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Topic: URGENT: Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, or? Buyin' a car
| Author | Message |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/10/2007 11:33:09 PM | show profile Hey .. I 'm buying a new car Friday, I have just a $16,5k budget I want good mileage, decent room. Suggestions/recommendations? |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/10/2007 11:33:43 PM | show profile I live where there's no public transit, so that's out, by the way. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 7/10/2007 11:34:46 PM | show profile Get yourself a good USED car ... you get WAY more bang for your buck. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/10/2007 11:45:43 PM | show profile I've had so many problems when buying used cars. I will say that we bought a Chevy Lumina, used, from a local Chevy dealership and it's been great; and a Ford Explorer 4x4, and it's been great. But the list of problematic cars has been much longer, and quite frankly with interest rates beter on new cars and the years when it's new and under warranty, I've done better with new ones. My dad used to say, "You're buying someone else's problems" with used vehicles. I'm inclined to think so. I'd be interested in hearing which vehicles people would recommend buying secondhand, though, and where the best places to buy them are. Thanks ... |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 7/11/2007 1:43:14 AM | show profile I said a GOOD used car ... My parents have owned 15 cars over their 39 year marriage .... all used ... all gems. You have to be astute. I'm not talking about picking up a klunker at the local lot. I'm talking about a good "pre-owned" Volvo, Honda, or even BMW. |
| mad fingers | Posted – 7/11/2007 7:35:09 AM | show profile I have gotten good used cars via craigslist and autotrader.com, but I always take anything I'm interested in to my mechanic for a look-see before buying. Good luck. |
| catlondon | Posted – 7/11/2007 10:58:40 AM | show profile Don't overlook Hyundai's, or however it's spelled. The quality has gotten really good and the prices are still very reasonable. |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 7/11/2007 11:14:49 AM | show profile Get a one-year-old Honda Civic. Will still be the newer model, but you'll not pay as much as for new, and it will last forever with great gas mileage. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 7/11/2007 12:07:16 PM | show profile The last car I bought, at the same price, was then a year-old Honda del Sol (no longer made) still under warranty. Loved it. Hondas are great and retain re-sale value, although certain models are very often stolen. We now have a 2001 Subaru Forester, bought in 2003, and love it on every count...it would be more than your budget, but even an older one might be worth it. It has not once disappointed, and all I'd previously owned were Hondas. I relied heavily on my mechanic's advice when even considering what to buy; I test-drove 10 models and narrowed them to three then asked my mechanic which would be least annoying/expensive to actually own and drive. Dealers will tell you anything but mechanics see every car, model and hassle. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 7/11/2007 12:48:58 PM | show profile A friend of mine looked at this. He found that there weren't one-year-old Honda cars on the market at a bargain price, and it made more sense economically to buy new. Typically, if you buy use, it will at least be three year olds and have 30,000 miles on it. I know that cars lose a lot of value when they come off the showroom floor, but used is a gamble. I don't think one way is better or worst, but each has tradeoffs and risks. --Get a one-year-old Honda Civic. Will still be the newer model, but you'll not pay as much as for new, and it will last forever with great gas mileage.-- |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 7/11/2007 1:27:06 PM | show profile It depends on the MAKE of the car ... "Typically, if you buy use, it will at least be three year olds and have 30,000 miles on it. I know that cars lose a lot of value when they come off the showroom floor, but used is a gamble." 30,000 miles on a GOOD car (Honda, Mercedes, BMW) really means nothing these days. My parents sold my old '88 Honda Accord after it accumulated 500,000 miles to an Accord *collector*. Used is a gamble only if you're looking at second-tier cars (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, etc.). |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 7/11/2007 3:04:45 PM | show profile I agree; my first Honda was bought with 80,000 miles on it and it still gave me four great years before getting totaled in an accident. |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 7/11/2007 3:15:29 PM | show profile I have a Honda CRV right now with 80K on it, and nothing has ever broken on it. (knock on wood....) I plan on running this thing into the ground, which will hopefully be another 5-8 years. |
| onmyown | Posted – 7/11/2007 4:04:58 PM | show profile Go with a used Honda I'm with the Honda fans. Three years ago, I bought a four-year-old Civic with 30,000 miles on it. Dream car, no problems whatsoever. In the past, I had also bought a new Honda Civic -- the most basic model there was, cost $8,000 or so -- and drove it for something like 14 years with minimal upkeep and virtually no problems. I will always buy Honda. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/11/2007 5:13:56 PM | show profile THanks for the input. I'm hearing a lot of good things about Honda. I may go for a used Honda or a new Fit, about all I want to afford. |
