Help me decide on a car!

Hi all,

So, I've been trying to figure out what to do about getting a new-to-me car. My current auto is about to fall apart. It's 20 years old and I'd be lucky to get $300 out of it for trade. For that reason, I think my dad is going to take it and give me a few hundred dollars to use as a down payment for another car.

Okay, so here are the options I'm considering.

1.) 2003 Mazda Tribute ES - 58K miles - $7,000 (would get a 36mo bank loan with payments around $230 / month ) - it would NOT have a warranty of any sort; it has a clean title history, one owner, has every option i want except keyless entry.

2.) 2006 Hyundai Tucson - 38K miles - $11,500 (would likely get a 48 month bank loan with payments around $260 / month) - it would have the remainder of a 5yr/60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty; unsure about title history but would definitely check it out first; it has a lot more options including keyless entry, sunroof and leather seats.

Both vehicles have excellent safety ratings.

What do y'all think? Anyone with suggestions as to another small SUV please let me know! My rules are if I go over 10K, I want to have some sort of good warranty coverage for at least a couple of years. Also, I don't want anything over $12K.

THANKS everyone!!!!

Candace

Have you considered a Toyota or Honda? They seem to have a longer than average life span and are very reliable.

i sold some parts to a guy with a honda smx the other week, i had no idea what they were until after so i checked it out, and i have to say i thought it was cool, maybe worth checking out?

you got a cool name by the way lol

Just as an aside, you can get NEW Hyundai or Kia for less than $10,000, and the financing will be much easier, and you'll have the full warranty.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Just as an aside, you can get NEW Hyundai or Kia for less than $10,000, and the financing will be much easier, and you'll have the full warranty.

Click to expand...

Wow, your car prices are so much lower than ours!

Have you considered gas milage? And I agree with the suggestion to look at Toyota. We have a Toyota Corolla and I will stick with them - 35-40 mpg. Almost as good as the hybrids but cheaper

Originally Posted by ConsumerKitty

Have you considered a Toyota or Honda? They seem to have a longer than average life span and are very reliable.

Click to expand...

I would not choose either of the cars you offer.

If anything I would get the second car, sounds nicer. My parents have a Hyundai Sonata, its nice but I wish they would have gotten another Toyota. I like toyota cars but not their trucks...im a Chevy girl or a Ford if anyone wants to buy me a diesel?? lol

If the choice was between those 2, I would choose the Hyundai. I've had a Hyundai Elantra for 3 years, and it's been nothing but the best for me. *Knock on wood* I've had nothing done to it, besides the necessary oil changes and other things like that. Some people might not like Hyundai's, but it's a matter of choice. My last car was a Ford, and that was great as well. Lasted me well over 100,00 miles, and would've lasted me a lot longer if I had taken care of it better.

They may have clean titles but have you had either of them looked at my a mechanic?

Given the two I'd go for the Mazda... shorter and smaler loan means it's yours outright sooner and who needs big, lenghty car payments at a time like this.

Thanks everyone... I'm still in the early stages of trying to decide what to buy. Those were just a couple of options that I am looking at. I would love to buy a Honda CR-V but a pretty decent 2004 model with about 80,000 miles is still around $13K. Since the car is a little older, I'm afraid the bank wouldn't finance it for more than 3 years which would mean a payment that is too high for me.

I'm kind of leaning towards a Hyundai Santa Fe or Tucson. Both are recommended buys according to Consumer Reports. It's all still sort of up in the air at this point.

Thanks for the input!

Candace

If you are looking for either a honda or a toyota you are going to have to get an older one to get into the same price range. Their resale price is much higher because for so long they have been claimed as so reliable, but other cars are catching up!
My roommate has an 02 Hyundai Accent that has been very reliable for the most part. But she has had to change the bulbs a lot but that isnt anything too major.
My boyfriend has a 99 Kia Sephia that has over 200000 miles and the only time he has had a problem is the alternator went out on him but that was a fairly easy and cheaper fix. He also uses the car to race so he just did an engine swap on it but that was just for more power.
A friend has a Sante Fe that is extremely comfy inside and a pretty nice ride.
And where are you located at? If Kentucky is right you do need to go to a dealership but go prepared! All of the dealerships around here are getting desperate to get rid of their cars. A lot here still have 2007 on the lot that are brand new. You could also just go during the evening after they close and browse around the lots. That way you dont have to deal with the pressure!

Just curious why are you looking into an suv?
Good luck!

What about leasing? It's something to look into, and check the interest rates vs the interest rates for a bank loan.

We were able to get a 0% interest rate on my truck.... so we have the monthly payment and no interest whatsoever. We can buy it out or return it at the end (we're returning it, since the price of trucks has come down dramatically, the buyout on ours is worth as much as you can buy a 2009 truck like mine for).

Our choices were either to lease or to take out a loan to buy a used vehicle. With no interest on the lease vs X% on the loan, we chose the lease.... brand new truck, no previous drivers... only 50km on it (from test drives)... great warranty...etc.


If I had to choose between the 2 you said, I would go with the 2006 Hyundai Tucson mainly because of warranty. My truck in an 07, bought in 07...and we've had a couple things that needed warrantied already. (3rd taillight leaked and one of the inner tierods was loose and needed replacing).

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

Just curious why are you looking into an suv?

Click to expand...

Well, I am still sort of considering cars, but I really really like sitting up higher on the road like in an SUV. I am rather short (5'4") and when I'm driving a car, I feel like I can't see as well as I can in a taller auto. But at the same time, I DON'T want a big Expedition or Sequoia size SUV by any means!