Opinion on selecting a $15k used Sedan

[surfstar]

+1
If you can get into a new Mazda6 for around $20-21k, vs a used 4cyl Accord at $15k, you'll save $400-500 in gas per year (roughly) and have a new car warranty. Likely to get better financing deal (if not paying cash) on a new car, also.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Increase your budget to 20K and buy a brand new car in Mazda6 and/or Accord. Even in the base trim, these cars are equipped nicely.

It makes no sense to buy used car with 15K as a primary daily driver when you get new for 20K. That is my personal opinion. For that kind of money either I would go full fancy on a used aka MB or BMW or new Civic/Corrola/Mazda3 or with little bit more Mazda6/Accord.


I got $17K in cash on hand. That's the max I want to spend....$17K OTD. I don't want to finance the car. The cars I'm looking at come with 100k power train warranty....I think 1 year 12 month/12K mile bumper to bumper as well. The car is $22K new. So if I can buy for $14K (pretty confident in that) then I'm saving $8K. That's pretty significant amount of money to me....I'll gladly trade eighty $100 bills for a slightly used car with 28K miles on it vs. a new one. That's a no brainer for me.

The "increase to $20K" makes sense though, but that mentality never stops. Once I save up $20K, then I'll say...."if I just had $25K, I could buy...." It never stops for me.

Plus, this car will mostly be used by my wife...and you know how women are with cars. Even though I'll take care of it, it will just be a matter of time before her kids have stains in the seats and door dings all over it. So, I'm confident in capping my budget to where I have it.

If I spend any more than that, I'm setting myself up for being upset all the time because she and her kids ruined the car. LOL!!!

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: Phishin

If I spend any more than that, I'm setting myself up for being upset all the time because she and her kids ruined the car. LOL!!!


In that case, go down to $10k for the budget.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Increase your budget to 20K and buy a brand new car in Mazda6 and/or Accord. Even in the base trim, these cars are equipped nicely.

It makes no sense to buy used car with 15K as a primary daily driver when you get new for 20K. That is my personal opinion. For that kind of money either I would go full fancy on a used aka MB or BMW or new Civic/Corrola/Mazda3 or with little bit more Mazda6/Accord.


Sure...when do you send him the extra $5000?

 

[supton]

Sounds like you've got a good plan, then: you know exactly what you want to spend, and the end result (car will wear out anyhow).

Dumb question: why not aim to spend $10k on something in great shape but minus a warrenty; and pocket the extra $7k away for a rainy day? Bank it somehow, "just in case" the transmission takes a dump. I think you're trying to maximize warrenty while minimizing downtime, while trying to get the nicest vehicle going; but I have to wonder about a different direction.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: supton
Sounds like you've got a good plan, then: you know exactly what you want to spend, and the end result (car will wear out anyhow).

Dumb question: why not aim to spend $10k on something in great shape but minus a warrenty; and pocket the extra $7k away for a rainy day? Bank it somehow, "just in case" the transmission takes a dump. I think you're trying to maximize warrenty while minimizing downtime, while trying to get the nicest vehicle going; but I have to wonder about a different direction.


I'm not too concerned about the warranty coverage. I'm hoping when I buy a 3 year old 4 cylinder Honda Accord, I'm buying a car that won't need any power train work. And I think this is a car that should do that, no problem.

I'm trying to buy the nicest car I can (spend $15K). I'm trying to buy a no-hassle vehicle (Newer Honda 4-Cylinders). I'm trying to buy a family car that will last us for awhile (4 door mid-size sedan with Honda quality). I'm trying to buy a decent looking, fairly fun/classy car to drive (why I'm not interested in Hyundai's or plan-jane Toyota's). Never been a Mazda guy...no reason not to though. I could buy a new Civic for about this money (or any other similar sized car), but I think I'll regret not having a more full-sized vehicle.

I'm not against a Fusion, Dart, Cruze, etc. I'm going to check them out heavily this week. Test drive them. See what I like. I know what these Accords are like....a lot of my friends and family members drive these.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Increase your budget to 20K and buy a brand new car in Mazda6 and/or Accord. Even in the base trim, these cars are equipped nicely.

It makes no sense to buy used car with 15K as a primary daily driver when you get new for 20K. That is my personal opinion. For that kind of money either I would go full fancy on a used aka MB or BMW or new Civic/Corrola/Mazda3 or with little bit more Mazda6/Accord.


