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Help me find a new car
Rayze
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I have a 14 year old Toyota Camry with a leaky windshield and it's time to put it out of its misery. My dad is graciously going to pay for a new car but he set a few parameters:
1) $15,000 or below
2) Has to get at least 30 mpg on the highway
I want a 4 door sedan (automatic) and while I would love to have all-wheel drive, it would probably put it out of my price range. I've done a little bit of research, looking at a few Honda and Mazda cars but I would like input from you guys and see what you drive and like. I heard Kias are getting better but I'm still wary because of its history
1) $15,000 or below
2) Has to get at least 30 mpg on the highway
I want a 4 door sedan (automatic) and while I would love to have all-wheel drive, it would probably put it out of my price range. I've done a little bit of research, looking at a few Honda and Mazda cars but I would like input from you guys and see what you drive and like. I heard Kias are getting better but I'm still wary because of its history
Rayze on
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Now go back one generation.
Example:
The current Honda Accord is the 8th generation which started in '08. The 7th generation is '03 to '07, has most of the same guts, and will probably be half as much as the new car model.
Then check out those prices online. Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds are good places. If the price is within range, bravo!
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
OP says he wants an automatic, so you can bump that to at least $17k.
If anyone suggests a Chevy Aveo, just don't. They're terrible, unreliable cars.
No, new is new. I don't know if he wants to buy slightly used though I don't see why not. As for brands, I'm also a little wary of the American cars though I hear Ford is getting better
If you're concerned about cost, try to avoid the initial depreciation hit when you drive a new car off the lot.
If you're concerned about build quality, check out the "Technical Service Bulletins" on specific cars. They will tell you about important issues that are usually hidden from the consumers.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
My 2001 Kia Rio gets about 35-40 MPG and has about 170,000 miles on it. It has quite a few problems with it that have only recently popped up (fuel gauge went out), but nothing serious. The transmission went out but only because my sister hit it in to drive while the car was still in reverse for the first 3 years we owned it. The cars are pretty basic though, even the newer models I've been in.
They aren't awesome cars but they're reliable
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
It might feel a bit smaller than your old Camry, though with care it'll probably last you 14 years like your last Toyota.
Personally I'd spend the extra $800 or so to get the "S" package, cause the it looks a lot less of a beater.
Alternately the Ford Fiesta looks like a nice package, but the hatch looks a lot better than the sedan, and since it's the first year of production it's a bit of a gamble. 1st year cars are more prone to issues that tend to get hammerred out in later years.
It may be a first year in the US, but in the rest of the world it's been around for decades. It should be a pretty solid car, at least compared to most first year cars.
I don't think there are any 30MPG AWD cars, except for maybe a hybrid SUV, but then they will be way out of your price range. A 2008 Subaru Impreza can be had for about $15,000, is AWD, but only gets 27MPG hwy.
Basically, pick two:
In your price range
AWD
At least 30MPG
The new Hyundai Elantra comes out in January. It's a much better looking car than the previous model. Both Hyundai and Kia are significantly better brands than they were even 5 years ago. And they have the best warranty out there, in case their are problems.
The Ford Fiesta has gotten really good reviews and is also in that price range. It honestly might be your best choice, but keep in mind it's small.
AWD is out of your price range unless you go used, and even then, it's probably not going to be listed as getting 30+ MPG highway. A Subaru might get close to that, but the EPA says they get 26/27 highway (auto/manual) and your other sub $20,000 AWD option is the Suzuki SX4 which I think gets similar mileage. The Suzuki you might be able to get around your price range, but good luck finding a dealer in some parts of the country.
We drove:
Kia Soul (felt cheap, and small despite the size)
Nissan Versa (drove great, lots of space)
Toyota Prius (just to do it, gas pedal felt like a pillow which I've heard is also true for current model Corollas)
Subaru Impreza (sporty, but not very good gas mileage).
Tonight we're going to drive a Honda Fit and Insight.
We were both seriously impressed by the Nissan and, more importantly to your current situation, the Nissan has a wide range of options that you can add or subtract to get it to your price point. If you REALLY want a cheap one, you can get it under $10k for a new car (although you sacrifice power windows, locks, automatic transmission, etc.). But for the price? Hard to beat.
Plus Nissan currently has 0% financing, which is hard to beat. December is a great month to buy a car so I strongly suggest you start test driving now.
I've got a 2010 Mazda3 hatch and I don't have the problem with the heater, maybe its only a problem with the older generation or maybe the car was low on antifreeze or something. As for the vent placement, that's subjective and opinions will vary.
My GF just went through a similar thing (different class of car, but whatever, same process) and now has a car she likes more than me. The important thing is to just keep testing them until you keep coming back to the same one over and over again. Remember that you have to live with this car for years, so don't rush in. Test drive at least 4 different cars in the class, and your favorite 2 at least twice.
