Looking for a cheap new car

[xray 99]

Im looking at the 2013:
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Accent
Honda Fit
Your thoughts? Should I look at others?

[orionz06]

Price?

[JConn]

Mrs. JConn drives a 2009 Honda fit, it's a great little car. You just need to be realistic about your expectations. It has a ton of cargo space, it handles well, gets great gas mileage and is decently OK acceleration wise considering the size of the engine. It is not fast, but it doesn't need much maintenance and is great on trips.

[xray 99]

Price?

17k or less

[Shokr21]

Why new?

Cars lose over half of their value in the first 3 years. Buy a 3 year old car.

I only drive cars with salvage titles. A buddy of mine finds rear end damaged vehicles, repairs them and I buy what I like, drive the hell out of it for cheap and sell it for what I have in it or more after 15-30k miles or 2 years.

Right now I'm driving a 07 lacrosse that had 50k miles on it, it now has 73k 10 months into ownership. I'll be buying another car from him in the spring for my wife.

Or you could a find a used dealer and see if he'll contract with you to buy a car at auction for his cost plus commission. This is what my father does and he buys a 2 year old f150 lariat every 3-5 years and rarely loses more than 4k on "trading up".

Buying new cars is for the silly or very well off.
There's nothing wrong with driving a 2-4 year old car at half the cost of new.

my $0.02

[JM Campbell]

Used is great option. You can get a great Honda, Toyota, Nissan ....most domestic used vehicles I have seen in my career are for no other words junk.

My advice;
"One pay" on a car (overnight unaccompanied test drive) sign no purchase agreement or loan docs. Take it to a trusted mechanic that has experience with that model and pay for a very thorough look over. Purchase only after it checks out. CYA buddy....a dealership sees a sucker everyday.

This now concludeds your community service announcement.

:D

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[MEH]

I just went through this drill. I looked carefully at Honda's, Toyota's and Mazda's. I would look at the Mazda2, they can be had for way less than 17k. Basic Fit's can be comparably priced but they command almost MSRP in my area so I passed on them. Could have gotten a 2012 Civic LX out the door for not much more than 17k. Ended up with a 2008 Civic EX with 40k miles and paid 14k out the door. Probably could have gotten it cheaper but I know the seller and it's in really great shape. Tripled my MPG and now the truck sits jealously in the driveway. Gonna get the door repainted under warranty and then sell it.

Good luck!

[Al T.]

Last new car purchased in 1992. Never again. Used is the way to go as others have explained.

[pr1042]

Out of those, I would go with the Fit. If you like the Fiesta, look at the new Focus as well. I bought one after I sold my Mach 1 (22 mpg on the highway wasn't cutting it anymore) and have been pleasantly surprised. Plenty of room and while I miss being able to turn my car sideways whenever I want, it's got enough power that I can putt putt along and not have to worry about getting run off the road.

Also look into the Elantra

[Joe in PNG]

A mechanic's view:

A new car is a good idea if you plan on owning it until it dies of old age- say 15 or more years. Just do what the little book in the glovebox tells you to do, and when, and you'll be all right.

If you're going to have the dealer work on it, the Honda would be the way to go. Old Honda's tend to hold up a little better as far as the interior goes.

But if you plan on turning the wrench yourself, I'd go with the Ford. Honda's can be tricky to work on, and there is that frequent timing belt change thing some of them have. And I can tell you of a few just plain strange things I've seen on Honda's- like when I had to dissemble the entire suspension to replace the brake rotors...

Hyundai's can be tricky to find parts and filters for at your Wal-mart or Napa.

Used cars are a different matter...

[Josh Runkle]

Why new?

Cars lose over half of their value in the first 3 years. Buy a 3 year old car.

I only drive cars with salvage titles. A buddy of mine finds rear end damaged vehicles, repairs them and I buy what I like, drive the hell out of it for cheap and sell it for what I have in it or more after 15-30k miles or 2 years.

