Affordable new family car ?

[anton]

Hello,

my dad is sick of repairing his old Chevy Caprice, and he wants to buy absolutely NEW car, but we are kind of low on budget ; ( ... so , what's the best family car , that will be pretty cheap ? .. but good quality ?

Thanks,
bye.

 

[Windogg]

Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or Nissan Maxima. Each one has excellent performance, great features, rock solid reliability, and are all very affordable.

Windogg

 

[mHubs]

I'm gonna say it before anyone else does...
How much are you planning on spending?

 

[Soybomb]

Dodge Intrepid is nice and roomy, powerfulk, stylish, built well and not priced too badly I dont think...

 

[vi edit]

Honda has a 2.9% deal on all 4cyl accords right now.

Also, if you are really on a budget, you can pick up year or two old Chevy Malibu LS for about $12,000. It's not a honda, but you get some pretty nice features, and if something does go out on it, you aren't stuck paying import prices for repairs.

 

[vi edit]

Also, the Chevy Impala should have some pretty decent deals going on with it right now.
I would suggest getting one w/ the 3.8 engine. You can probably pick one of those up for about 20,000 - 21,500.

It's got excellent room, the 3.8 is pretty much bullet proof, and it has excellent gas milage for it's size.

It's hit and miss on looks. Some people like it, a lot of people hate it.

 

[anton]

mHubs : we're planing on spending 15k-16k or less

Chevy is excluded ; ) ...

 

[mHubs]

Then I'd say go with what Windogg said, you should be able to find any of those for that price..

 

[vi edit]

ouch...

15-16k and new...that really hurts

 

[Grendel99]

I would say for first choice a Maxima, but that will be out of your price range. An accord though should be excellent. I know my sister got a brand new one with the 4 banger for around 13-14k. And hondas are bullet broof. If those don't fiddle yoru fancy, maybe look at a Ford Tauras. There great cars also. But might be a little more expensive.

 

[vi edit]

Family car + new + 15k = no vehicle I'd want to buy.

I really suggest that your father look into a nice used vehicle with under 30,000 miles.
You can pick up an extended warranty on the vehicle through most manufacturers for an extra $800-$1200. The warranty should give you another 3 years, and anywhere from 30k-50k extra miles.

For that price range you really can't get anything NEW that would remotely be comfortable for a family of four or more.

For about 18k you can get a two year old VW Passat w/ about 35k miles. If you buy it VW certified, the extended warranty will last till 50,000 miles, or another 3 years, whatever comes first. VW's also have a 10 year, 100,000 mile drivetrain warranty.

It's something I would look into.

 

[anton]

vi_edit :

where did you get that they have 2.9% financing ? it would be pretty good ... but Accords are expensive ; ( ... do they have the same for Civics ?

 

[vi edit]

Saw it on a TV commercial yesterday. But, remember that it is only on 4 cylinders.

Also, civics are by no means "family" cars. But then again, I come from a family where the males were over 6', my mom was 5'7", and my sister was 5'.

I'll be damned if I ride in the back of a civic for any longer than 20 minutes.

 

[Windogg]

A List of Honda Incentives

Accords are not expensive when you consider the equipment you get. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is lower because maintainance, fuel needs, and insurance are pretty cheap. Don't let people give you the "A lot of Accords are stolen crap". A lot of Accords are stolen because there are a lot of them out there. If you look, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and bentley are always the least stolen cars. Per capita, they don't even show in the top 10.

Windogg

 

[RossMAN]

Another vote for the Honda Accord, if you maintain the car as you should, it'll run forever. Just check Consumer Reports, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are always head to head in terms of quality, reliability and here's where the Accord really shines is RESALE VALUE and it's the most stolen car

Locally (Portland, Oregon) you can get a brand new "loss leader" 2000 Honda Accord LX (4 door, automatic) for $15,600 with 2.9% financing if approved.

