Car Shopping

[Chrislit18]

I'll be turning 16 in the middle of the month, and since it is summer, and I have nothing better to do, I decided to start browsing for possible cars for me.

My mom and dad said by the time I have my licence in Jan that I should be able to get a car [90% for the fact I want to drive to school, and I'll probably either have a job by then, or be getting one, and 10% so I can get out and do stuff].

Right now I am so into fuel efficiency it's not even funny. I saw a Hummer today on my way home from the post office where I live [I walk], and I almost vommited.
First off, I can't see paying 100 bucks to fill up my gas tank, and second of all, I love the enviornment, and don't want to kill it.

I am looking for something that gets 20+ mpg....25 would be even better.

The hard thing for me is deciding which car. Right now on my list I have about 30 that I really like. But size is going to be a problem.
Being 5'10", it would be hard for me to get anything less than a midsize sedan, and be able to get in and out of it, which sucks, cause I'm loving the Volkswagen New Beetle Convertable, and The Yaris 2 door Hatchback. So its like, those two are off automatically.

Prius' are my favorite, but they are so expensive. My mom told me she can't see me paying 16000 for a 2004 model, when I can get a brand new car for less than that. [I am making a spreadsheet of prices at the moment.] My mom has to agree on the car before I buy it, for safety reasons basically. She hates the Yaris Hatchback, But I am dying to show her the Yaris Sedan. I love it almost as much as the Prius.

There are a few SUV's that I am looking into as well, but not huge ones.
I really like the Honda CR-V, the shape of it, and it gets good milage as well. The Mercury Mariner and the Infiniti FX are great too.

I have a price of like $13,000 I can use. Since both parents and myself will be contributing to geting a car for me. But just the thing is I kind of want a brand new car, since they do have higher safety ratings, better MPGs, and they look nicer.

I would probably have to say my top 5 [cars that I could actually get] right now are:
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Toyota Yaris Sedan
Chevrolet Aveo Sedan
Infiniti FX

If anybody has any advise or ideas it would be helpful. This looking is so stressful. Between looking at the different makes, models, years, prices, gas milages, colors [I'm a 15 year old girl, that is the most important thing!! lol], and making my spreadsheet, its so difficult to decide what would be right for me.
In October my mom said that she will start taking me to dealerships to look around and get in and out of the sedans and SUVs to see if I would be comfortable in them. Since comfort is important in order to drive, and I would like the acessories to be in sync to my wants and needs. Mp3 Aux. Jacks, Air conditioning, and a moon roof are my top 3 ideals, as well as power Everything.

If anyone would like to help me out or offer ideas, comments, or anything from experiences it would be great. A first car means so much, and I would like to get one that would suit me well.

Thanks!
Christine

[camchristo]

Well, first off, if you're talking about the Infinit FX35 - those don't get good gas mileage at all. And they run around $40,000+, depending on options. So you'd be looking at a really used one.

Second, the VW Beetle has a ton of head room. You should check it out if you like it. My boyfriend is 6'6'' and he can fit in one. 5'10'' should not keep you from any car, since most men are around 5'10'', give or take.

Lastly, with a budget of $13,000 (which is pretty high for a first car!) you're not going to be able to find much brand new. Except maybe the Chevy Aveo. Or a Hyundai or Kia. And 20 mpg is not really good gas mileage, actually. I think gas mileage is considered good when you get up around the 30mpg+ range.

Good luck.

[Lee]

Well, I have a nice 1999 Sunfire I could sell you. She's got over 100,000 miles, but she runs really good & she gets great gas mileage. The only problem with her right now is the AC doesn't get as cold as it should. I have been looking to get a new car, but I don't think I will until the end of the year, but I could be persuaded to part with the Sunfire sooner.

