OT New Car

[Hodiestoe]

So do most people buy cars on finance/hire purchase or something? I think everyone I know just buys used (or buys brand new and shells out £ks in one go), is this a British/American difference or am I just in a bubble?

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As far as I've experienced, most people I know get car finance - I did and most of the teachers I work with do. I think it's just not talked about too much.


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[cheerKT]

Uh...I purchased a 2014 Kia Forte last month.. I like it.

I'm not really one to give much help in the car buying process. I can't even tell you how I picked the car I got...but I do like the warranty

The must have been running a BA deal on Fortes this summer. You're the 3rd person I know who has purchased that exact car since May!

 

[fullinitup]

I went last night to look at the Nissan Versa in person. a few years ago I had a Nissan sentra which I loved btw. What I like about it is the gas mileage is comparable to the civic. It is lower in the budget so I could pay it off faster and save bit on interest and looks like a nice little reliable car. I am gonna think a bit more and see what Labor Day deals Honda and Nissan will have but for anyone wanting a relatively cheap reliable car a versa could be the way to go. Standard basic model was under 12 not including any rebate for the holiday weekend. Not too shabby.

 

[CheerBank]

I went last night to look at the Nissan Versa in person. a few years ago I had a Nissan sentra which I loved btw. What I like about it is the gas mileage is comparable to the civic. It is lower in the budget so I could pay it off faster and save bit on interest and looks like a nice little reliable car. I am gonna think a bit more and see what Labor Day deals Honda and Nissan will have but for anyone wanting a relatively cheap reliable car a versa could be the way to go. Standard basic model was under 12 not including any rebate for the holiday weekend. Not too shabby.

My first car was a Nissan Sentra; it was grey and had only 2 doors. Bought it when I was 19 and had it for 8 years until it was accordianed in it's parking spot by an errant truck who smashed into it and then took off. Was a fantastic first car.
Btw, I thought your name at first was "fillinitup" which seemed very fitting for this thread.

 

[ErinS]

The must have been running a BA deal on Fortes this summer. You're the 3rd person I know who has purchased that exact car since May!

Maybe. I just needed to buy a car quickly and get back to Charleston. I didn't give it any thought. But yeah. I see 2014s all over now....but it also could be that I'm just now noticing the car since I'm in one.


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[marissa.d]

I drive an '11 nissan versa and I love it! It's great on gas and every passenger I've driven also love it - its surprisingly roomy for such a small car! The trunk space is great too! The only thing I would change (and have thanks to amazon) is that it doesn't come with a center storage console, well mine didn't at least (I have the base model though, so not sure if that can be changed as an upgrade)
I'd recommend it to anybody!

When i was looking for cars last summer the other top choices were Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Chevy Malibu and Mazda 3

 

[crazeecheermom]

My first new car was an 87 honda accord hatch. I had it until Fall of 96 with over 300k miles.We got rid of it only because we had our son (now 16) and the two door thing was difficult to get the car seat in and out. Hondas are the best and most reliable. My only problem is the way the driver's seat is for some reason hurts my hip

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[Briannacheerbb]

I was lucky enough to score a good deal on a 2010 Honda Element with low miles over spring 2012, a big step up from my mom's old ford sedan. I am definetly part of the "save your babysitting money" cliche, and had enough to put a downpayment with my parents covering the loan and me paying them per month. Its a basic model trim but has what I need and the carfax was clean. Only 22,000 miles too. The element is a boxy SUV/little crossover style thing, but i like it cause it has room to put stuff in plus it's apparently good in the snow, although my dad vows not to let me drive in the snow lol. From what people say Honda's last for a long time, and im in love with my "ellie", keep up on the oil and stuff and she runs good. The only minor issue is that every now and again it takes a few attempts to start the engine. (the dealer couldn't find anything, said sometimes it can happen due to temperature) and I my passenger window sometimes gets noisy going down, which is a known problem and can be quickly fixed under warranty, so i'll have take it in. overall pretty happy. My Mom wants to steal it from me to get away from her minivan. no way!

