<groan> The horror of new car shopping.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I need to buy a new car. Mine is dead.

I want an ECONOMY car. I would like it to have a cup holder and a cd player. Anything else is bonus.

I would like to spend about $15,000 CDN.

I have narrowed the field:

Saturn Ion (I have about $3000 in GM points)
Kia Rio (redesigned for 2003 - according to Consumer Reports many of the past problems have been fixed.)
Hyundi Accent (my roommate has a new one and is falling all over herself)

So here’s my problem - all of the car people I know say things along the lines of

**

I know that the protege and the civic are better cars. Their base price is also $10,000 more than I want to spend. These people do not seem to get that.

So - dopers, I’m throwing it to you - please tell me any and all expereinces you have had with my 3 choices. If you can think of another COMPARABLY PRICED idea, please throw that into the mix as well.

FWIW I know that none of the 3 are amazing, long-lasting, oh-my-God-I’m-going-to-have-an-orgasim-it’s-so-good type of car.

I don’t care - currently, I have nothing. I can comfortably afford about $300/month, tax in.

Please. Help me. Pleeeeeeeese! :smiley:

2

I have a 2001 Toyota Echo. Price new for the model I have (Coupe) was around $11,000US. It’s a fabulous, fun to drive little car and incredibly comfortable for an Econobox. I don’t know if they sell em in Canada, though.

3

What about the Toyota Echo? Mr. Gretchen and I have been car browsing with fairly similiar criteria, and the Echo is currently leading the pack for us. We had one as a rental car one weekend and I was totally impressed. It was a lot of car in that little car (does that make sense?)
FWIW, we’re down to the Accent and the Echo as our choices.

Just don’t get a Sunfire.

4

Well - my mom actually has an Echo and I’ve driven it - I wasn’t crazy about the way it handled, and she’s said that it’s really bad in snow. This is not a big deal in say, Florida, but here…

Well, lets just say that 4 feet fell in one day, just last Saturday - I think the Echo is a no go.

Thanks for the suggestions though - please - keep em coming!:slight_smile:

5

Ahh, yes. I’ve driven the Echo in the snow and it’s way too light to be decent in the stuff.

6

And if you have any questions, Gretch, lemme know.

7

FWIW - A base Corolla or Civic should actually be almost exactly $15K, Alice. I would take either over a Hyundai or Kia if you could wing it.

8

In what is surely going to be an unpopular suggestion… :slight_smile:

I would highly reccomend that you at least test drive a Dodge Neon. The head gasket issues that plauged the first generation models were fixed a few years back, and on the whole, quality with all Chrysler Corp. cars have improved a good bit. They are nice driving, roomy, good handling cars, and really do not deserve the stigma attached to their name. I’d reccomend test driving one.

Pretty much all of the Kia’s and Hyundai’s are good buys, with the 10 year warranty.

Shop around, test drive as many cars as you can in the price range, and only buy something that you enjoy, not what other people pressure you into. You are going to be the one driving the car, so make sure it is something that you enjoy.

9

They still haven’t done jack about the noise problem though. Apparently, they haven’t heard of a thing called sound insulation at Chrysler.:rolleyes:

10

This thread in the Pit has some very good advice/tips for buying a car, including how to avoid a number of the ways car salesmen try to trap you into paying more than you think you are. There are also links to good resources for researching, etc.

Tip #1: Never, ever tell them how much per month you’re willing to pay. Always negotiate based on the full price.

11

I would give Kia a couple of more years to see if they really have everything ironed out; I have a friend who has one and does she HATE that car. It’s always breaking down.

I have a Saturn SL2 and am quite happy with it. I don’t know anything about the Ion, but it can’t hurt to look. I shouldn’t be in the car market for a while yet, though, oh please please please. :smiley:

12

How about a 4wd Chevy Tracker? I bought one when they were Geo, and it was the most dependable car I ever owned (despite people telling me they were crap). Mine was about $12,000 brand new. The 4wd worked great for me, I lived on a private road that didn’t get plowed unless we got a lot of snow (and even then, we were the last place to get plowed - often days after the storm), and it was a champ.

13

The Neon’s roomy? I drove one and rode in another one and found it to be pretty cramped.

14

Have you considered a certified used (2 or 3 year old) car?
You still get a warrantee on them, and the orginal ower absobs most of the depreciation.

Brian

15

I bought a new Saturn 10 years ago, and I’m still driving it. I will certainly consider buying another Saturn whenever I decide to replace it. It hasn’t had any major mechanical trouble. The buying experience was pleasant because they have a “no haggling” system. All prices and charges are right out in the open.

I hate hate hate the song and dance where they leave you sitting in the office while they go “talk to the sales manager” about every detail in the sale. My ex-husband bought used cars from the dealer; I think he actually enjoyed wresting with the salesmen. Dumbass.

Another good thing about having a Saturn is that the service department at the dealer is very good, in my experience anyway. I don’t take it there all the time, just for the major scheduled service (every 30000 miles) or like when I had to get the AC replaced. (Hit a big rock on a dirt mountain road)… I have an excellent favorite mechanic in my neighborhood that I go to for most stuff. ramble ramble ramble.

Anyway I’d recommend the Saturn, they tend to be nice low trouble cars.