What would you buy?

I'm going to have to get a new car(well not brand new) because the oldsmobile I just bought blew a head gasket while I was at my girlfriends house in NJ, which is where it's currently sitting until I can get rid of it. Fortunatly I hadn't sold the Honda yet so I'm driving that for now but it's on it's last leg, runs like **** and everything. So that brings me to the question:

If you needed a daily driver for under $10k(most likely $8k or under) what would you pick. Preferably a 4 cyl, 5 speed and needs to be really reliable but fun to drive. Can't be a sports car, needs to be cheap on insurance. Oh, and I'd like to stick with a foriegn car since I've not had good luck with used american 4 cyls. Any idea's?

>Well my wife just bought a 1999 Chevrolet Tracker 4x4 5 speed with CD player and not much more :) That she uses for commuting between Ludlow (exit 7 MassPike) to Tweksbury , Ma.
She bought the "truck" for $4200.00 tax title and everything from a Chevrolet dealer and it had only 17000 miles and extended warranty ... and this gives not only her 2002 Silverado , but my 2000 Silverado a chance to not rack up the many , many miles .
So my point is ... also check the dealerships , since you may find a good deal there too .

My brother is selling his 94 maxima it has the better v6 from 95 70k miles an old man owned it then his fiance drove it for a while not it just sits he wants 5,000 for it firm the interior is mint looks like noone has ever sat in the back.

Thanks but I think I want to stick with a 4 cyl, mostly for gas mileage reasons.

Any other idea's?

I have a 96 Caviler 4 cyl 5sp that has been awesome.140k miles and still on the stock clutch.My friend owned it since new and I bought it with 100k miles on it.Never a problem and cost me 2g's.That left me alot of $$ for my real car;) Why spend alot of $$ for a beater?For 10g's I'd look at the Hyndia's with the 100k mile warrenty.But I would never spend that much for a second car though.

Originally posted by Slowhawk
But I would never spend that much for a second car though.
>Geez I spent somewhere around $23000.00 for my second car :D .But now it's my primary vehicle , and the Camaro is the fun car .

get a Corolla... compared to the Z they're not excessively fun to drive, but I have two friends now who have bought one. Its good transportation.

go 4 a corolla or a camry. very well built cars. if treated right theyll run 4ever it seems. my dad's camry has maybe 140,000 or so and it runs strong only thing he's ever done to it is front brake pads once and a new battery NOTHING ELSE has been changed i believe. he may be selling and i could let u know if u wud like.

good luck,

jake

i gotta agree on the camry

if you want a 4 cyl foreign car then camrys are probably some of the nicer ones. my buddy has had 2 of them and they both drove great and are wicked comfortable too

You guys are missing the obvious...a Civic :) Hell you should be able to squeeze into a brand new Civic for under $15K. Why buy used when for a little more $$ you can get something brand new?

Barring that I would imagine a 1-2 year old Civic DX (no options) should be under $10K.

hth,

-N

I buy whatever is cheap and very used. Usually spend no more than $1000.00 and when it breaks I buy another one.

I don't want to keep throwing money away on cars that last a few months then die. I'd rather invest some money into a car I'm going to like to drive, especially since I don't have a Camaro or any other vehicle as a fun car to drive.

I'm actually kinda leaning towards a Nissan Altima or Maxima, or maybe a VW Passat now. Does anyone know anything about these cars? I'm looking at 98/99 models with around 50k on them. I drove an Altima yesterday and it was pretty nice, suspension and steering was tight and the transmission shifted pretty quick. Felt like a well put together car. And if anyone is wondering, the reason I'm getting a 4 door family car is because I'm going to be keeping it for at least 5+ years, and I'll probably be married in the next 2 years, so I want to make sure I have a good car that will be functional.

Any other suggestions or input?

Since you said maxima would you like to take a look at my brothers? 94 70k nada is 6 he will take 5 for it.

I would but the bank won't finance anything older than a 98(has to be 5 years old or newer). Plus I'm looking for a little lower miles so I can get some of the factory warranty remaining.

Someone mentioned to me about leasing a new car. What are everyone's opinions on that? Don't know much about it except your making payments on a car you don't own, then you have the option to buy at the end of the lease.

Any other idea's? Anyone know of a car for sale or a good dealership?