I just happen to subscribe to Consumer Reports & according to this month's issue, the top used cars, best in fuel economy from $10,000 to $20,000 are:

Toyota Prius 2004 - 06 44 MPG
Toyota Prius 2003 41 MPG
Honda Civic Hybrid 2006 - 07 37 MPG
Honda Civic Hybrid 2003 - 05 36 MPG
Honda Fit Sport (manual) 2007 34 MPG
Toyota Yaris Liftback (base, manual) 2007 34 MPG
Toyota Yaris sedan (base) 2007 32 MPG
Honda Fit (base) 2007 32 MPG
Scion xB (manual/automatic) 2004 - 06 32/30 MPG
ScionxA (manual/automatic) 2006 31/30 MPG
Honda Civic EX (manual) 2006 - 07 31 MPG
Mazda 3 (manual) 2004 - 07 30 MPG
Mini Cooper hatchback (manual) 2006 30 MPG
*All have an automatic transmission unless noted.

Any of these are good cars. And I've been reading up a lot on cars lately. Don't get the Aveo, not a good car. Yeah, the Prius is a good car, but I've seen on the news that they are hard to come by, either new or used. People of snatching them up.

Hope this helps; good luck on your car search.

Lee

[JWS]

Chrysler C-300 sedan. Plenty of leg room.

[LngPrmsdRd]

ZOMG I'm gonna hurt something....I just typed out a HUGE response to this and the Ledge ATE it! Okay if this posts twice, I'm sorry...LOL I typed it all up, then hit submit, and it asked me to sign in again because I apparently wasn't already (I was, duh, how else did I get to the reply screen!), and I signed in and it booted me back to the reply screen with a blank page! Gah!

Aaaanyways... I don't know a ton, especially about gas mileage, since I don't own a car, but I've driven a bunch of different cars, so I'll just kind of tell you what I've noticed. For one, in my experience Toyotas are very hard to drive. I've driven a Corolla (which *was* poorly maintained), and a Matrix (brand-new and my friend basically treats it as his child--a very, very spoiled child at that!). In both of them I noticed that they're not very sensitive when you try and DO anything. For example, normally when you want to change lanes you just kind of tilt the wheel and ease into the lane. In both the Corolla and the Matrix, you kind of had to really *turn* it, which kind of causes you to shoot into the lane, and then you had to over-correct yourself once you got into the lane to straighten out. I'd chalk this up to my being a novice driver except a- my friend, who's been driving 30 years, said the same thing and b- I haven't had this problem in the Eagle Vision, Honda Civic, or Hyundai Accents I've driven. As well, in both the Matrix and Corolla (although it was worse in the Corolla, which like I said wasn't in the greatest state anyway), I noticed that when you want to move from a stopped position, you can't just ease down on the accellerator. You had to really *step* on it, and then immediately ease up because otherwise you'll of course go flying! They just don't seem to respond very well, which is not the greatest thing especially for your first car.

As for what's on your list, I'd say go with the Honda Civic. Those things are fantastic...easy to drive, they last FOREVER, and I think they're very good on gas as well. I went on a couple long (few hundred miles!) road trips in one, and don't recall stopping for gas very much at all.

Another one I'd recommend looking at is the Hyundai Accent. Hyundais tend to have a reputation as like a "cheapy" car but they are actually very very good quality--my dad had one for 10 years! It ran perfectly until the day he sold it (and he only sold it because he got bored of it ). And I'm pretty sure they're good on gas as well. They are again easy to drive, and they have lots of room...my dad's 6'2", 200lbs, and never had a problem at all. And very inexpensive--my friend got one a couple years ago, 4-door brand new sedan, for I believe around $11 000 US...and she got like everything, she has A/C, CD player, power everything... So yah, definitely worth looking at.

Kias are also great little cars...my dad now has the Spectra 5, which is getting into like station wagon/mini-SUV size range, but there's also the Spectra which is the sedan version. I believe my dad's car was more than $13 000, but for one, it's bigger than the sedan and I'm also in Canada, where cars are thousands of dollars more anyway! Kia is affiliated with Hyundai, and he hasn't had his car very long but it does seem to be great quality as well. He loves the thing, and it's got a ton of room in it as well. According to him, it's very good on mileage. It's also a really gorgeous electric blue color, LOL!