I have a 2010 mazda3 hatch too, and no problems to report. I haven't had a problem angling vents to adjust to people's preferences. OP, I would consider toyota, mazda, or a ford. The new Fords out are high quality cars at good prices. American cars as a group were never as terrible as people make them out to be, and a new Fiesta or Fusion are as good as any toyota and probably cheaper. You also keep american jobs - while car mfging is spread out - some fords are made in mexico, some toyotas in the US, all of the parts manufacturers and aftermarket jobs for Ford are in the US.
I bought a 2010 Focus back in September, and as a first time buyer (and my first car), I could not be happier with it. Ditto pretty much everything here. I paid around $16.3k for mine though, which obviously is out of range. Mine came pretty fully loaded with features (I think the only thing not included was the ambient lighting), but you ought to be able to find one a bit cheaper if you can find one without as many features. It's also later in the year now, so there may be bigger sales or a dealer blowout.
I forgot to mention that my sister has a Nissan Versa and I drove it once on the way to Vermont. I actually didn't like it too much because of the pep. You press down a little on the pedal and you instantly speed up, which is a bit jarring to me (maybe it's because at 14 years, my car isn't what it used to be). What I don't want is a car that when you lightly press down on the gas, it goes from 0-60. My fiance's Forester is like that and it drives me nuts
I did a bit of research last night and it looks like the Elantra, Fit, Focus, Civic and maybe the Fiesta are worth looking at. Any other input would be great though
The Fiesta is one neat little car. I've actually found myself pining over it - it's attractive as hell and Ford is doing a lot of awesome things these days. The Focus is a great car but (in my opinion) looks awkward. Though I got well over 200k on a Focus once without any issues whatsoever
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Unfortunately a lot of cars are like this now because it fools people into thinking the car is faster than it really is. In an older car you would get similar acceleration but with more pedal modulation which is what you want.
Also it kinda scared me the first time I drove one, always poised and waiting for that shift that isn't going to happen
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
What I mean is, can you put that $15k down, and make payments?
Have you also considered TTL? That will be a good $2-3k as well.
Maybe put $10k down on the car, save the $5k for TTL and such, and then make $400/month on payments for a couple of years?
I didn't notice anything in the OP that said anything along those lines...
You should still be able to find 0% financing around, too.
I think they are suggesting that you could possibly take your dads $15k and put it as a downpayment mixed with some of your own money to get a car outside of that budget. It depends on a few things though:
1) That your dad has the $15k cash just ready to hand over
and
2) That you have extra income or savings to put towards the car as well.
I don't think this is a great suggestion: even if it sounds really enticing, OP, I think getting into debt to have a more expensive car is probably not ideal. If you do feel enchanted by this, just ask yourself what you really need in a car, and what a more expensive car is going to do to get you that. If you really want a car out of the price-range, go with a "almost new" used car and save the money.
Just my two cents--
Researching will only get me so far (though I won't stop doing it). I want to hear about everyone's personal experiences
If $15 includes tax, title, and license, your best choices are probaly the Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris and Kia Soul (not the Rio because A/C is an option you have to jump up to $14,500 to get). I've driven the Versa and Yaris and they're okay (the Nissan being nicer in my estimation). I haven't driven the Soul, but it appears to have a lot of cool stuff in it and a better warranty for a decent price. It's not a sedan, though.
Other than reliability (which you can go to edmunds.com etc. and read about), all that matters is YOUR personal experience. Go drive the cars. First without your dad, then with him (depending on whether you want quality time or not). It should only take 30 minutes-1 hour to throw cars into Really Like, Sorta Like and Don't Like categories. Then take the Really like category and drive them again, focusing on the fine differences and weighing them in your mind. This should narrow the list to 2-3 cars, at which point you should see if extended test-drives are available (take it for an hour or two, or even overnight). Then the answer will be obvious.
PS - don't be afraid of going in and looking to drive. Dealers work off commission, so make them work for it, and NEVER feel bad about screwing over a car dealer in any way.
If all goes to plan, I'm going to be doing some test driving this weekend. Maybe start with Ford first and then go from there
I would really suggest you look at used cars if you want a full-size sedan. New cars lose 20% as they drive off the lot--that means a 20,000$ sedan goes for 16,000 with 20k miles on it.
If you plan to drive the car until 120,000 miles or so, and you buy it at 30,000 miles for 25% off the new price, you are getting 90,000 miles for 15k. If you buy it at 20k, you are getting the same car for 120,000 miles at 20k.
Either way, you are paying 6 dollars a mile (same cost), but by buying the used sedan you are spending less money up front. I'd say why not? Why not get the car you want used?
Is your dad mandating that the car has to be new? Because if so he is basically pigeon-holing you into a shitty car that also happens to be new.
Shogun Streams Vidya
oops, scratch that. They start at 15.5k