Twerk from Home posted:

A Honda Fit or Honda CRV are some of the best bets for holding value.

IOwnCalculus posted:

The Fit has been here for a few years now and for pretty much all of those years, $currentyear-1 used Fits sell for very near the same price as $currentyear new Fits.

I honestly don't know who the gently caress is buying one-two year old Fits for the price of a brand new one, but it's definitely happening.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

The Fit has been in the USA for eight years. It's not that new.

jarjarbinksfan621 posted:

I had to go, but the salesman said they would run the codes and get back to me. He said that it was nothing and the electronics just had to be reset and the check engine light is off now. Does that sound right? I did inform him that I was going to get it checked out by a mechanic, so he's aware I won't be buying it with major issues regardless.

jarjarbinksfan621 posted:

I don't really know anything about cars, are you saying the CEL could be indicative of some major issue that a mechanic could easily miss on a pre-purchase inspection?

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Second gen and current are the best. The Prius and V are significantly better than the C. One/Two/Three/four is just trim level poo poo - higher trim levels means more poo poo to break but its generally not mission critical stuff.

Throatwarbler posted:

Yes the folding seats give you more space than most other cars in the same category, but it's still a tiny car with a short wheelbase. Folding up the seats isn't going to help with rear passenger legroom, and 118hp vs ~170hp isn't nothing.

Hadlock posted:

Prius, 2009, around 110,000 miles. $9500 seems to be about the going price in my town. Apparently a shop in Houston (5 hours away) will put in a refurb battery for $800. With the Gigafactory around the corner lowering prices in about 3 years(which, I guess is how long that refurb battery might last) is this at all a good plan? Presumably the cost of refub batteries will continue to plummet as the price of cells drops by 30% by 2017.

Keyser S0ze posted:

Refundable $1k deposits are normal for ordering a new car - I've done it twice. [i]Remember in the USA the dealer is basically on the hook for an ordered car (why they won't let you order a purple BMW with yellow leather anymore) and also why you won't find any manuals on lots.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

From the things you have stacked up there I'd go Focus or maybe Civic. The Cobalt isn't very good, and neither is the Versa.

Michael Scott posted:

How did they get a buyer to agree to a price that's like $3k above blue book for a 2007 Camry in very good condition? I would always expect to sell slightly below blue book in a private party sale, but it's possible I'm an idiot.

Those Camries must be a dime a dozen as well.

skipdogg posted:

Generally one can negotiate better than the car buying services and sites on their own, but if you don't enjoy or understand the car haggling process there are worse ways to buy a car

HisMajestyBOB posted:

My 2008 Ford Focus SE was considered totaled in an accident and the insurance company is giving me the $6500 market-price of the vehicle rather than repair for what would likely be more than that. It's kind of inconvenient timing at the moment since I'm graduating from grad school next year and don't have anything lined up yet (most likely I will by the end of next spring, but still). I'm leaning towards getting something on the cheap end to last me a few years, saving some of the money I got, then buying something better and nicer. I'd rather not get a $6000 equivalent replacement because at least with the old car, I knew what was good on it and what wasn't - with a used car,

Proposed Budget: $2000-$4000, plus maintenance work/new tires/whatever else might be needed.
New or Used: Used
Body Style: Wagon or Hatchback. Something that can be the cheap family car. Maybe 4-door sedan if it's a decent deal.
How will you be using the car?: Mostly local driving, often in heavy traffic, with occasional (about once a month) longer trips of 50-100 miles. Decent trunk space would be handy.
What aspects are most important to you? : reliability, ease/affordability of maintenance, safety, mpg(city)>25 would be nice but not requirement. Most cars at this price range are 100k+ miles and from early 200s, so something that won't be actively falling apart with that mileage and age. I'm not planning on actually buying something until next month, so I'm spending this time trying to narrow my search.

thank god for us posted:

I'm pretty sure it was the sport. So the Mazda 3 GS. I like the idea of the console screen being elevated in the middle of the dash, but in practice it seems out of place. I do really like that its not a touch screen though, being able to navigate the screen with buttons is a lot easier.

owl_pellet posted:

My wife and I will be in the market for new cars in the next year or so, me because I have to return a lease in March, and her because her current car is like 10 years old and is starting to show signs of nickel and diming us.

Proposed Budget: $20k give or take ~$5k each
New or Used: New
Body Style: 4 door compact or midsize sedan for me and wagon for her
How will you be using the car?: 20-30 minute commutes to work, errands, occasional 2-5 hour road trips
What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability, cost of maintenance, import, MPG, company at least semi-socially responsible

I prefer European imports and she wants a wagon, so: import of some kind. I have a Volkswagen sedan now which I like a lot, and she was interested in getting a VW wagon but with all this emissions poo poo going on we aren't sure anymore. Given that our non-VW choices for Euro importand wagons are Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, etc. (i.e. cars we aren't willing to pay for) we thought maybe Subaru? Import (although non-Euro, which I am willing to bend on), has a wagon model, company seems fairly socially responsible, and the WRX would allow me to live out my mid-twenties fantasy of being a douchebag street racer.

Would Subaru meet our needs? Are we making too much of the VW emissions stuff? What are our alternatives?

euphronius posted:

You need trunk space for groceries and strollers and pack and plays and luggage. Strollers are huge. Also if you want anyone to be able to sit in the front passenger seat the car has to be decently sized. If you have two car seats even more so.

