We test drove a Cobalt when we were looking - what a piece of shit. The parts were practically coming off in my hands on a brand-new car. It was tiny inside, too.
The Elantra is a bit of a hidden gem - it gets good reviews all around, it has that fantastic warranty, and it is far less expensive than similar Hondas or Mazdas (and Toyotas). Whenever a cute little hatchback catches my eye on the road, it’s always an Elantra. This is all academic until you do some road tests, though, Antigen. Some cars you’ll know as soon as you get in they’re not for you (like the cheap, crappy Cobalt).
You know what I just realized? There is a great American car for sale now (although I don’t believe they’ve yet started delivery). The new Chevy Camaro!
It’s not a small reliable hatchback, no. Nor is it really in the price range under discussion (the entry-level model is $22K). BUT…um…it’s pretty and awesome and everything that’s right with America. And I drool looking at it…mmmmm. Yummy.
In addition to the Mazda 3 I previously recommended (as did someone else), I think the Golf or Rabbit may be a good idea; Volkswagens are built very sturdily (built Hamburg TOUGH). My fiancee hit a deer with her right headlight in her 2005 Jetta and all that happened was some chipped paint and the headlight blew out. No broken glass, strangely.
I like SATURNS-they get grat gas mileage and are cheap to fix. All of mine have gone over 150,000 miles with no trouble.
Plus, they are not popular with car thieves(unlike HONDA). So your insurance is less expensive.
Uh… I did, and because I educated myself about all the ways in which dealers (not just Toyota ones) commonly try to trick you into spending more than you need to before I set foot in a dealership, none of this happened to me. According to my brother, who works at a Kia dealership and previously a Mitsubishi dealership, it’s industry standard that sales reps are taught to try all of the tricks you mentioned as ways to increase profit margin and thus their take-home pay.
First of all, I never said that Japanese cars are universally more reliable than US cars. That would be a ridiculous statement, as every automaker is going to have relatively good and bad models. Now that you’ve said it, though, how much CR do you read? I’ve been reading it for the last few years, and consistently, the cars with the highest satisfaction ratings and recommendations are Japanese (usually Toyota and Honda), while the cars at the low end are American and European. This is true for every single issue I’ve read in the last three years. Quite a trend.
However, Mitsubishi models do not place highly, nor do those of Suzuki. Nissan is average compared to Honda, Toyota, and Subaru, but usually does better than Ford, GM, or any European manufacturer.
Yes, these are generalizations, always subject to change and new data. However, they are generalizations because they’re generally, not universally, true.
It’s true that Ford has been doing better, and that Toyota’s quality has been slipping, but even with Toyota having a few lower-rating models and Ford having a few higher-rating ones, Toyota cars still consistently place above Ford’s on projected reliability and customer satisfaction.
I’m not endorsing running out and getting any Toyota or any Honda over any American car-- the best thing to do is always to do your research on specific models and then make your decision. I’m saying that if you’re NOT going to do any research, you’re safer picking a Toyota/Honda/Nissan over an American or European car simply by numbers.
We traded our 2004 Honda Civic LX in for a new 2009 Toyota Prius on Sunday. I can thoroughly recommend both cars.
Your timing is great, as I definitely think it is a buyers market. Even at the Toyota dealership, with their scary reputation, it didn’t take too long to bring the conversation round to the numbers that we had already decided upon.
My experiences with Chevy Malibus have generally been bad.
I rented one on my first visit to Pittsburgh. The steering felt very loose, and it was really hard to maneuver with any precision. I told the rental car people about this when I returned the car, and they said “that’s a known issue with Malibus from that year.”
My sister has a Malibu, and the mechanism for moving the driver’s seat backward and forward broke on it after just a few years.
I’m a little overwhelmed at all this info! Looks like pretty much every small car’s gotten a recommendation in this thread!
I’m going to try and compare prices on all the ones mentioned here, and test drive a bunch of them. There are a few I hadn’t even considered but I’ll look into them. And I think I will go buy Consumer Reports, so I can get educated. nevermore, I’d love to read that “how to not get screwed” article, if you can find it. Because once I do decide, I want to get the best possible price.
The more I look at it, the more I like the Honda Fit (sport). But it’s also on the more expensive side, compared to a lot of others. And I’m not sure it’s worth it to drop a few thousand extra just because I like the look of it. But I hate that middle-instrument-panel on the Yaris, dammit!
I’ll be test driving a bunch over the weekend and I’ll come back and let you know what I think!
I’ve read reviews that said almost exactly the same thing about Honda - that they are riding on their reputation and their quality has been slipping recently.
It does seem overwhelming, Antigen, but the test drives really will help to sort a lot of this out. I also made a spreadsheet when I was looking.
I decided to go with the Sport package on the Honda Fit I purchased last month.
