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He was talking used, but those subcompacts are so new used stuff may as well be new. Before making any decision, I'd follow the previous advice and check out some slightly older, slightly less compact hatchbacks as well. At the very least find a used Mazda 3 or something similar to test drive so you've got something to compare to. With those cars you'll have a much larger used market to choose from, and they'll probably have better amenities/comfort too.
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Mar 7, 2012 18:46
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| # ¿ May 8, 2024 13:27 |
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A running car of any quality is worth something--if you look on your local craigslist I'm sure you'll see plenty of worse vehicles for sale. It'll be worth your while to sell it.
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Mar 7, 2012 23:28
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Yeah, you should ask in AI. I haven't dont the window but I did replace a power window regulator in my Jeep Cherokee, which has some similar steps (taking the door panels off, unhooking and reattaching window.) It wasn't too hard and probably saved me $500--sooo, from the BFC side of things I'd say go for it. Just take your time and don't try to force anything. Also, I don't know how the corolla is, but the openings in the door on my jeep were loving razor sharp. I taped the edges up so I could work without worrying about shredding my arms.
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May 2, 2012 18:20
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Why do you need to be able to seat 8 people for a family of three? The Mazda 5 sounds like it fits your day to day needs way better. What scenario are you envisioning where you need to seat three rows worth of people and have room for cargo? There are lots of ways to deal with what I assume will be a rare situation of needing to seat that many people and haul cargo. You could: put a cargo rack on top, rent a bigger vehicle (you can rent a full size minivan for under $300 a week), or you could put on a hitch and tow a small trailer. Everything you say points to the extra size of the Sienna being either not that helpful or actually a problem. edit: just saw that the roadtrip with grandparents is said three rows of seats situation. In that case, a cargo box on top or rental would probably be the way to go. The 5 just seems like a better fit for 99% of your driving needs. powderific fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 23:28
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The 5 can still haul a lot, but the Sienna would definitely come in handy if you use 4x8 sheet goods or longer lumber with any frequency. The big thing to consider is whether you're trading the occasional convenience of extra cargo space for an every day hassle of the thing being too big for your garage. I suppose that'll be easy enough to figure on your second rental though.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:56
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tuna posted:Cool, thanks a lot for explaining this to me. Also, when you do go in don't worry about walking out at any point if it doesn't feel good. It's not like the won't sell you a car later if you change your mind. You can always just say you really need to sleep on it if they're pushy. And don't buy any of the extra crap they try to sell you as far as extended warranties—even if they make it sound like a good deal. They'll try to get you to sign stuff during the sale since the price, in comparison to a whole vehicle, will seem like not much. Thing is, even if you DO want any of it, you can pretty much always buy it within a pretty broad range of time after purchase.
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Nov 29, 2012 19:45
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iyaayas01 posted:e: Time for the obligatory comedy option...found a 2000 4Runner for sale down there with only 93,500 on it. I also don't think the 2000 4Runner is a comedy option. If you already like them, know they'll work for you, and you can get it for a good price, why not? I just bought an XV Crosstrek so I can give you my thoughts on the Subarus. They will definitely save you on gas, and are relatively inexpensive for new cars. Whether an XV or a Forester would work for you depends a lot on just how rough the outdoor stuff you're looking to do is. They're never going to be rock crawlers, but do have something like 9" of ground clearance and a good AWD system. The number one complaint about the Crosstrek is that it's severely underpowered. It actually seems fine to me and I'm coming off a G35 and turbocharged miata before that, so YMMV. The Forester is bigger on the inside than the XV, has more cargo space, and has a slightly more powerful (but still weak) motor. It's getting a redesign for the next model year that'd be worth checking out since it adds some off-road tweaks to the AWD system. The current Forester is slightly cheaper than the XV in its base-est form, but the XV's base model is equivalent to the Premium trim level on the Forester. I think either only make sense if you're getting the lower trim levels as they get pricy fast.
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Dec 9, 2012 18:04
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Ah, that makes sense. Still seems like another 4Runner might be the way to go if he can either deal with such issues ahead of time or avoid them entirely by getting a different year.