If you check your Saturday newspaper in the auto classified section where all the car dealers advertise you should see all sorts of domestic and import cars advertised. You should see a few Honda Accords offered by various dealerships with great prices and in super tiny font a few VIN numbers. Each dealership allocates anywhere from 1-7 cars to their weekly loss leaders. These are all perfectly ok, brand new cars with full warranties. They show these great prices in the newspapers hoping you'll come in and they will try to lie and say they've sold them all. If they tell yout his, demand to see a bill of sale or show you the car. If they can't produce a copy of the bill of sale start talking about bait and switch, attorney general, better business bureau, just make lots of noise and it'll get their attention REALLY quick.

If you wanna see what a loss leader advertisement looks like I can mail you one, just drop me an e-mail with your real name and mailing address. Why pay retail when you can pay $1,500 or more BELOW wholesale?

 

[Windogg]

Like Ross said, Accords are very "haggleable" cars and you can knock a significant chunk off of the sticker price. Do your research at:

Edmunds Car Guide
Kelly's Blue Book
Carprices.com

Don't forget to do your homework on your current car to get a fair trade in value.

Windogg

 

[RossMAN]

Ooh, an Elite Member agreed with what I said and even put my name in bold.

This surely must be a sign ... But of what?

 

[woodie1]

I think a Toyota Corolla should be on your list too. They are great cars and run forever. Their price is more in line with what you want to spend.

 

[RossMAN]

Toyota Corolla's are very nice and definitely cheaper but it's not a family class car. Plus not as well built, large, powerful, refined as a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry is.

If it's a car just for two maybe three people who don't need a lot of space or power then I'd say go for the Corolla in a heart beat.

 

[StageLeft]

If on a tight budget do not buy a new car, buy a slightly used one. New = very small car or domestic. A new domestic versus a slightly used Toyota for instance is no competition. Have you seen the warranties on the toyota's these days? Good God.

BTW I've heard some real bad things about malibus but that was a while ago...maybe they are better now.

 

[mztykal]

A slightly used (1998-1999) Mitusbishi Galant is in your price range. It's a fairly decent car. With enough room and options to keep you happy. Also as everyone already said, you can't go wrong with a Toyota. My 93' Corolla is running perfectly fine, with the usual tune-ups and tire changes. Nothing major ever happened. It was purchased new and has 74,000 miles on it. Nothing to complain about. Good acceleration and handling. And cheap on gas too.


-MzTyKaL

 

[SuperGroove]

'01 Mazda Protege EX.


Thank me later.

 

[Ornery]

I don't consider anything in the $20,000 price range to be "affordable", personally. Spending that or more for transportation is a luxury, plain and simple.

Here's a plan you might not like at first, but it may grow on you when you start really thinking about those monster car payments. I used to be a GM guy. But I got a '77 Bonneville once and it really turned me off to GM. It wasn't just a lemon, it was poorly designed from top to bottom. I switched to Lincoln/Mercury after that. Big ones! Never been sorry since. I've noticed that most GM owners get the same type lemons that I did, but they turn around and buy GM again! I don't know, you figure it out!

So, the plan would be to buy a more rugged used car. Even a nice Cadillac with a 350ci V8 would be a good choice. Any engine in a Caddy, other than the 350, would be more of the same troubles he's having now. But I'm actually thinking along the lines of a Mercury Grand Marquis. Don't take my word for it. Check their track record with your local police (LTDs), or any local garage or even Consumer Reports (gag).

Besides, you can put a replacement engine, transmission, brakes and paint job on any old car for about 18 month's worth of car payments! Bail on the Chevy, buy a nice used Caddy, Lincoln or Mercury and save your money!

 

[mztykal]

Groove - Protege's is SUCK! Nothing good except the RX7 and Miata ever came out of Mazda. Plus don't Mazda and Ford use the same parts in they're newer cars? But I could be wrong, but I still say Protege's is SUCK!


-MzTyKaL

 

[SuperGroove]

<< Groove - Protege's is SUCK! Nothing good except the RX7 and Miata ever came out of Mazda. Plus don't Mazda and Ford use the same parts in they're newer cars? But I could be wrong, but I still say Protege's is SUCK! >>




Myztkal, drive it. It ain't your papa's old escort(I don't really mean your dad's) escort. It's a very good econocar. Plus, with 150HP on tap next model year, it will be a VERY FUN econocar.