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[Houston3000]

Hey GAF, I need some help here. I'm in the market for a new (used) car, I'm basically just starting my search but I have an idea of my ranges. Been spending all day browsing between Edmunds, AutoTrader and Craigslist. This will only be my 3rd car, I'm 23 years old and have been driving my '96 Nissan 200SX for just over 5 years - I haven't got a lot invested into it and only spent a bit less than $1,500 for it years ago, it was basically a college investment I made at the time to get out of the horrible Pontiac shit-box I was in during High School. Now that I'm completely out of school though, I have some savings (albeit small). and the car is beginning to really show it's age I think it's time for an upgrade.

I'm hoping to be able to find a good car built within the last 5 years (meaning 2004+) with less than 50,000 miles on it for no more than $8k. I'm planning to pay all cash so I don't have to finance and raise my insurance rate. I really don't have too much money so the car purchase will basically be everything I have. I realize it being a used car I definitely need left over though for possible repairs so I'm factoring that in which makes $8k my absolute limit and even that would require another month 1/2 of savings.

That all being said, I DO NOT want to buy a car that is or that looks like a piece of shit. I'm "young" and I really would prefer something a little more on the compact sporty side of the equation. Sedans aren't out of the question but I'd much prefer a 2-door and one that's not considered to be crap. I'm really on the fence about Automatic and Manual transmissions to, I've always driven Automatics but I fully understand the benefits of manuals. Unfortunately I just started learning how to drive one, thanks to a good friend, I see no reason why I shouldn't feel completely comfortable with them within the next few weeks - still, I'm worried on my first car if I get manual I might burn out the clutch which would tack another $1,000 to the price. So far out of all my research (all one day) this is what I've come up with.

2005-2006 Ford Focus ZX3 - Low prices on these boys, but I'm actually very fond of the way they look and perform. My best friend owns a 2000 Focus ZX3 and it's a great car, very nice and easily modifiable engine and purty. Looking online it's not that hard to find 2006 Focus ZX3 with barely 40k miles for only around $5,000. The ones I was looking at specifically were even SES models which have power everything, auto transmissions, and even a moon roof. Definitely a top runner, I'm almost at the point of simply looking for a reason to NOT purchase this car!

2005 Chevy Cobalt - Low prices on these to but only on the lowest end models. The Cobalt SS is out of my price range so it's basically just the base or LS model it seems not sure if the LT has a coupe. Still, it's a bit stronger than the Focus and carries a more sporty facade (not being a hatchback and all) I don't know if that's worth the features though.

Those are the top two contenders at this point. Other options I was looking into include the Nissan Sentra SE-R and Dodge Neon SXT (not SRT-4) which, while 4-doors, don't seem too shabby. I'm tempted to by the Hyundai Tiburon, but I think in most cases that's stretching past my price point by a good thousand dollars or more.

Any help would be beyond appreciated. I'd really like suggestions and/or thoughts on the cars I've posted... especially the Focus and Cobalt. Even just general thoughts on buying a used car, bad idea or good idea?

Edit: For what it's worth I live in the United States, in South Florida

 

[mAcOdIn]

Man, if you have 8k, I'd see if that Nissan qualified for that cash for clunkers and get a brand new Kia or something.

Edit: Barring that, with that much down and a car you could trade in I'd consider putting yourself through the ringer for a year or two and getting a new car.

 

[akachan ningen]

Yeah, getting a used car would probably be best. You should probably find out how reliable those cars are going to be or if certain model years had any faulty gear. I'd probably stick with something that has a history of reliability or at least still has some of the warranty left. If you get a Hyundai or Kia, you can get a newer car with some warranty left.

 

[mAcOdIn]

When going used I've always been a fan of looking through thrifty nickel and stuff like that and meeting the owner personally, looking at the car and stuff like that. For instance if I saw 2 cars, one being sold by some crazy kid and another sold by some college girl, I'd probably like the girls car better. I really like single owner cars. Also there's sometimes some real good deals where someone needs you to take over payments because he just can't afford it anymore, although that'll probably be out of your reach with just 8k as they're not wanting to just give you the car.