I got $17K in cash on hand. That's the max I want to spend....$17K OTD. I don't want to finance the car. The cars I'm looking at come with 100k power train warranty....I think 1 year 12 month/12K mile bumper to bumper as well. The car is $22K new. So if I can buy for $14K (pretty confident in that) then I'm saving $8K. That's pretty significant amount of money to me....I'll gladly trade eighty $100 bills for a slightly used car with 28K miles on it vs. a new one. That's a no brainer for me.

The "increase to $20K" makes sense though, but that mentality never stops. Once I save up $20K, then I'll say...."if I just had $25K, I could buy...." It never stops for me.


That's the best way to approach the problem, set a budget you are comfortable with and stick to it. All this "increase your budget just a bit" is nice when it's not your own money being spent.
Plus, all those new car suggestions don't account for taxes, delivery fees and other nonsense that usually gets tacked on to new car prices, so the initial bump to $20k would end up being $22-$23k. Pretty steep increase from the original $15k, if you ask me.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Phishin

I'm not too concerned about the warranty coverage. I'm hoping when I buy a 3 year old 4 cylinder Honda Accord, I'm buying a car that won't need any power train work. And I think this is a car that should do that, no problem.

I'm trying to buy the nicest car I can (spend $15K). I'm trying to buy a no-hassle vehicle (Newer Honda 4-Cylinders). I'm trying to buy a family car that will last us for awhile (4 door mid-size sedan with Honda quality). I'm trying to buy a decent looking, fairly fun/classy car to drive (why I'm not interested in Hyundai's or plan-jane Toyota's). Never been a Mazda guy...no reason not to though. I could buy a new Civic for about this money (or any other similar sized car), but I think I'll regret not having a more full-sized vehicle.

I'm not against a Fusion, Dart, Cruze, etc. I'm going to check them out heavily this week. Test drive them. See what I like. I know what these Accords are like....a lot of my friends and family members drive these.



So it sounds like you had already made up your mind before starting this thread...?

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: dishdude

So it sounds like you had already made up your mind before starting this thread...?


Not at all. Not one bit. I recently came across this money. Just made the decision to buy a car. Usually, I'm knee deep in research for a few months before I make this kind of purchase....but this time, the money came out of no-where, and I decided to buy a car with it.

So, I'm not too familiar with what's out there. I thought I might miss something. Something that isn't obvious to me.

I'm not dead set on a Honda. I like the look of those Fusions....need to get in one. Same with the Cruze. The Darts look cool, but first generation cars kinda scare me. I need to get my feet wet and drive these things. I value BITOG'ers opinions and so I wanted to ask to help me make a better informed decision.

The only cars I'm against are anything out of my price range, an older expensive car (like a 5-15 year old BMW, Benz, Cadillac, etc.), and Hyundai's and Kia's.

 

[Phishin]

Is it a good idea to stay away from these 4-cylinder Turbo's engines? Like the Eco-Tech? It seems Chevy offered them in some used cars I was looking at, but I dont' see them in their 2013's....

 

[Burt]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
Is it a good idea to stay away from these 4-cylinder Turbo's engines? Like the Eco-Tech? It seems Chevy offered them in some used cars I was looking at, but I dont' see them in their 2013's....


Good question. I don't know if there is enough real world experience to say if there is an expensive turbo replacement down the road. Any then if you have to use premium fuel to get the benefits, then not sure its worth it.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Increase your budget to 20K and buy a brand new car in Mazda6 and/or Accord. Even in the base trim, these cars are equipped nicely.

It makes no sense to buy used car with 15K as a primary daily driver when you get new for 20K. That is my personal opinion. For that kind of money either I would go full fancy on a used aka MB or BMW or new Civic/Corrola/Mazda3 or with little bit more Mazda6/Accord.


I got $17K in cash on hand. That's the max I want to spend....$17K OTD. I don't want to finance the car. The cars I'm looking at come with 100k power train warranty....I think 1 year 12 month/12K mile bumper to bumper as well. The car is $22K new. So if I can buy for $14K (pretty confident in that) then I'm saving $8K. That's pretty significant amount of money to me....I'll gladly trade eighty $100 bills for a slightly used car with 28K miles on it vs. a new one. That's a no brainer for me.

The "increase to $20K" makes sense though, but that mentality never stops. Once I save up $20K, then I'll say...."if I just had $25K, I could buy...." It never stops for me.

