Shopping for a commuter car....

[CmdrZod]

My daily driver is finally starting to nickle and dime me and the mech just said that a new trans is in the near future. So after talking it over with Wifey we decided to start shopping. This is going to be intended to be just a daily driver to and from work with the occasional errand run with wifey and one or two kids.

Things that I want are:
Sporty/fun to drive, Manual trans, reliability, and over all good looks.

I narrowed it down to 4 and I have never owned any of the brands or know anybody with one. So that is where you guys come in, any info on these that you could clue me in on would be greatly appreciated.

I am planning on going and driving some of these tomorrow just to get a feel of what I like, but I would still like your input.

Thanks!!

Maybe I should add some links to the cars that I am looking at...
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invento...sting=47654958
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invento...sting=47984990
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invento...sting=49119204
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invento...sting=44191100

[TURTLE]

What about a Subaru?

[CmdrZod]

I did consider the Subaru's and Volkswagen. However what I have been finding with the Subaru's is that I can't seem to find one in my budget with under 100k on it. And with the Volkswagen's I have family that have owned and had trouble with them after about 100K miles. And my intention with this car is to put at least 100k on myself.

Edit--- I just did a quick search for what I was looking for and I did find one that fit the bill, but it is on the HIGH side of the budget that wifey gave me and would be a hard sell for the book keeper/wife.

[heinie_21]

2011 or 12 kia rio5 would be in your range. Great long warranty (100,000mi). Great gas mileage.

I NEVER ever thought I'd own a kia, but my wife and I bought a kia soul a year ago and we absolutely love it! Since then my in laws and my brother bought kia's after being so impressed with ours.

At the least it's another option to consider

[street.terror]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

2011 or 12 kia rio5 would be in your range. Great long warranty (100,000mi). Great gas mileage.

I NEVER ever thought I'd own a kia, but my wife and I bought a kia soul a year ago and we absolutely love it! Since then my in laws and my brother bought kia's after being so impressed with ours.

At the least it's another option to consider

I'm with him. Go Korean. Hyundai might as well be a big four Jap car now with a better price. Kia is quickly catching up.

[CmdrZod]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

2011 or 12 kia rio5 would be in your range. Great long warranty (100,000mi). Great gas mileage.

I NEVER ever thought I'd own a kia, but my wife and I bought a kia soul a year ago and we absolutely love it! Since then my in laws and my brother bought kia's after being so impressed with ours.

At the least it's another option to consider

Just did a search of them and yes they would make for another option but if I wanted one I would either have to order it or get it from Glendale AZ. But I will be at a Kia dealer tomorrow test driving the MINI, I will ask the sales guy about it. Thanks!!

[street.terror]

Originally Posted by CmdrZod

Just did a search of them and yes they would make for another option but if I wanted one I would either have to order it or get it from Glendale AZ. But I will be at a Kia dealer tomorrow test driving the MINI, I will ask the sales guy about it. Thanks!!

Keep in mind mini is BMW. You can expect parts to be a bit higher then Japanese on average. Not everything will be more. Just odds and ends.

Also maybe have a gander at the fiat500 if smaller is what you want. Rented one for a week last summer put around 3000km on it and I loved it. It was a basic one with auto trans priced out to around $16,000cdn brand spanking new

[binaryterror]

I know you are looking used, but that new Chevy Spark is small, cheap and I was shocked how well Chevy did on it. Their E-Spark is also very nice.

[street.terror]

The little chevy's and the focus and fiesta are all pretty nice cars. The European domestics are awesome

[TURTLE]

Originally Posted by CmdrZod

I did consider the Subaru's and Volkswagen. However what I have been finding with the Subaru's is that I can't seem to find one in my budget with under 100k on it. And with the Volkswagen's I have family that have owned and had trouble with them after about 100K miles. And my intention with this car is to put at least 100k on myself.

Edit--- I just did a quick search for what I was looking for and I did find one that fit the bill, but it is on the HIGH side of the budget that wifey gave me and would be a hard sell for the book keeper/wife.

What is your budget if you don't mind?

Subaru Legacy's from 2006-2009 with 50k-60k can be had in Denver for 10-13k.

It's not bad considering you can get a couple hundred thousand miles out of one.

I'm a Subie nut though, so I tell everyone to get one.

[CmdrZod]

Originally Posted by street.terror

Keep in mind mini is BMW. You can expect parts to be a bit higher then Japanese on average. Not everything will be more. Just odds and ends.

Also maybe have a gander at the fiat500 if smaller is what you want. Rented one for a week last summer put around 3000km on it and I loved it. It was a basic one with auto trans priced out to around $16,000cdn brand spanking new

I am looking at a couple of used Fiats... From the time that they first came out and I saw it on Top Gear UK I thought that they looked kinda cool and thought they would make a good back and forth to work car.
Unfortunately I was unable to get into the cities today to test drive some of these cars because I ended up on-call for a unit grain train that didn't even show up!

