What car would you recommend?

yoviher · Jul 25, 2005

Okay...

I am trying to buy my first car. My parents are pretty much willing to pay for the rest, if I can put a portion of the money (which I have been able to gather, and I am still saving some extra).

Now, while I have been raking in the monies, I have been checking classified ads on cars. This is a country where like half the cars in the country are Toyotas. And unfortunately you can't get any Renaults, CitrÃ¶en, and Fiats, around here. I have been looking at Toyotas... at Nissan and Mitsubishi... I have also considered the GM cars (Yep, when you consider GM, you are desperate indeed) of Chevrolet and Pontiac (which I can nice models at almost a thousand dollars from the 1990s).

Has anyone got any suggestions of cars that you have had good experience with? Price is of the essence, and I don't want anything big: I will be the first person in my close family not to get an SUV, a 7 passenger van or a Ford/Chevrolet pickup (Any interest in them dies out when I pass by a gas station).

talon · Jul 25, 2005

Saturn! (GM product) great cars though.

AbbysMom · Jul 25, 2005

I've always had good luck with Pontiac Grand Ams.

darkeyedgirl · Jul 25, 2005

I'm a Toyota owner, have been for 3.5 years. I have a Celica (the new body style).

The Celica gets great gas mileage, is tiny yet roomy (lots of room in the hatch - fold down seats), is FUN to drive, handles great and gets lots of comments.

The insurance on the Celica runs a tad high, I was told that even for an old fart like me (I'm 33), since the Celica appeals to young people, they make the insurance higher...

I have never had any major problems with my car, and I dang near rip the shifter out when I drive. The only thing gone wrong lately is a bad oxygen sensor which is making it run rough, but it's been a great car!

Looks like you've got a good choice, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi are all wonderful!!! I'm biased though.

A co-worker has a Camry and he loves it. It's a family style type car. But VERY reliable, typical Toyota.

eilcon · Jul 25, 2005

I drove a Honda Civic Coupe for 11 years -great, reliable, somewhat sporty and fun to drive car. Now I've got a Toyota Corolla - also reliable, handles well, good gas mileage.

neonsohc · Jul 25, 2005

i would say for the price of it i would get a dodge neon. it is fairly cheap and a great economy car. dont know if you are able to get them or not.

yea yea a lot of people have bad things to say about it but they always state problems from the 1st gen of neons. the head gasket issue is long and gone.

if you take good care of any car it will perform well.

it all depends on what you want. and also remember if you are buying new any car off the lot could have a multitude of little problems from any manufacturer. thats the downfall of the assembly line.

happy buying.

squirtle · Jul 25, 2005

I drive a 94 Honda Civic. Bought it for $5000 6 years ago. It now has 126,000 miles on it and still runs great. The only thing I had to do with it was replace the clutch 3 years ago. It also gets great gas mileage.

turtlecat · Jul 25, 2005

I think you should look into an older VW, not like a bug, but maybe a jetta- they're reliable, have good mileage, and are easy to fix (and cheap!)

cyberkitten · Jul 25, 2005

My grandmother bought e a car as a high school graduation gift - it was a powder blue honda civic and I loved it. I still love Honda Civics - I'd look into them.

wellingtoncats · Jul 25, 2005

I'm going to be purchasing my first car soon too!

It will probably be a Toyota.

momof8 · Jul 25, 2005

I have a 1990 Nissan that my husband uses for work, it has over 250,000 mile on it and still runs great.
Any Nissan and Toyota that we have ever owned, were the most reliable and gas friendly car. I now drive a 2001 Plymouth Neon and I love it. Great on gas and never any major problems with it. You have to do your research and make sure you have the vin run thru carfax, it is worth the fee they ask. Good Luck

yoviher · Jul 25, 2005

Originally Posted by turtlecat

I think you should look into an older VW, not like a bug, but maybe a jetta- they're reliable, have good mileage, and are easy to fix (and cheap!)

