why not all of you?
ok, so i want true opinions here. I’ve gotten an earful from everyone else as to what I should get for my next vehicle. I have grand ideas of my own. When did buying a Prius get so cut throat?
here’s what I’m looking for:
* Good gas mileage. (who isn’t?)
* Smaller car. I really don’t need all that much cargo space. I think someone coined the term “downward mobility.”
* Something that’ll still handle well in the winter. I live where it snows with mountains, and I can’t seem to avoid highways.
*don’t want to spend more than $22K.
Looking cool wouldn’t hurt. But not a priority …
Shut off outside influence. Anything you do is wrong to somebody. Soon, cars will have way too much of an electronic burden to be worth buying anyway. Prius is probably alright but I can’t stand the thought of batteries in the cold weather. I woud think that the engine would be running too much of the time to get the good fuel mileage. I live where there are hills, snow and city driving all together and there are a lot of Subarus and 4WD trucks and SUVs. Nobody complains about anything but the weather. This time of year is when to buy something for 17,000 dollars that normally costs 22,000. Don’t wait too long to move away from the family.
Buy what you please. If winter weather worries you budget four winter tires(buy w/steel rims) from tirerack.com
I agree with other poster. People in snowy areas rarely complain about Subaru, SUV and trucks with AWD or 4 wheel drive.
How about a new Hyundai? The only car they have that isn’t over $22k is the Azera, and most of them can have tons of bells and whistles in your price range.
Also, check out http://www.edmunds.com this will give you a good idea where car prices should be in your area.
get a corolla and four m/s tires.
I agree with bscar. Hyundais are very affordable, even new, and are on par with the best any other company has to offer. You can buy a brand new Accent for about $11,000, or a well-equipped Sonata for around $22,000 or so. Seeing as you’re in the mountain, perhaps look at a Hyundai Tuscon, a small SUV. It gets, I think, around 30mpg with AWD, and can be bought for less than $20,000 I believe.
Corolla’s are not cool looking cars…
Decent car however the coolness factor is all of zero on this…
On Hyundai they are absolutely the worst cars to buy new. They depreciate very heavily so if you find yourself in the situation of an totaling accident, stolen car or life need to change vehicle your going to get burned.
That being said Hyundai’s make very good buys used since you don’t eat that depreciation.
There are LOTS of cars that fit your criteria, and will deliver real-world mileage close to or exceeding a Prius.
Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic are two that come immediately to mind. Both are extremely reliable and deliver great gas mileage. As far as recommendations, I say forget what others think and decide for yourself.
You’re the one who has to live with the car you buy, so buy what you like.
Use various sources such as car magazines, Consumer Reports and Cars.com to compile a list of cars that appear to meet your needs. Test drive as many of them as possible to reduce the list to the ones that really are suitable. Out of that list, buy the one with the long term best deal when price, maintenance, fuel, insurance and taxes are all considered. Although gas mileage is an important factor, you don’t want to stick yourself with a car that is otherwise unsuitable or is too expensive when all costs are included.
There are many cars that are likely to be suitable. You can start your initial list with the Civic, 4-cylinder Accord, Corolla and 4-cylinder Camry. If snow is a moderate problem, get four extra wheels with dedicated snow tires. If snow is a big problem, you need all wheel drive. Good candidates are the Honda CRV, Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Impreza.
Also consider a fairly new, low mileage, used car. The two most reliable cars I have ever owned were bought used. They were a one-year old Mazda RX-7 with 12k miles (which I still have) and a two year old Honda Civic with only 10k miles because it was a dealer’s rental car.
I’m not going to recommend any particular vehicle, but I will recommend that you drive each car under consideration for 2 hours. If the seat doesn’t cause you pain by that time, then it will probably be comfortable for most trips. There is nothing worse than owning a car, and still owing money on it, that is uncomfortable or painful to drive for any period of time. Different cars fit different people. Find one that fits you.
Ive always liked my relatives Ford Focus. Its a 2004 front wheel drive and it handles excelent in the snow, great on gas, (about 28 MPG) and fairly sporty.
If you keep the car past the warranty period, what does depreciation have to do with anything? Most 10 year old cars aren’t worth much anyhow.
Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Saab 9-3, CRV, RAV4, Honda Element.