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Say I had about $15,000 and needed a car. (Updated for the "Garage" crowd.)

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Brigandier said:
For 15 K I'd look for 3-5 year old cars with good factory options. You could get a used Subaru, with all the options for that price.
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I would avoid used Subarus entirely. Used ones are extremely overpriced, and if you get one older than 2006 the head gasket will explode and you'll have to pay thousands to get it fixed since they use boxer engines.

This happened to my parents' 2002 Forester. What a terrible piece of crap. The head gasket went at under 50,000 miles (low miles because it used to belong to my dad's parents who never drove it). A year after spending a ton to get it fixed, it's starting to have problems again. They're ditching it.

Don't get a Subaru. Being AWD and Japanese pushes their resale values to thousands above blue book value. Good luck finding a decent one for under $15k.

I'd go for a Civic, Corolla, or Mazda 3.
 
AstroManLuca said:
I would avoid used Subarus entirely. Used ones are extremely overpriced, and if you get one older than 2006 the head gasket will explode and you'll have to pay thousands to get it fixed since they use boxer engines.

This happened to my parents' 2002 Forester. What a terrible piece of crap. The head gasket went at under 50,000 miles (low miles because it used to belong to my dad's parents who never drove it). A year after spending a ton to get it fixed, it's starting to have problems again. They're ditching it.

Don't get a Subaru. Being AWD and Japanese pushes their resale values to thousands above blue book value. Good luck finding a decent one for under $15k.

I'd go for a Civic, Corolla, or Mazda 3.
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I paid $7390 for mine ($4k under NADA). The turbocharged engines don't have head gasket problems either.
 
AstroManLuca said:
I would avoid used Subarus entirely. Used ones are extremely overpriced, and if you get one older than 2006 the head gasket will explode and you'll have to pay thousands to get it fixed since they use boxer engines.

This happened to my parents' 2002 Forester. What a terrible piece of crap. The head gasket went at under 50,000 miles (low miles because it used to belong to my dad's parents who never drove it). A year after spending a ton to get it fixed, it's starting to have problems again. They're ditching it.

Don't get a Subaru. Being AWD and Japanese pushes their resale values to thousands above blue book value. Good luck finding a decent one for under $15k.

I'd go for a Civic, Corolla, or Mazda 3.
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Nearly all Subaru 2.5Ls from 96 - 02 or thereabouts have head gasket issues. It doesn't help that changing the head gaskets requires removing the engine. The cars are fairly solid otherwise.
 
Bought a 2007 Subaru Outback for my dad a few months ago, paid 15,000$. If you want AWD, that's what I'd recommend.

If you don't need AWD, then slightly used Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, VW Rabbit, Mazda 3.

For 15K you can get any car you want, some will just be a few years older.
 
Spicedaddy said:
Bought a 2007 Subaru Outback for my dad a few months ago, paid 15,000$. If you want AWD, that's what I'd recommend.

If you don't need AWD, then slightly used Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, VW Rabbit, Mazda 3.

For 15K you can get any car you want, some will just be a few years older.
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I liked having AWD, but at this point in my life I don't necessarily need it.

I am for the most part leaning to the Certified PreOwned optioned. To be honest I'm slightly hesitant but then again, I am hesitant as well about buying new.
 
Update: As someone pointed out, I am not a "car" person. This will be the first car that I truly buy on my own. Like I said, I have about $15000 I can drop (I was saving to buy a motorcycle and a new tv but my car issues killed that). I'm currently in my rotations for Med school and have another year of that before I start residency. Don't really want car payments when I get my school loan money in one lump sum (pretty much what I'd be using to pay for it).
I am currently (this hour anyway) leaning towards certified preowned or something of the sort. I am weary of preowned in general and hoped to avoid used car salesmen completely. So the cert preowned seems like a good option. With Pres Day coming up, I was hoping to spend some time researching and then take advantage of whatever is being thrown at me then. I am overall hoping for something with Decent Gas Mileage and Not a ton of headaches with enough room for like 4 people. I keep hearing suggestions from Friends/Family to look into small SUV's like the Honda CRV, but to be honest, I don't know how much their opinion is really worth.

Pretty much any help/suggestion is appreciated.
 
Small SUVs = more expensive, worse gas mileage, worse handling, less (!) passenger space.

