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Forum Thread

Landers may need a new car

18,933 670 October 3, 2010 at 01:53 PM in Autos
I really didn't want to purchase a new vehicle, but the fact that my car may cost me about 1/2 or more than the value of it to repair and I own it outright, I may end up j ust buying a new one.

I'm looking used, but not opposed to new if the price is only a little bit more than what it would cost for used.

I'm looking to try to stay in 7-10k range, but could go a little more if the car was newer and the cost was only a couple thousand more and I could keep my monthly payments reasonable.

I'm looking at maybe Mazda 3 or similar. I'd like a Sedan, but am open to a small SUV. I don't want a coupe since i carry my hockey gear with me a lot and transporting that in a smaller coupe is inconvenient.

Any suggestions on vehicles to look at?
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Joined Jan 2006
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> bubble2 18,933 Posts
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Original Poster
Landers
10-03-2010 at 09:05 PM.
10-03-2010 at 09:05 PM.
Quote from BayArea :
Did you really just suggest a Kia? laugh out loud
I'm not opposed to Kia, unless they are bad in regards to maintenance.
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> bubble2 3,549 Posts
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coulditbeSatan
10-03-2010 at 09:20 PM.
10-03-2010 at 09:20 PM.
Quote from Landers :
I'm not opposed to Kia, unless they are bad in regards to maintenance.
I don't know if it will mean Kia parts or service will be harder to get in the future but Hyundai is considering closing their Kia division.
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> bubble2 22,408 Posts
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shuriken
10-03-2010 at 10:12 PM.
10-03-2010 at 10:12 PM.
Quote from mrlaugh :
three years worth of corollas being recalled for dying engine computers isn't trivial, either. mine has been pretty much an utter failure, and I don't think I'd go back and do it again.
yeah, if you've had first-hand experiences that were poor, then obviously you will be reluctant to try it again. luckily we've come a long way since the advent of automobiles: there are plenty of makes/models to choose from now and they've become nearly fungible goods. if you don't like one, then try another. Big Grin
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> bubble2 4,199 Posts
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idkist
10-04-2010 at 06:00 AM.
10-04-2010 at 06:00 AM.
Isn't Kia owned by Hyundai... Hyundai has made a lot of strides and is a pretty good option for new cheap cars. My mom had an Elantra GT. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. I wasn't a huge fan of it since the pleather was pretty crappy (to the point I would've preferred cloth) and it seemed pretty anemic after about 3k rpms.
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> bubble2 21,668 Posts
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shhaggy
10-04-2010 at 06:18 AM.
10-04-2010 at 06:18 AM.
Quote from idkist :
Isn't Kia owned by Hyundai... Hyundai has made a lot of strides and is a pretty good option for new cheap cars. My mom had an Elantra GT. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. I wasn't a huge fan of it since the pleather was pretty crappy (to the point I would've preferred cloth) and it seemed pretty anemic after about 3k rpms.
Hyundai bought a majority stake in Kia once upon a time after they neared bankrupcy, and currently still owns about 40% of it, but that doesn't mean they have a large design influence on teh company. Kias and Hyundais are far from the same company, the solid reputation that Hyundai is recently benefiting from should not be applied to Kia because they bought some stock.
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R1Budha
10-04-2010 at 09:46 AM.
10-04-2010 at 09:46 AM.
Quote from Landers :
I'm not opposed to Kia, unless they are bad in regards to maintenance.
have a friend with a rio that is several years old.
it's had oil and regular maintenance is all.
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Joined Sep 2006
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> bubble2 19,431 Posts
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Fallacy
10-04-2010 at 09:57 AM.
10-04-2010 at 09:57 AM.
Quote from Landers :
I really didn't want to purchase a new vehicle, but the fact that my car may cost me about 1/2 or more than the value of it to repair and I own it outright, I may end up j ust buying a new one.

I'm looking used, but not opposed to new if the price is only a little bit more than what it would cost for used.

I'm looking to try to stay in 7-10k range, but could go a little more if the car was newer and the cost was only a couple thousand more and I could keep my monthly payments reasonable.

I'm looking at maybe Mazda 3 or similar. I'd like a Sedan, but am open to a small SUV. I don't want a coupe since i carry my hockey gear with me a lot and transporting that in a smaller coupe is inconvenient.

Any suggestions on vehicles to look at?
I didn't read the thread, but...