Crossovers (modern station wagons) are ideal imho.

HondaCivet posted:

Do you agree with reviewers that the Mazda's ride is rougher and louder? If so is it a big difference or not so much? I guess I just want something that's comfortable because I'm gonna be doing some long drives in it.

Also how does Mazda's infotainment system fare? One thing that I really like about the Golf that I probably shouldn't care so much about is that it has Android Auto which basically lets you use your phone on the car's touchscreen, making it 1000% less useless than a normal infotainment screen. Is there any way to do things like use Google Maps on the Mazda without having to buy a dumb navigation package thing?

HondaCivet posted:

You can buy the nav separately? The little "build and price" app doesn't show it, but the brochures do show it as "optional" for the Touring now that I'm looking. Well that's confusing as hell.

Throatwarbler posted:

The pre Skyactiv cars got OK but not class leading fuel economy. They've moved production of the 2/3 to Mexico since 2014 which should resolve the rust problems.

Throatwarbler posted:

Bottom line is that US made Japanese cars seem to have much fewer rust issues, and the forums seem to report no rust issues for the Mexican built mazdas, to the extent that anyone can know after 2 years or so, while certain Japanese built models did start to exhibit minor rust even after 2 or 3 years.

IRQ posted:

I thought the sedan version was always made in mexico?

H110Hawk posted:

Outside of your visibility assumptions, backup cameras are great for tight parking situations. Having a line where your actual bumper and corners are is amazing. Yes you can do it all without it, but why not let technology help? Especially since we are not all driving gods.

HondaCivet posted:

Haha! I'd be going for a MS in mechanical engineering so I think I'd pull through OK, and ideally I should be able to get it funded so I won't have giant student loans either.

That Works posted:

I originally wanted to go with a cheap commuter vehicle but looking at finances and my upcoming commuting situations / spouse preferences that's shaped a couple of things.

1. Spouse and I have driven a couple different varieties of Prius of several different model years up to 2014. Spouse cannot stand the rear visibility of the vehicle so probably looking for something else in the end due to that. I might overrule on that one but for not I want to consider some other vehicles.

Zeth posted:

Proposed Budget: 20k or less, will be paying cash.
New or Used: New
Body Style: Small hatchback
How will you be using the car?: Daily drive to work, roughly 15 miles round trip. Driving between the Cedar Valley in Iowa and the Chicago area once or twice a year. I live in Iowa so weather is definitely a thing.
What aspects are most important to you? Long-term reliability, decent gas mileage, lots of storage space- ideally I'd be able to fit a whole bicycle in the back without taking off the front wheel, but this isn't vital. Screamingly bright paintjob that isn't red (though if I find something good that doesn't come in a color I like I can always have it repainted later so this is also not vital). Pretty much every gizmo I would actually want seems to come standard on a lot of things now. I'd like it to be able to hook up to my phone somehow- usb, bluetooth, etc. Built in nav screens and whatnot are not something I care about.

I currently have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt with around 106,000 miles on it that I got as a hand-me-down from an aunt in 2012. It's generally served me pretty well but has been racking up repairs this year and since I am now actually in a position where I can afford to get a car that I actually choose myself, I would like to do so. Also the thing is the dullest possible slate blue-gray and I do n ot care for that one bit.

Michael Scott posted:

Besides the manual aspect, what's wrong with an old car in LA or Portland?

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Look I'm just saying if you walk in here and demand only TCO and reliability and you don't buy a Prius you're not making an optimal decision.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Prius TCO is ridiculous because not only is it very good on gas but it also requires almost no significant maintenance and all of the components are extremely reliable. For some cars, once you hit fairly high mileage, the battery needs replacing, but that's a one-time repair over the lifetime of the car that costs something like $1,200..

Deteriorata posted:

The primary thing it tells me overall is that maintenance and repair costs for modern cars are not something to worry about for most people. A couple thousand dollars in the purchase price is far more important in the economics of buying and owning a car. "Reliability" isn't all that different among them, at least not different enough to make a big difference overall.

Deteriorata posted:

It's the estimated costs over the next five years of buying one now, based on the cost of an extended warranty for each.

8-Bit Scholar posted:

Yeah but I've put about 70,000 miles into her in the past two and a half years, her bumper drags and the combo meter needs replacing, which is close to a grand and requires a special order. She doesn't have four-wheel drive either, which is going to be brutal come winter.

Ursine Catastrophe posted:

A hybrid is something I'd love, probably, but since I'm renting I won't be able to guarantee being in a parking spot that's in range of a power socket so that's probably a no go for now.

GlitterBob posted:

The go-to answer for people with your budget and priorities is to get the nicest Prius they can find in their area for $10K. You’ll want a 2004 or newer model, the first generation is not worth looking at.

A Proper Uppercut posted:

Purely anecdotal, but I've had two mazdas with the new infotainment and have had no issues. I wonder what exactly was wrong?

therobit posted:

I did have more than one customer say they flogged the motor like a rented mule.

OldSenileGuy posted:

OldSenileGuy posted:

She wants it for a number of reasons including environmental concern, but also the effect of looking at two cars side by side that are similarly priced, where one gets like 28/33 and the other gets 50/55. That seems like a big enough difference to be worth it. Are there any other reasons NOT to get a hybrid besides the “you’ll only save $XXX on gas per year so you won’t make your money back until 10 years” type argument?