Need a new car... any thoughts?

What car to buy?

  • Stratus... stick with the brand you love.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Impala... yeah, its a chevy but it's a good value for the price

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Civic... Flock it, get whats cheap and easy to resell. Import or not.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Whatever you buy, buy an American car you dumb sob

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
MyBigBlockDodge

MyBigBlockDodge

Screw it. Give me the red AND blue pills.
I"m looking at a new/used car for myself to replace the Caravan. I figure it's 14 years old, has 196,000 miles on it, and I only payed 6,000 for it almost 7 years ago. Got my moneys worth I think :)

I need something that the kids can ride in (4 doors is fine by me), and that is cheap to drive and new enough to have a warranty on it. I'm looking at the Stratus and after checking out the crash test site and consumer reports I am leaning towards one. Anyone have one or have any exposure to how they drive etc?

They other cars in this class/price range are the Impala (pretty ugly IMO), Civic (which has the best safety and lowest price I'm sorry to say - but is still a ricer), Mazda something or other (pos), little ford shoe box thingy (no) etc.. Not much to choose from in what is called the "low priced mid-sized" catagory. I hate to say it but the Honda is the best buy for the money from what I have seen. Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE imports... with a passion, but at what point does a guy put aside certain "principles" and do what is best for the family financially? May sound like a little thing, but I need to do what is best, and not screw this up by making a bad purchase.

Any thoughts on this? Input would be appreciated.

Adam
 
Where's the SRT-4 Neon? That would be my choice for a family car....."Yeah honey, we can fit all the kids in there." :D She might not like the seats though. The Stratus isn't a bad looking car either. Why not the new Magnum? It's a wagon and it looks good (in my opinion). Maybe that one is out of the price range though.

As much as it sucks, Hondas are pretty reliable. I'd stay away from anything Ford/Mazda. I also agree that the Impala is ugly.
 
Check out the Nissan Sentra Spec V......6 SPEED, 175 HP, Timing chain unlike Honda. If you need an automatic, the Sentra SER has 165 Horsepower.
2000.00 rebate or .90% financing. Better warranty and more features for the money.
If you opt for the American cars, defiantely get Gap insurance in case of theft or being totaled, resale value is terrible, especially in the case of the Stratus.
 
I would consider the Neon, but it's a death trap in a crash. Gotta make it as safe as possible considering the size/cost of the car. Plus they run about 19,000 [smilie=e: New Mag is way outta my price range.

SRT-4 would be fun tho [smilie=i:
 
73roadrunner said:
resale value is terrible, especially in the case of the Stratus.
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and that is a major concern as I will be selling this car in about a year to help build credit for myself ( I had the van so long I don't have any car loan history).

I haven't looked at the Nissans at all. I'll have to check those out. Need to consider all the options yano. Thanks 73!

Adam
 
If I was going to buy an import, I like VWs because there's more bang for the buck, and Nissans nice too, but for resale value you cannot beat a Honda.

With that sell it in a year plan, a Honda Accord is the best way to go. But, I'd recommend building credit some other way, because no matter what you buy you're gonna lose your ass selling a new car after only a year.
 
The accord is a little outta my price range, but I do hear what you are saying about the resale value of new cars. I'm thinking maybe a car about a year old or so. Still under warranty etc, but it's already lost the initial "as you drive it off the lot" value.
 
Foggy said:
My 02............. For dollar value......the Intreped.
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I am considering the Intrepid, but it would have to be 2 to 4 years old for the price to be in my range. I am looking at the Stratus a little more seriously because of the 4 cyl in them. Better mileage then the Intrepid, and I can afford one that is about 1 or 2 years old with less miles on it. I do like the looks of the Intrepid... pretty stylin car IMO.
 
If I bought a new car I would buy a ney toyota corolla,(plus its hemi..well a semi hemi, with non interfearance heads) good mileage, and pre damn reliable. Currently I have a nissan pathfinder as my daily beast, but we are selling it to buy a diesle sedan,(probably a jetta), the gas is killin us. Gas is 92cents/litre and diesle is 70 cents/litre.
 
well my rule of thumb is find something that is like two (or more) years old and in good shape low milage that way the other guy took the 20 to 30% hicky on the sticker price and you at least can break even if you sell it or insurance gets involved!!! plus at 2 years old or more it known what ones have problems and tons of consumer information availabe on them if they have problems..

I think if you go out and look you can find a great car for a reasonable price a friend of ours bought her daughter a 2000 stratus with 50k miles (thats pretty low exspecialy for Texas) for only $5K.
 
73roadrunner said:
Check out the Nissan Sentra Spec V......6 SPEED, 175 HP
Click to expand...

Ditto. My cousin got one and Yikes!!, it's a fun machine to drive. Suprising bottom end grunt with whole lotta top end. Not to mention they look awesome with the Skyline body kits. Might want to check out the price tag on them though.

About the Hondas, well me owning a Honda Motor Company car (My old '99 Integra Type R), from experience after driving them for 3 years or so, usually cylinder #4 starts dropping compression significantly. Dunno why, though. Same thing happened with my other buddy's ricer Hondas. Other than that, I would go with the Honda for reliability. Their 4 banger engines can take serious punishments. This is from experience by the way. [smilie=eggface.gif]
 
Hey 69.5 I said toyota, I think they are much better than toyota. My dad worked as a GM at Honda Canada for 15 years and then as a Salesman at toyota for 10 years. He owns 4 toyotas and no hondas.
 
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