Originally Posted by binaryterror

I know you are looking used, but that new Chevy Spark is small, cheap and I was shocked how well Chevy did on it. Their E-Spark is also very nice.

I was looking on Chevy's web site looking at the spark and my wife walked by behind me and said "That thing is HIDEOUS!!" Although having a new car with a new car warranty would be nice I would still have to look at it everyday.

Originally Posted by TURTLE

What is your budget if you don't mind?

Subaru Legacy's from 2006-2009 with 50k-60k can be had in Denver for 10-13k.

It's not bad considering you can get a couple hundred thousand miles out of one.

I'm a Subie nut though, so I tell everyone to get one.

My wife and I haven't decided exactly what the max price is going to be but we both figured that anything over about $14,500 is going to be to much. Also the credit union has told me that as long as the car is a '08 or newer I can get a better interest rate. So with all that being said... yes a "Subie" would be in my price range in Denver, I can't find anything here that is under 100k with manual trans that is '08 or newer. Hence my conundrum.

Edit--- After posting this I looked again at autotrader.com and found 1 08 Impreza 2.5I that I am going to have to get time to look at.
Used Subaru Impreza For Sale Green Isle, MN - CarGurus

[EeePee]

How about leasing a brand new Honda Civic? They're like $149 a month right now.

I grew up in a family that leased and being in a new ride every 3 to 5 years was cool.

[CmdrZod]

If I didnt put 20-25k on in a year I would do it. We leased my wifes car and had a good experience with it but she only puts about 10k/yr.


Sent from my phone using my fingers.

[EeePee]

Alright. How abouts a fews years olds Civic with about 120k on the clock, and one that has had the timing belt and water pump replaced recently? That'll do another 100k for ya.

[CmdrZod]

Originally Posted by EeePee

Alright. How abouts a fews years olds Civic with about 120k on the clock, and one that has had the timing belt and water pump replaced recently? That'll do another 100k for ya.

I have a hard time taking out a 10-13k loan on a car that has 120k on the clock. When a comparably equipped Saturn Astra or even Ford Focus can be had with 1/2 as many miles.

I finally got a chance to get out and look at the Mini and Fiat this morning after work. And WOW talk about a lot of fun to drive!!!! BUT they are SMALL!!!! So I am thinking that they may be off the table. There is no way I would be able to put a kid in the back seat of either. So I still have to get out and look at the Saturn Astra and Suzuki SX4 but I am also going to take a look at the Subaru's and Kia's. Thanks again for the info guys, Ill keep you informed.

[kikcaffine]

c5 corvette

[BigSki]

Mazda 3 Skyactiv? I have one, it's a decent small car. The highway MPG rivals a TDi Golf.

[meatmonkey]

I'm a tech at a strictly subaru garage. Take it from me, the good subarus are all pre-2000 IMO. Find a not-rusty 2.2 5-speed and drive it forever. The newer ones are way too"plasticky" and overweight IMO.

Or, if you don't need AWD and want much better mileage find a non-rusty Toyoyta Camry 2.2 5-speed from 92-01. Talk about cars that go the distance. I ran one from 190K to 283K. Then sold it for more than I paid for it. Got 30+ mpg in the real world. Most Subies I drive are lucky to make 25mpg.

If you absolutely must have something newer/more complex/more expensive to maintain...

then it pains me to say it, but the newer 06- Hyuindais are pretty darn good cars.

The mazda 3 (especially a Mazdaspeed 3) is also a surprisingly good car.

I'm a man who wants his car to go, stop, and steer. No other options really neccesary, and the fewer the buttons the better.

[arthurc10]

You are going to have a very hard time find a Mini for that price. I forgot the chassis codes, but I will just call them by whether they are turbo or supercharged.

The supercharged ones have very weak transmissions, and the transmission is not cheap. 4k for a used one!

And the turbo ones? Vacuum pump failures, high pressure fuel pump, interior rattles and that damn timing chain tensioner.....

Not only that, you cant pick up a turbo one (which are the "reliable" ones) for less than 20k.

You have a Saturn on the list, why not look at the Ion Redline's if you want a boosted, reliable car? Not as quirky as a Mini, but way cheaper and way more reliable. Just saying it may be worth a shot.

[CmdrZod]

Ummmm No to the Corvette but thanks for playing...
I have been able to find a lot of minis for between 9-15k with varied mileage. But like I said earlier I dont think that it will work, its just to small. I havent considered the Ion Redline but I will have to take a look and see what I can find.
As far as the age of the car I would like something recent ie 2007 & newer. So the old subies and toyotas are gonna be out. I did look at some Hyundis and didnt care for the looks of the ones that I could afford. But the Velosistar (I think thats what its called) looks really cool but just a bit out of budget.
Thank you for the info!

Sent from my phone using my fingers.