First car-need suggestions! - Page 3

silvervan83 · 04-25-2009, 04:49 AM

I realize that this is a global economy and that a lot of parts are manufactured elsewhere. But WOW. I never thought I would get such opposition for asking a fellow American to buy and American vehicle.

GregR · 04-25-2009, 05:32 AM

I'll sell you a 2005 WRX with only 50k miles on the odometer.

wonderful gas mileage
never ever even once broke down on me.

chicks dig it.

actually none of those are true. . . but I'll give you a good deal! I'll even drive it up to Santa Cruz for you.

z987k · 04-25-2009, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dadrick

I love my '99 New Beetle TDI. I'm 6'7" and never had a car with so much head room (it's the arched roof line, and seats that adjust up/down). They aren't currently being made so you'd have to find a used one. VW just reintroduced the TDI in the Jetta after a 2 year sabitical, to modify the engine for the new fuel formula.

It is very economical. The diesel engine with the 5-spd tranny gets me 45 daily and 50 highway mpg. Diesel is a bit more expensive but well worth the extra mpg. Besides it's fun to get looks from the big-rig drivers when I pull into up to fuel island. If I can ever find a reliable steady source for waste vegetable oil I will convert to bio-diesel.

As far as reliablity, I have 230K miles on it and can see it easily doing that many more, and I am not gentle with my cars. I have nick-name it Timex "takes a licking and keeps on ticking". I have hit 4-deer and been through a couple of corn fields and many construction sites nothing seems to phase it.

Best of luck - the first car always holds a special place in your heart.

I'll second the VW diesels. They run and run and run. Wouldn't think twice about putting 500k on one, and they get great gas mileage. Usually at least the 40's.

silverbrewer · 04-25-2009, 07:27 PM

If you want economy, how does averaging 107 miles per imperial gallon sound.... Check out the Honda Insight. Not the new one just hitting the streets, but the old 2000-2006 model.

It is an ALL aluminum chassis, two seater, 0-60 at 10 seconds, 112 mph and it is brilliant. My best door to door 40 mile trip to work is 119 mpg (UK imperial)

Check out Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

**wolfstar** · 04-25-2009, 11:23 PM

A civic or corola is probably to small. However, a used 4 cylinder Toyota Camry or Honda Accord is still fairly economical and will give you the room you need. I have owned 3 Accords, 2 of which were still going strong with over 200,000 miles, one of which is still on the road with over 220,000, the other was sold for parts at 255,000 miles. While i drive a new Toyota Tacoma, my wife has a V6 Camry with 187,000 miles, the dealer just did the timing belt and water pump and proclaimed the car to still be in excellent shape. This is depite the fact we drive down 10 miles of dirt road iin the desert(we live 75 miles south of Phoenix AZ in the middle of nowhere). BTW, Our Camry was built in Georgia....Diesel maintainance can be expensive and hard to locate. Accords and Camrys require very little maintanance, have good resale value, and if you have or are planning on a family, they can fit a carseat reasonable well.

**Bernie Brewer** · 04-25-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvervan83

I realize that this is a global economy and that a lot of parts are manufactured elsewhere. But WOW. I never thought I would get such opposition for asking a fellow American to buy and American vehicle.

It's not opposition. You just need to realize that your "Buy American" mantra is 30 years out of date, at least within the auto industry. There is no such thing as an American-made car anymore. As stated in other posts, Hondas and Toyotas are assembles here, the "big three" have most of their parts outsourced, etc. I'm not opposed to the idea of "buying American". but within the auto industry, it just doesn't matter. Buy what you want. Personally, I have a Chevy truck and a Dodge car. But I'm not going to scold someone that drives a Toyota, because it just doesn't matter. Buy what you like.

**rico567** · 04-26-2009, 11:55 AM

First car, eh? You have my profound sympathy.....and you're buying used, to boot. This is a subject that has no bottom, and over which oceans of tears have been shed.
I don't care what used car you buy, unless you're buying something with an extended manufacturer's warranty, you're buying someone else's trouble. I am generally impressed by how badly other people treat their cars.....which does not bode well for those of us buying used.
We leased a couple of cars, but then I took a look at what it was costing, and just couldn't do it again. We bought a three year old car as a manufacturer's "certified pre-owned" trade. It carried half the new sticker price, and the remainder of the GM 6/100 warranty, which gave us a reasonably priced like-new car (only had 21K on it), and a manufacturer's 3/79K warranty. I don't see how we could have done better than that. Also, a clean Carfax (if you don't know what Carfax is, find out and be sure you have the report on any car you intend to buy- no Carfax, no buy!)

Dadrick · 04-27-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rico567

First car, eh? You have my profound sympathy.....and you're buying used, to boot. This is a subject that has no bottom, and over which oceans of tears have been shed.
I don't care what used car you buy, unless you're buying something with an extended manufacturer's warranty, you're buying someone else's trouble. I am generally impressed by how badly other people treat their cars.....which does not bode well for those of us buying used....

Don't let him scare you. I have not bought a new car since 1988, all of mine have had between 60k-120k miles on them when we bought. Some have been rougher than others, but the total cost of repairs over the next 3 years (average that we keep them) and 100k additional miles is far far less than the cost of a new car.

Buy a good used 7-8 yr old car with 50k and you'll spend $3,000-$8,000 depending on the model/mileage etc. You could put $5k worth of repairs into it and still be well ahead of the game on the cost of ownership versus a new car. Not to mention reduced insurance for an older model and/or get rid of collision coverage altogether if its not financed. And I don't feel to bad if something does happen to it. Additionally if you can pay cash and don't finance you'll save a ton on interest and some times get the car cheaper for green money.

Ceedubya · 04-27-2009, 05:20 PM

OK, here's the deal..... buy the Honda. And if you tell my SWMBO I said that I'm comin after you!

She has owned Honda's since we have been together (I think she's on number 4 now) and I have always inherited her leftovers as my runaround car when we get her a new (used) one. I complain and B&M, but they really are awesome little cars. They will run forever, and the maintenance is pretty low.

I always joke with her whenever her car has an issue that its gonna be 500 bucks to fix. I believe this to be true with Hondas, but they don't break down often so the overall maintenance is very inexpensive.

I would look for an accord though, they are a little bigger and you will still get decent mileage.

I am not a fan of the Subaru's. They run great, they handle great, and they also last a long time but all of them that I have driven have been extremely uncomfortable on long trips. I used to drive one for work, and I travel a lot.

And I say buy used. Why take on the immediete depreciation. If you look around you can usually find a decent buy on a honda that is 3-5 years old, and they do hold their value pretty well if you take care of them.