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Smart Shopper What's the best vehicle for my needs?
1145 messages, Last post on Sep 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM
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Replying to: steine13 (Sep 04, 2006 6:44 pm) I would buy a new car if I had the money to do so but I'm only being given $10,000 and $10,000 only to work with. Because, to be quite honest I originally wanted a new Yaris but was told that since the value rapidly decreases on new vehicles I would not be able to get one and the fact that it was a little more than my given budget it was a no go. If, I could figure out a way to work a deal to acquire any of the newer vehicles within my budget I would. That's why I'm here 
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Replying to: xxavxx (Sep 04, 2006 6:57 pm) Take out a loan, then. Put down $8, bank $2 for emergencies or whatever, and build your credit with an $8 or $9 loan over 5 years at $180/month or so. I hate loans myself. To such an extent that last year, I paid off a 0% loan a few months early. That's how much I disliked having a monthly payment. But sometimes it's the best way to go. This business with "value rapidly decreases on new vehicles" is baloney, esp. for high-mpg vehicles like the Yaris. If that were the case, you'd be able to get the $14 hatchback as a one-year old car (i.e. an '06) with 9k miles for $10k. But you can't. Neither can I. I bought a 2004 Pontiac Vibe in late '03 for $15,500 and sold it 30 months and 27k miles later for $11,500. That's $4 depreciation for almost three years... with full warranty etc. IOW $133/month for the best 30 months out of that car. You want a Taurus, I agree, get a used one. But the nice, clean, low-mileage Civics/Corollas/Mazda3's are of the can't-find-them, can't-get-them variety, and when you do find one, it's $2 off th price of a new one. Go ahead, try it out. If I sound like I'm preaching, it's cuz I have heard the "loses 30% of its value when you drive away" myth one too many times. 30% off sticker, maybe... but more like 10% off street price. Anybody who thinks they can do better buying used from a dealer is in for a surprise. Trust me on this, I've done it every which way and even made money on used cars. But I have on occasion lost a piece of skin, too. -Mathias |
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Replying to: xxavxx (Sep 04, 2006 2:37 pm) Some people like getting high mileage vehicles because they can get then for thousands less than a comparable car with average miles. If that person only drives about 6k-7k miles a year...it can be a very good value getting say a 3 year old car with 60k miles. You get a car with plenty of mileage left on it...maybe save a thousand or two due to the high mileage depreciation.
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I am trying to find a good second car that will serve my needs for under $5000. Basically, what I want is something which will keep rolling for another 80-100k miles with a minimum of repair costs. My three requirements for the car are: A/C, cruise control, and automatic transmission. Beyond that, I'm open to just about anything. Any suggestions?
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Replying to: enkephalin (Sep 05, 2006 4:22 pm)
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Replying to: cccompson (Sep 05, 2006 5:13 pm) Just avoid the Supercharged ones. You don't need to the extra maintance of the SC motor or the reduced MPG. Possible vehicles would be. Pontiac Bonneville(MY personal favorite) Buick Park Avenue Oldsmobile 98
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Replying to: british_rover (Sep 05, 2006 5:32 pm) In an ideal world, I'd like 30 mpg.
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Replying to: enkephalin (Sep 05, 2006 4:22 pm) Sometimes you can luck out with miles. My son got a '98 Buick 2 years ago with only 40,000 miles! But more likely, you will be looking at one with 80,000 or so. I bought a Toyota Camry with that many miles with no hesitation; cost more than $5000 however. It now has 115,000 with no problems whatsoever (knock wood). Camry will get 30 mpg (the 4 cyl) but it will be hard to find one at $5000 or below. |
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Replying to: enkephalin (Sep 05, 2006 5:39 pm) I could get over 30 mpg in my bonneville but it was a 1989 model that was much lighter then the late 90's version of the bonneville. My best ever mpg for a single trip was 40.1 mpg on a perfect cool fall day right before thanksgiving one year.
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Replying to: british_rover (Sep 06, 2006 5:35 am) Best thing to do is buy one from a private (and original) owner who has the service history. It's likely that most of the things that fail (water pump, alternator, etc.) will have already been replaced and you'll have many happy miles if it doesn't have much over 100K on it when you buy it. Really, just about any GM with the 3.8 is a pretty good value used. |
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