Car Recommendations

[Magtheridon96]

Planning on buying my first car in a few months.

Budget is more or less $20,000.

Must fit at least 4 passengers.

At best, it'll be around for 3 years.

Go.

 

[Wazzz]

buy one from this guy, he's on the level, his family is authentic mexican

 

[PurgeandFire]

Do you know what brand you're interested in? I've only driven Toyotas. Can't go wrong with a Corolla: it is well-priced, solid MPG, very good longevity, and they newer models look good IMO.

Unless you're looking for something used.

 

[Radicool]

Planning on buying my first car in a few months.

Budget is more or less $20,000.

Must fit at least 4 passengers.

At best, it'll be around for 3 years.

Go.

Lol. Maybe you should provide some info on what you want your car to do. Are you a speedster, drag racer, outdoors guy, city guy, country guy, off roader, you planning to go camping, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Do you want a feminine car, muscular car, sporty car, sleek car, massive car or don't care?

The answers to these sorts of questions determines your car.

 

[saphiree]

What radicool said. Also which cars can you get for that money in USA? I denmark you could only get the cheapest version of a VW UP with those money. If you're after a new car that is

 

[nhs325]

Buy a Ford's. They are good, as my dad said.

 

[Nuclear]

Nice, my first car will probably be around $50.

Also,

FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily. I have no opinion of Ford, just a car joke.

 

[saphiree]

My dads last 3 cars have been mondeos, and there have never been anything major with them. The first minor problems started coming after 250.000+km.

 

[Magtheridon96]

Lol. Maybe you should provide some info on what you want your car to do. Are you a speedster, drag racer, outdoors guy, city guy, country guy, off roader, you planning to go camping, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Do you want a feminine car, muscular car, sporty car, sleek car, massive car or don't care?

The answers to these sorts of questions determines your car.

I'm a city guy and I wouldn't need to go off-road very much if at all.

Obviously, I need a feminine car to compensate for my superior masculinity.

And I don't want a massive car because people will point at my willy and laugh

 

[saphiree]

Do you want a new or a used car?

 

[Magtheridon96]

Oh, forgot to mention: I don't do "used".

Also, the budget is elastic. An extra 1-5k isn't going to hurt. An extra 10k is pushing it.

 

[saphiree]

I dunno what you can get where you live. In Denmark as I said, you would have to pick between the micro cars, and of those I would pick the Skoda Citigo. Not much room for four people though xD

 

[Magtheridon96]

If you can't give recommendations for specific models, you don't have to, because that is too localized. I was actually expecting some recommendations and tips at the level of the specs.

I'm currently looking into Mazda and Chevrolet, because I can get some pretty tight rides with decent specifications for prices that range between 15k and 25k.

 

[saphiree]

I'd recommend Honda or Toyota if it is just about brands. I think Mazda is pretty good as well, but they have a tendency to rust away. Not a problem if you only plan to have the car for three years though

 

[Adiktuz]

Personally, I'd suggest a Honda... or a Chevy

 

[Dr Super Good]

Probably something small and economical. Otherwise you will not be able to afford to run it. I mean insurance for someone your age and profile will be >£2000 a year. The road tax another £1000 a year. Let us not forget the fuel at >£1.40 a litre. Heck even getting a licence to drive a car will set you back >£2000 as you will need to repeat at least once (yes they are rigged).

In fact you may want to keep to public transport and away from driving until at least 25+. Only then does insurance start to become more reasonable.

 

[neo_sluf]

I can make you a car if you want...

 

[nhs325]

I can make you a car if you want...

free of charge? or with charge?

 

[saphiree]

Probably something small and economical. Otherwise you will not be able to afford to run it. I mean insurance for someone your age and profile will be >£2000 a year. The road tax another £1000 a year. Let us not forget the fuel at >£1.40 a litre. Heck even getting a licence to drive a car will set you back >£2000 as you will need to repeat at least once (yes they are rigged).

In fact you may want to keep to public transport and away from driving until at least 25+. Only then does insurance start to become more reasonable.

Insurance becomes affordable after a year. Just find the right company. Call around and ask them. If you spend some time on this, you can safe a lot of money. Besides, you can insure in your parents name if you want to

You don't have to repeat at least once, I didn't, and I know other who didn't either.

Just drive for a few years, and insurance is affordable

 

[Radicool]

Best 4 brands in my opinion is Honda, Toyota, Subaru and Mazda.

Honda Jazz - Reliable, very very fuel efficient and fairly weak engine. Despite being a small hatchback, it has great space management so you'll find there is lots of space for storage etc. Very feminine looking car, for this reason I wouldn't buy one. Great car however.