 

[njallday]

The Escape was my first grown up car I bought for myself


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me too! love my baby


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[mommadonna]

I just bought a new Hyundai Sonata in March. This car is awesome! I got a fully loaded "Limited" model complete with a sunroof, leather seats, automatic everything, bluetooth capability, etc and still came in at 22k. There were plenty of models on the lot below that that still had a ton of options. Their 100,000 mile powertrain warranty can't be beat. I'd highly recommend one! I love my car!

 

[mommadonna]

Because I'd almost rather shove sticks under my toenails than deal with car salespeople...a little advice on car buying... Do your research beforehand and know exactly what you're willing to pay when you hit the dealership. When the salespeople start trying to negotiate a higher price with you, simply walk away. Sometimes that is hard to do when you have found a car you love, but I guarantee you, you will find what you want and you'll save a lot of money by knowing what you want and being prepared. Okay...carry on.

 

[Funfunfun]

Purchased my son a 2012 Mazda 3 brand new for about $20,000 and it's terrific. Great on gas & has a sporty ride. Purchased CP a 2013 Ford Focus in March. It's the "Titanium" model fully loaded with Sync.navigation etc. I personally like the ride of the Mazda 3 better. Ford has stepped it up but I was very disappointed by the super small gas tank in the Ford. The Mazda gets better gas lineage too .

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

My first car I bought was a 1996 Dodge Neon Sport. I wanted that exact car so bad. I paid maybe $2000 (give or take) for it. Part of it was a loan from my Grandmother since she realized my parents were not going to help me get a car. Worst car ever. I ended up "bending pistons and throwing rods". Whatever that means. I blew the head gasket too. I only drove it for 20 months. Then I bought my '98 Cavalier. I paid $7300 cash for that. Drove it for four years till it threw the timing belt. Ironically three weeks after my finance's truck threw it's timing thing. And we had just moved to NC 6 weeks before that. It sucked. Had a coupe cars in between-the Accord Washington great, the Jetta sucked. Then we upgraded to my Dodge Grand Caravan. It's an '08, been great so far. I love, love, love the amount of room in it. However, it is a massive gas hog. We are making double payments on it so we can get rid of it in a couple years for something a little more gas friendly. Perhaps a Pilot, Highlander, or even a Rav4 with the third row. We rarely need the third row, but I would like to have that option if I need it.

 

[njallday]

Purchased my son a 2012 Mazda 3 brand new for about $20,000 and it's terrific. Great on gas & has a sporty ride. Purchased CP a 2013 Ford Focus in March. It's the "Titanium" model fully loaded with Sync.navigation etc. I personally like the ride of the Mazda 3 better. Ford has stepped it up but I was very disappointed by the super small gas tank in the Ford. The Mazda gets better gas lineage too .

while i love my escape, i second the small gas tank problem. (Mine is a 2013 model, so no idea if this has changed with the new '14 body update since the new escapes don't even look like mine) my entire family vacations to Saratoga yearly, which is about a 400 mile trip, so we took a caravan of 4 SUVs, mine being one of them. I was the only vehicle that had to actually stop mid trip and fill my gas tank or we weren't going to get there, and all of the others were gas guzzlers. when completely full, it says 325 miles to empty which is right about 99% of the time depending on traffic and things. that is annoying. especially since that trip was out of state, so not only did i need gas, but i had to pump it myself too

 

[xo sarah]

I still rock my '91 Toyota Corolla with only 49k miles on it. I've debated on trading it in for something else, but there just isn't anything wrong with it (and it's great to not have a car payment). I also feel like it will run forever because I've had it since I was 17, and the only major problems I've had to fix on it are a few tires (due to running over nails) and my oil gauge wasn't reading correctly because something about my oil lid being stuck open, but other than that, it runs like a trooper. I also drove a 2012 Honda Civic as a rental car last year, and I loved it. It drove super smoothly and I loved the Eco Assist option that it had to help with fuel efficiency. We also own another Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, and Nissan. I'd say you'd be great with just about anything these days but a Volkswagen, lol. They are so expensive to maintain and fix, and the amount of problems with them is just crazy.

But out of the ones you listed, I'd probably choose either a Toyota or Honda, they just seem to last forever with minimum problems.