolla instead. Got kind of an eh deal on it but he hates car shopping so much that I couldn't really get him to check out other lots, plus he got attached to our salesman. This is all pending financing which is still being worked out, we'll see how that goes. It's overall just a poo poo situation but there is only so much he can do with poo poo credit and no cash.  I'm hoping that over the ownership of this car that he can get his credit in a better place and that next time he can get his dream low-miles two-year-old whatsit instead.
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Aug 28, 2019 23:08
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euphronius posted:This is going to sound snotty but financing a 9 year old Corolla ? I'm not sure what else to do. He normally just buys beaters since he, again, has poo poo credit and no savings, and now has no other car. Should he just get another beater instead for now and save up? If the loans come back with really poo poo terms then maybe we will do that. You're right that putting this much money into a 9 year old car isn't ideal.
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Aug 28, 2019 23:31
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zapplez posted:Uhh.. not to alarm you but that gen Corolla actually has a lovely 4 speed auto transmission that is prone to blowing up past 100,000 miles... Its one of the few Toyotas with red marks. Oh poo poo, thanks for the tip! Yeah I've been rethinking this deal big time and that really helps.
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Aug 29, 2019 02:05
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Update on Fiat guy: He did end up buying the Corolla. The loan isn't great because of his bad credit, and it's more car than he ideally should have bought, but he is happy to have a decent car that isn't mega old and he's accepting of how the payment plan worked out even if it sucks. I'm glad he has a (hopefully) reliable non-beater non-Fiat that should last until his credit and savings are a bit better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Aug 30, 2019 17:42
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