jaguar.

[jakeandnikko]

I've considered an impala. The jaguar is off completely now. lol. I don't even know how to change oil greg. lol. So I guess that was a bad idea. haha

[sunbirdx]

.

[born2budgie]

cheap to fix.

hondas, toyotas, fords are ideal.

Only one of these is 'cheap to fix'

[sunbirdx]

.

[born2budgie]

People drive hondas because they don't break. Honda (and Toyota) parts are ridiculously priced in North America, due to the importing etc.

If you buy an older honda, it is going to break and you will have to pay to fix it. It is far more expensive to fix an import than it is a domestic, just due to the parts alone. (labour on these things will be roughly the same, other than the imports doing stupid **** with their work)

If you are buying new, go import. If you are buying used, (older than 2003, 2004) buy domestic, unless you can do the work yourself (and have an in for parts)

[jakeandnikko]

I'll probably end up buying used. Really my budget is like 3000. I don't think I can get more than a down payment out of three thousand on a new car.

[Skittles]

Want my honest opinions about CARS and what to trust and what not to trust?
I've been in the automotive scene for almost 7 years now and worked in the field for 3.

Here's my break down of OLDER CARS. With maybe 1995 and older.

Brands to TRUST:

Honda
Toyota
Mazda
Nissan

Brands NOT to trust:

Hyundai
Ford
Suzuki
KIA
Mercedes
Jaguar
BMW
Pontiac
Chevy

THere's more I can add to it later, but those are the popular brands for yes and no buying :P

Honda's are actually manufactured in Canada and the States now, so parts and repairs are cheap.

my first car was a 1987 CRX. It was a WICKED first car, I bought it from a dealership unfortunately, so I overpaid for it, but **** that was a fun car.

I actually trust Hyundai's now, with their 2008 and 2009 vehicles. And take my word for it, I worked for them and worked on the service end with them. Any older Hyundai's I would avoid like the plague. They have come a long way to get their reputation back up on the road.


I would also keep in mind this saying when car shopping:

If it looks too good to be true, IT PROBABLY IS!!!!


Now to cover my butt, my yes and no list are not by my favourites but based on reliability. I love most of the cars on my NO list, so don't take offense if you see a car you own on it

I like fords, but I love their trucks and find their newer cars more reliable than older ones. Hyundai, like i said before, I DO NOT trust their older cars (2005 and older) but their new models and re-redesigns I trust fully.

ETc etc.. I'll post more as I think of it.

[jakeandnikko]

Thanks for the post Lauren! Please add more when you can. lol

[born2budgie]

Lauren, the plants here only assemble the vehicles. The parts are made overseas and sent here. When someone needs a new belt, spark plugs, anything that is 'honda', they pay the price that reflects them shipping it from the east.

It is far cheaper to fix an older domestic vehicle than it is to fix an import, and when you are buying old, you're going to be fixing it.... alot.

[sunbirdx]

.

[born2budgie]

I took mine back to the shop and put it up on the hoist to inspect it before I bought it haha

You also get what you pay for. I drive a 2002 Grand Prix (looking for a top swap), and mind you I drive the balls off this thing, I drive it very very hard, and you pay. The age of the car depends exactly what you're going to have to pay in repairs. Model to model it can depend slightly, but overall it's gonna be the same. How you drive will help as well. Just this year so far, on a seven year old car, I've put about $2,500 into it in repairs of wearing parts. (that means no stuff breaking that shouldn't have, all these parts wear out).

Just so you know. You buy a $3,000 car and don't baby it like crazy, you're going to be putting it's value back into it each year in parts.

[sunbirdx]

.

[born2budgie]

Not all parts though. A mirror is a body pannel, not included in wearing parts.

I'm talking about things like the PCM valve, throttle body control, wheel bearings (honda spec, $$$$), belts, etc etc. All those parts come from Japan.

I just had to change the rear right wheel bearing on my car. Total cost: $30. A woman I work with had to change the wheel bearing on her 93 accord, total cost for just the part from the honda dealership: $50.

Domestics are routinely cheaper on parts, that's just how it is. The catch is that they 'break down' more.

[Skittles]

True Hondas can be expensive to repair, especially with the new ones.

However, anything older than a 2000 pretty much you can go to any Lordco, Princess Auto, Canadian Tire, or similar stores like that in the states, and pick up parts for next to nothing.

But they're reliable.

Actually.. with this entire thread, as much as I will want to give my opinions, I swear by honda. But I will do my best to give my opinions on everything

[born2budgie]

True, I'm talking about stealership prices (should watch my words, I know you used to werk for dealers)

NAPA is pretty decent on everything, and again, their import parts are still slightly higher then domestics.

[Barb]

I just bought a new car last week, what a perfect thread. I traded in my '95 Toyota 4Runner (what a serious wreck!) and got a '07 Subaru Forester. So far, I love it.

I had so many problems with my Toyota truck that honestly I would say they aren't made to Toyota car standards. We only had 140K miles on it and we replaced SO many things the last 5 years (and they were expensive). Just the week before we traded it in we replaced the brakes, rotars, and calipers ($550) and got a new muffler ($250). Then we went huckleberry picking 4 days later and got stuck with an overheating, smoking transmission and the **** thing wouldn't start again.

So far I really like the Forester. Plus, it has a warranty...which I like A LOT!

[Skittles]

OH! Thank you Barb! I knew I was forgetting something.

Another car I HIGHLY recommend is a SUBARU!!!

[Barb]

That is great to hear. I haven't ever owned one before, but I did some research and found that they have an excellent reputation. I have always been a Toyota/Nissan girl (I love my Nissan Sentra!), but this Subaru really caught me.

[Skittles]

Subaru's are probably second on my "Love of Cars" list.

[jakeandnikko]

I've been searching on craigslist and I found a few ads and I just wanted to know what you guys thought of them.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1323656533.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1330405513.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/ctd/1320527248.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/ctd/1320569741.html


There were a lot more ads that I was going to post but didn't want to overrun the thread with them haha.

[Shannon]

Acura - high insurance rates! really, really high!

Ford Ranger - again, high insurance rates, but I would check. I don't know why insurance is high, but it is, or at least it was when my sister wanted one. That was around '99 and she was 18. They also have bad safety ratings, so that may be why.

Geo Prism - Crap! Pass.

Honda - eh, it is getting pretty old and the mileage is high. I'm not an expert, but you will probably be looking at a new engine in 20 - 30,000 miles. With anything old like that, ask for proof of maintenance. Oil changes are important. I keep receipts for all of mine in an envelope in the glove box so I have them when I plan on selling my car.

What else do you have?

[jakeandnikko]

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1319773284.html
Is it hard to learn how to drive a standard?

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1319765703.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1306515726.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1296845474.html

[jakeandnikko]

What do you guys think of the second set of ads?

[born2budgie]

The grand am might suffice, but it heavily depends on the car and who has driven it

The lexus will be a pain in the *** to fix

the mitsu is in the whole DSM crank walk issues... not sure if you're looking to rebuild it if you got the unlucky one

The stratus is fine, but you're not 50 years old and I doubt you want to get the gas mileage of an army tank pulling a trailer of donkeys.

Again, all of these cars will depend on the shape they're in, and you can't tell that from the pictures.

Learn alot, or find a mechanic buddy to go look at them...

[jakeandnikko]

Alright, thanks Greg. My dad and I are going to go look at cars today and tomorrow just to kinda see whats out there and find a car that I like.