YACP: Help pick my new car

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lykaon78

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
1,174
9
81
The alternator on my 1995 Ford Contour w/ 160,000 miles finally died today.

I have my eye on these four cars. Here are the basics:

I'm really not a car person so the finer details are not all that important.
I have a 35 mile one way commute - so comfort and MPG are important.
I'm only considering 4-doors vehichles.
Ultimately, it will come down to price but I'm leaning toward the Mazda.

Any experiences with these vehicles or tips on how to get the best deal would be appreciated.


Some links to the cars:
Ford Focus
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
Mazda 3

Edit: I'm not planning to fix the car because:
1. I'm at 85,000+ miles without a clutch replacement and it seems to have been slipping the past 5k or so. I bought the car w/ 75k miles and doubt it had been replaced prior to my owning it so I'm guessing the clutch will also go soon too.
2. I'm ready for a new car and have been just waiting for this one to die.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Proud and satisfied Mazda 3 owner checking in :)

That's my vote.
 
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TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
umm an alternator is cheaper than a new car?

that like saying once the car's ashtray is full, time to buy a new car, lol.


But in all seriousness, I'd go with the mazda3, but for the price of a maz3, I would get a base model Subaru imprezza 2.5RS, has awd, 165HP....
 
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Pepsi90919

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,162
1
81
why would you buy a new car if your alternator died?

"oh my house is too dirty, let's buy a new one"
 
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Merlyn3D

Platinum Member
Sep 15, 2001
2,148
0
0
Yeah, buy the damn alternator, shouldn't cost you more than ~$130, unless you want someone else to put it in for you, in which case, it should be around $200.
 
Demo24

Demo24

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
8,356
9
81
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
umm an alternator is cheaper than a new car?

that like saying once the car's ashtray is full, time to buy a new car, lol.


But in all seriousness, I'd go with the mazda3, but for the price of a maz3, I would get a base model Subaru imprezza 2.5RS, has awd, 165HP....
Click to expand...

the Imprezzas start at like 18k which is a bit more than a Maz 3 ;)
 
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TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
Originally posted by: DEMO24
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
umm an alternator is cheaper than a new car?

that like saying once the car's ashtray is full, time to buy a new car, lol.


But in all seriousness, I'd go with the mazda3, but for the price of a maz3, I would get a base model Subaru imprezza 2.5RS, has awd, 165HP....
Click to expand...

the Imprezzas start at like 18k which is a bit more than a Maz 3 ;)
Click to expand...

you can get one for less that 18K priced on carsdirect.com; a well [not fully] equipped maz3 would be about the same price.
 
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Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
20
76
Scion TC, but you're looking for only sedans.

My choice...

Mazda3 > Corolla > Civic > Focus
 
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lykaon78

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
1,174
9
81
As said before, I know the alternator would be pretty cheap to replace but why spend $300 on a car worth less than $1000 when its likely to have other problems soon.
 
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Merlyn3D

Platinum Member
Sep 15, 2001
2,148
0
0
I have an '89 Toyota Camry with 222k miles on it. It works, gets me from point A to point B. The alternator broke a couple months back, and I replaced it for $130. My choice was $130 versus ~$18-$22k. Hmm...that's a toughy.

Then again, you do have a ford, it would be nice to get rid of it, ford sucks.
 
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sniperruff

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
11,644
2
0
corolla. simple, reliable, cheap, good gas milage, cheap insurance, not hot (not a thief's target), high resell price.
 
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RadeonGuy

Banned
Jan 3, 2005
294
0
0
Since your going to be driving many miles a day your best bet would be the honda or toyota because they have the best mpg
 
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thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
Originally posted by: lykaon78
As said before, I know the alternator would be pretty cheap to replace but why spend $300 on a car worth less than $1000 when its likely to have other problems soon.
Click to expand...

the worth of the car is irrelevant at this point. your Contour is worth jack sh!t with a busted alternator and slipping clutch. what matters is how much it costs you to maintain and drive the car for X amount of time. $300 is... da da da da!!!!... 1 car payment! for the price of fixing your altenator, clutch, etc, you'd probably get a mere 3-4 months of driving out of the new car (not counting the down payment!). and at the end of those 4 months your Contour will be worth more than it is now since you fixed the busted stuff, whereas you will be probably be upside down on your loan for the new car. upside down means you have negative money, bud. negative money AND a big bill every month. you can pay for a crapload of repairs for the price of those regular car payments.

$1000 Contour with new clutch/altenator, no further payments > negative $xxxx new car, big monthly payment

if you want a new car, you want a new car, but don't trick yourself into thinking it will be cheaper somehow. 99 times out of 100 it is cheaper to fix the car you have, EVEN for a ford. ;)
 
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lykaon78

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
1,174
9
81
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
Originally posted by: lykaon78
As said before, I know the alternator would be pretty cheap to replace but why spend $300 on a car worth less than $1000 when its likely to have other problems soon.
Click to expand...

the worth of the car is irrelevant at this point. your Contour is worth jack sh!t with a busted alternator and slipping clutch. what matters is how much it costs you to maintain and drive the car for X amount of time. $300 is... da da da da!!!!... 1 car payment! for the price of fixing your altenator, clutch, etc, you'd probably get a mere 3-4 months of driving out of the new car (not counting the down payment!). and at the end of those 4 months your Contour will be worth more than it is now since you fixed the busted stuff, whereas you will be probably be upside down on your loan for the new car. upside down means you have negative money, bud. negative money AND a big bill every month. you can pay for a crapload of repairs for the price of those regular car payments.

$1000 Contour with new clutch/altenator, no further payments > negative $xxxx new car, big monthly payment

if you want a new car, you want a new car, but don't trick yourself into thinking it will be cheaper somehow. 99 times out of 100 it is cheaper to fix the car you have, EVEN for a ford. ;)
Click to expand...

A very good point, except that this thing could become a money pit at any time. I know that I need new shocks and who knows how much other stuff I'll need to fix on a 10 year old car with a 160k miles on it.

Not to mention the embrassament of missing an important business meeting at work this morning because I was trying to get my car into the shop.


 
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miri

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2003
3,679
0
76
I have a 2003 Civic but would pick a Corolla. I dont know why you have the Corolla S as a option. It is basically a Corolla LE minus some of the nicer features of the LE and added ground effects to make the car heavier.

I would either get a Corolla LE or a Corolla XRS.
 
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