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Recommend me a Hatchback!
Legionnaired
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've been without a car for a while and it's getting old. Add on the fact that I'm about to get my first real job, and the amount of time I sit around on the shitty bus system adds up to a car payment, and it's about time to start shopping around.
I owned a Subaru Outback before it died on me, and hatchback + manual transmission = made of win. I was looking at the Honda Fit, but there's not a lot of used ones in my area going for around 15k, and I'd rather put that capital into a house to rent out than a luxury item.
Anyone have suggestions for a 2002-2008 Hatchback Manual, preferrably sub 10k? Preferrably more around 5-6?
I owned a Subaru Outback before it died on me, and hatchback + manual transmission = made of win. I was looking at the Honda Fit, but there's not a lot of used ones in my area going for around 15k, and I'd rather put that capital into a house to rent out than a luxury item.
Anyone have suggestions for a 2002-2008 Hatchback Manual, preferrably sub 10k? Preferrably more around 5-6?
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I know the recent model Versa hatchback has a sexy 6 Speed manual as the standard equipment, but I don't know if that's always been the case. I've been looking heavily at the Versa Hatch for my next acquisition.
I'm 6'5", my wife is 5'0" we needed a car that had cargo space, passenger space, and was comfortable for us both to drive.
Nissan Versa - roomiest of the hatchbacks, lots of legroom, enough for me even in the back seat, lots of cargo space, I had a miserable time driving the 6-speed manual though as the Versa comes with a variable transmission normally, the 6 speed didn't seem to have all the kinks worked out.
Honda Fit - loved this vehicle, but too pricey for my blood. Bad financing options from Honda here so if you're not paying cash it's not going to be pretty. Lots of space, lots of adjustable seating and cargo options, sparse interior but sufficient for getting around, small, fuel efficient engine in a light car so it's a good commuter.
Toyota Yaris - too bloody small. It had some fancy options but the hatch back is actually more expensive than the sedan and the dashboard / console layout was less than stellar. The steering wheel didn't adjust high enough for me and the back seat was crowded even with my wife in the driver's seat. The engine is very very fuel efficient and doesnt run all the interior electrical gadgets so you don't lose power or fuel efficiency when you're running the AC and all those nifty add-ons.
Toyota Matrix / Pontiac Vibe - I was meh on the styling of these two vehicles, but both were pleasant enough to drive, they were middle of the pack vehicles in terms of fuel efficiency, but the larger body had more storage and was more a mid-size than any of the other cars we tried.
Mazda3 - What we finally bought because it had a nice transmission, fun to drive, we both fit, decent fuel efficiency, a good amount of storage space, interior passenger space, good dashboard layout, a good maintenance track record and at a not-outrageous price. If I had an unlimited budget I'd have bought the Fit, but since this is reality, I went for the second best car, at the best price.
Some good "hatchbacks," if you will, are the Scions. The tC is a 2 door coupe, but the xA and xB follow the uses you have for a new car. The xB is a 4 door box...thing. It seats 5 and has a hatch like space in the back that is rather roomy. The xA is more of a smaller, traditional hatchback.
Suzuki Aerio's are also similar to the the xB in that they have 4 doors and a hatch like trunk to them.
Justin - true. But if I can get a 8-9k reliable car as opposed to a 15k car, I can put that 7 grand to work for me right away and start building equity. Investments appreciate in value - a car is a necessary liability.
Thanks for the suggestions all, the Mazda seems like a decent consensus. I found a 2006 VW Golf with 33k miles, apparently with some minor body damage, for $8700 - so I think I'm going to go look at that tomorrow. Anyone have any feedback about the Golf?
YES. I had an 02' Civic Si, and it looked a bit like a VW GTI mated with an egg (which I actually like mind you) and it's a coupe. I never ran into anything I couldn't fit into that car though, and it has a high revving engine, and really solid handling, ton of fun to drive (I think I had more fun in that car than I do with my current Sube Legacy GT) plus it had the rally style 5 speed mounted on the dash which was total win.
If you do need a sedan though, why not go with another Sube? For 10k you could probably get a decent mileage 03-04 Impreza or Legacy hatchback with the manual.
On the note of the Volkswagon, I love their cars, but 4 of the 4 people I know who own one complain about reliability and little things constantly going wrong, this has deterred me from recommending or considering them.
Most say they'll never buy another VW, which I guess is a pretty strong statement.
The same goes for Volvo.
5 speed, huge storage space, veeeery comfortable to drive, and tons of nice features for <assloads of money
oh and it's a toyota, so there's that.
91,000 miles and the only problem i have EVER had was a misaligned spider gear that caused the car to shudder in turns. that was at 80,000 miles. it cost 230 to fix.
Unless it's a Scirocco
Toyota Matrix (reliable as hell, uber practical)
Mazda 3 (great to drive, practical too)
Honda Civic (Si hatchback in particular is good)
Ford Focus ZX3 (Can be had cheap, damn good for a ford)
VW Golf/GTI (a little pricier overall, but great cars)
Scion ** (they're all very not bad, and they're rebranded toyotas so yay reliability)
Cols, OH. AWD would be nice but I had it on my Subaru, and I think it just encouraged me to drive like a dumbass in the winter. It was nice clawing through snow, but around here when there's a big blizzard everyone just hangs out and walks around together anyway.
