Cars

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Serious question. I'm planning on buying a new car. My options are endless. What should I get? Any recommendations? Nothing overly-expensive of course.

I've been asking friends, and I'll ask my WP friends the same question. If you were going out and buying a car tomorrow, what would you get?

Or what do you currently drive?

Um....

Your location isn't specific. Depending where you are in the world determines the cars available, insurance costs for different counties may vary. In the UK, smaller cars are expensive to buy, cheap to insure, expensive to repair and easy to write off by damaging the front bumper... (unless you repair yourself)

You need to specify:
Budget
Transmission restriction (if any)
If you travel with friends (sometimes 2 or 3 door is better if you travel alone)
And probably anything else I have forgotten

I drive a 1995 Ford Mondeo, previously it was a 1992 Clio. I can definitely agree with why the US prefer larger cars, I'm not exactly tall, but I felt cramped in the smaller Clio. The Mondeo is in the same category as the 3 series BMW, the Clio is in the same category as the BMW Mini. The original Mini is the smallest category as far as I am aware...

Ok because i love pink, i would like a pink car

I currently drive a 1997 Mercury Villager minivan. It has around 150,000 miles on it and has given me very few problems. It has enough room for me to feel comfortable---I am 6'1", the family fits into it well, and there is room for groceries, etc.

Though will not be the driver,am getting a vauxhall zafira through motability,which is a large sized MPV with a smooth ride [staff say it's just as good to drive as well],and the engine sizes start at one point six.
would recommend one of these if can afford it,am have to pay a small one off amount towards it though get it 'free',including their own insurance etc so don't know what it's like in insuring.

These were all on own list to check out:
A smaller car [much smaller],which has a great shape,and is supposed to be good to drive [havent been in one,but is one had looked at getting] is the SEAT Leon.
it's got doors on the back as well,but the handles are built into the door/window.
It's more of a one or two person car though,because the space is limited in the back so if are planning to have others in back regulary its not a good choice.
Think engine sizes with the Leon start from one point six.
It looks very nice,especially the top of the range sport ones,but they're supposed to be noisy [cupra/fr versions].

-Nissan Note.
It's a small MPV,not a bad looking car,supposed to be a good ride,it's not very common though,have only ever seen one Note whilst out,
no idea why.

-the ford c-max.
an MPV,like the ford focus but it's roof is higher [good for tall people],and has some great equipment can have added to the car [is more adaptable than the focus].

-ford focus,good ride not so great with outside noise.

I own an old Honda Civic and I would probably get a newer Honda Civic. Hondas last a long time and are usually reliable. (although my sister did have one that was breaking down all the time so there are always exceptions to the rule). Mine is about 14 years old and has 177K miles on it and it is still chugging along.. although it doesn't have A/C

My first choice was a Buick Enclave, but with GM in the trouble it's in, I don't know how much longer they will be making the Enclave.

Mine would be a Toyota Prius hatchback. After driving a friend's Honda Civic hybrid from St.Louis to DC (approximately 1000 miles), I'm completely sold on hybrid technology. The hybrid aspect has no detriment on performance. I prefer 4-door hatchbacks so, the Prius is my first choice.

As for cars that I could afford to buy, I chose a 2000 Honda Civic EX 4-door. I love this car. If I limit my speed to 55mph, I'm able to get 41mpg - very nice when gas costs $4/gallon. Because Honda Civics are sohh popular, I was able to buy a 2-channel aux-in interface for the factory headunit, which I use to plug in my OGG player, satellite radio or anything else with line-out or headphone jacks.



At one time in my life, I only wanted 2-door cars, to make it less attractive for multiple passengers to want to ride with me. I chose a '91 Isuzu Impulse 2-door Wagonback, which I liked, but it also convinced me that cars with 4 doors made more sense, because their doors don't swing out as far when opening them - easier to use, in every way. When I needed a new car after that, I bought a '96 Subaru Legacy wagon.

As for cars living to an old age, I had an '87 Civic that lasted for 270,000 miles.

Last edited by Flismflop on 08 May 2009, 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

By new do you mean new as in not used, or new to you?

It is obviously totally dependent on how much money you are going to spend, what to do with it, etc.... And of course what country you live in.

I would like a Fiat 500 but that is probably not coming to North America for another year at least and is not good if you need a large car.

Since i am not interested in giving someone a ride (i.e. family members that want to go shopping) i would get this if i had a job and a bike-drivers license:



MV Agusta 1Kcc Tamburini (or a similar bike), i read somewhere that it costs as much as an intermediate sports car and it is not impossible to get for a normal "mortal" on a decent wage. It is in Test Drive Unlimited, it is FAST and it is my favourite bike there.

My advice:

Go to several mechanics and ask them which is the easiest car to repair.
I did that and bought a GMC truck.

I should've probably given my opinion of the '96 Subaru Legacy wagon I had. It was a nice car, but having all-wheel drive (4-wheel drive, all the time) is overkill for the less-than-snowy climate of the DC area. That makes the car use more fuel than a 2-wheel drive car does. The roofrack was not removeable, so that reduces fuel-efficiency as well, due to air-resistance. In typical Subaru fashion, the interior was not as nice as that of a Honda. What I loved about it mainly was the cargo space, although it did drive fairly well. Like most Subarus, it had daytime running headlights, which means that you can have them set to automatically turn on/off with the ignition - never have to bother turning them on or risk leaving them on by accident. Also like most Subarus I've been in, it had a lumbar support for the driver's seat, which made it comfortable for long drives.

I always try to avoid the cars with the smallest engine in the range. It's always better to find something somewhere in the middle

If you're referring to my Honda Civic EX, it was the most powerful Civic of that series (other than the SI, but that's not really the same type of car). There were 2 or 3 others in the series, each with a lesser engine. My car's engine is viable and allows me to pass whatever I need to.

Sorry for my lack of location giving, I'm in the US.

It doesn't have to be a brand new car, but it can be. I'm getting money from an insurance settlement to replace my 1st car.

I definitely like the idea of a hybrid. Thanks for the feedback everybody.

I have nothing but good things to say about my '03 Ford Ranger XLT, then again, I do a lot of projects and I need a way of hauling stuff around. As has been mentioned before, what vehicle you buy should be based on where you live and what you need it for. If you live in a city and only need to go from point to point, I'd say get a motorcycle, if you live in a city that has cold winters and bad weather often, get a compact car. If you can't stand the idea of someone seeing you in a compact car (like me), get something bigger.