I'm Buying a New Car... What Should I Get?
 

I’m looking to buy a car, and I have no idea where to start! This will be the first new car (which isn’t more than 7 years old!) that I’ve bought.. so I want to make a good choice! What I’m looking for:

- 2010-2011
- Preferably under $20,000
- Similar in style to a Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, etc. (and if you’d suggest I buy one of these, let me know!)
- Can be a 2 or 4 door
- For the most part, I’ll just be driving to and from work (a 10 minute drive) 5 days a week, but during the summer I’ll be making numerous trips to the Jersey shore and to Rhode Island
- Jersey winters (generally) aren’t too bad in terms of snow, but I’d like a car that can at least somewhat handle the winter weather

Help!

I love the Honda Civic. I had a 1996 Honda Civic for 12 years, then gave it to my sister when I bought my Prius. She still has it, and it still runs with no problems! She loves my Civic and will drive it until it DIES!

My husband and I both have Corollas (2007 and 2009), and before that I had a Toyota Echo that had 140K miles on it but got totaled in a tornado (long story).

Bottom line is that I love the Corolla, and the price is right. I thought about a Yaris, but wanted a little more power, and the Corolla has it.

I have a 2010 Chevy Cobalt, 2-door. I've had it for almost a year. I absolutely love it! It's pretty spacious but still has that sports-car feel to it. I'm not sure about how it'd handle winter weather though. It doesn't get too bad here in the South. My only complaint would be that the cup-holders aren't big at all lol :p They won't even hold a coke bottle! So I always have to have it in my lap which makes it hard to steer. My Mom has a new Chevy SUV too, and her's are the same way.

My last car was a Civic and I absolutely loved it. It stopped working after 260,000 miles, so it had a very nice run. I wish I would've gotten another one.

My 1997 Honda Civic is still going after almost 14 years. If you get the oil changed regularly and take care of it regularly, it'll take care of you.

The price is right. I've only had to take her in maybe twice, but that was just for A/C issues.

When she dies, I'll probably get another Civic.

I have a 2007 Mazda 3 and I LOVE it. It's really peppy and smooth.

The new Ford Fiesta looks pretty nice and starts at $15k new.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...S2-6LeAOSPvgSE

I haven't had any problems with my Mini. I love it. When I bought it, it was a little over $20,000, but it's worth it.

Love the Honda Civic -- great all-around car and still runs well even when you don't maintain it.

Civic: ultra-cool dashboard with digital speedometer, great feedback, unconventional design

Corolla: very conservative design, extremely "light" feel, excellent mileage (though Civic comes close)

Mazda 3: automated manual transmission, solid feel

It all really comes down to your individual preferences which of the three you choose. I suggest that you go to the dealers and try out each one of them on the same day without making any decisions that day. Your gut feeling will tell you which one is for you.

For example, I love the Civic, but that's heavily influenced by my personal preferences. I have friends who hate it for the exact same reasons why I love it. Ibid for Corolla and Mazda 3.

Count me as another Honda Civic gal. I just traded my 1999 Civic in on Sunday for a new Subaru Outback. I actually cried. Turtle was a great car - affordable, high-quality, safe and reliable. Fun to drive, too! The only maintenance I ever had to do on him was standard stuff after 60-90k+ miles. And I always found the front wheel drive to do pretty well in the snow, as long as I wasn't trying to go up big hills in icy weather.

I had a Civic many years ago and loved it. My husband just passed his Mazda 3 to our teenage twins. I drive a Honda Pilot and my experience having owned 3 Honda's is that Honda usually won't negotiate much on price. Mazda, Toyota and Nissan will. No offense to anyone, but Japanese cars are built to last unlike their American counterparts.

I got a Honda Fit this past fall (my first new-new car, too).

http://www.blog.inspiretech.com/wp-c...rt-1280-10.jpg

I LOVE it. Especially useful to me as I have instruments & gear to haul around. Great gas mileage. Price range is ~$15K. Honda's are known for being reliable & lasting forever, too.

