Help me find a new car (20kish)

[jbrent33]

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get a used MINI Cooper S or new MINI Cooper

1) best handling car under 80k (except for elise, which isn't daily driver); in fact, it's best handling 4-seater for under 300k What?

2) cheap insurance even for S as not classified as Sports car

3) top 10 in resale value

4) most fun car that you can buy; so if u want a car for more than just getting from A to B; it's basically an oversized Go-Kart

5) made by BMW, so has luxury car amenities (ie leatherette feels like leather, not vinyl; auto-adjusting xenon headlights, rain-sensing auto-wipers, heated seats/wheel, etc etc; basically almost any option u can get on a 3 series u can get on the Cooper)

6) new Cooper gets 40mpg; used S still gets over 30

7) safe car; good marks for safety, a bajillion air bags, Dynamic Stability Control, strong-ass shell that will keep u safe even if tree falls on roof, etc

8 great car for picking up dudes

basically, test-drive a MINI and then test drive any other car u are looking at (or even a BMW), and u'll feel the difference; even a beamer feels like floating on the road compared back to back with MINI; so if u like to feel like u are driving the car and in complete control, get a MINI

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FYP

[Fast Food Knight]

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Don't buy new. Getting a 1-2 year old car with low miles and a remaining warranty (or a certified car with a longer warranty if possible).

There is hardly any reason to pay for the out the door depreciation of new cars. Used cars offer the most value and many offer everything you could find in a new car.

Your range of cars will expand greatly if you look for used as well as tons of used cars are under $20k.

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QFT

[Kos13]

Buying a new car is just a bad idea. You can find pretty much any "new car" with like 10,000 miles for thousands less than it was when it was new.

I paid about $17K for my 2003 fully loaded SportTrac, and it's outstanding. I got it two years ago, and I still have that "new car excitement" every single time I drive it.

[Rapidtransit]

there's certainly advantages to buying pre-owned. especially if you are looking at certifieds. the honda certified warranty on a 10-20k mile honda is going to be as strong as the factory warranty and you avoid the depreciation. as mentioned if you are considering the accord now is the time to buy a new one, there is a significant program on the car. even if you go v-6 6 speed and get the top of the line, you'd be somewhat close to 20k. pm me and i can give you a good idea as to an exact price based upon where you are.

[TobDog]

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[fluffpop] get a super cool Scion tC!! [/fluffpop]

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What he said

I got one 2 months ago, it was under 20k out the door, has a bigger engine than the Civic(prev car, better power, worse gas mileage, still about 30mpg).

tobdog

[jjshabado]

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hybrids dont get nearly what they say they do in real world testing. Gasoline engines EPA rating usually isnt too far off, the hybrids numbers are usually 5 to 10 gallons off the mark. Its a marketing ploy/rape.

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I'm averaging 47.5 over the first 2000 miles, and that has a bit of Manhattan rush hour driving which is most definitely not fuel efficient.

The more aggressive you drive the worse your fuel efficiency. You just notice it more on a hybrid.

[guids]

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hybrids dont get nearly what they say they do in real world testing. Gasoline engines EPA rating usually isnt too far off, the hybrids numbers are usually 5 to 10 gallons off the mark. Its a marketing ploy/rape.

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I'm averaging 47.5 over the first 2000 miles, and that has a bit of Manhattan rush hour driving which is most definitely not fuel efficient.

The more aggressive you drive the worse your fuel efficiency. You just notice it more on a hybrid.

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Youre realyl getting almost 48mpg? Im impressed, from all the reading Ive been doing (...glancing over car mags), Ive seen a bunch of reports that the hybrids, especially for city drivers, gets nowhere near what they claim. thats pretty sweet for you though.

[Yogi Rob]

As others have said - The Scion TC. I've had mine for over a year and I'm very happy with it. Safest car of it's class and it's sporty-looking. You can't go wrong with Toyota. It's very similar to the Toyota Celica which I had for 12 years with near-zero problems.

[DLizzle]

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yeah, dont mean to be a nit, just saying that personal finance wise, a car is a pretty horrible place to put your money. I think if you're making good money and are in a good financial spot then you should go ahead and buy a sweet car. but for a student, who's worried about gas & insurance, it just seems to me that putting that money almost anywhere else would be a smarter move.

if I was in your shoes I'd be primarily interested in a car that's going to run well, like an older Civic or Accord or something from Toyota. buy a nice car when you're making money.

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groceries are a pretty bad investment too, I mean, they cost a lot of money, the depreciation is brutal, and they don't last very long. you probably shouldn't buy them if you care about money.

fing nits.

also, i bought my car new. oh no lost value! i just don't like buying used [censored]. sorry, nits really bother me.