Originally posted by Camride
Someone mentioned to me about leasing a new car. What are everyone's opinions on that? Don't know much about it except your making payments on a car you don't own, then you have the option to buy at the end of the lease.

Any other idea's? Anyone know of a car for sale or a good dealership?

just about everyone i've known who got a lease wasnt happy with it.

Originally posted by Black97Z
just about everyone i've known who got a lease wasnt happy with it.


Yeah my mom had a lease on a car that turned very bad. You end up paying more for the car in the long run, if you decide to keep it.... if not, they tack on a whole bunch of charges if there is ANY nicks or dings

but then again I know people who shuffle through cars like its nothing, when the lease is up they get a new car :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Camride
Someone mentioned to me about leasing a new car. What are everyone's opinions on that? Don't know much about it except your making payments on a car you don't own, then you have the option to buy at the end of the lease.

Any other idea's? Anyone know of a car for sale or a good dealership?

I dunno, I'm pretty happy leasing my daily. I like the idea of trading up every couple of years. It's more financially sound to lease if you plan to do that.

Just my $.02

-N

Nabbs- How much is your Jetta a month, if you don't mind me asking. Plus, what kind of hp numbers does that VR6 pull? Taken it to the track? Is it roomy inside? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get as much info before I make a decision.

Originally posted by Camride
Someone mentioned to me about leasing a new car. What are everyone's opinions on that? Don't know much about it except your making payments on a car you don't own, then you have the option to buy at the end of the lease.

Any other idea's? Anyone know of a car for sale or a good dealership?

You really should have taken advantage of the 0% or rebates from GM and got a new $9K cavalier. Low payments, low insurance, dependable transportation.

I personally would never lease. Large downpayment, similar to monthy car ownership payments, pay all that money out, give car back at the end and THEN they charge you to buy the car that you just shelled out a ton of money for over 2-3 years.

Originally posted by Camride
Nabbs- How much is your Jetta a month, if you don't mind me asking. Plus, what kind of hp numbers does that VR6 pull? Taken it to the track? Is it roomy inside? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get as much info before I make a decision.

Its a 2.8L rated at 200hp. Is it a performer? Well, for a 6 banger tiptronic with 4 doors it holds its own. It's the closest darn thing I've ever owned that was semi-luxorious. It has real leather, a climate control sys (digi display that you dial in the temp), heated seats, moon roof, traction control/ASR, 17" wheels, automatic wipers, all sorts of fun little doodads. It can fit 5 pretty comfortably, and when the rear seats fold down you have a *ton* of space. For us it is the perfect city car, roomy, not terrible on gas, relatively inexpensive to insure, and incredibly safe. Plus we take it from Boston to NYC pretty frequently so its perfect for those longer trips (quiet and comfy), plus I can park it on the NYC streets without worrying about it getting broken in.

I think it was like $3,500 out the door for a monthly payment of $242/mnth.

I looked at the WRX, Saabs, Audis, and the Matrix. The Jetta was perfect, the only thing I wish it had was AWD. In fact when the lease is up in a year and a half, I plan to either get another VW or go to an Audi. They really are great cars.

Overall, I say its just the right amount of lazy man comfy stuff, a little sportiness, and price (they go for around $25K loaded...less if you don't get the 6cyl).

You can buy and off-lease older Jetta for alot less...

Oh, one thing about leasing, you better make sure that the mileage you put on it a year is not obscene. I only do about ~7K a year, in fact my 1 year old Jetta just hit 5,500 miles.

hth,

-N

Originally posted by mrgto
You really should have taken advantage of the 0% or rebates from GM and got a new $9K cavalier. Low payments, low insurance, dependable transportation.

I personally would never lease. Large downpayment, similar to monthy car ownership payments, pay all that money out, give car back at the end and THEN they charge you to buy the car that you just shelled out a ton of money for over 2-3 years.

Only prob with that Chris is that the 0% APR ends today :(

Lease monthlys can be alot less then the monthly for a loan, and there actually is alot less down up front. It's just that at the end of the lease you don't own anything.

It's not for everybody, but for some it can work out pretty well.

-N

Yeah, I'm thinking a lease isn't for me, I want to know that when the payments are over the car is mine and I can do whatever I want to it. Plus I wouldn't be able to come up with the down payment a lease requires, I'll be lucky if I can come up with over $2k because of my health problems.