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Cheaper used car
Fizban140
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
I have never owned or really driven a car too much before and I am about to buy my first car. I was planning on getting a honda civic but I want something a little bit faster or something just not as expensive. Civics have a high resale value so the used ones are always a lot higher than other cars that are about the same. I don't want to spend over $10,000, ideally $6,000 to $8,000 is what I want to spend. Just any car that is similar to a civic but maybe a little cooler (won't get made fun of for having a chicks car) or a little faster.
Also I am not sure if I should get manual or automatic, everyone recommends manual but I have never driven manual.
Also I am not sure if I should get manual or automatic, everyone recommends manual but I have never driven manual.
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Really, whoever said a Civic is a chick car is retarded and probably drives some shitty CRX he pimped out with is payday advance loan.
A Mercury Cougar is a chick car.
A Pontiac Sunfire is a chick car.
You could find a Nissan Sentra for around 8-10k with good mileage and it has a more aggressive look to it compared to a Civic.
Go to Yahoo Autos http://autos.yahoo.com/ and look under used cars in your area for under 10k. You should find some respectable small vehicles for you.
And your need for "something a little bit faster" is silly and a bad plan with a limited budget. You don't want something faster. You want something fuel efficient and reliable. You probably also want something boring with four doors because when it's time to go on a road trip, nobody likes crawling into the cramped backseat of a 2 door car, and you'll pay way less in insurance.
A Civic is a good bet. In the USA I'd wager you could get a 2005+ Hyundai Elantra at th $6000 - $8000 price range and yes the 10 year warranty transfers and yes they are extremely reliable cars with a very nice set of standard features and very low prices.
Also, look up where your car is actually made before you buy it. If you find out that your chosen make/model is assembled in Mexico, be aware that you'll typically find significantly lower build quality as compared to cars made just about anywhere else in the world. Which explains a lot of the reliability issues the big "American" manufacturers have had since the 90s.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
This is true. But it doesn't just limit the American manufacturers. The Sentra is built in Mexico, as is the Jetta and the engine and transmissions of Rabbits are built in Mexico too.
Just look at the VIN and if the first number is a 3, really think about it because that means built in Mexico.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I agree completely, except my old Maxima was a trooper and never gave me problems outside of the CD player breaking.
Although Toyota Tundras never break down because they're made in Texas. Honest to God, he told me himself.
It's really sad that the new Fiesta will be made for worldwide distribution in Mexico. It's just going to shoot Ford in the foot.
Dude it's called the Fiesta, it is awesome that they make it in Mexico.
I'd say get the Civic though. It's not a chick car. Worrying about things like whether are not something is a chick car is not something adults do. The only chick cars I've seen were Barbie Jeeps and the recommended age was 3-10.
buy warhams
If this will be your first car, chances are you are going to just run it until it falls apart. If that's the case, you don't really need to worry about resale value.
Hyundai would be a fine alternative, even a KIA as they share similar parts. You could even buy a brand new Hyundai Accent or KIA Rio for under 10k.
The Ford Focus' until recently were bad cars, so avoid them.
The only other car to consider in your price range would be a Chevy Cobalt. They aren't bad, they just aren't impressive. Thoroughly mediocre. You save money now but may have to replace the radiator in a few years kind of vehicles. You could find one a year or two old for under $10k and maybe 30-40k miles.
If you want a really good deal, buy a used SUV. Sure, you'll pay through the nose for fuel, insurance, and gas, but the car itself will be really cheap. :P
Here is a good trade off, a 2003 Protege with 80k miles for $7 thousand:
http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/mazda-protege-cars136164581?sortcol=price&sortdir=up&modelyearub=2006&modelyearlb=2000&askpriceub=8000&askpricelb=6000&deliverymileageub=any&deliverymileagelb=any&location=Houston%2C+TX+77002&listingtype=used&model=protege&make=mazda&distance=50
If you make that the drive out price (including Tax, title, and license), it would be a good choice.
Here is a good deal as well, a 2005 Lancer:
http://www.getauto.com/autolinks_cardetail.html/adid-13940468/e_dealer_id-/inventory-/x_group_id-K3
And the demand for these things are going up, that's true. But $8k for a 100k civic in Houston is stupid, our gas isn't that expensive compared to other parts of the country.
Was kinda sad selling it but I had upgraded and didn't need 2 cars.
I then moved up to a 2002 Elantra which is still on the road with 260K kms and no significant issues. My parents now own this car as a second daily driver.
My current car is a 2008 Elantra new this spring.
I would stay away from the sporty ones with tinted windows because they were probably owned by the just-out-of-highschool type that isn't going to drive it lightly.
Not so recent anymore. Any Focus 2004+ would be fine, if I'm remember correctly. It was sometime right around 2003.