Okay, well, there's my 2 cents...like I said, I don't know a lot, but those are my experiences!!!

***Edited to add: I wouldn't worry too much about MP3 jacks. You can either get one of those RoadTrip dock things for iPod, orrrrr just get an old-school CD player car hookup, the kind that plugs into your cassette deck...hook it up to any MP3 player earphone jack....and you're good to go!!!

[iamnotafraid]

Originally Posted by Chrislit18

I'll be turning 16 in the middle of the month, and since it is summer, and I have nothing better to do, I decided to start browsing for possible cars for me.

I am looking for something that gets 20+ mpg.

I have a price of like $13,000 I can use.

I would probably have to say my top 5 [cars that I could actually get] right now are:
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Toyota Yaris Sedan
Chevrolet Aveo Sedan
Infiniti FX

Thanks!
Christine

NO NO NO............ Think America, Rock n' Roll, Apple Pie and Chevrolet.
But not the Chevy sedan. For 13,000 bucks you could get it all. Think about
a Chevy Camaro Z28 (used). You could get one in great condition in that price
range, maybe even a convertable. On the highway they can get about 20 mpg if you
don't stomp on the gass. And they have a good safety rating.

How about that???

[Chrislit18]

Thanks so much for everyone's input!'

Talking it over with my mom, we decided that I probably won't end up with a brand new car anyways, but I'm probably not getting anything less than an 06, since of the 38 cars on my list, I can get 21 as an 07 in my price range. I haven't looked at Kia's yet, I forgot to do that last week, but I will def. take a look, since I hear they are good [inexpensive] cars as well.

My aunt and uncle both have Carrollas, but the thing is they are hard for me to get in and out of [they are both shorter people, so it only makes sense that they have smaller cars]. I really do love the Beetle, and I could get an 05 Convertable which I wouldn't mind, but I would have to try getting in and out of it.

I really do like the Civic, and the CR-V. I was shocked how much the used CR-Vs are, but if I can pursuade my parents, I'm sure I could get them to get me an 06 or 07 of it. My mom said she really likes it. so...we'll see about that. I really do like the Yaris Sedan, and I could get a brand new one of those.

LngPrmsdRd, I really do appreciate you double typing that long response for me!! And about the aux Mp3 jack, I do have a devise that you plug into the cigarette lighter thing, that works fine, just if I get a car with the thingy on the steering wheel rather than on the floor [I want one on the floor], it would be a pain to change from neutral to drive [in example]. I am so car stupid its not even funny. I need to work my butt off so I can get my permit in like 16 days!!!

iamnotafraid, its funny you mentioned the Camero, my mom used to have one of them!! She said she liked it. so I guess I'll have to check one of those out as well.

JWS-I did look at chryslters, but they are a tad out of my price range. they are wicked nice though

Lee-I saw that list on Verizon actually! Which inspired me to look around. I really appreciate you reposting it though, since my mom deleted the favorite folder I put it in! Good luck with your car shopping though, hopefully this thread could help you too!

Camchristo-I agree those infinitis suck for mialge, and they are wayyyy too expensive. so those are off now. I know my budget is pretty high, so thats why I'm trying to examine all my possibilities for my first car.

I'm glad everyone was able to help a bit. I would write a longer response, but its thundering, adn i need to shut down my comp.

[Lee]

My youngest sister sent me a picture on my cell phone Thursday of her latest addition. She bought a 2008 Scion XB! It's black & the inside is like a gray. She has a place to plug in an iPod (though she doesn't have one & I'd like to have a place to plug in mine in my next new car). She doesn't keep a car long; her last car she kept for 2 1/2 years. That probably a record for her.

Lee