Honda Civic - Larger sedan. 1.8 liter engine and being lighter than other competing cars makes it faster. Has a sporty aggressive look to it. Great fuel efficiency. Older (8th generation) cars have a few design problems with it as do all first cars in new generations. Honda recalled a few and extended warranty for some problems. In saying that, it is still a reliable car in the sense it always turns on and never gives up.

Toyota Corolla - Probably the most reliable car in my opinion. My friend has an old rolla and he hasn't changed or topped the oil in quite a few years yet it still runs strong, lol. Previous generations looked like grandpa cars so I didn't like the look. Very popular car. Latest gen cars look a bit better. Great fuel efficiency due to smaller engine (1.3 or 1.5 liter).

Subaru Impreza - Probably the sportiest compared to the other cars. 2.0 liter engine makes it the fastest. Has a sporty look. Comes in hatchbacks or sedans. Reliable like all Subaru's and fuel efficiency is a little worse because of the larger engine, yet thats only normal. Still efficient. Price would be a little more than other competing cars.

Don't know much about Mazdas, only that I like the look of them and I've heard they are reliable cars. Some other brands to mention could be Holden Cruze, Kia Reo and Ford Fiesta. I've only mentioned light smaller cars in my list with a focus on fuel efficiency. I think you being a city driver, this is what to look for. They are all 5 seater cars and have plenty of room given you aren't taking 5 people camping or something. Small cars are a little quieter in the city, easier to park and more fuel efficient when your constantly stopping and going in traffic (big cars guzzle fuel in traffic).

Do research on your car before buying for any design faults. You cannot judge the reliability on cars which enter a new generation (A new generation is typically when a car is redesigned). For example the 11th generation of Toyota Corollas came out in 2013 so its best to wait a year and see if people started experiencing problems then buy the 11th generation in 2014.

See generation list on Corollas here if your curious how generations work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla

 

[Magtheridon96]

Thank you for the information guys. I had a talk with my father about this yesterday as he was driving me to the hospital for a blood test.

So it seems he was planning on buying me an Audi A1. (Although it doesn't fit 4 people...)

What are your opinions on this car? Should I go for it, or would it be wiser to stick to Honda, Toyota and the like?

 

[saphiree]

Well, imo audi is overpriced, but they are very luxurious. They're pretty good cars though.
If it doesn't fit your needs you shouldn't get it though, but hey, back seats are just for looks anyway

 

[HammerFist132]

Planning on buying my first car in a few months.

Budget is more or less $20,000.

Must fit at least 4 passengers.

At best, it'll be around for 3 years.

Go.

If I remember good, you are 17 years? where did u find/earn/what are your parents, that much money xD

 

[Dr Super Good]

Insurance becomes affordable after a year. Just find the right company. Call around and ask them. If you spend some time on this, you can safe a lot of money. Besides, you can insure in your parents name if you want to

No because under 25s have such a high accident rate the minimum you can get (even on a parent's policy) is >£1,000 a year.

You don't have to repeat at least once, I didn't, and I know other who didn't either.

You do because they want the double payments. Why get paid once when you can be paid twice. Sure some instructors are genuine, but most will fail you just so you repeat. On your second attempt (or more) even if you nearly have an accident they will pass you. This also means that people who cannot drive get a drivers licence and is why under 25 insurance is so insane.

Just drive for a few years, and insurance is affordable

But that does not help the car itself not being affordable. I mean at £1.40 a litre (nearly 2$ a litre (litre is less than gallon)) to go anywhere is costly. Then you have road tax, car safety tests, car repairs etc. I am amazed so many people have cars in the UK.

I had a talk with my father about this yesterday as he was driving me to the hospital for a blood test.

Sounds pretty serious. I hope you are alright.

If I remember good, you are 17 years? where did u find/earn/what are your parents, that much money xD

Parents often do it as an investment in the future of their kids. 20,000 is not much compared to the 20,000 a year some cough over for their kids to go to University abroad.Some people in the UK spend >£10,000 just to send their kids to a primary school.

 

[saphiree]

No because under 25s have such a high accident rate the minimum you can get (even on a parent's policy) is >£1,000 a year.

I only payed that for one year, now I'm paying a bit less than 700£. It falls rapidly.

You do because they want the double payments. Why get paid once when you can be paid twice. Sure some instructors are genuine, but most will fail you just so you repeat. On your second attempt (or more) even if you nearly have an accident they will pass you. This also means that people who cannot drive get a drivers licence and is why under 25 insurance is so insane.

In Denmark, you drive with a policeman when you take your test, not your driving instructor.

But that does not help the car itself not being affordable. I mean at £1.40 a litre (nearly 2$ a litre (litre is less than gallon)) to go anywhere is costly. Then you have road tax, car safety tests, car repairs etc. I am amazed so many people have cars in the UK.