Good luck with whatever you get.

I should note that I drive standard, so that heavily biases my preference. I have no idea what the Mazda drives like in an automatic. My sister has a Civic (also standard) and loves it, she drives it all over San Francisco hills with no problem.

Thanks for all of the quick responses!

My mom actually has a Civic, and I've driven it a few times and I do really like it. Someone here mentioned the dashboard.. I LOVE the set-up of it. I wish they had that same configuration in every car.

I just didn't want to jump into buying it without exploring other options.

I drive a Toyota Matrix, my husband drives a Ford Focus, and my sister drives a Mazda 3. I absolutely *love* my car and firmly believe that my car wins out of our three cars. My husband prefers my sister's car, and she does as well. Mine, however, came with so many more features standard, and is much easier to drive. My family members who actually enjoy driving seem to prefer the Mazda, but those of us who hate to drive and want the experience as simple and easy as possible prefer my Toyota. (No one really likes the Focus ...)

Another vote for my civic! I love driving it and I've been in a few accidents and it's still alive :D

I drove a Focus one time while the civic was in the shop when I was rear ended and liked the Focus but not quite as much as my Civic!

Another Civic driver! Mine is going on five years old and I haven't had a single problem with it. I drove all the smaller sedans when I was shopping for my car, and again when my fiance was shopping last year. I still loved the Civic the most (although he ended up getting a Corolla).

I won't touch American cars, not since the day the transmission fell out of my dad's nearly-brand-new Oldsmobile when I was a kid. (I won't touch a Mercedes for the same reason. It seems Dad doesn't have good luck with transmissions.)

My first car was an Acura Vigor that I drove until it all but fell apart. I replaced it with a TL that I love. My dad drove a Honda Accord for a while - he put 120K miles on that car, mostly from a rough commute to NYC. I've driven that car and I loved it. (It has long since gone to car heaven, but it took a hell of a beating first.) So I second (third? fourth?) all the recommendations for the Civic.

Someone you know loves a Honda!

My husband and I have a 2006 Honda Civic that is such a champ. It is a very reliable, very efficient, and cute car. It's not super fast, it's not super flashy, but it is a good, solid, dependable vehicle that has never let us down. My dad who is a master mechanic, said that while he hates that it is a "Japanese" car (despite that it was 70% american content, and assembled in Springfield!), he loves driving it and loves the maintenance on it because it is so easy.

And I just bought a 2010 Honda Fit on Monday of last week...and I'm in love. Like, unreasonably so. They're also having great financing on the Fit until the end of the month (0.9% if you qualify). So I got the Fit Sport with the 0.9 for $16k. I don't drive a whole lot, and when I do, it is usually with my bike in the back, and the seats in that sucker are amazing! It's like a minivan shrunken down to fun size.

Meet "Norm".
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...0131011718.jpg

I also call my 1996 Honda civic sedan Turtle!!!! Mine is green with orange wheels :)

To OP: I've owned nothing buy Honda (10 of them including motorcycle/scooters). Go with Civic EX or Si (if you like some power)

not sure where you are. If you consider Matrix, then consider the AWD if your location warrants it.

If you can get a Pontiac Vibe then you basically have a Matrix because Vibe has Toyota engine in it.

I drive a 2006 Nissan Altima that I love, love, love. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that the front is very round and longer than it looks so it can take some time to get a feel for where the car ends. Other than that I have had no issues, and really enjoy driving it.

I don't know if this comes in under $20K, but VW Golfs are awesome in snow with their front wheel drive action. Otherwise, I co-sign on the Honda Civic - those cars run forever and are very reliable. However, my VW was going for about 14 years before I replaced it.

VW's are great. My friend has a new jetta, they start at like 16 I think. I love my bug, and was told it will last 300,000 miles

I like the look of the Honda Fit… is it spacious? How is the trunk room?

I had also been recommended VWs previously.. the Jetta was suggested to me by someone, but I know nothing about their longevity or the frequency of needed repairs.