Plus, this car will mostly be used by my wife...and you know how women are with cars. Even though I'll take care of it, it will just be a matter of time before her kids have stains in the seats and door dings all over it. So, I'm confident in capping my budget to where I have it.

If I spend any more than that, I'm setting myself up for being upset all the time because she and her kids ruined the car. LOL!!!


Not disagreeing with your reasoning really but the savings might not be that much on used. It may be possible to get a new '12 for around $18k with a 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty. Let's say the used car is around $15k. But the thing is the used car is probably worth $3-4k less. So even though you spent $3-4k less, you didn't actually save anything.

I would look at new Malibu, Fusion and maybe Accord and see if you can get a deal. And of course used ones. If you get a good deal it is possible to actually save a few $1000 on used. But the price has to be much lower than new because the new $22k car likely went for $19k and is worth more.

 

[sciphi]

I'd give the Cruze LT a good hard look. Just don't get a 2011, no matter how cheap it may be. GM made a lot of changes for 2012, and it's apparent. Fuel mileage increased noticeably thanks to a lower final drive ratio on the 2012 automatic. The passing power from the 1.4T is about unmatched in its class, also. It doesn't need premium in stock form. A lot of Cruze 1.4T owners are happy as clams with 87 octane. I'd expect the turbo to last a good long while as long as the oil changes are kept up on with a full synthetic oil, since AC Delco semi-syn can't hack the oil life monitor's suggested intervals.

Check out Hertz rental fleets. A 1FL (fleet-spec) Cruze LT just might be doable for $15k.

 

[Mykl]

Don't forget about the Acura TSX. If interior space isn't a a critical concern (they're spacious enough, but not as spacious as you can get), you can get a nice one for $15k.

For my personal car I'd take one of these with up to 100k miles on the clock over a brand new Civic or Corolla any day.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: surfstar
Originally Posted By: Phishin

If I spend any more than that, I'm setting myself up for being upset all the time because she and her kids ruined the car. LOL!!!


In that case, go down to $10k for the budget.

may I suggest dogproof/waterproof/spillproof seatcovers?

you really really want a sedan?
mazda5/kia rondo (mini-mini-vans) may be OK...

 

[97tbird]

Used E46
Used Legacy GT (previous gen)

 

[Spazdog]

One thing I noticed about the current Focus: the dashboard intrudes a lot into the passenger side. To get adequate room on the passenger side, you have to slide the seat back pretty far and that squashes all the rear passenger legroom.

Maybe it's necessary for structural integrity or safety

but it sticks out what seems like another foot past the edge of the door.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: gregk24
I dont know why so many people buy american...i guess they would be ok if they didnt keep them too long. I read lots of car reviews and the long term reliability of american made cars just seems terrible. They seem to nickle and dime you there whole lives! I say just spend a little extra up front and buy Honda/Toyota and be done with it. Yes Honda/Toyota have issues too. But far fewer. Sorry for my rant.


Ha! Very nice troll job, congrats. You can't even spell nickel.


Some of you guys are so quick to call troll...geez

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
With that budget I'd get a 2006-2007 Accord. My wife and I both had 2007 Accords at one point. I had an EX-L V6 6MT and she had an EX 5AT. It's got a little more room than Civic, that generation of Accord feels and drives like a more expensive car than it is, they updated the rear end in 2006 to add nice LED taillights, it's the last two years of the model run of an already reliable car so there's virtually nothing to go wrong, the K24 is bulletproof, we got ~34MPG highway in her car.


Totally agree....the 7.5 gen accord is an excellent car. Very well rounded and very refined. I have the K24 in mine and they are very smooth engines, and get good gas mileage. I usually average 26 around town which is very good for mid size sedan. My aunt has one with the 3.0 J30 V6 and that engine is as smooth as glass, cant even tell its running. Rocket like acceleration too, but the 4 banger will suffice. Plenty of pep and much better gas mileage. A very low maintenance car too. The 2008-2011 Accords were not as good IMO. I test drove one recently as i was looking at trading in, i wasnt very impressed. The seat fabric seemed cheaper, dash materials were cheaper. And the car was too big for my liking. The size of the 7.5 2006-2007 was just perfect, not too big and not too small.

 

[UNC164]

Lots of great 06-07 cars out there now - I'd also avoid inbuilt NAV units on any used car. When they break the inbuilt NAV units and screens are $$$$ to repair and they are basically obsolete in most cars even when new. Many are integrated into basic controls on the car so when they break you have no choice to get them fixed.