Actually, I have been searching for Jettas at reasonable prices... its a tad hard to sift through the pricier ones in all the ads that come along... but you often find some jewel amidst all the garbage, so I do the oddball thing of checking out the BMW and VW ads at the same time that I look for a dirt cheap Chevy. If I can find some early 90s Jetta or Golf I am in heaven.

halfpint · Jul 25, 2005

I Love my Toyota Camrey, I have had 2 new Toyotas, my Hubby also has a Toyota truck, there very dependable

katspixiedust · Jul 25, 2005

I second looking at Saturn's. They're completely reliable, have literally the best customer service (if you get your used one from a used Saturn dealer), and are very affordable. My Saturn is 8 years old and has yet to have a real problem.

halfpint · Jul 25, 2005

Toyota also makes the Zion the Ta model I beleive is kinda like a corolla and they are really nice looking, pretty low price also.
My son-in-law has worked for the same Toyota dealer for more then 10 yrs, he just bought himself a sion Xb, I am not to crazy about it, but I'll say one thing for it, its is very roomy, he Loves it

gratefulbear629 · Jul 25, 2005

Originally Posted by yoviher

Actually, I have been searching for Jettas at reasonable prices... its a tad hard to sift through the pricier ones in all the ads that come along... but you often find some jewel amidst all the garbage, so I do the oddball thing of checking out the BMW and VW ads at the same time that I look for a dirt cheap Chevy. If I can find some early 90s Jetta or Golf I am in heaven.

I have a golf and I love that little car. It's very reliable, is great on gas (about 30 mpg) and drives wonderfully.

I highly recommend VW!

catsrnmom · Jul 25, 2005

I drove a Nissan for many years, and I never had any trouble with the 3 different models I had..
Congrats on your first major purchase..

rapunzel47 · Jul 25, 2005

My first car was a Toyota Corolla (in 1970, when the Corolla was the bottom of the Toyota line) Great little car. I drove it for 9 years, then got the sun in my eyes on a March afternoon and totalled it.

My second car was a Dodge Aspen which, thankfully, was totalled by a jackass coming charging out of a lane. Fortunately, it only took two years for that to happen.

My third car was a Honda Civic. I drove it for almost 18 years. Another great little car. I could have put it back on the road after its last illness, but by then we did not need to be a two car family anymore and it would have cost more than the value of the car to do so.

Rob has had (while I have been in a position to drive his cars) Datsun (Nissan) for something like 15 years and now Toyota Corolla. I've come full circle.

This is a 1989, 270,000 km on the clock, still running on the original clutch.

From my experience, I would recommend anything Japanese, particularly Toyota or Honda. If I had to buy North American, I would look at GM, having driven a few occasionally (rental situations, friends' cars) and found them the least objectionable. But I have nothing but praise for Toyota and Honda. Reliable, decent on fuel, not always in the shop, good road handling, etc. I have no experience of any of the Europeans.

Good luck! That first car is pretty special. I hope you find yourself a good one.

ollyextra05 · Jul 25, 2005

Toyotas, Saturns and Hondas would be a good bet.
Hondas hold their resale value particularly well and tend to last a long time--we have an Acura which is 90% Honda parts and it has been a great car thus far.
I also had two Toyotas back to back and loved them. I had 2 4Runners.
My husband used to have a Hyundai that we drove into the ground as well.

yoviher · Jul 25, 2005

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

My first car was a Toyota Corolla (in 1970, when the Corolla was the bottom of the Toyota line) Great little car. I drove it for 9 years, then got the sun in my eyes on a March afternoon and totalled it.

My second car was a Dodge Aspen which, thankfully, was totalled by a jackass coming charging out of a lane. Fortunately, it only took two years for that to happen.

My third car was a Honda Civic. I drove it for almost 18 years. Another great little car. I could have put it back on the road after its last illness, but by then we did not need to be a two car family anymore and it would have cost more than the value of the car to do so.

Rob has had (while I have been in a position to drive his cars) Datsun (Nissan) for something like 15 years and now Toyota Corolla. I've come full circle.

This is a 1989, 270,000 km on the clock, still running on the original clutch.

From my experience, I would recommend anything Japanese, particularly Toyota or Honda. If I had to buy North American, I would look at GM, having driven a few occasionally (rental situations, friends' cars) and found them the least objectionable. But I have nothing but praise for Toyota and Honda. Reliable, decent on fuel, not always in the shop, good road handling, etc. I have no experience of any of the Europeans.

Good luck! That first car is pretty special. I hope you find yourself a good one.

You have me looking right now at the Japanese models... anyone know anything about the Hyundai? Because so far, I am staring a lot at the lower end Japanese models (Like the Toyota Tercel, Hyundai Excel, and perhaps a decent prized Honda Civic), Chevy and Pontiac, And got a candle lit for some Volkswagen or BMW at a decent price to fall from the sky.

Anyone had experience with the Sunfire, Sunbird and Grand Prix (Pontiac) and the Lumina and Cavalier? (Chevrolet)

What car would you recommend?

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