I drove a Jetta when I was in Mexico, and my biggest complaint was the shift-shock. I can't even tell when my Tracker shifts gears, except the odometer drops.

It seemed to get good gas mileage...but I couldn't tell for sure since it's full-service stations down there, and measured in litres.

Let me put it in perspective... I'm about 5'10. I can sit in the back seat without my knees touching the front. I also have a bike with a 58cm top tube and huge wheels and I can fit the sucker in the trunk with the seat down without removing the front wheel. When the snow finally calms down, I can scoot out and take a photo of the rear if you'd like?

I have a 2007 Nissan Sentra and LOVE it. It's our main commuter car and has done road trips up to about 500 miles so far. Its hood is shorter than the Altima so you don't have that issue.

My favorite parts:

- Keyless Entry. Just have the key in your purse and push a button to unlock the door. Push it twice to unlock all of them. Push it once when you get out to lock. Push it under the trunk to open the trunk. Push in the ignition and turn it on. Seriously- it's amazing. I'm sure guys appreciate it too (my husband does), but it's huge for women with black hole purses! I never see my key anymore because I don't need to.

- Divide & Hide Trunk. The trunk is massive & deep, especially considering the size of the car. To avoid groceries sliding all over the place, there's a hard shell divider. I usually keep long term things in the "hidden" spot- road maintenance kit, extra towels for the dogs, reusable shopping bags, etc. Then when I open the trunk it looks incredibly clean, & I can fit groceries or shopping bags easily.There are little circle hooks on the divider to hang plastic bags from, but I use the big fabric rectangular ones so I barely use the hooks.

Otherwise- it drives well, and is fairly quiet. We also have a 2005 Ford Focus, which replaced a 1998 Ford Escort. I'm unlikely to buy a Ford again. After a few years, the road noise is very strong and the feel rattly to me. It handles nicely too. One of my tests is to go to a cul-de-sac and crank the wheel & spin around a couple of times. If the turning radius is too wide, we aren't getting that car. Good visibility, comfortable for backseat passengers (another of my tests).

We're likely going to get an SUV of sorts this year (to replace the Focus in hauling capacity and increase it, plus get something heartier for heavy weather & terrain). Ford will not be on my list to investigate, but I'd happily buy another Nissan. One of my friends bought a Nissan Versa (hatchback) after seeing ours and loved it, then traded up for a Nissan Rouge (crossover SUV).

Aren't keyless entries sort of unsafe? Since a thief/car-jacker, etc, would only need for you to approach before they could get into your car? In my self defense class, we were told never to remotely unlock our car before we got to it for that reason. It seems like it would make it much easier to steal your car if the key doesn't need to be in the ignition. Esp since you can't really "lock" your car if you're anywhere near it (esp if the key is in the car...)

If someone's stalking you like that, they'd be close enough to physically attack you prior to you getting to your car anyway.

Most cars still require a key for ignition, those that don't require that the "key" be IN the car to start it. Remote starters don't let you put the car in gear, just start it up to get the heat or AC going.

Keyless entry also does let you lock your car with the keyfob (mine's part of the key itself.) The only time I can't "beep" my car locked is if a key is IN the ignition. And that's a safety feature more than anything.

Realistically you don't have people hanging out outside your car waiting to dive into it as soon as you unlock it. Practically, most keyless entry systems let you hit the button once to unlock just your door and twice for all doors.

For Nissan's keyless entry, you have to be within a couple feet of the button for it to work. If someone is close enough to you at that point, you have issues regardless.

To start the car, the key has to be in the car. I've had my purse on the passenger seat and behind the driver seat without an issue, but sometimes the car will flash a little signal to say that it can't find the key & you have to move it closer. Once the car is started it's fine.

As for locking the key in- they thought of that, too! It will not lock if the key is inside the car or trunk. It'll throw a few quick beeps at you and refuses to lock or the trunk won't latch. That has saved my keys several times, back when I kept my laptop bag in the trunk (& purse in the laptop bag).