Here a litre is a bit more than 1£, and I drive 80kilometers every day, no big problem. Newer cars also get you longer per litre.

 

[Magtheridon96]

If I remember good, you are 17 years? where did u find/earn/what are your parents, that much money xD

My grandfather is in the 0.01%, that's where ~~

Sounds pretty serious. I hope you are alright.

Thank you DSG, yes I'm okay. I just needed to the blood test because I have to do an MRI on Tuesday for my liver.

 

[Dr Super Good]

In Denmark, you drive with a policeman when you take your test, not your driving instructor.

I am also pretty sure you do not use Great British Pounds in Denmark either.

I only payed that for one year, now I'm paying a bit less than 700£. It falls rapidly.

So you took your driving test in Denmark and moved to the UK? Already that means your insurance is different as you fall into an entirely different profile.

Here a litre is a bit more than 1£, and I drive 80kilometers every day, no big problem.

Not possible. Cheapest in the UK is £1.2X for a litre of unleaded (£1.3x for diesel) according to price comparison sites (maybe with special deals you can get slightly lower). It is not possible for fuel to be sold cheaper due to all the tax on it (in fact >50% of it is tax). Red diesel not counted but that is for agricultural use only (no tax).

60-80 km/litre is pretty common for modern cars that are driven economically and well maintained. It is also not that far a distance. However that is fuel alone so you need to sum the total cost of the car (fuel included with insurance, maintenance, road tax, vehicle tax, emission tax, devaluation of asset etc) and divide by the time to get the actual cost of driving per day. I will be a lot more than £6-7. This is how the railroads can get away with charging >£7 for 80 km.

yes I'm okay

I have to do an MRI on Tuesday for my liver

That does not sound alright to me... People usually do not need MRI scans of their liver unless a doctor suspects something is wrong with it (or a patient is donating part of it to another patient in urgent need of a transplant). Anyway hope it goes well and nothing is wrong with it.

My grandfather is in the 0.01%, that's where ~~

Then why is he only giving you 20k for a car? I mean those spoilt kids from the UAE and neighbouring countries get >>200k for their cars. I thought that was what most of the "0.01%" did with their money. I mean look at Donald Trump, he wastes his money on a private jet and special restaurant food for it. Well I can understand the food, maybe he has intolerances, but really an entire private jet in this day and age?!

 

[Magtheridon96]

That does not sound alright to me... People usually do not need MRI scans of their liver unless a doctor suspects something is wrong with it (or a patient is donating part of it to another patient in urgent need of a transplant). Anyway hope it goes well and nothing is wrong with it.

They found some blood grouped up in a 3cm-wide sphere shape in my liver about 7 months ago and they need to study it over time.

Then why is he only giving you 20k for a car? I mean those spoilt kids from the UAE and neighbouring countries get >>200k for their cars. I thought that was what most of the "0.01%" did with their money. I mean look at Donald Trump, he wastes his money on a private jet and special restaurant food for it. Well I can understand the food, maybe he has intolerances, but really an entire private jet in this day and age?!

I'd love to buy something in the Sports spectrum like the Audi R8 because I'm apparently a spoiled motherclucker, but my father insists I buy a small and less-powerful car instead. He took the budget and he's paying on top of it because he's looking into the Audi A1 which is around $30k.

 

[PurgeandFire]

So it seems he was planning on buying me an Audi A1. (Although it doesn't fit 4 people...)

An A1 doesn't fit 4 people? It should, unless the people are fat. Unless there is a 2 seat version that I haven't heard about.

What are your opinions on this car? Should I go for it, or would it be wiser to stick to Honda, Toyota and the like?

The interior seems cool, I'm not a fan of the look though. But to each his own.

Is there any reason why your father chose Audi? Have you driven or used Audi before (or know someone who has)?

 

[Magtheridon96]

My uncle used to drive an Audi. He recently bought a new BMW. I don't know what the model was, but I know it's a sports car. And boy, that thing was fast ouo

My other uncle used to drive a Toyota Prado. He switched to a Mercedes-Benz, and now he's driving a Porsche Macan.

My grandfather however, he used to drive a Cadillac and now he drives 2 cars: a Mercedes S-class Sedan and a second Mercedes (I don't know the model name).

My dad's been driving the same car for 13 years. Mitsubishi Pajero.

I think he just wants to buy me the Audi because it's relatively luxurious.

In the end, if I end up travelling to study in the United States, I won't be getting a car of course~
I'm really starting to hate that possibility though. In Lebanon, everything is so nearby. I can walk the city in 2 hours, and in that time, I'd have passed hundreds of pubs, clubs, restaurants, about 10 major malls, city centers, bays, parks and all kinds of awesome places to be. Looking at where I'm going to end up in the United States is depressing. It's all suburban boring crap in Troy.