 

[speculawyer]

Man, if you have 8k, I'd see if that Nissan qualified for that cash for clunkers and get a brand new Kia or something.

No, I don't think it does:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/bymake/Nissan1996.shtml

 

[Houston3000]

Yeah, believe me I checked the cash for clunkers.

Selling my Nissan is an option but it wouldn't count on it netting me even $1,000. The power steering is screwed up, there's a leak somewhere along the line at the least, neither window works because the power windows button broke (though the window motors are fine), and there is slight body damage (the rear bumber, front bumper, and grill are cracked and the latch for the hood is bent). Also, inside, my roof has no material, it's just clean cardboard at this point. I'm not factoring that in because even if I make money from it it'll only be a few hundred probably.

 

[Mileena]

I'm in the same position and I live in the same location (sort of, Tampa area)
I really have no idea what to look for though, I've been looking for Acura/Toyota/Honda exclusively and nothing yet.

 

[fart]

that nissan obviously doesn't qualify for cash for clunkers, but if your family/extended family has a qualified clunker, go for that shit asap OP. hyundai is sweetening the government rebate to move inventory. 8k buys a lot of car, but only if you adjust your attitude slightly.

first of all get this boy racer bullshit out of your head, it's hard enough to keep a car running properly, much less if you decide you want to make farty noises or start living a quarter mile at a time.

second, if you only have x$, spend like (3/4)x on the car and keep the rest around for maintenance/repairs/etc. even on the japanese cars that everyone thinks are the pinnacles of reliability, shit breaks, and shit is especially prone to breaking once the car's been through a couple of owners.

05-06 focus hatch - depreciation is harsh, which makes it attractive, but numerous manufacturing and minor design faults made these not the most incredible buys. still, it's possible to get a good one, just harder, and the design service lifetime is not all that long.

2005 Chevy Cobalt - these are pretty terrible cars.

3rd gen se-r - no. a couple of major manufacturing and design errors make these things eat engines. cross that one off immediately.

late model neon - neons are curious cars. solid motors, reasonable chassis with absolute shit build quality. similar to the focus.

tiburon - this model lived through hyundai's worst years. avoid.

consider:

late 90s nissan family sedans -- maxima, altima. solid cars but with high depreciation because nissan isn't honda/toyota. sentras have pretty much universally been solid cars as well. if you're interested in a perkier model, consider one of the sr20de trims (1st/2nd gen se-r, nx2000, infiniti g20); the 1st gen se-r tends to be the most well regarded because of the suspension geometry, but they're all pieces of shit now. the 2nd gen switched the multi-link rear with a torsion beam, but retained the motor.

2000-2005 mazda protege -- as above good cars with high depreciation; reliable and fairly nimble. don't even think about looking at the mazdaspeed trims of this era. the turbo kit was installed at the port by monkeys and the vast majority of them never quite worked.

in that price range i wouldn't bother looking at most hondas or toyotas. depreciation stops on civics/corolla/camrys/accords way before it has any right to. (hint: it's because 90% of the responses to this thread will be "well buy a honda accord lol ")

ps, a running car is worth 1000$.

general advice: carfax/service records/mechanically apt friend/pre-purchase inspection if over 5k/etc. etc. blah blah. local cars shouldn't have rust, but iirc florida seems to be where a lot of shit cars from salty places end up so you still have to check seriously for rust.

That all being said, I DO NOT want to buy a car that is or that looks like a piece of shit. I'm "young"

jesus christ you just need something to get from place to place and don't have an excess of funds. a grandma-mobile will be the best value so get that shit now and then when you do have an excess of funds you can get your vette.

Sedans aren't out of the question but I'd much prefer a 2-door

4 doors are safer, more rigid (that means faster), less likely to be thrashed by someone like you, cheaper to buy since they're more common, and cheaper to insure. yes i'm saying start looking at sedans.