Found a Honda Fit, 2007 with 12k miles for $12,000. Only problem - it's got an aftermarket exhaust system, which means no Honda warranty and probably driven by a highschooler who opened it up a lot. Would that damage the engine? Should I stay away? If I can negotiate down to 10500, it'd be a pretty good deal as long as the engine isn't going to explode on me.
I have zero idea about used prices, though
Also, since you previously had a subaru - would having AWD be useful for you? Because I honestly probably would've gone with the smaller Subaru (imprezza wagon / whatever that other small hatch is, outback?) had I still been in Boston/NY, but since I'm out in the Bay Area the extra cost for AWD wasn't really worthwhile
*edit
Wow, good timing... it's not just in big blizzards (when no car is really going to drive that well), but if there's a decent amount of slush/icing during the winter, it could definitely be useful
2005 was the only model Honda Civic Si is that's a hatchback, no? I really like that car.
I have a 2006 Suzuki Aerio hatchback, nobody likes that car except me. Though I must say, to this day, it has yet to give me any sort of problems.
I got the ultra-vanilla 4 door and my only regret is not getting the beefier engine and/or the diesel. My previous ride was a mid-engine sports car, so what I consider a lack of pep might be overly harsh.
I still have a 2005 Mazda 3 hatchback. Thought about selling it when I moved to the city, but I like it too much.
The one I drive has been almost as reliable, but there is one belt that seems to wear out much faster than it should (i think we've replaced it 4 times in the 4 years we've had the car) but they tweaked the set up just a bit last time since even they knew something was up and that belt has been fine ever since.
(I
Si hatchbacks go a ways back, but the last US released Civic hatchback was the 2002-2005 Civic Si Hatchback, the same one you're thinking of. As is the case with many hatchbacks, honda decided that hatchback sales in the US just weren't strong enough to justify continued production.
my matrix got alot nicer when i added
and
car got BETTER
I do believe my matrix needs an upgrade...
(shame its not really "mine" and more the families....)
(old xB on top, new on bottom)
12k miles is brand new. Find out what brand exhaust it is and what shop put it on.
I knew a girl who bought a brand new CRX and NEVER changed or added oil. The engine blew...after 89,000 miles! Honda, as far as I'm concerned, has always made awesome engines.
So the fact that the guy might have been a streetracer shouldn't bother me?
The car is a good hour and a half away, which is why I'm leary of going out to look at it unless it's a damn good deal... Carmax has the same 07 Fit for about 3 grand more.
http://www.supercarnews.net/hyundai/2008-hyundai-elantra-touring
I own the 2009 version, and love it.
Efficient, spacious, tight handling/suspension, all the bells and whistles standard, 10-year/100k warranty on engine/drivetrain, less expensive compared to a comperably equipped Civic Si, Mazda3, or Matrix.
However, friend has a Honda Fit and she loves it. Honda does truly make great cars
<- From Cinci, OH.
First of all, you should find out who put the exhaust on. If it was Total Performance Racing or Zero Lift (both here in Cinci, done business with both, and both are right by where I live) you are in good hands as far as the install is concerned. A Fit with a performance exhaust isn't a "street racer" by any means...it's just a fun car to drive. I doubt with only 12k miles that the engine has been flogged. If the car is in excellent PHYSICAL condition (few paint chips, garage-kept, looks like new) then I bet he doesn't race it. Most people that do any sort of illegal street racing around here have fast & the furious inspired cars. If anyone wanted to buy a "newer" car to modify and race with, it wouldn't be a Fit
You can always check google for the street "racing" forums for Columbus. In Cinci there's "cincistreetracing" and "cincystreetscene" (one for the ricey cars, and the other for...other cars) and if you can find the columbus equivilant you *might* find the person on there posting about his "kills" or something.
Lastly, if you find out that it's been modified at a reputable shop, you can always call those guys at the shop and ask their opinions. They love cars, and if they get a db in there destroying a car that they've worked on, they are often eager to give honest opinions about the potential "previous abuser"
That's pretty helpful - The car's up in Mansfield though, so probably just some rural knob who wanted to zip around a bit.
Looked at the picture again, and it's got a cold air intake too. Woo for gas milage? At this point I'm going to wait until I land the job I'm looking at, and then probably go look at it and pick it up if it looks alright.
Might as well post the carfax report:
Autotrader
Carfax
I called the dealership about the two services for the last owner, apparently those were oil changes, and tire wear on the front tires appears to be a normal thing so I'm not worried about that - I'm guessing the first owner was the guy who put all the parts on it and then got tired of it's 109 HP.
Any red flags?
http://automobiles.honda.com/future-cars/
It's due to arrive at dealerships in just over a month I believe, at I guess that's what the countdown timer on the site indicates.
You can find additional "spy" pics around the web. But no real other info as of yet.
It's too bad they replaced the xA with the xD now, but I'm sure you can find used xA's on the market. Don't know too much about the xD, so I can't really comment on it.
My wife and I needed the extra space and cargo capacity of the new xB when our son was born last year, so we went with that and my wife liked mine so much, she got one of her own!