Mazda3 is a sporty small car with mediocore gas efficiency, a huge trunk for your gear and like all Mazda's is loud on the inside (road noise is a bit annoying, but you get used to it).
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zzyzzx
10-04-2010 at 10:04 AM.
10-04-2010 at 10:04 AM.
Quote from Landers :
the fact that my car may cost me about 1/2 or more than the value of it to repair and I own it outright,
And that is a problem because? I mean, it's still going to be cheaper to fix than buy a used car (and thead title should say used, not new car).
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shhaggy
10-04-2010 at 10:06 AM.
10-04-2010 at 10:06 AM.
Quote from zzyzzx :
And that is a problem because? I mean, it's still going to be cheaper to fix than buy a used car (and thead title should say used, not new car).
Yes but the return on a new car might be more than double the return on extending the life of this car. I'd rather spend more to get 5-6 years out of a newer car than spend too much to get another year out of an older car before the next major repair.
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Joined Jan 2006
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> bubble2 18,933 Posts
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Original Poster
Landers
10-04-2010 at 02:22 PM.
10-04-2010 at 02:22 PM.
Quote from Fallacy :
I didn't read the thread, but...

Mazda3 is a sporty small car with mediocore gas efficiency, a huge trunk for your gear and like all Mazda's is loud on the inside (road noise is a bit annoying, but you get used to it).
Thanks. I drove the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 6 today. The 6 was a lot more comfortable and smooth. Similar handling, but the 3 was a little sportier. I'll probably go with the 6 if I can, it's a bit more comfortable to drive in.

Quote from zzyzzx :
And that is a problem because? I mean, it's still going to be cheaper to fix than buy a used car (and thead title should say used, not new car).
See below.
Quote from shhaggy :
Yes but the return on a new car might be more than double the return on extending the life of this car. I'd rather spend more to get 5-6 years out of a newer car than spend too much to get another year out of an older car before the next major repair.
^^^^ This. It becomes a case of diminishing returns at this point.
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shhaggy
10-04-2010 at 02:52 PM.
10-04-2010 at 02:52 PM.
The cost to fix your current car will likely always be lower than the cost of a new one. But 2-3 years later, after those fixes start to accumulate, you've spent hundreds if not thousands on a car that's nearing the end of it's useful life anyway, when you could've put that towards a newer car and not dealt with the headache. I'm going through that right now myself. New tires and a broken sensor or small part seems small individually, but when something major breaks and you just spent $350 on tires and hundreds more over the past year fixing smaller issues, you wonder why you didn't cut your losses back then.
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> bubble2 19,431 Posts
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Fallacy
10-04-2010 at 03:05 PM.
10-04-2010 at 03:05 PM.
Quote from Landers :
Thanks. I drove the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 6 today. The 6 was a lot more comfortable and smooth. Similar handling, but the 3 was a little sportier. I'll probably go with the 6 if I can, it's a bit more comfortable to drive in.
3 is sportier than the 6? Confused

I have a speed6, that thing rocks nod

I know the 3 also corners really well for a car that cheap....
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> bubble2 7,138 Posts
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zzyzzx
10-04-2010 at 05:56 PM.
10-04-2010 at 05:56 PM.
Quote from shhaggy :
The cost to fix your current car will likely always be lower than the cost of a new one. But 2-3 years later, after those fixes start to accumulate, you've spent hundreds if not thousands on a car that's nearing the end of it's useful life anyway, when you could've put that towards a newer car and not dealt with the headache. I'm going through that right now myself. New tires and a broken sensor or small part seems small individually, but when something major breaks and you just spent $350 on tires and hundreds more over the past year fixing smaller issues, you wonder why you didn't cut your losses back then.
Yeah, a set of tires and a starter (that you paid way too much for) is always more expensive than a whole used car.
Confused
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Joined Jan 2006
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> bubble2 18,933 Posts
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Original Poster
Landers
10-04-2010 at 06:43 PM.
10-04-2010 at 06:43 PM.
Quote from zzyzzx :
Yeah, a set of tires and a starter (that you paid way too much for) is always more expensive than a whole used car.
Confused
Then add in an EGR valve, O2 sensor(s), catalytic converter, clutch, etc... I'm glad your car only needed a started and 4 tires. Must be nice.
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Joined Jan 2004
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> bubble2 25,141 Posts
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Iaaaiws
10-04-2010 at 06:45 PM.
10-04-2010 at 06:45 PM.
Quote from shhaggy :
Yes but the return on a new car might be more than double the return on extending the life of this car. I'd rather spend more to get 5-6 years out of a newer car than spend too much to get another year out of an older car before the next major repair.
Eh, I just bought a 2001 GMC truck with 150,000 miles on it to run back and forth to work with to avoid racking up a bunch of miles on my 2010 Escape. I don't anticipate any major repairs being necessary in the near future and even with a worst-case scenario where I had to drop in a new engine for a few thousand I'm still into the thing for a fark of a lot less than the 30K plus this truck would cost new.

About 7 or 8 years ago I bought a 1989 Chevy truck that used to be a delivery truck for a local Auto Value store. It had about 410,000 miles on it and I all I ever had to do to it in the two plus years I had it was change the oil and put in gas. I paid $400 for it and would probably still be driving it except I had it parked at a friend's shop and a smokestack fell on it while they were pulling a car off of the roof (long story).
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