I need help finding a car in the $10k-$12k price range

[Hail The Brain Slug]

After moving up to the Pacific Northwest from San Diego, I have to ditch the motorcycle and get a car. I'm trying to find something small, economical, reliable, and not an eyesore but I'm having some difficulty.

The first option that came to mind was a 2011-2012 Chevy Cruze LT (With the 1.4 turbo), but it's edging out of my price range around $13k-15k.

My next thought was something Subaru. After looking locally, it turns out everyone that lives here wants a Subaru so the used market is a crapshoot (looks to be a mixture of 250,000 mile beaters and decent Subarus priced $5,000 over blue book).

I'm trying to look at other options here, but I need a little help. Suggestions? Budget is $10k-$12k and preferring something less than 10 years old.

 

[Kaido]

They are selling 2013 Nissan Versa sedans for $12.9k new at my local dealership. I took one out for a test-drive, fun car! Base model for $11,990 Has A/C & a 5-speed, gets 36 MPG highway. I liked it a LOT better than the Sentra, too, and I fit just fine at 6'1":

http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/versa-sedan

It meets all of your requirements - it's small, economical, reliable, not an eyesore, and in the $12k range (official MSRP is $11,990 for the base model, which is fairly well equipped for the price). I took the CVT model out and it was super nice (the CVT 40 MPG btw, beats out the stick!).

New car, a warranty, good safety features, great fuel economy, CD + MP3 jack even in the base model...hard to beat!

 

[phucheneh]

Versa is a good little car. Nothing remarkable about it, but all-around 'decent.' The base engine is a little sluggish, even with the six speed manual. But it's comfortable, quiet enough (for an econocar), decent stereo, ect. Nothing about mine ever jumped out at me as 'bad.' Maybe the lack of a center console, if I had to find something.

I'd have to say pretty safe, too...I walked away from my totaled 2011 hatch.

 

[CraigRT]

Your range of requirements is broad.. less than 10 years and $10-12K. That is a lot of cars.

Do you need a hatch?
Do you want AWD?
Manual or automatic?
2 door or 4?

etc.

 

[desy]

Vibe awd or Suzuki sx4 if your looking for a cheaper awd solution

 

[XavierMace]

Lexus IS300's not the easiest on gas, but pretty small and still decently comfortable.

 

[soulcougher73]

Vibe awd or Suzuki sx4 if your looking for a cheaper awd solution

But dont pretty much all awd cars outside Subaru suck? I remember seeing a video someone posted awhile back of different awd vehicles being tested against each other on a roller ramp or something like that.

 

[desy]

Any wheel in a Subaru can pull where most other awd solutions really mean one wheel in front and one in the back will pull
So yes Subaru is better, but is awd better than front wheel drive or rear wheel drive? If the tires are equal and you have curves and hills to navigate then also yes
My buddy bought a awd fusion 1st gen and we went through one our snowiest longest winters in a long time and he had nothing but good to say

 

[CrackRabbit]

As someone who lived in the PNW for a couple of years (and made the opposite move that you are making) AWD is nice but not needed. A traditional FWD car with good tires will be fine for most situations.
If you plan on living in an area where snow would actually be common, snow tires, studded tires and chains are always an option.
Just heed this advice, if you are living in one of the larger cities and it snows DO NOT DRIVE. Despite all the wet weather that they get up there people don't know how to drive properly in the snow, combine that with the hilly terrain and it makes wonderful youtube videos of cars sliding and smashing into each other.

 

[pete6032]

Civic

 

[Fritzo]

They are selling 2013 Nissan Versa sedans for $12.9k new at my local dealership. I took one out for a test-drive, fun car! Base model for $11,990 Has A/C & a 5-speed, gets 36 MPG highway. I liked it a LOT better than the Sentra, too, and I fit just fine at 6'1":

http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/versa-sedan

It meets all of your requirements - it's small, economical, reliable, not an eyesore, and in the $12k range (official MSRP is $11,990 for the base model, which is fairly well equipped for the price). I took the CVT model out and it was super nice (the CVT 40 MPG btw, beats out the stick!).

New car, a warranty, good safety features, great fuel economy, CD + MP3 jack even in the base model...hard to beat!

The Versa is not the most reliable car though, but new with a warranty should not be an issue. My coworker has had one for 5 years now.

 

[Kaido]

The Versa is not the most reliable car though, but new with a warranty should not be an issue. My coworker has had one for 5 years now.

My parents have an '08 Versa hatchback and it's getting a new transmission put in today...$3500 They got 130k miles out of the CVT.

It's a surprisingly great little car though - great visibility & everything else is better than decent - smartkey, cvt, ride, etc.

 

[kitatech]

The new sedan is supposed to be the best version of the Versa.

 

[ballmode]

Im gonna go with a curve ball here and get a mini cooper S.

