Car purchase advice - YAWCSIBT

[Evan]

Yet another what car should I buy thread.

So, with some upcoming knee surgery combined with needing a car for Anne I find myself shopping for an automatic (ack) transmissioned transportation appliance.

My criteria are, in order of importance :
auto trans
medium sized
4+ doors
good gas mileage / regular gas
reliable
under 70k miles
hatchback/wagon
awd
not silver or pavement colored
popular - common parts/ body panels (im pretty sure it will be backed into a pole sooner or later)
not completely boring to drive
buttwarmers / comfort options


Would like to keep price to around 10k, but I could go 12-14 for a good deal on a nice car.

So far this is my list of cars I am considering

Mazda 3
05+ Subaru Legacy
02+ subaru impreza
04+ Volvo S40/V50
Saab 9-2x
Mazda 6


the Legacy is #1 on my list but they stretch my budget. 9-2x (ie wrx with less ugly) is a close 2nd but they are relatively rare and priced slightly higher than similar imprezas.
Mazda3 is a great car, but everybody knows that and they hold their price remarkably well, especially the hatchbacks. Volvo s40/v50 are actually priced about the same so might as well get the 'nicer' version of the 3.
Mazda 6s are all over the place for cheap but its hard to get into them for some reason.

Anyone else have any suggestions? Im not even sure where the domestics compete here. I heard the cobalt doesnt suck too bad? The G6 I rented wasnt awful but Im not really a fan of the focus. Anything else? Any Korean stuff I should be looking at? i see nothing interesting from honda, care to make your case honda fanbois?

[.paul]

Legacy would have more creature features than a mazda, thought the mazda probably gets more gas mileage.

i had a love hate relationship w/ my mazda 3 hatch, it was awesome awesome on gas, and was comfortable, and plenty of space to haul stuff, towed my motorcycle with no issues, and was great in the snow. i just hated the color I got, so do not get it it at night :hammer:

I saw mazdaR 3

[.RJ]

As ridiculous as this might sound... why dont you drive the truck?

[Evan]

this car will be mainly for anne, and the truck doesnt fit in the parking garage at work.

[.RJ]

Oh, well you should definitely buy another vehicle then. Maybe 2

[Sijray21]

if it's for her, i'd just let her test drive them and see what she wants that's within budget - after all, she's going to have to put up with it right?

mazda 3, 02+ suby impreza, or a hyundai sonata would be some of my choices for her

ps - if you get the mazda3 i'd call you the east coast John Seddon (sans the miata obsession) -- Titan, Lotus, and Mazda3 for the woman

[Evan]

anne doesnt know cars so Im doing the research and Ill let her narrow it down between 2 or 3 I pick
(and oh yeah Im paying for the damn thing)

if I start drinking wine, talking about fancy cheese, and turning my nose up at uncivilized food then you can call me ECJS. :lol:

[CaptainHenreh]

Mazda 3 Hatchie.

Fun enough for you, "cute" enough for her, lots of room for both. Plus when you start to breed there's lots of room in the back for brats and brat gear.

[John]

LOL

Go drive the 3 hatch - for a slushbox, it's more than decent. We bought the sedan (b/c that's what the wife wanted at the time), but she has since conceded to the idea that we should have gotten the hatch to begin with. Much easier to haul things around.

As for handling, 3 > Impreza/WRX. If you want to return to your boost roots with high insurance costs, then maybe the 3 isn't for you. Can't say much about how the 3 will do in the snow since it probably rains out here less than it snows out there, but then again, how much driving will you/she really be doing when god sneezes coke in NoVA?

[Apoc]

Mazda 3 (wagon)
02+ subaru impreza
Saab 9-2x

That's where my money would go.

[ScottyB]

get the 3.

the only other rides i can think of would be the PT turbo or 9-3 hatchback, neither of which i'd want to drive.

the impreza would probably be fun and you know the chassis well (easy to fix) but Anne would probably enjoy the 3 more while getting better milage.

[Dave]

3-series or 5-series? (not sure if the wagon comes in AWD, but I'd say to just use the truck anytime you think you need AWD, assuming it has 4WD...)

Otherwise, my money would totally be going into the Legacy

[Goodspeed]

Ooooohhh yeaaahhhhh



Do the US spec 9-3 wagons come with the clear taillights? I heard they don't...I saw them on the other side of the pond with them and they're sexy as hell.

[Maengelito]

anne doesnt know cars so Im doing the research and Ill let her narrow it down between 2 or 3 I pick
(and oh yeah Im paying for the damn thing)

sounds familiar...

We ended up getting a mazda3.

Your hatchback requirement is in the middle of your ordered list of priorities, so if you're cool with a sedan, perhaps a TSX or older TL? If you do require a hatch, how bout a Mini? Pontiyota Vibtrix? You could probably get a dealership to pay you to take a Pontiac off their hands. As for Hyundai/Kia, they look comparable, the price is pretty low and all have good warranties, but when I drove them, they just weren't that interesting or inspiring. Check them out if you happen to drive by a dealership with some time to kill.

Just in case, Corvettes do come in auto...

[Evan]

the problem with the 3 is that its (relatively) overpriced on the used market. Any decent example of a hatchback is selling for 12k+ and I think that is too much for a 5 year old econobox . The few Ive seen under that have been high miles or junk. Ive found a few nice low mile Volvo V50 turbah for less than what most 3 hb sell for that I will probably take a look at this weekend.

TSX is a possiblity but it looks like they are still over my budget. The 2004 TL is cheaper than I thought, for a higher mile car. I may take a look at them but I think the legacy would win in equivalent price.

Vibetrix isnt a bad idea, ill take a look at those.

[WRXtranceformed]

2004 TLs are pretty cheap now, but they have notorious problems with their transmissions. This was fixed I believe in 06+. I don't think it would be worth the hassle, although they are really awesome cars. They also require premium fuel. My first thought was an IS300, but it also needs 93.

What about the Caddy CTS?

[ViPER1313]

Ford 500 / Chevrolet Malibu (the new one) - both are solid, reliable choices. Lots of room, decent power, can be had for cheap, way more features than the Japanese econo-boxes listed below. The 500 can even be had with a CVT / AWD.

I would really steer clear of anything Toyota made in the past 3 years or so. My friend's 07' Yaris is cheap beyond cheap and my girlfriend's 08' Corolla w/ 12k miles on it is hard to start in the cold, hesitates slightly from a stop, has incredibly cheap paint and body panels that rust wherever the paint chips.

[Steve85]

Maxima?

And the Fusion SEL came up in the price range if you are looking for an excuse to check out a Domestic (to save the world, and all)

[Apoc]

There's a reason why every married guy in this thread has a Mazda3 in the family. :lol:

[BLINGMW]

There's a reason why every married guy in this thread has a Mazda3 in the family. :lol:

screw that :vomit:

3-series

:thumbup:

-E46 325 auto actually doesn't suck too bad, still fun to drive
-wagon or sedan version available
-ok, you have to run mid-grade, but fuel economy is decent
-reliable AND common as hell parts especially up there I would think
-seatwarmers!
-plenty out there for ~$10k.... with 100k miles on them of course....