Right now I'm driving a 07 lacrosse that had 50k miles on it, it now has 73k 10 months into ownership. I'll be buying another car from him in the spring for my wife.

Or you could a find a used dealer and see if he'll contract with you to buy a car at auction for his cost plus commission. This is what my father does and he buys a 2 year old f150 lariat every 3-5 years and rarely loses more than 4k on "trading up".

Buying new cars is for the silly or very well off.
There's nothing wrong with driving a 2-4 year old car at half the cost of new.

my $0.02

Exactly. I try to do this with any cars I drive.

[Josh Runkle]

A mechanic's view:

A new car is a good idea if you plan on owning it until it dies of old age- say 15 or more years. Just do what the little book in the glovebox tells you to do, and when, and you'll be all right.

If you're going to have the dealer work on it, the Honda would be the way to go. Old Honda's tend to hold up a little better as far as the interior goes.

But if you plan on turning the wrench yourself, I'd go with the Ford. Honda's can be tricky to work on, and there is that frequent timing belt change thing some of them have. And I can tell you of a few just plain strange things I've seen on Honda's- like when I had to dissemble the entire suspension to replace the brake rotors...

Hyundai's can be tricky to find parts and filters for at your Wal-mart or Napa.

Used cars are a different matter...

My dad bought a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee new, and he sold it to me in '08 with 220k miles on it. We've always taken good care of it and purposefully NOT gone to the dealer for service. I currently have 425k miles on it.

[BaiHu]

Having been a new car guy up until 2004, I agree with all that's been said about used cars.

Especially if you are looking at CPOs, Japanese cars or both. New Hondas tend to have HORRIBLE APRs and are over priced, b/c they are so reliable.

I'm not a banker, mechanic or candlestick maker, but depending on your credit and the manufacturer you go with, you might get a better APR on recently used cars, b/c they want to move them or you go to your local bank and get a loan for cheaper than the dealership.

FYI, with 17k, you could probably get a 2005 3 series BMW with 50-70k miles on it, that's how good the used car market is IMO.

[TGS]

My sister has a Honda Fit. Great little car, surprising amount of room. When she bought it, they were really in demand so she only found a single used one. A good deal was hard to come by. This was about the same time that a Toyota salesmen I knew was able to sell the Yaris and Prius (especially) for $5k over sticker without even trying. So, I'm not sure if the market for these little machines has improved. Something to consider when Hyundai is the new underdog that Honda and Toyota used to be before going mainstream.

If I wanted a small gas sipping rice burner, it'd be the Honda Fit, hands down. I'm too in love with my leaky old LL Bean Edition Subaru lesbo mobile, though. Snowpocolypse 2010 in Northern Virginia pretty much made me a devout fanatical believer in my AWD Subaru, so I don't think I'll ever be without one unless I'm living somewhere that doesn't snow.

[Tamara]

FYI, with 17k, you could probably get a 2005 3 series BMW with 50-70k miles on it, that's how good the used car market is IMO.

Exactly. When I purchased my current car, I was initially looking at buying a new Mustang or Trans Am convertible, before realizing that I could pick up a three-year-old SLK/Boxster/Z3/TT for the same money. Bought a three-year-old Z3 2.8 with 30k on the clock for the same money as a new domestic, and I'm still driving it eleven years later...

[TGS]

Exactly. When I purchased my current car, I was initially looking at buying a new Mustang or Trans Am convertible, before realizing that I could pick up a three-year-old SLK/Boxster/Z3/TT for the same money. Bought a three-year-old Z3 2.8 with 30k on the clock for the same money as a new domestic, and I'm still driving it eleven years later...

I figured you more for a 2002tii type of Bimmer girl.

[Byron]

I can't comment on any of the other vehicles, but I drive an '07 Honda Fit and love it. The other comments made on it are spot-on: amazing amount of interior space, great mileage, good handling, etc. I'm not going to beat anyone in a drag race, but speed has just never been a priority in my life: I know that it can easily cruise at 75 or more if the speed limit allows it. Have no idea of its top speed.