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Dec 9, 2012 18:56
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State law can vary a lot on vehicle registration stuff. In Nebraska there's a student exemption and they don't care what kind of tuition you pay or whether you work as long as it's considered a full time program. While checking this, I also discovered that Nebraska has vehicle registration reciprocity with Wyoming and North Carolina, so plates from there are accepted till they expire. I'd never heard of anything like that. (and why North Carolina, of all places?)
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Dec 10, 2012 16:53
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Unless you really like Panther series cars I don't think Crown Vics are that great of option for almost anyone outside some killer deal. I drove a Grand Marquis for several years and, while I liked it fine, it didn't actually hold THAT much for such a large vehicle. The back seat isn't particularly spacious, and the shape of the trunk makes large loads really awkward to get in and out since it's really deep instead of long (plus you can't fold down the seats.) Much of the largeness is coming from a ridiculously long front end that does nothing to increase useable space.
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Dec 16, 2012 02:52
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For that budget I'd be looking for XJ's. Gas mileage is a little rough, but they're such a bargain on the used market. Plus the engines last a million years, parts are cheap, there's a vast array of resources and info on fixing any issues that might come up. You could also ask people in the 4x4 thread what they think about it.
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Dec 18, 2012 04:32
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New foresters, imprezas, and the crosstrrek are around the top end of that budget if you look at base models. They all get pretty good gas mileage. Edit: the above is a good point though, it takes a whole lot of repairs to make a knew vehicle the best option. powderific fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Dec 24, 2012 |
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Dec 24, 2012 01:15
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There's a giant subaru thread in AI full of people who could give you some idea of what it'd cost to fix and how bad it is.
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Dec 24, 2012 03:13
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Ah, yeah, I remember seeing that now. Along with the others listed, the Jeep Patriot, while mediocre in a lot of ways, supposedly has an impressive AWD system for a crossover: http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm I don't know if you'd really need it even for bad winter weather, but they might be available pretty cheap used. If you like the Subaru though, there are a few models in your price range new.
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Dec 24, 2012 07:34
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goodfuldead posted:Nah, I have a dedicated garage space for my fun cars. I own a bodyshop, so kits/whatever doesn't scare me. I want an absurd car. I want to drive something that feels/is a race car. And, yes, I will autox/track. I've owned wrx's, mustang gt's (new edge, fox, s197's, sn95's and a couple first gens. I rock a 65 merc comet cyclone 289hipo in the summer/fall/spring. I am tired of body roll/understeering. Can you get a lotus 7/caterham kit over here? Cause those are crazy and seem like the definition of what you're looking for. No idea on prices, but I'd think a kit would fall in there. Flyin miata had some wacky body reduction kit for the miata that looks sort of like one. Or you could drop an ls3 in a miata. edit: the caterham kits look like they'd be outside the price range, but Flyin Miata's Westfield kit looks like it could be pretty cool. The kit makes them weigh something like 1300 lbs, so even a very mild turbo would turn it into a rocket. powderific fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Dec 26, 2012 |
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Dec 26, 2012 04:30
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If you don't need financing, you might still think really hard about a used car—especially since your dad is a mechanic. While the depreciation might not matter that much to you, wouldn't you rather have that cash still in your savings instead of in a car? You can still get a very nice used car that'll last a long time used. You could even just start by looking for Mazda CX-5's or the Edge that your other family members have used to see what they're going for. Nothing wrong with getting a new car if that's the way you want to go, but if you're happy with the old tracker you'll probably be able to find something you'll be even happier with and save a lot of money going used. Especially with your dad's help. Just check around at Edmunds or wherever when you see something you like to make sure it has a decent reliability report.Deviant posted:Update: Here is a list of things I have been eyeing, that I think are cool. Years are flexible. You could look for the sportier Sentra SE-R Vspec or whatever if you like those, it should at least drive more interesting. Nothing wrong with any of your options, really, but the 3 is going to be the most economical of them. If you were willing to go a bit older you could get a G35 coupe in your price range and I think they're great. RX-8's are great cars too, just read up on them a bit as the rotary is a little different to take care of. Nothing at all crazy, you just need to be a little more proactive.
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Dec 27, 2012 17:44
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Credit unions usually publish their rates. If you pick a couple near you it's pretty easy to get everything approved through them before going to a dealership. Mine is around 2-3% with a similar score.