 

[saphiree]

Yeah American suburbs suck big time. You have to own a car if you live there

 

[knight26]

If you can get 25k-30k I'd recommend what I am driving, a Hyundai ix35/tucson (I have 2011's version).
I got the full package at around 32k (I also don't do "used").
But they released a new santa-fe model in 2013 so I'd expect the ix35 is lower on cost.
What that car offers you is the following: commodity, luxury, comfort, space, economical(9.5 litters/100km - what's the imperial version of that, anyway IMO for what you drive, trust me it's very well worth the economical term), speed, and probably the best SUV crossover you can get for the price.
Don't get confused by the SUV term, it's smaller than a huge SUV but bigger than a limousine, so yay for extra space.
If however you dislike Hyundai, I'd immediately recommend Volkswagen Golf or Passat. I had the Passat prior to the hyundai, and let me tell you I still feel a tad nostalgic. It's an awesome machine.
If you are trying to get the max specs for the price you pay, avoid bmw, mercedes, or anything mainstream on the line.
Well that's about the best I can suggest, I hope I'm clear enough

 

[PurgeandFire]

I'm really starting to hate that possibility though. In Lebanon, everything is so nearby. I can walk the city in 2 hours, and in that time, I'd have passed hundreds of pubs, clubs, restaurants, about 10 major malls, city centers, bays, parks and all kinds of awesome places to be. Looking at where I'm going to end up in the United States is depressing. It's all suburban boring crap in Troy.

Don't fret too much. Most universities I know of have plenty of nearby areas to walk around and shop (they're ideal for local businesses). And even though a town is suburban, they'll still have a city area with all the stuff you need.... at least in the bay area. I can't speak for Michigan (or NY, or whatever Troy you are going to), but I assume it would have a similar situation. Hopefully your university isn't in the actual suburbs. I can't make any guarantees if that is the case.

 

[Magtheridon96]

It's here.

 

[PurgeandFire]

It's here.

Oof. Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you should get a car there (if you do end up going there). That way, at least you'd be able to visit NYC every now and then.

 

[Bannar]

Are those money earned by yourself or daddys? ^)^
Nothing feels better than buying your first car by yourself.

Paying for course counts too ;>

 

[Magtheridon96]

I'm paying for half of it.

 

[Orcnet]

Obviously, I need a feminine car to compensate for my superior masculinity.

I'd go for Corolla if you need a 4 seated 2 by 2 or if you plan to get 4 wheels Hyundai is king.

 

[Magtheridon96]

I've decided on this baby

 

[knight26]

I've decided on this baby

I'd buy Seat Leon in comparison to that, but it's your taste so I hope you have a good run with it! )

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I recently bought a (new) Citroen Berlingo. Citroen is one of those companies that offers a lot of bang for your buck (at least when you go factory-new). When I was checking out car vendors, I felt Citroen was the first company that actually wanted to sell cars... When I was at Volkswagen or BMW, the first question was "do you have a limited employment"? It didn't matter to them that I'm an engineer with above-average income; they just didn't want to listen anymore after that...

It's basicly a mini-VAN, but I like the design and the whole cargo/passenger-concept a lot. It's just pure pragmatism all over it and it's not even that big, so no issue with the dense traffic and narrow streets here in germany. Took the diezel option because of expected longer distances to travel.
Fast and gas-hungry cars are so yesterday (and actually, I can't afford them due to the exorbitant gas prices in germany ... (1 litre of gas gere in germany scores 1.50€ nowadays - if we take the current dollar-to-euro ratio then thats roughly 7.5$ per gallon for all you non-metrics).

For me, this car was the perfect option. I need all that space as I am a musician and need room to carry my guitars and amplifiers. The practical gas consumption is roughly 6-7 litres per 100 kilometers, which is great considering it's a van.

 

[Gilles]

1970 Mach I Mustang

 

[Orcnet]

Now that's a beast.

 

[Mechanical Man]

You are living near Israel, so definitely a Volvo. So you can use it as a bunker in case of bombings.

 

[DUTY OF RS]

Mazda Rx-8 ! =D
In like 10-15 days i got this car at my garage. And this is my second styled-up car http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=45951751&searchclickthrough=true

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[saphiree]

Rx-7 > Rx-8

 

[DUTY OF RS]

Yeah =)

 

[saphiree]

But the rotary engine is probably not the best if you want your car lasting for a lifetime

 

[Magtheridon96]

I changed my mind and started leaning towards Toyota Corolla and Toyota Yaris, which seem to have much better reliability indices.

 

[DUTY OF RS]

Maghetirdon: You gonna buy a car that got like 1.6k$ worth?
Saphire; Not gonna have it for a lifetime, will never work neither.