Don't know if it's the same on later models, but on mine the cruise control is what I would characterize as a bit "overeager." That is, if I set it at 65, that little engine will do whatever it has to do to stay at 65. If I hit an uphill grade, it won't hesitate to aggressively downshift so as to maintain the exact cruise control speed. Since I have the Sport model, I work around this by shifting into "sport mode" on long trips and then just locking it into 5th gear. Of course with a manual transmission this wouldn't be a problem.

I've actually driven it in a fair amount of snow a couple of times. It handles well, but it's so low to the ground that the depth of the snow becomes an issue at an earlier point than it would for a higher vehicle.

I bought it new and plan to drive it until the day that it dies (as I did with my last Honda which was a family hand-me-down).

[NickA]

I don't think you can get a truly bad car these days, but it's hard to go wrong with a Honda. We have an '06 Pilot and an '01 Accord (actually my niece has it, since she borrowed it for a few months... LAST August) that will be my daily driver again once I get it back. In a few months we'll be shopping for another car, most likely a used Honda.

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[Tamara]

I figured you more for a 2002tii type of Bimmer girl.

With the rorty M52 six banger coupled to the old E30 rear suspension, the driving experience is plenty retro, especially if you turn off the traction control... :cool:

[littlejerry]

right now the used car market sucks in my area. Used sedans and hatch backs are in high demand if they have half decent fuel economy. New cars have a lot of incentives including absurdly low interest rates. Back in January we bought a mazda2 for 13.5k brand new and loaded. Financed half of it at 2%. It was cheaper than used civics, fits, corollas, mazda3s, etc. Right now is a great time to get a new car.
Trucks and SUVs are cheap used right now. Not so much with small cars.

[JConn]

A while ago they were offering zero percent on Mazda 3s. That's a good little car.

[TGS]

If you decide to go buy a new car, try to do some research and figure out what the factory kickback to the dealership is.

You can buy a car for under the dealers invoice by doing this. Lots of people think getting the car at a couple hundred over the invoice is a steal, but it's not. The dealership gets a kickback from the factory on the cars MSRP when they sell it.....usually between 2%-5% throughout the industry when I worked at a dealership in 2005. If you walk in knowing this and simply state, "I know your invoice is X, but I also know your factory kickback is Y. So if we go for B, yes I know it's below your invoice but you'll still be making C amount." They can still make money on a car sold under invoice because of this kickback. Moreover, if you come in with this knowledge they might just agree right off the bat because they know they don't have any edges on you, everyone is on the same page. It's easier to just save time and sell the car and earn minimum and get another customer pay regular, than it is to use that same amount of time convincing you to pay a little more.

Another tactic is to try and buy the car online through the areas fleet manager. Some even designate someone an online sales representative. This way you can state that in an email and avoid any human interaction if you're not good at bartering (Not saying you aren't, just saying to be honest with yourself). Mama' taught me how to barter on the streets of Nogales, Mexico when I was in 4th grade, so to me it's fun. I realize a lot of people don't enjoy it and get pissed off at the salesmen thinking it helps their stance.....it only hurts. Getting "aggressive" will never work with a decent salesman. So, consider the email route. If you reach an agreement, he'll tell the dealership to sell the car to you at the agreed price and they can't say shit.

Of course, this isn't going to work for a high demand car. They'll just tell you no and sell it to someone at a regular price (or over sticker if it's high enough demand) the next day.

Even still, they can try to get you on accessories and extended warranties. That's where a lot of people get completely raped after they think they got a good deal. Do LOTS of research about the specific extended warranties they'll try to sell you. A lot of them are near worthless and just jack the price back up to what you would've paid without bartering.

Let us know what you get! My vote is still for the used car route, but I hope this helps if you decide to go new (and as pointed out by littlejerry, might make sense).