A midsize sedan offers much more room in the back seat than a small SUV. Those little SUVs are good if you want to fit a large or oddly-shaped item in the back, like a bike, but other than that they aren't that great.

The only advantages are that they're safer in a collision and usually a bit more luxurious than an economy car, but it's not worth it IMO.
 
AstroManLuca said:
Small SUVs = more expensive, worse gas mileage, worse handling, less (!) passenger space.

A midsize sedan offers much more room in the back seat than a small SUV. Those little SUVs are good if you want to fit a large or oddly-shaped item in the back, like a bike, but other than that they aren't that great.

The only advantages are that they're safer in a collision and usually a bit more luxurious than an economy car, but it's not worth it IMO.
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Yeah, that was kinda my feelings.
 
If you need the space, get a wagon or hatch. Sedans as a type of car are pretty much worthless. They have two advantages: slightly more secure trunk area (IF you lock the truck release) and slightly more rigidity for racing. In exchange for those, you give up a huge amount of usability. The market is finally starting to learn this.
 
Yeah, hatchbacks and wagons are nice. The problem is that at the height of the SUV craze, a lot of manufacturers didn't offer them, so finding a good used one for a reasonable price can be difficult.
 
I got my 2003 Sport package G35 Coupe with Brembos and 18s for 12.. every option (-nav) and 60k on the clock.

awesome car..
 
WhipperSnapper said:
How about a new Hyundai Elantra GLS. Good car, not stripped down.
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my buddy drove a 2002 or so Hyundai Elantra and it was the biggest piece of shit car I ever saw. He took decent care of it but even so, one problem after another it fell apart. Really turned off by Hyundai.
 
$15k could get you a used Mazdaspeed6 (AWD turbo Mazda6) or a used Mazda3 GT. It could also buy a new Mazda2, or a new Mazda3 sport if you talked them down a little.
 
SirStev0 said:
my buddy drove a 2002 or so Hyundai Elantra and it was the biggest piece of shit car I ever saw. He took decent care of it but even so, one problem after another it fell apart. Really turned off by Hyundai.
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Hyundai has improved greatly in the past five years or so.
 
SirStev0 said:
Update: As someone pointed out, I am not a "car" person. This will be the first car that I truly buy on my own. Like I said, I have about $15000 I can drop (I was saving to buy a motorcycle and a new tv but my car issues killed that). I'm currently in my rotations for Med school and have another year of that before I start residency. Don't really want car payments when I get my school loan money in one lump sum (pretty much what I'd be using to pay for it).
I am currently (this hour anyway) leaning towards certified preowned or something of the sort. I am weary of preowned in general and hoped to avoid used car salesmen completely. So the cert preowned seems like a good option. With Pres Day coming up, I was hoping to spend some time researching and then take advantage of whatever is being thrown at me then. I am overall hoping for something with Decent Gas Mileage and Not a ton of headaches with enough room for like 4 people. I keep hearing suggestions from Friends/Family to look into small SUV's like the Honda CRV, but to be honest, I don't know how much their opinion is really worth.

Pretty much any help/suggestion is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Tip on used car salesmen... you hold the money, you have the power. If you don't like who you are dealing with, get up and get out. I REALLY REALLY mean that. If you're looking at a car that BB's for 13 and they list it at 15, ask once or twice as needed to buy it outright for 12 cash. If they haggle or BS you too much, get up and leave. There is always some car dealer somewhere that actually wants you to buy his car, and will take the fair amount for it.

Secondly, as other have pointed out, if you buy new, you are paying for depreciation as soon as you drive it off the lot. In other words, if the MSRP was $15k new, and you drive it off the lot, the value is now $11k if you're lucky. You can avoid that buying a gently used car. My wife had gotten hers with under 20k miles, and I bought my vehicle with about 30k miles. Never had any problems with either of them for quite some time.

As for make and model, just look at what you like, test drive a few, and do research on what you like. If you want a compact sedan or a full-sized sedan, it all will depend. If you're an averaged sized person (6' or less, 200lb or so) you'll probably fit in about anything you look at. If you are taller, you might start running into issues with smaller cars. Problems like knees in the dash, head on the ceiling, crammed up against the steering wheel because the seat doesn't go back far enough, etc.

But seriously, with 15k in your pocket, you have all the power. You're not looking for them to write you a loan, and they'll be pleased as punch to have that money come straight in that day. If they haggle too much for your liking... LEAVE.
 
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