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Dec 27, 2012 22:21
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Well, I just bought a 2013 Crosstrek so I'm probably uniquely qualified to answer questions about it. 1) Do you see any problems with my reasoning for this car? Buying a new car isn't necessarily the most reasonable thing, but I can't argue against it since the Crosstrek was exactly what I wanted and I bought it new. It'll almost certainly be a very reliable car as it's mostly an impreza with more ground clearance. I believe it's been for sale in other markets for a while so it's not totally new either. 2) I intend to own this car for >10 years and I figure the price is fair where I'll get a price of ~$2,000 a year again. Is this a good price point? The price looks a bit high to me, you should find out what dealer invoice is on the thing. What options did you get? $2000 a year major maintenance costs seems high for most used vehicles though, so I don't know if that's the best watermark for you to be using to justify something new. I drove a Jeep Cherokee with 160k miles on it for a few years and I didn't hit that, nor did I on any of the other used cars I've owned with fewer miles. Unless maybe you're counting things like oil changes and tires and whatnot. Buying a car new is almost never going to save you money over used. That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one, but it's not something you're going to be able to sell as the 100% logical financially responsible choice. 3) What's up with this clay polish stuff? Bullshit. You do clay bar cars to get stuff off of them after they've been driven a lot, but this is just silly. Same with any extended warranty bullshit they try to sell you. 4) Do you see any area that I have missed out on as far as covering all the bases? Sounds like you hosed up your current car through shoddy maintenance, don't do that again? The car being known for reliability isn't going to make it so you don't have to take care of the thing. 5) Is my reasoning that this will be a good, reliable car since it's from the same factory sound reasoning even though it's a completely new model? Mentioned above. 6) Is the financial plan of getting some payments and then paying it off after I have a job reasonable? I'll let the more financially smart folks answer this, but you should make sure there are no pre-payment penalties, and shop around for good rates if need be. 7) What, if any, advice can you get on getting them to lower the price? Step one is going to be finding out what dealer invoice is on the options you want. 8) Was this post too long? Waaaaaay too long.
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Dec 29, 2012 00:12
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Yeah, listen to the above dudes. I chose the Crosstrek because I wanted: good enough ground clearance and departure/approach angles for minor off roading, decent cargo capacity, easy mounting for a hitch, a manual transmission, decent on road handling, and a Subaru  . I spent a good three months researching and test driving vehicles before settling on the Crosstrek. It'd be hard to make a compelling case for it based on purely objective measures, but it ticked the right boxes for me and I've always wanted a Subaru.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:05
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100% Dundee posted:Proposed Budget: $10,000-$15,000 You could get an earlier G35 for around that. I just sold one so I know they're out there. Gas mileage is... not great, but it'd fit more into the Genesis Coupe mold being rear wheel drive and sporty-er than your other options.
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Jan 2, 2013 22:55
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100% Dundee posted:3000 miles a year Also, with this mileage, how many MPG the car gets isn't going to make much difference to your total cost of ownership.
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Jan 3, 2013 00:07
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I think I may already have posted this, but you should really look around for a G35 Coupe too. You should be able to find one for your budget and it seems to fit pretty well into the spread of cars your already looking at.
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Jan 7, 2013 16:50
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Yeah, I had a 2003 model with the 18" wheels and brembos. The tires were expensive but not crazy. I think I spent $600 on a set of 4 Continental DWS's and there are definitely cheaper all season options if you don't need snow performance. I'm not sure on replacements for the brakes as I didn't own it long enough to replace rotors. They're pretty much a 350z with a nicer ride/interior and a small but useable back seat.
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Jan 7, 2013 19:02
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My Subaru has something that locks the brakes for a second or so on hills to keep it from rolling back and it still weirds me out every time.
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Jan 7, 2013 23:28
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Unfortunately I think it's a little of both.
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Jan 8, 2013 17:47
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While I love Subaru's, I don't personally care for any of their automatic options. If you like the Cx-7 you can probably find a used one within your budget without too much trouble. Your requirements aren't super specific or anything so you may just want to poke around at vehicles in a similar class, read some reviews on edmunds, etc.