| BurbGrrl | Posted – 7/11/2007 9:02:20 PM | show profile Keep us posted! If you go for the Fit, can you post an update later and let us know how you like it? My husband is chomping at the bit to trade in our Civic for a fit. FWIW, we inherited my mother-in-law's '99 Civic about 7 months ago. Beats the pants off our Escort wagon! But despite the low miles and fairly good upkeep (father-in-law was a mechanic), the muffler suddenly and unexpectedly died a few weeks back. That said, I'm pretty happy with the Civic -- nicest car either of us has ever had. (Despite the lack of tape deck or CD player -- doh!) And Caitlinkelly . . . sounds like you really trust your mechanic. Care to pass on a recommendation to a fellow Westchesterite? |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/11/2007 10:12:42 PM | show profile Oh bad news ... the Fit doesn't come with cruise control, and that's a must for my hubby (I can live without it.) Next interesting thing seems to be a 2005 Accord with 33k miles and the usual bells and whistles -- AND cruise control ... |
| mad fingers | Posted – 7/12/2007 10:29:11 AM | show profile BurbGrrl, too bad I don't live in Westchester anymore. I'm looking for another Ford Escort wagon. I've got a '93 that's still on the road and I love her. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/12/2007 11:08:46 AM | show profile We loved our Escort wagon. On a rain-slick city road, an SUV in front of me stopped suddenly, and my poor Escort was crumpled past help. The SUV got a tiny almost indiscernible dent in the bumper. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/13/2007 5:29:27 PM | show profile Okay, I went over my budget some but my husband couldn't live without cruise control and the Honda Fit Sport has cruise. I brought it home last night and ohmygoodness, I'm impressed! As we drove up to the dealership, I looked down on them from the lofty heights of my son's near-monster truck and I said, Oh, that won't do. It's too small. The salesman said, let's just see. I felt like I was in Chronicles of Narnia -- you get into a wardrobe and discover there's a forest in back of it. It's so comfortable and so big -- with so many interior configurations. You can put a bike in it! |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/13/2007 6:24:38 PM | show profile I don't know how it is in other parts of the country, but here Fit are incredibly hard to find (I looked). Big honda dealerships here are giving waits of weeks, and every Fit that comes in already has someone's name and deposit on it. I had to travel past 3 honda dealerships to find one that had two for me to choose from, and to get it in the color I originally wanted I would have had to go on a list. THe sales manager I deal with said dealers are marking them up from MSRP, and that Honda's biggest market for them is Europe, where they're called Jazz, and that the American market will continue to be tight. This all could have been a line, which would have been unnecessary as the car had me at hello. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 7/15/2007 8:42:39 AM | show profile If I was going to buy a new car right now and didn't have the cash to spring for a Prius, I think the Honda Fit could be the top choice given the cars available right now. It's a cool car, quite good gas mileage, and has been getting good reviews -- better than the Yaris although the Yaris gets very slightly better gas mileage. American cars suck, and for the time being I'd stick to Honda or Toyota. We have a 1990 Honda still going strong. Why do they have to be so damn reliable!! It's got okay gas mileage but we could do so much better so I'm hoping it will die off soon. Hopefully when it does we'll see plug in hybrids available or better yet, diesel plug-in hybrids (to use with biodiesel). Another option is an old used diesel vehicle and converting it to use veggie oil (used french fry grease, etc.). I saw an article that McDonalds in the UK is converting all of it's trucks to use veggie oil (primarily their own used oil) -- so smart! By the way, here's a website that lets you compare fuel economy: www.fueleconomy.gov. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/15/2007 2:00:15 PM | show profile I wish I could have sprung for a Prius - if I had cash to spare, I could go for 60 mpg. So far, on the same tank of gas, we've made so many trips it's unbelievable, and it's running true to its promise of 37 mpg (the sport version) and carrying four adults comfortably. |
| BurbGrrl | Posted – 7/16/2007 9:59:35 PM | show profile | email poster Yay for WritesOnWater! The Fit sounds awesome -- now you're making *me* want one! I noticed they were really hard to find too, you never see them advertised. I surmised that Honda wasn't pushing them here. I wonder why . . . they'd probably do really well. Mad Fingers (or anyone else with a hankering for an Escort wagon), we're about ready to get rid of ours, so if you're interested give me a holler. (I think I can talk my husband into driving it to a new home if it's not too far away) It's got over 100K miles but over the past few years it's gotten new tires, new radiator, new alternator, new brakes & rotors. She's not the prettiest deb at the ball but she'll get you there in one piece. I don't know about daily long-distance commutes but it's certainly fine for shorter trips, and just passed inspection today. Anyone who's interested, let me know soon! [end of impromptu classified ad] |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/17/2007 2:09:00 AM | show profile Everyone who looks at ours wants one, too. Going to have to put some gas in it one of these days. THe guy at the dealership told us Honda's only making 25k a year of these for the American market -- their big market is Europe, where it's called Jazz. I wonder if it's about money -- if you're Honda and you go through all the steps of making a car, do you make one that retails for $23k or one that retails for $16k? For whatever reason, there are just a small handful of them in the DFW area, and I had to drive past three other dealerships to find one in stock. And while I was at the dealership, two other shoppers stopped by in hopes of finding one. (There was one other on the lot.) |