I'm really on the fence about Automatic and Manual transmissions to, I've always driven Automatics but I fully understand the benefits of manuals. Unfortunately I just started learning how to drive one, thanks to a good friend,

first, you mean "too" as in "also". second, automatics are easier to find, which means they're cheaper, and you can't drive stick. buy an auto.

 

[Arzehn]

Whatever you do make sure to save some money for a aftermarket spoiler.

 

[Houston3000]

I'm in the same position and I live in the same location (sort of, Tampa area)
I really have no idea what to look for though, I've been looking for Acura/Toyota/Honda exclusively and nothing yet.

If you're range is anything like mine you're not going to find a Honda newer than maybe 2002 below $9k, at least not with descent mileage. Civics hold their values extremely well. I'm not personally looking into Toyota's because their coupes suck, I wouldn't touch an ECHO, and Celicas are overpriced and don't offer much features. I can't even imagine what Acura you'd be looking for in this range, you'd have to go way back to some old Integra model... though I'd love an NSX

that nissan obviously doesn't qualify for cash for clunkers, but if your family/extended family has a qualified clunker, go for that shit asap OP. hyundai is sweetening the government rebate to move inventory. 8k buys a lot of car, but only if you adjust your attitude slightly.

first of all get this boy racer bullshit out of your head, it's hard enough to keep a car running properly, much less if you decide you want to make farty noises or start living a quarter mile at a time.

second, if you only have x$, spend like (3/4)x on the car and keep the rest around for maintenance/repairs/etc. even on the japanese cars that everyone thinks are the pinnacles of reliability, shit breaks, and shit is especially prone to breaking once the car's been through a couple of owners.

05-06 focus hatch - depreciation is harsh, which makes it attractive, but numerous manufacturing and minor design faults made these not the most incredible buys. still, it's possible to get a good one, just harder, and the design service lifetime is not all that long.

2005 Chevy Cobalt - these are pretty terrible cars.

3rd gen se-r - no. a couple of major manufacturing and design errors make these things eat engines. cross that one off immediately.

late model neon - neons are curious cars. solid motors, reasonable chassis with absolute shit build quality. similar to the focus.

tiburon - this model lived through hyundai's worst years. avoid.

consider:

late 90s nissan family sedans -- maxima, altima. solid cars but with high depreciation because nissan isn't honda/toyota. sentras have pretty much universally been solid cars as well. if you're interested in a perkier model, consider one of the sr20de trims (1st/2nd gen se-r, nx2000, infiniti g20); the 1st gen se-r tends to be the most well regarded because of the suspension geometry, but they're all pieces of shit now. the 2nd gen switched the multi-link rear with a torsion beam, but retained the motor.

2000-2005 mazda protege -- as above good cars with high depreciation; reliable and fairly nimble. don't even think about looking at the mazdaspeed trims of this era. the turbo kit was installed at the port by monkeys and the vast majority of them never quite worked.

in that price range i wouldn't bother looking at most hondas or toyotas. depreciation stops on civics/corolla/camrys/accords way before it has any right to. (hint: it's because 90% of the responses to this thread will be "well buy a honda accord lol ")

ps, a running car is worth 1000$.

general advice: carfax/service records/mechanically apt friend/pre-purchase inspection if over 5k/etc. etc. blah blah. local cars shouldn't have rust, but iirc florida seems to be where a lot of shit cars from salty places end up so you still have to check seriously for rust.

jesus christ you just need something to get from place to place and don't have an excess of funds. a grandma-mobile will be the best value so get that shit now and then when you do have an excess of funds you can get your vette.

4 doors are safer, more rigid (that means faster), less likely to be thrashed by someone like you, cheaper to buy since they're more common, and cheaper to insure. yes i'm saying start looking at sedans.

first, you mean "too" as in "also". second, automatics are easier to find, which means they're cheaper, and you can't drive stick. buy an auto.

Hey man, I appreciate that you're trying to help but you got me all wrong. I'm not some dumb ass "boy racer" but I'm not going to buy a wagon and I'd prefer to avoid a family style sedan (key word being prefer) because you know, I don't need 4 doors, I don't have a family. I'm not even sure how to take your comment about "someone like me" "thrashing" the car, I don't do shit that would get my car wrecked and I'm fine with the price of insurance on coupes. Looking into a Sedan is an option but I think there are enough 2-door cars out there at good prices to steer clear for the most part, the Sentra is a thought.

