Car Advice

[JCAJR30]

My uncle (in-law) has owned several hyundia vehicles - he loves them. Great warranty - 5 yrs bumper to bumper, 10 years powertrain - Just bought my wife an elantra based on his praise of them. She averages 38 mpg (car tracks mpg) and spends most miles as soccer mom driving only a few miles back and forth. We drove to east coast for visit and got 40ish mpg while on freeway.

Uncle is on his third SUV (can't remember model name), trades them in at approx 75k miles and has had no problems.

We looked at used (better option as mentioned in previous post - Dave Ramsey says - let some other schmuck pay the overhead)... Honda accord w/ 40k miles cost more than new Elantra. We paid just over 17k after T&T fees.

They are comfortable enough to drive to east coast w/o squirming too much - lots of leg room both front and back - huge trunk - I'm not big on bells and whistles but it came standard w/ power W/D/L - in dash info center w/ mpg, tripometer, distance left in fuel, temp, oil life... IDK, a bunch of info... steering wheel controls... Oh, and there's an "ECO" function that shuts half your cylinders off once you reach operating speed - but you decide when to push the button - so you dont have power issues when merging w/ traffic such as freeway on ramp...

All this and I spent the first 30ish yrs of my life as a strict GM guy... what's the world coming to?

 

[amboran]

Not to bash any japanese or korean cars, but I will put my Ford focus up against anything mentioned here. 4 years old-averages 33-40 mpg(5 spd manual).Very comfortable car(for a compact)-just returned from a 3800 mile trip to Arizona and back-great air conditioner. It's been a dependable ride for over 70,000 miles so far.....

 

[Mike Elzinga]

My lady is also in the new car market. VW Jetta with a TDI motor will get between 45-50 mpg, very nice equipped at $25k and you should expect about 500,000 miles out of it. She is buying one as soon as our preferred dealer can get one in stock.

Also, more plenty o power, which is uncommon in anything econimical.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

My lady is also in the new car market. VW Jetta with a TDI motor will get between 45-50 mpg, very nice equipped at $25k and you should expect about 500,000 miles out of it. She is buying one as soon as our preferred dealer can get one in stock.

Also, more plenty o power, which is uncommon in anything econimical.

The diesel motor may last 500K, but good luck with the rest of the car. Im not bashing, I own a jetta and love it. But dont buy a VW for long term durability.

 

[VaGriller]

My lady is also in the new car market. VW Jetta with a TDI motor will get between 45-50 mpg, very nice equipped at $25k and you should expect about 500,000 miles out of it. She is buying one as soon as our preferred dealer can get one in stock.

Also, more plenty o power, which is uncommon in anything econimical.

I came across an extreme mpg board a while back dedicated to VW diesel motors. These guys were getting 70-80 mpg and running biodiesel.

 

[85t5mcss]

The VW Jetta TDIs do get 40-45 with Autos and 50ish with Manuals, but when repairs need to be done the brand is usually expensive and IIRC they require 5W40 Synthetic oil changes. But I still wouldn't rule them out. I'm not sure where they all are, but maybe going to CarMax to test a few different vehicles is in order. We have one on the North side of Indy and ACRA in Shelbyville.

 

[Fenway]

My first piece of advice would be to buy used and let the previous owner eat the big time depreciation.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

The VW Jetta TDIs do get 40-45 with Autos and 50ish with Manuals, but when repairs need to be done the brand is usually expensive and IIRC they require 5W40 Synthetic oil changes. But I still wouldn't rule them out. I'm not sure where they all are, but maybe going to CarMax to test a few different vehicles is in order. We have one on the North side of Indy and ACRA in Shelbyville.

Yes, VW service is very expensive. I have an 09 turbo GLI sedan with a 6 speed manual. Its $65 a pop for the oil changes, granted its synthetic and only due every 10K miles.

I wanted the DSG auto trans which is a remarkable piece of engineering, but service prices on that version are through the roof. An example is the 40,000 mile service runs about $400. Not to mention its a very complicated transmission and I had concerns about longevity and repair costs since I drive a lot.

Its not cheap transportation but it sure is fun to drive. I am seriously considering getting the wife a TDI when her G6 dies.

 

[sepe]

I'd agree with buy used 1 to 3 years old with lowest mileage you can find with the options and price you like. I'd stay far away from any of the battery cars. Hyundais, they've pretty much always been a solid choice in the economy class and now they're making really nice looking cars with great warranties @ good price points.

 

[cburnworth]

I have a 86 volvo I bought in 2001 for $2k, it has about 400K miles on it, not the prettiest thing on the planet but it get's killer gas mileage. I haven't driven it in awhile because the van is easier with the kids. I would recommend cash for a used car as mentioned previously. Take your time & do some research. Any vehicle you get must be well maintained & it will last. I have been looking at the Diesel VW's myself along with late 90's early 2000 Lexus.

 

[88GT]

But if you're out to buy a new car American auto makers have thier head out of their asses now, it's just that the trust is gone

I'm not so sure about that.

2011 Automakers Report Card: Who makes the best cars?

Granted, that's not to say that there hasn't been improvement. But the difference between not winning a single game in a season or just one ain't much.

Where's Lee Iacoca when you need him?

