Buying a used car next weekend, recommendations?

[scottmandue]

Just thought I would throw this out to the Pelican brain trust.

Wifes truck is dieing and has to go.

Parameters:

I have been pre-approved for $10,000, of course less is better but that is out limit.

Car will be purchased in the Portland OR. area.

She has a 16 YO daughter so four doors and roomy enought for soccer mom duties.

Preferably 30 MPG highway.

Has to be dead reliable, I don't have time or money to be fixing things on the car.

Of course the daughter will be driving it sometimes so it must be safe.

Contenders:

Mazda3 - Everyone seems to love them and they get great reviews.

Toyota - Corolla or Matrix

Honda - Civic or Accord

I keep seeing posts of BMW's that go 200k or 300K miles... maybe we should look at one.

Ideas?

[m21sniper]

Infinity G35.

[kaisen]

Stay away from BMW
Toyota Corolla is a safe choice, but you'll pay more
Accord is fine, probably a better choice than a Civic
If you're considering a Matrix, make sure you look at a Pontiac Vibe - same car, cheaper, better warranty
Mazda 3 is the best choice of what you listed, as we all agreed in your previous post

[scottmandue]

Thanks guys,

I want the Mazda... she is a big Honda fan... probably boil down to what we see shopping Saturday morning.

I would like a G35 but I don't see any listed in our price range.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Stay away from BMW
Toyota Corolla is a safe choice, but you'll pay more
Accord is fine, probably a better choice than a Civic
If you're considering a Matrix, make sure you look at a Pontiac Vibe - same car, cheaper, better warranty
Mazda 3 is the best choice of what you listed, as we all agreed in your previous post

Oh, and what about Nissan?

TIA

[williecoyote]

I vote for the Accord

[LeeH]

+1 for the Mazda. If she could drive them back to back that would probably be her choice, too. Don't forget the Mazda6 if you need a little more space.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Oh, and what about Nissan?

TIA

Maxima is the G35 in Nissan clothes.

Altima is a good car too...

Mazda is a good deal used, they depreciate much quicker than Toyota, Honda so a few years old, they're very reasonable. New is a killer.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Oh, and what about Nissan?

TIA

Well, if you could find a 2007-up Sentra for $10K they're great cars. The older Sentras, not so much. '07-08 Versa might be in the budget. Still, I'd still suggest a Mazda 3.

A 2.5L 4cyl (timing chain )Altima is a good Accord alternative, and a little cheaper (but not much). So, I'd still suggest the Accord. I'd easily recommend a 2007-up Altima over any Accord, but it's not under $10K.

Nissan's car line-up started to rock-n-roll in 2007. Older than that, stay Honda or Mazda.

Obviously does not apply to V6 versions of the Altima or Maxima, but they're not likely on your radar.

BTW, tcar is flat wrong. An Infiniti G35 is a narrow rear-drive platform where the Maxima is a wide front-drive platform. They are NOT the same car, barely the same 3.5 engine (tuned way differently). Maybe he's thinking of the old I35 which was basically a fancy Maxima the same way a Lexus ES is just a Camry. But that was several years ago.

[Heel n Toe]

See if you can find a 1st gen. ('02-'08) Mazda 6 Wagon with the 4 cylinder... 20 city / 29 hwy.



Mazda 6 Wagon - Road Test - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

[LeeH]

FYI - The Mazda 2.3L engine also has a timing chain instead of a belt.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by LeeH

FYI - The Mazda 2.3L engine also has a timing chain instead of a belt.

It's only Honda that didn't get with the program until quite recently.

Toyota Corolla went chain in 1998, 4 cyl Camry in 2002.

[Scuba Steve]

What about a Focus?

[kaisen]

Well, what became of this?

What did you buy?