I really think I can rest assured in my decision to avoid a "granny mobile" at this point in my life... I drove a Pontiac Grand Am (literally my grandma's old car) for 2 1/2 years during high school, I'm not beyond it like you imagine, I just don't want to spend $7k fucking dollars on one!

I don't even know what you're talking about with this Japanese stuff, the two cars I mentioned up front were a Ford and a Chevy... then a Dodge. I mentioned the Hyundai and Nissan in passing and the Nissan seems to be one of the ones that you are recommending. I'd have to go all the way back to 2002 or so to even think about a Protege and finding one of those with good miles isn't easy, if I'm going to keep going that far back than I'm just opening a whole 'nother can of worms. I'm done with the 90s, I don't think you take into the consideration the hassle of dealing with such old cars into account. I'm just not going to deal with a car built 15 years ago with 90k miles on it, the money spent on maintenance and headaches it will cause will surely overthrow any savings I encounter.

Like I said in my OP I realize that having money on the side after a used car purchase is important which is why I factored it into my cost range. I also said that $8k is the limit point, and I mean that whole-heartedly - I'm hoping to hop in around the $5k - $7k range. And as I said in the post above, though I realize it was after you posted, I know Honda is out of the question unless I'm willing to go back in years that's why I didn't even mention them in my OP.

first, you mean "too" as in "also". second, automatics are easier to find, which means they're cheaper, and you can't drive stick. buy an auto.

I prefer Automatic, I realize I'm not a pro at driving stick - that's why I posted about the fact that I was learning. My point was I'm not opposed to looking into cars with manual transmissions, not that "OMG I wantz the stick so i can spin out and get 3k RPM off the line"... you took it totally in the opposite direction.

 

[Aske]

You can definitely get a car that suits your personality on that budget, but fart is right about four door sedans if you want the greatest reliability for your money. You didn't come off as a boy racer - my wife is exactly the same. If she was in the market for a vehicle, "not a grandma car" would be pretty high on her check list too.

Not much to add except that I agree with the assessment of the Cobalt. I rented a 2007 a little while ago, and it's not a car I want to drive again.

 

[mike23]

I'm really on the fence about Automatic and Manual transmissions to, I've always driven Automatics but I fully understand the benefits of manuals.

No, I meant "to" as in "also" like I typed... "too" would mean "in addition to" or "more than enough"...

I wouldn't even have bothered to post anything, but you mentioned it. The "to" in the top quote should in fact be "too," meaning "also".

http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000258.htm

 

[Kipz]

No, I meant "to" as in "also" like I typed... "too" would mean "in addition to" or "more than enough"...

Wow.

 

[Yami]

Yeah, believe me I checked the cash for clunkers.

Selling my Nissan is an option but it wouldn't count on it netting me even $1,000. The power steering is screwed up, there's a leak somewhere along the line at the least, neither window works because the power windows button broke (though the window motors are fine), and there is slight body damage (the rear bumber, front bumper, and grill are cracked and the latch for the hood is bent). Also, inside, my roof has no material, it's just clean cardboard at this point. I'm not factoring that in because even if I make money from it it'll only be a few hundred probably.

Sounds like you need to call Xzibit to Pimp Yo Ride.

 

[YuriLowell]

I think you should look into a nice late model e36 or an earlier e46. If you could learn how to turn a wrench it would make it even cheaper. BMWs are only expensive to maintain if you neglect them.

Look for a nice 328is you can easily find one for 8 grand and as long as you take care of the car and replace the cooling system at 100k the cars are mostly bulletproof. I've got a friend who the only thing he replaced on his was the water pump and it's about to hit 300k miles.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I would hold off buying a used car for a bit. The cash for clunkers program is pulling cars off the market rapidly in the short term, which will result in a short term price hike in the current inventory.