[Byron]

Another tactic is to try and buy the car online through the areas fleet manager. Some even designate someone an online sales representative. This way you can state that in an email and avoid any human interaction if you're not good at bartering
I know a couple people who have had great success taking what would seem to be the laziest route possible: they emailed multiple dealers, all cc'd on the same email, and basically said "I'm serious about buying X car. I've done the research and this is what I know. What's the best you can do for me?" Some dealers didn't respond, some responded privately, and some actually used reply-all. From there, it was just a matter of emailing back and forth a little.

Like you say, it seemed a number of dealers simply decided "why spend my time fighting for a large profit, rather than achieve a smaller profit with no effort whatsoever?"

It certainly can't hurt to try.

[Carraway]

I was on an on/off search for quite a while, as I'm kind of a driving enthusiast with a long commute and live in a place with chaotic weather. I also wanted a responsive car with a manual. I had some time, as I have a 2000 Accord that just kept going, but one morning after it went over 200K miles, it didn't start for the first time. It's since been fixed, but I realized it was time to make a decision.

Like many, I've nearly always bought used. The used market has shot up, however. Remember how bad the auto market was in three to five years ago? There aren't a lot of those cars turning up used. Also, people are holding onto cars for much longer, so there aren't quite the number of cars under 42K miles there once were.

So, I decided to look at both new and used cars and test drove 2006-2008 Acura TSXs, BMW 3-series, Infiniti G37, Subaru Legacy GT, Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6 and Mazda 3. Basically, any car I could find that looked remotely fun, had a manual transmission and wouldn't make a middle-aged man driving it look like a complete idiot.

I can go into details on any of these if you like, but I wound up buying a Mazda 3 iTouring with the new engine. The car is fun, nimble, responsive and fuel efficient. According to the in-car computer, I've averaged 36MPG over 3K miles, and that's with a considerable amount of enthusiast driving. Mazda must also have great incentives, as the price was surprisingly low, as in far below the price of a 2008 TSX with 50K miles and an accident. I decided that it will be my fun commuter car and am watching for something that's more of a true sports car--such as an S2000 or an older BMW--for occasional drives. (I may watch for a Toyota FR-S / Subaru BRZ as well).


Edit - With both the Mazda and helping my parents find a Tacoma, I found the best prices simply by e-mailing dealers, telling them exactly what I want and asking for a price. For me, the dealer with the best reputation for honesty and customer service also had the best internet prices. A couple of the more questionable dealers tried to pull stereotypical car sales tricks, so I didn't bother.

[littlejerry]

The new Mazda 3 is a great car. Drives like a Japanese 3 series. My mom has an 04, wife has an 08. With a stick they are wicked fun. We bought a 2 with a 5 speed recently because it reminded us of the miata we used to have. It's a fun car that rewards you for driving the piss out of it.

[Mjolnir]

The new Mazda 3 is a great car. Drives like a Japanese 3 series. My mom has an 04, wife has an 08. With a stick they are wicked fun. We bought a 2 with a 5 speed recently because it reminded us of the miata we used to have. It's a fun car that rewards you for driving the piss out of it.

Agreed. I don't know how reliable/durable they are compared to Honda and Toyota but they are a helluva lot of fun to drive.

[Joe in PNG]

Agreed. I don't know how reliable/durable they are compared to Honda and Toyota but they are a helluva lot of fun to drive.

I've worked on a couple of ancient Mazdas that were still going strong- an 86 B2000 pickup and an 89 Miata.

[Kimura]

Im looking at the 2013:
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Accent
Honda Fit
Your thoughts? Should I look at others?

Of those cars, the only one I've driven is the Ford Fiesta. Not bad for the price. The other car you might want to take a look at is the Hyundai Elantra. I drove one about six months ago and it was a pretty nice car. You might be able to find a 2012 model that the dealer will sell to you for a good price. I tend to like faster cars, but the Fiesta was fine and the Elantra was actually nice.

[SJC3081]

I would say the best bang for the buck is the Toyota Corolla.

[xray 99]

Thanks to all who replied.