getting the "new(to me)"car fever again....

[earlyre]

My Dad and brother both just "upgraded" their rides,
Dad Replaced his 05 Freestyle, with a 12 Explorer
Brother replaced his 06 Mustang GT, with a 13 Challenger R/T Blacktop (5.7 Hemi)

which is causing my semi annual case of car fever to flare up.

I could just but my brother's Mustang, which would help him get 1 of the 2 he needs to sell gone, but as an only car/DD, a 300HP RWD beast doesn't make good sense in an area that does see winter weather.

i'd wanted to wait a couple years and get a dart, but ones equipped the way i'd want aren't old enough to get dwn into my price range.

and i've always had sedans, but in my heart been more of a Wagon guy (Estate for those outside the US) , but they just don't sell too many of 'em anymore.

as much as i blindly disliked them in the past, the Dodge Caliber has caught my eye as of late.
Local Dodge dealer has 3 in stock.
all more or less equipped the same.
1)"Inferno Red crystal" '10, manual, CPO, approx 20k mi for $11,946.
2)"Inferno Red crystal" '10, CVT, CPO, approx 55k mi for $11,946.
3)"Mango Tango" '11,CVT, approx 20k mi for $13,950.

Never learned to drive stick, so scratch #1 (CVT doesn't scare me)
#2 shows Rental records in the dealer provided autocheck
#3 Shows Repossession. neither of which bodes well for having been maintained.
I prefer the Orange, and like the lower Miles, but the Red is CPO, so it's at least been gone over, and had the glaring problems fixed..
this dealer is currently offering "free" "lifetime" warranties on all their cars, so.. the big stuff SHOULD be covered..

which would you choose?
#1
#2
#3

 

[dparm]

Rental = beat to [censored].
Repo = might have been beat to [censored].

There are plenty of those cars around and you're not in a rush to replace your vehicle, so I would pass on those two and wait for a good one.

 

[surfstar]

What's wrong with the Neon?

See my 'new' car in the stable - nope - instead, an early retirement.

Need vs want. I wanted a newer car for years, saved for it, could have paid cash, then realized I didn't need to spend that much ($10-12k) on something that would just depreciate. Its not new to you for very long, but the payments can be. I'm only dishing this out, as you seem hesitant and mentioned its an 'itch' or 'fever' more likely than a need.

 

[GutsyGecko]

Buy his mustang and drive better.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: GutsyGecko
Buy his mustang and drive better.

no. i've been tempted, but if the fuel bills didn't kill me( @ BEST 25 hwy, and b/c of the Ford Racing Tune, and intake, it takes Premium), i'd likely have it wrapped around a pole sometime this winter.( i have a bit of a leaden foot. 4 cyl of Fury is fine for me.)

 

[fdcg27]

Take a deep breathe, decide what else you might do with the money you'll spend on a new car and then decide if a Caliber is really what you want, when you have a perfectly useable Neon.
If something new to you really is that important, then find something that would really entertain you, and a Caliber ain't all that entertaining.
Old BMWs are nice and you could buy one to use as a summer daily driver, as I did.
OTOH, you could always keep the Neon, take a nice vacation in some warm spot this winter (we've been doing this for the past fourteen years, since it's just so nice to go someplace warm while winter has it's way with Ohio)and keep the extra money in your pocket.

 

[ClutchDisc]

I'd choose number 1 for sure.
Originally Posted By: earlyre
Never learned to drive stick, so scratch #1

Why? Learn how, it's not hard.

But seriously just keep your current car, it's a lot cheaper.

 

[fdcg27]

+1.
Anybody who thinks of himself as a "car guy" must be able to drive a stick.
It's just a skill that the OP has yet to learn.
It isn't hard and it is fun.

 

[earlyre]

I fully intend to learn, as soon as someone is willing to let me learn on THEIR car.
well...maybe LEARN isn't the right word...Master would be more like it...several years ago a buddy talked me into Schneider national's (trucking company) company paid training program, if we had succeeded we would have been a team, hauling stuffs about 6k mi/week (or so they said).
well the first time i stepped in the cab of that training truck was the first time i had ever used a manual. didn't go terribly well, didn't get much better over the 2 week program.
ended up washing out, and owing them $2500. (it's company paid IF you pass, and IF they hire you, and IF you last a full year.)
the one time i drove my one buddy'd beater s10 (before the engine self destructed) I was Double Clutching, like the big truck.... and that was in....2003?... no one i know owns a manual, or if they do, aren't willing to use it for a learner.

 

[fdcg27]

Buy one to learn on.
As ClutchDisc noted, it really isn't that hard and most clutches on newer cars last about forever anyway, so even if you shave a few K off the life of the clutch, you won't have lost much.

 

[earlyre]

I've tried to keep my eyes peeled for a Cheap manual just to beat on practice with for a summer or some such, but apparently i have different ideas of cheap than most people.

 

[GMFan]

My father made my brother, sister and I purchase stick shifts for our first cars in cash(all older beater cars with 5 speeds). We all drive stick shift cars to this day by choice and preference.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Buy one to learn on.
As ClutchDisc noted, it really isn't that hard and most clutches on newer cars last about forever anyway, so even if you shave a few K off the life of the clutch, you won't have lost much.

+1 That's what I did. I bought the S-10 before I could drive it.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: GMFan
My father made my brother, sister and I purchase stick shifts for our first cars in cash(all older beater cars with 5 speeds). We all drive stick shift cars to this day by choice and preference.


my Father actively Discouraged me from buying a manual. i wanted to get one 2 cars ago, when i was shopping for the first car i bought myself.(Summer 2001).

 

[fdcg27]

An old girl friend bought a new '81 Prelude 5 spd as her first stick. I taught her to drive it and she worked on smoothness and she and the car were fine.
Everyone just has to pull the trigger and buy a stick and learn to drive it.
Some do and some never will.

 

[TallPaul]

Buy he stick. Keep the old car to drive until you get enough practice on the stick to drive it all the time, then sell the old one. Make driving fun, get the stick.

 

[rwallac2]

I would definitely not buy the rental....especially with that many miles on it. I used to work for a rental car company that starts with an "e" and ends with an "e" and customers (and even some employees) would beat the heck out of the cars. While we would keep maintenance records on the cars, sometimes customers would rent them out for several weeks at a time and put hundreds (sometimes a thousand or so miles) on them making it sometimes difficult to get oil changes, tire rotations etc... when they needed to be done. If the car went straight from the rental fleet to the dealership that means it was kept in the fleet for a long time and probably rented out close to a hundred times.

 

[dparm]

Could use your Neon as a winter car and buy the Mustang as a fun project/weekend car.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Could use your Neon as a winter car and buy the Mustang as a fun project/weekend car.

This sounds like the best idea if you have good winter storage.
Just trading your Neon for a newer compact car won't really be an upgrade anyways unless you get one that has a bit more performance, Cobalt SS or a Mazda3 2.3L, Civic SI.

 

[exranger06]

I'd go with option #4: Keep your current car and don't buy anything. Just because your family members bought new cars doesn't mean you have to, too. Unless your car is becoming unreliable or doesn't suit your needs any more. Just seems like a lot of money to spend for no reason other than to quench your "fever." I'm glad I never get the "fever." Saves me a ton of money.