Buy a Civic, they get fantastic mileage.
If all you need is to go from point A to point B, do this. I have a 93 Accord and couldn't be happier.
And as many mechanics told me when I was car shopping, Korean cars are crap, avoid them.
Also, I've had 2 Nissans and I'd stand by them anyday.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
How are you getting to $12K on KBB? I put in a '03 Camry XLE, 95K miles, 4-cyl, default options, Good condition, and it comes to around $8500 private party. "Excellent" condition means it's pretty much in perfect shape, few used cars are in Excellent condition (very few with that kind of mileage, unless the owner is really on top of service). Options tend to depreciate faster than the platform, for example I added a moonroof, front side airbags and alloy wheels and it added about $400 to the private party price.
Ask if it's ever been in an accident. If you trade-in a car to a dealership they will ask "has it ever been damaged so that it needed to be repainted?" If you answer yes, they will want to know where on the car it's been damaged in that way. Knowing where such damage is gives you (or a mechanic you hire to look it over) a place to start to see if there's issue with the repair (be it surface finish, or underlying mechanical/structural issues).
Run the VIN at carfax to make sure the title's clear and there's no lien on the vehicle.
Ask when the last major service was (more than oil and filter change) and if he has records. At 90k-100K most cars have a service due, this might include something rather significant, like a timing belt change.
And I'm not suggesting you be combative while trying to get this information, these are just things I'd want to know to make an informed decision.
A used Camry in good shape would be a good first car.
I just assume a worst-case scenario unless I see different; I've never actually taken a car to a mechanic to check it out before buying. I assume the mechanic would charge something for this. If you do this, who pays? If the prospective buyer pays, and the mechanic indicates the seller was incorrect in their estimation of the cars condition, I'd want the cost of evaluation to come out of the purchase price, or at least split. If you can't settle on a deal, do you just eat that expense?
You pay, and just eat the expense as "Intelligence Gathering." Depending on how well you know your gearhead, $50-75 to have them check it over.
If you get it checked out, and there's issues above and beyond what the seller's disclosed, that's where you either walk away, run away, or renegotiate the purchase price and add the $50-75 on top of the estimated repair costs.
General Thoughts:
- If any part of the car looks like some Fast & The Furious wanker got their hands on it - it's got a 3" exhaust tip, clear headlights/taillights, residue from windshield/window decals or 11ty billion gauges, a comically oversized body kit, or a big red throbbing cock of an aftermarket air intake under the hood - fucking run away and do not look back.
- "Civic, Corolla, Everything Else" is generally the order of the used car ladder that everyone looks down, and with good reason - those two, well-maintained, last a long time and use very little fuel. Of course, that drives their price up.
- Insurance. Get estimates now, otherwise you might find that your dream car will cost you twice as much to insure as to buy.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
On the flip side, don't be swayed into buying most any domestic small car by the lure of low prices. I can count on one hand the good compact cars made by American automakers in the past decade. Domestics all will come with lower sticker prices, but a huge TCO in the long run when they are in and out of the shop--there is a reason they sit on lots at half the price of a good Civic. If you must buy American for some reason, Ford might be the one possibility--Mustangs are common (and if you get one without a huge V8, mileage wont completely kill) and some of the newer Taurus or Focus models are OK, at best. But really, I would really say stick with Asia. Anything Honda or Toyota. Then Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi roughly in that order. Anyone can make a good car, anyone can make a lemon--better companies generally make more good cars than bad.
Even in this economy, always haggle with the dealer. Gas prices are dropping (for the time being) and sales of everything seems to be slowing. Most dealerships have a pretty good profit margin built in, so try to work down on price. Also, if it seems too good to be true, it is. Always get the car checked out by a mechanic before you buy.
Find a VW with a service history and keep up with the maintenance schedule and you will be fine. Mine has done just over 100,000 miles and it has never let me down and there are plenty more out there with a similar story.
Why would someone buy a Honda or a Hyundai? Because they're more reliable than VW in nearly every aspect.
The Camry at 95k miles is pushing it a bit. You can find a car with lower mileage (albeit less extras as the XLE is the top of the line) for that amount.
I always believe it's better you run up the mileage than someone else. Anything above 50k miles and you really don't know what they did to it. The timing belt may have never been changed at the 60,000 mile mark, the struts, brakes, fluid flushes, way too many variables.
VW on the other hand manufactures pretty much any car that'll be within your price range in Mexico. This is a very bad thing. Do not buy a used car made in Mexico.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
FWIW, the Civic and Elantra are the recommended cars in the small car price range by Edmund's. The Elantra now is what the Corolla used to be, before Toyota got a bit cocky and dropped their quality a bit.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH