Posted on 12/26/2009 11:04:08 PM PST by MarkL
Hey, I liked 1989. I made the Toyota comment just from experience. Camrys have treated my family well. Lexus is a fine auto too. I’d never buy a Hyundai like others suggest. Same with Kia and Mitsubishi. Those are crap cars.
I suggest visiting Edmonds.com. they are a great site, they give the invoice price of the vehicle, and the actual cost of all the extras you may want. if you do your research and know what you want, you will pay thousands off msrp. They have a TMV true market value price, which gives the dealer some profit, which is fair, but doesnt rip the buyer off. I have bought all our vehicles at the TMV price. and saved thousands every time. no games. Just call the dealer, ask for the fleet manager, and tell them what you want. of course you can test drive vehicles before you deice, but do not buy anything at that time.
i recommend toyota, and also, a new vehicle. if youre going to buy a 2 year old car you may as well get a brand new one because the price diff. is insignificant if you do it ruight., without any potential mystery problems.
Ford.
No bailout money.
I have three Fords.
Mustang 93,000 miles
Ford Explorer 135,000
Ford F-250 195,000
No serious problems with any of the three.
Look at the facts.
And Toyota's resale value is so good you might as well buy a new one vs a two year old one.
If you are not buying Toyota,Honda,Volkswagen or a super “in style” car you are better off buying a slightly used car.
I,on the other hand,am willing to buy new because I do all my own maintenance. I always use premium fluids and filters. I always use top tier gas. I don't abuse my cars.
No mystery problems due from poor maintenance,I like that piece of mind.
No mystery problems from car abuse. Many people who lease abuse their cars. Many people with poor credit poor job history that get their cars repossessed abuse their cars.
And yes Hyundai,Kia,and Mitusubsi are not at the front of the line.
Remember the Flintstones? (sorry couldn’t resist) Yaba Daba Dooo
I have a 2004 Toyota Corolla. In that year, they have a seat adjustment that allows you to raise/lower the driver’s seat. Now, let me clarify— the version I have has a dial to do this and is not electronic. So it’s not like you can really adjust it while sitting in it (at least not much). But it is definitely higher up and easier to get in and out of than the Tercel I had for 10 years before that, and the ‘92 Corolla that my Mom has.
I would guess that models after 2004 have that feature as a minimum, and possibly even have the electronic version that is easier to adjust while in the seat. I know of other cars that have this feature. I’m guessing by know it’s advanced further. (Like they probably have an iPod jack and that streaming title’artist of songs on the radio now that they didn’t have in my car... :-( )
Regarding your comment, “I would like to get at least 29mpg highway with a manual transmission,”— if you’re facing knee troubles, I would recommend you consider an automatic transmission. Manual shifting can be harder on the knees than getting in and out of the car. At least in my personal experience.
Good luck in your search for a good vehicle...
Buy used.
Then try the Accent. Avoid the Elantra.
Any Honda Accord. Best car ever
14
What year is it?
My dad bought a 2006 (GLS, IIRC) with ~20,000 miles from Enterprise in 2007 for $19K with sunroof, leather, Lojack, the warranty, roadside assistance, etc. and has had no major problems with it, aside from a recall (a malfunctioning electrical switch) that was promptly taken care of by the dealer.
I recently bought a classic muscle car on-line and was unpleasantly surprised to find out about the tax - not only do the GA gov't parasites charge tax on the car (7%), they also charge it on the shipping.
As far as the make goes, there's really no choice is there? We're down to just Ford now. As for models, the Fusion and Focus are great cars. Personally, I've got a '93 F150, a '96 Escort and a '07 Fusion with a combined total of well over 300k miles and well under 2 visits to the repair shop between them.
Worst case if it is a head is a simple head replacement ,, maybe $1500 if you have a mechanic do it or $400 as a DIY using the best parts.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-TOYOTA-COROLLA-CYLINDER-HEAD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2ea9dac81aQQitemZ200418183194QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
Gasket sets and head bolts are equally cheap ..
This is a $250 weekend project ,, not a catastrophe.
one word.
FORD.
As you can tell, there are no shortages of opinions on buying a car. It is like the “I want to buy a pistol...” threads with a million opinions.
I gathered that you may have garage issues, so size must be kept small.
You should consider where you live and if you need all-wheel drive or not.
I would prefer you buy American so the money stays in this country (regardless where it is assembled), but you have to find what you really like.
I suggest you go to the rental places and do a one-week rental of your finalists so you can really live in them for yourself before you buy.
Look at Honda CR-V’s.
They are higher off the ground, 4-wheel drive and built with Honda non-union American worker quality.
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