Ditto to Drolefille's comments about opening all the doors- one push to open just one door, two pushes to open all. There's a button on both the driver's side and passenger's side. One push to lock all the doors.

It's pretty much awesome :cool:

I agree with Drole and Lily...I LOVE my keyless entry on my Prius and wish my Mercedes had it. On the Prius, you can actually program your doors to unlock in any way you'd like. I have them set to all unlock when I reach for my door handle. I don't even have to dig my keys out of my purse. I could have it set to just unlock my door, but I like it to unlock them all. I can also lock all my doors by pushing a button on the door.

I just push a button to start the car. If you take the key out of the car, the car beeps at you. If you try to drive away without the key, it will stop and turn off. You can't steal the car if you don't have the key. It also won't let me lock my key in the car bc it'll beep at me to alert me that the key is inside the car.

Ooh side note about the Prius- I originally really wanted a Prius, until I sat in one. The way they accomodate a hatchback with a car shape is by having a smaller window under the standard rear windshield- I didn't like having that separated. It doesn't bother most people, but was enough for me to decide against it. It's one of the most popular cars in this region, in part because Microsoft's dozens (hundreds?) of corporate shuttles are all Priuses. They are everywhere!

My husband drives a Nissan Murano, and I've got to agree, the keyless entry is a nice feature. If you've programmed settings for your driver's seat and wing mirrors, it'll adjust those too when you unlock the car.

The funny thing about my husband's car is that, if I unlock it from the passenger side, it resets the driver's seat to my settings :confused: and my husband has to get into the car and turn it on before he can reset it for himself. Since he's 9" taller and quite a bit heavier than I am, this is a challenge, to say the least.

Nissans are nice cars, but my vote is still for the Honda. Put it this way: If I were preffing Nissan and Honda, I'd list Honda first on my pref card, but I wouldn't hesitate to list Nissan second. (Ugh, I have GOT to stay out of the rush threads. :p )

We REALLY need to get "Like" buttons here on GC. Darn you Facebook for changing the way we read and respond to everything we see!

If you need to ask this question, you need to head to the dealership and see for yourself. Cars are a big ticket item, and unlike buying items, you can shamelessly walk into a dealership, ask to be shown around, and then walk out without any commitment. For all practical purposes, the salesmen are not human; they are trained to manipulate you as much as possible while talking to you.

Compared to Japanese cars, German cars need much more maintenance. This is especially true of the Jetta. However, if you get the Jetta TDI, which has the diesel engine, it's gonna last you a long time. The torque is also excellent for getting you out of the snow.

I agree with excelblue on visiting the dealership. We can tell you all the stuff you want but it is you that is going to be driving the car. So go test drive or even just sit in the car to find out which one best fits you. Before we bought the Honda Fit, we tested out civic, accord, toyota corolla, camry, and matrix before finally settling on the Fit.

with VW, I've heard that they are prone with electrical issues. TDI will last a long time and has excellent power, but I'm just too paranoid about the non-engine stuff. That's just me though.

Do whatever you want :)

Bahahaha, well I would suicide Nissan. (Remind me to never use car codes in my rush thread, you'll all know that Delta Chi is Nissan lol)

@Lily, I second aephialum on the Murano, I love it. My dad drives a 2009 (or maybe newer?) Rouge which I also love. It handles really well for a crossover sized car and the gas mileage is more comparable to a smaller car (which is why my cheap-o day bought it). When it's time for a new car, I'd like to get a Rouge.

Oh, trust me, I know this. I was just curious. I just didn't even know that the Honda Fit existed until after someone mentioned it here.

But anyway... I went to dealerships this weekend, searched high and low, and finally decided on the..........





































































Honda Civic coupe!

I'm so happy I was able to get my first choice, I love the colors, and I think it's a perfect fit!

(Sorry, I'm clearly addicted to recruitment threads..)

I sat in a bunch of other cars, drove a few, and none could match the feel of the Civic for me. Because the dealership I got it from was so small, they actually had my exact car on a different lot, so I'll be picking it up on Wednesday. So excited! :D