 

[Glubags]

Find something comparable to this '02 Civic coupe in your area--chances are you can pick one up for less than the $6,300 suggested here.

You said you wouldn't be averse to buying a car with a manual transmission... I'd definitely recommend you do so. Manual cars are cheaper to buy and maintain, and they're generally more fuel-efficient than their automatic counterparts given you don't rev it to hell and back every chance you get.

I bought an '02 Civic sedan for my fiancée and it has been flawless. No reliability issues whatsoever.

Whatever you buy, just maintain it. Don't let it become the junkpile your 200SX seems to be.

 

[thesoapster]

My only bit of advice is regarding the manual transmission. If you already have a decent understanding of how to use one, I wouldn't worry too much about burning up your clutch or anything. I knew next to nothing about them when I got my car and got the hang pretty quickly. Just make sure you have someone who can drive manual better than you transport the vehicle to a spot where you can easily practice.

 

[glistenm]

That all being said, I DO NOT want to buy a car that looks like a piece of shit.......

2005-2006 Ford Focus ZX3 .....2005 Chevy Cobalt ....Nissan Sentra SE-R and Dodge Neon SXT (not SRT-4)....Hyundai Tiburon, b

Say what?

 

[gutter_trash]

Nissan Sentra SE is pretty reliable for an older car. Can't go wrong with that

 

[Houston3000]

Find something comparable to this '02 Civic coupe in your area--chances are you can pick one up for less than the $6,300 suggested here.

You said you wouldn't be averse to buying a car with a manual transmission... I'd definitely recommend you do so. Manual cars are cheaper to buy and maintain, and they're generally more fuel-efficient than their automatic counterparts given you don't rev it to hell and back every chance you get.

I bought an '02 Civic sedan for my fiancée and it has been flawless. No reliability issues whatsoever.

Whatever you buy, just maintain it. Don't let it become the junkpile your 200SX seems to be.

I bought my 200SX with very high mileage on it and there really hasn't been much mechanical problems at all. I'm not sure how I'm suppose to better maintain the power windows but I rebuilt the motors at about 140k miles and now the electric button is just busted. The stripped roof, and light body damage was before I owned the car. The only thing I could really be blamed for is the Power Steering fucking up at this point, but I'm not too familiar with that system of a car. Beyond that I kept regular maintenance, changed fluids, spark plugs, etc... transmission is in good shape and the car runs excellently past the aforementioned steering issue. As for the brakes, they're just ready to be replaced like normal I just am wary about investing much more money into the car now that I'm in the market for a new one.

The problem I have with the Civic you posted is simply the mileage. I'm looking for a car that will last me a good 5 years if not more and I'm uneasy about investing into a car with 84k miles on it. Honda's are good reliable cars and are proportionately and understandably more expensive for it but Civics also carry that "brand name" highly sought after extra cost and I'm not sure if I can afford that right now. If I had an extra few thousand dollars to spend I'd definitely be considering it but I don't know if I can wait that long without investing more into my Nissan.

 

[JGS]

I'm hoping to be able to find a good car built within the last 5 years (meaning 2004+) with less than 50,000 miles on it for no more than $8k. I'm planning to pay all cash so I don't have to finance and raise my insurance rate.

Are you planning on spending 8 grand and not getting full coverage? Bad idea unless you have another 8 grand to spend.

You still need full coverage imo.

 

[dsunit1]

Just look on craigslist and autotrader. Heres a 2005 honda civic with 68k miles on it for 6 grand. http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/1313617706.html

 

[Freestyler]

I say go for the Ford Focus, I've only ever heard good things about them.

 

[UFRA]

Whatever you do make sure to save some money for a aftermarket spoiler.

Only if it's a front-wheel drive car, for maximum lulz.

 

[McLovin]

I kinda need help on deciding if I should buy this used car. My dad doesn't want it any more and the dealer was pretty much trying to steal it in a trade in so he offered it to me. Its a 2007 Saturn Sky roadster, leather, 19" wheels, blah blah blah 6k miles. He still owes 14k on it. Should I refinance and take over the payments?