ETA: Oh, yeah, I forgot to share my two cents. Skip the hybrid technology until someone actually keeps one long enough to pass it to his 16y/o in 12 years. I don't trust anything of this magnitude that hasn't been through a full life cycle of experience. I'm sure we're going to hear about how bad they are for the environment in about 10 years when the consequences start kicking in. Nothing a lib touches has much forethought behind it. I think you'd be better off with a tried-and-true ICE option in a make/model with a good reputation for efficiency. And, yes, buy used. Even if it's barely used.

 

[joslar15]

This is one man's opinion as one who has more years behind him than ahead. I see economy seems to be a priority for you, but why sacrifice performance, handling and fun? I would look at the Honda Civic Si or one of the Mini Coopers. Both will provide respectable mileage and be a heluvalot more fun than any you have indicated. Of course, YMMV!

 

[tgallmey]

why not a diesel jetta? hybrids take more energy to produce than most pickups and there expensive to fix

 

[MrSmitty]

I'm a Ford guy, so of course I'd look at Fords, the Focus' and the Festiva, and the Fusion hybrid get GREAT mileage, and at the end of the day the money goes to an American car company. I have an old F-150 and love it!

 

[Sweetums]

I have a Mazda 2 that I purchased new in Feb. of this year. It is an awesome little car and I couldn't be happier. Great fuel mileage and it drives like a go kart. The rear seats fold down which is great for additional luggage, or long guns . It's got a much sportier feel to the way it drives compared to its competitors like the Ford Fiesta, Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris, etc.

 

[Boiled Owl]

If you save $10K on a Hundai over a Prius that would be 95,000 miles of $4 gas figured at 38mpg. My Mr Goodwrench friend bought his wife a Hundai after their dealership took on the franchise. Liked the warranty and obviously saw the reliability from the mechanic side of it.

BIL is on his second Prius and loves them. Got hit by a small ford product and the ford was totaled. Prius is a lot tougher than you think.

WE however have been leaning toward a VW diesel. I like diesels.

 

[jeremy]

You hit the nail on the head with that last part. I plan on giving this car to my son when he gets his license. He's 4 right now, so yeah, I plan on driving it till it's dead. That's the ONLY reason we want a new car, so we can care for it correctly and make it last.

Keep the advice coming INGO. Everything online review I've read gives the Accent good reviews (2012).

If your goal is to hand it down to your 4 Year Old to learn on get a Volkswagon...

If I was driving only in town I would look at something like a Prius. However, I live in the sticks so the advatage is not there.

Funny, side note about a Prius.
A friend of ours drove out to Wichita, KS in his with his Wife.
My Wife and I road out in Our F-250 Diesel.
It cost him as much to drive his little Prius there and back...

 

[pjcalla]

We purchased a new car about 5 months ago, and researched every car out there. Our main focus was safety and reliability, with good gas mileage coming in third.

We found the Kia to be like driving a tin can. Very noisy on the highway, and the doors seemed really thin. It was cheap for the options they have, though.

We looked at the Ford Edge, and really liked it. It was rather pricey for the options. We didn't go with the Edge because we weren't completely sure about the reliability aspect.

We also looked at Nissan Murano, Pathfinder (already have one), and Xterra. We liked Nissan because of the reliability (wife had a sedan forever with no problems and got a 2005 Pathfinder new, which I still drive). We didn't go with Nissan because they are $$$REALLY PROUD$$$ of them. We have since had a major problem with the Pathfinder that they refused to fix, but that is for another thread.

We had a VW GTI, and that thing was a money pit. It was fun to drive, but the oil changes $70+, and other maintenance wasn't worth it. We also found out that, if the headlight went out, it was $1200+ to fix it. It was not that great in the snow, either. On the other hand, my Father in law has an older VW Jetta TDI, and that car is awesome. Great gas mileage, and actually has some pep.

We ended up with a Subaru Outback. My wife absolutely loves the car. It's all-wheel drive and still gets 28 mpg city, and about 33-35 mpg on long drives going 75mph. It will last forever, based on the history of Subaru, if we keep up with the oil changes (which I do). While researching, we learned that Subaru invented the CVT (transmission) and sells their older technology first to Audi, then to Nissan. Basically, the transmission doesn't "shift" the gears just move further apart, etc. I believe they are on the 4th generation and the new Audis and Nissans have the 3rd. The transmissions that Nissan are so proud of, is actually old technology.

Anyway, take a look at Subaru. We thought they were really pricey, but when we did the research, we were really surprised. They offer tons of options for cheap. If you decide on Subaru, go to Falcone (if you are in Indy). Really great shop to do business with. They also have a VW dealership on the property, so you could drive both.

Good luck.

 

[hotfarmboy1]

I say give the Fords a chance. Not just the focus and fiesta, but also take a look at the 2011 V6 mustang. The new V6 packs 305 hp and is rated at 31 mpg!! But of course that's probably with the regular 2.73 rear end gear compared to the optional 3.23 gears in the V6 performance package. I'm thinking about finding a used one myself. Just my

 

[CombatVet]

I think I'm going to do a little more research and take some advice from here, especially about getting a used model. That's a good point about someone else eating the overhead. I guess 20k miles isn't really much of a difference from 0.