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Jan 11, 2013 22:39
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Rubicon Unlimited is a Serious Business offroad machine. Are you really going to be using it for such things? Because the off road capability of that style vehicle means compromises in a lot of other areas. You said it's out of your budget anyway, but if your drooling included a desire to do that serious business off roading, you could always get a normal commuter vehicle *and* a beater Jeep Cherokee or similar.
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Jan 11, 2013 23:10
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There's a massive miata megathread that will provide you with answers to all questions.
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Jan 25, 2013 00:24
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As long as you check up on stuff like insurance and parking, having two vehicles is totally doable and not that crazy a thing to do. I had both a turbo Miata and a Jeep Cherokee for a few years and I'm not even remotely wealthy, only somewhat mechanically inclined, and don't have a garage. It was great. Only cost me about $20 more a year to insure both. For a variety of reasons I downsized to one vehicle, but I'm working towards having a sporty project for a second car in the next few years.
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Jan 27, 2013 20:26
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100% Dundee posted:Just wanted to say thanks for the awesome suggestions that came from this thread when I posted, ended up getting a 2004 Infiniti G35. After a bit of searching and test driving, with a little bit of haggling thrown in to round it out I finally found one that was exactly what I wanted. Black/Black, 78k miles, every option(I think?) and most importantly 6MT. Congrats dude, looks great. I'm going to chalk this up as a win for me since I was that guy 
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Jan 29, 2013 19:26
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The three is an extremely common recommendation in this thread so don't feel like there's anything wrong going that route.
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Feb 2, 2013 03:16
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Or, since Seraphimikey liked how the civic drove, an Acura of some flavor might be a good choice.
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Feb 16, 2013 04:14
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What makes her think that there'll be $0 maintenance? There are still going to be wear items, unless I'm missing something. Also, you should sit down and actually calculate how much money you'd save. The amount of money you're putting to your van would pay off your leaf in something like a decade. You could also consider a used Prius if you want to feel smug. Edit: there's also your last point. They'll still be making electric cars in five/ten years and they'll almost certainly be better. powderific fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Mar 7, 2013 |
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Mar 7, 2013 04:08
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What about a V6 Rav 4? They're pretty fast IIRC. I don't actually know anything about Rav 4's though so it may be a bad suggestion.
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Sep 14, 2015 22:55
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JoelJoel posted:Thanks for the advise! If it were me I'd be looking for a Ranger. I don't have empirical evidence or anything but they seem like a more reliable choice at the price points you're looking at. At least I seriously doubt the dakota or colorado would be better.
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Sep 22, 2015 18:32
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Have you tested one out? They're really nice, especially as the trim level goes up. They've come a long way since your 1st gen.
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Sep 22, 2015 22:40
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Slo-Tek posted:I would kind of like something with a tow hitch so I can mount a tow-hitch 4-bike tray style rack (might even be able to put that on the prius, dunno), but other than that, I am open to suggestions for a low-use second car with the most utility for a 4 person family that occasionally hauls 4 bikes. You can get a hitch for the Prius: http://torkliftcentral.com/trailer-hitch-and-towing/ecohitch/toyota/prius
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Sep 23, 2015 20:22
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VideoTapir posted:http://priuschat.com/threads/4-bike-carrier-for-2010-prius.93720/ That thread actually has several people who've been carrying 4 bikes on hitch racks fine? The one person who had a bunch of problems seemed unrelated to the Prius itself and more something with how they were loading the bikes.
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Sep 24, 2015 02:17
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The ripping the hitch off the frame thing one dude hypothesized or the people who probably would have had their bikes falling off the hitch rack regardless the car? Someone did post pictures of their car loaded up on the last page.
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Sep 24, 2015 05:53
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| # ¿ May 8, 2024 13:27 |
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IOwnCalculus posted:Unless your only choice for an ABS equipped car is a wrecked Chevy Corsica with hosed suspension that engages the ABS over speed bumps (I really should've pulled the drat fuse), you want ABS. The ABS on my old Grand Marquis was like this and made me think I hated ABS. If you hit a bump or a patch of sand it'd kick on way too much and you'd lose a ton of braking power. Every car I've driven with ABS since has been totally unobjectionable.
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Oct 30, 2015 21:33
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