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Selecting and Buying My First Car

764 messages,  Last post on Aug 17, 2009 at 12:29 PM

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#232 of 764 Re: My choice.. [kyfdx] by cti Mar 10, 2005 (1:51 pm)
Replying to: kyfdx (Mar 10, 2005 12:17 pm) would also be a Protege. My mother's Sienna minivan was buried after she hydroplaned and damaged it. Not much loss at 180k miles.   She found a Protege5 which was perfect. She LOVES to drive it. My mom has never really enjoyed driving before but loves driving on the twisties from Lousiana to Arkansas to go camping on her and my stepfather's property.   Plus she has come around to the usefulness of a sunroof in hot weather to vent heat out.   I was already looking at the Mazda3 hatch. After driving hers I saved up some money and 8 months later (i.e., last month) bought a new Mazda3 hatch.   I think the sedan is dull looking, but the hatch is really cool. Plus the hatch is vastly more useful.   Jason Replies to this message: kirstie_h (Mar 11, 2005 7:48 am)
#233 of 764 Civic EX by millspd Mar 10, 2005 (8:01 pm)
would have all of these   - power windows - power locks - remote entry - power moonroof - ABS (I live in the northeast)   and I'd guess you'd pay about $17K for one with automatic. a bit more if you wanted side air bags too. Replies to this message: kyfdx (Mar 10, 2005 8:27 pm) qbrozen (Mar 11, 2005 6:36 am) kyfdx (Mar 11, 2005 7:25 am)
#234 of 764 Re: Civic EX [millspd] by kyfdx HOST Mar 10, 2005 (8:27 pm)
Replying to: millspd (Mar 10, 2005 8:01 pm) Great car... my #1 pick... But, tough staying under $300/mo., unless you lease...   I like used Civics, too... but, the prices are outrageous.. Replies to this message: qbrozen (Mar 11, 2005 6:36 am) kyfdx (Mar 11, 2005 7:25 am)
#235 of 764 kyfdx by millspd Mar 10, 2005 (9:11 pm)
good point about the monthly payment -- forgot that part.   We bought a 2004 for my wife and she is very happy with it. I don't quite fit comfortably in it, but that's ok since I rarely drive it.
#236 of 764 Re: Civic EX [kyfdx] by qbrozen Mar 11, 2005 (6:36 am)
Replying to: kyfdx (Mar 10, 2005 8:27 pm) actually, if $17K is the real OTD price (i haven't checked), then $300 a month should be easy with the $2K down that the poster has saved. Financing $15K over 60 mos. would fall right around that number (rule of thumb is $20/$1K financed over 5 years, right?). Obviously it depends on the purchaser's credit and achievable rate. Replies to this message: kyfdx (Mar 11, 2005 7:25 am)
#237 of 764 Re: Civic EX [qbrozen] by kyfdx HOST Mar 11, 2005 (7:25 am)
Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 11, 2005 6:36 am) True.. I wasn't taking into account a downpayment... I'm thinking $18K is closer to the out the door price..   When someone tells me they have $2K to put down on a car, I tend to want them to keep that money in the bank for other things... If you have $10K, different story..   I'd lease, if I were getting a new Civic, though.. Probably $220/mo. including tax.. with nothing down.   regards, kyfdx
#238 of 764 Re: My choice.. [cti] by kirstie_h HOST Mar 11, 2005 (7:48 am)
Replying to: cti (Mar 10, 2005 1:51 pm) I'll add a third shout to the Protege suggestion, especially if you plan to keep it for awhile. I found mine to be extremely reliable, and easy and relatively cheap to repair.
#239 of 764 P5 by ateixeira Mar 11, 2005 (8:11 am)
P5s are nice, and should be very affordable used. Mazda also had a longer warranty, 4/50 IIRC, so a 2 year old Mazda will have twice the remaining warranty of a Civic, and it'll cost less.   -juice
#240 of 764 Suggestion by jchan2 Mar 11, 2005 (8:43 am)
I guess you could try the Chevrolet Cobalt. It's safe (it passed the IIHS's side impact test a few days ago) and it seems to be reasonably priced. You could also try a Corolla, or a used Protege. The Elantra sounds good... You get a long warranty, a decent car and all the features you want.   If you're willing to go up a notch in size you could try a Ford Taurus.. Reliable and fairly inexpensive, although it is highly boring and finding one with a sunroof might be tough.
#241 of 764 Cobalt by cti Mar 11, 2005 (8:21 pm)
If I was interested in a compact sedan, I would have seriously considered a Cobalt (oddly not available IN cobalt blue).   I figured I should give GM a shot now that they finally have made a (apparently) high quality compact. The recent top scores in side crash test scores makes me hope even more that the Cobalt succeeds.   Of course, the Cobalt isn't available used - but (checking...) an LS with auto and side air bags as options has an MSRP of 16730.   The fact that it is even worth CONSIDERING alongside any other compact car is amazing and worthy of attention.   Jason

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