Just in case you haven’t already seen the list of enhancements in the Sport package, some that particularly appealed to me are:
Fog lights
Better security system
Cruise control
And if you go with the 5-speed automatic transmission, there will be paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel that allow for manual gear shifting when you put the transmission in “Sport” mode.
Additional thought that just occurred to me is I only know these Sport enhancements apply to the 2009 model - don’t know if earlier year models also have them.
The test drive is key. If you don’t like the way the car feels on the road or the way the interior feels then cross the car off. We crossed off a few cars based on the test drive.
We started a thread like this in 04 and wound up buying a Honda Element which has given us almost no problems. We paid $17,100.00 for ours including tax and title.
If you find a car that you like, check to see if there is a message board dedicated to it.
We did and were able to find out what people were paying for the Element and where. Once we had that, I started calling dealers that had an internet department. I told them flat out what I was looking for and what I was willing to pay. If they said they couldn’t match it, I told them thanks for the info I have a better price. What we did was get a quote for the price including everything. I negotiated based on the price out the door. This includes tax and title. Another thing to do is to set up an email account for the process and sign up on Edmunds and Cars.com.
Don’t rush into anything since you have time. Test drive all of the cars that you are interested in and make notes. Don’t buy anything until you have tried all of the ones that you are interested in.
I’m on my second Hyundai Elantra. The first one was Honda-level bulletproof for the first 100k miles (about five and a half years), then got a bit squirrely. Still, the only major issue I ever had was a blown radiator (from a rock) that left me stranded, and a random overheating episode when I’d forgotten to check the coolant for 20,000-something miles. They don’t handle as well as the last Civic, but ride much better than the current one.
The only thing I don’t like is that the new model uses the same 2.0L engine as the old one, which seems like a bit of a cheap-out- the design is now at least 8 years old. On the other hand, it’s plenty fast enough (more power than the equivalent Civic, Focus or Corolla).
On the bright side, since I’ve been driving a car with the same engine for nearly 7 years, so if anything goes wrong I’ll know it isn’t supposed to sound like that.
The previous generation Sport had basically the same extras.
My only problem with the Fit is that they are in such high demand that they’re horribly overpriced for what you’re getting. It costs the same as a smallis sedan (Civic, Corolla, Elantra, Focus et al.) but comes with the tiny engine from the next bracket down (Yaris-y).
I also don’t like its high-speed road manners; between the height and little wheels, it’s very susceptible to crosswinds and such. Not a problem for a city car, but if you spend a lot of time on interstates it’s really annoying.
As a car, I love the Fit. At the price, not so much.
I can advise staying away from the Mazda 6. We got one for my wife and have had a dozen little problems with it while still under warranty. Most of the problems have to do with major systems though, so I worry what the thing is going to cost us in another year/12,000 miles.
On the other hand, I’m very much enjoying my Chevy Impala. Roomy, big old trunk, decent gas mileage. My only complaint is that the jack folded while changing a flat, and the delaership refused to replace it (I was 4 days out of warranty).
Disclosure: My husband sells GMC cars for a living. (Not much of one, lately. Oy.) But if you buy one from someone else, it won’t help us anyway.
I am in love with my Vibe. I’ve had it for a little over a year now. As an adult, I’ve driven an Olds 88, a Honda Civic, a Ford Escape, a Chevy Cavalier, and this. This is my favorite car, hands down.
You can haul practically anything in it. The back seats and the front passenger seat fold down to make a long, flat area that will haul things that look waaaaaay too big for the Vibe. Just after we got it, I went to the butcher and picked up meat from the four cows we had sent from the farm. ALL of it fit in the Vibe. (Okay, the one box kept threatening to fall on my head. But it fit.)
I love the way it handles. You can make a tight u-turn easily if you’re lost. I have a lot of experience with this, as my inner compass is badly damaged.
When I’m paying attention, I can get about 30 mpg just running around town. When I drive like a jackrabbit, I still get about 27 mpg. Highway mpg rocks.
This was the clincher for my husband when we bought it: the mechanics he works with swear that if they had to repair only Vibes, they’d starve to death. The Vibe has a GREAT service record.
Bonus which we’ve been happy about lately - I have the FWD version, but that thing has been great in the snow.
Anyway, happy car shopping, no matter what you get!
If you only need to carry 2 passengers, the Ford Ranger.
The basic 4-cylinder, regular-cab, 5-speed gets 23 mpg, and they just don’t break.
My 1997, bought new, is easily the lowest cost per mile vehicle that I’ve ever owned. In 12 years, it’s been hit by a fallen tree and a ditsy cellphone user and it was easily repaired both times. Just one of those hits would have totalled a unibodied compact car.
I’m still running with the original clutch and exhaust system after 131,000 miles.
I saw a new Ranger in the paper two weekends ago that, after rebates, was only $11,500.
Granted, this was probably a model with a basic radio/single CD sound system, an air conditioner, and nothing else optional.
Get a shell for the back and if the economy worsens you can live in it.