You're used to a motorcycle so you would want something that is nimble. With you being higher elevation having a force inducted car like the turbo would help out with thinner air. It's FWD which has limits, but with the right tires it can do about anything on a road surface.

 

[Fritzo]

Im gonna go with a curve ball here and get a mini cooper S.

You're used to a motorcycle so you would want something that is nimble. With you being higher elevation having a force inducted car like the turbo would help out with thinner air. It's FWD which has limits, but with the right tires it can do about anything on a road surface.

If you go with a Cooper, make sure it's a post 2005 model. That's when they fixed the transmission issues.

 

[kitatech]

The new sedan is supposed to be the best version of the Versa.

Saw this today...
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1306_2014_nissan_versa_note/

 

[Kaido]

Saw this today...
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1306_2014_nissan_versa_note/

Looks really nice too - the top-end $18k model even has the Around View 360-degree video system. Not that you'd really need it in a small car with great visibility, but still very cool to see that becoming mainstream :thumbsup:

 

[kitatech]

Kaido...I agree...smaller/cheaper cars are getting more sophisticated sooner than larger more expensive cars because there's so much room for improvement for under $20k...
...in a few years these newly introduced cars will be used-car bargains in this $12-14k slot.

 

[Kaido]

Kaido...I agree...smaller/cheaper cars are getting more sophisticated sooner than larger more expensive cars because there's so much room for improvement for under $20k...
...in a few years these newly introduced cars will be used-car bargains in this $12-14k slot.

Yeah. My last car was a Kia Soul, which I absolutely loved. The base model comes with A/C and Bluetooth for your phone for like $14k. I bumped it up and got the sunroof with an auto transmission, but I mean, that pretty much met all of my requirements - cool air & make phone calls/stream audio wirelessly. :thumbsup:

I'm also amazed at just how nice everything is now. No one is really selling bad cars these days, partly I think due to advances in manufacturing and partly due to stricter safety regulations. The $12k Versa sedan is more amazing than half the cars I've owned in my lifetime - it's quiet, it's super fuel-efficient, it has working A/C, it has a CD player with an MP3 jack, and for a bit more you can get Bluetooth with the seamless CVT transmission and nail 40 MPG. I mean, that's just crazy! It's such a far cry from the stuff we had growing up in the 80's & 90's - we drove around a Cutlass with like zero features, it drove (most of the time) and that was pretty much it, and now even cheapo Kia cars have 10-year, 100,000-mile warranties. It's a great time to be into cars!

 

[kitatech]

10 years ago I paid $10k OTT for a 4-year old 99 Altima with 50k miles, and 9 months ago I got a 7-yr old 05 Camry with 100k miles, and the Camry is heads and shoulders more sophisticated, tighter and smoother running @ 2x the age with 2x the miles...and it cost $6500 OTT...100k miles/7-yr old cars may be the new sweet-spot for used cars.

If my experience can be generalized, this century's cars are going to last much longer for less $$$ than last century's versions...

 

[Kaido]

10 years ago I paid $10k OTT for a 4-year old 99 Altima with 50k miles, and 9 months ago I got a 7-yr old 05 Camry with 100k miles, and the Camry is heads and shoulders more sophisticated, tighter and smoother running @ 2x the age with 2x the miles...and it cost $6500 OTT...100k miles/7-yr old cars may be the new sweet-spot for used cars.

If my experience can be generalized, this century's cars are going to last much longer for less $$$ than last century's versions...

Yeah...I think my Kia Soul could probably run forever. 3 years without a hitch. Plus the engine is so small & covered with a shield, you could probably just pop it out if you need a new one :biggrin:

 

[MovingTarget]

I know I'll probably get tarred and feathered here in The Garage for suggesting this, but considering how little requirements the OP has listed in what he wants in a car aside from price, I'll throw the Smart ForTwo into the ring. The price range is right, it is small/agile, RR layout, and thats about it.

 

[Kaido]

I know I'll probably get tarred and feathered here in The Garage for suggesting this, but considering how little requirements the OP has listed in what he wants in a car aside from price, I'll throw the Smart ForTwo into the ring. The price range is right, it is small/agile, RR layout, and thats about it.

I can't believe how many of those I've been seeing around town. Seriously. I see several a day now instead of just the rare "they, a Smartcar!"

 

[MovingTarget]

I can't believe how many of those I've been seeing around town. Seriously. I see several a day now instead of just the rare "they, a Smartcar!"

Honestly, the idea isn't bad...just the execution. If they came with a true manual transmission and didn't require premium fuel, they'd probably be worth it for city-dwellers. I see more and more of them around town as well. I'm just wondering what smart will do next as that model of ForTwo is starting to get a bit long in the tooth and is well-outclassed in terms of fuel economy by its larger competitors.