New car time ~UPDATE

[RedRyder]

My fiance's Alero has 170k miles on it and she is looking to replace it soon. Being the pants-wearer, it is my responsbility to put her in something that is nicer all around, reliable, affordable (under $10k), and gets decent gas mileage (but not underpowered). Goal is under 70k miles.

She was going to inherit her parent's 2004 CRV which she loved, but they decided to keep it. She likes a small SUV that sits higher, but lately has expressed interest in a 7thgen Accord sedan. So I still need to figure out what she really wants because she can be indecisive. In short, finding an SUV she can afford with lower miles and nice features is difficult, so I am leaning toward a car.


Anyway, here is what I've been looking at thus far:

SUV's:
01-02 CRV - no power anything, or a cd player or sunroof.
01-02 RAV4 - "
2000 4Runner - hard to find lower mileage 4cyl
RX300 - hard to find lower than 80k miles
Equinox (1stgen) - seems like a good deal but I am skeptical of quality
Outback

Was considering old QX4's & Pathfinders but they don't get good mpg. I won't let her buy a Liberty and she doesn't want a Cherokee Classic or anything Ford. Saturn Vue is okay but parts availibility in the long run is a concern. No Kia's or Hyundai's.


Cars:
02-03 Maxima
02-04 I35
02-03 TL - transmission is a concern
Accord - 7G sedan

I'm straying away from a 6GA sedan, I don't want her (or I) to have to worry about transmission problems (thus my concern with the TL). Unfortunately, she has no desire to drive a standard. lol


Thoughts on vehicles above and/or suggestions are welcome, especially if any of you have personal experience. Thanks duders.

 

[DarkSideAccord]

Re: New car time

dun think u can get an rx300 for $10k

rav4 and cr-v are good choices imo

how abt mazda 3s? what exactly will the new car be used for?

 

[RedRyder]

Re: New car time

dun think u can get an rx300 for $10k

rav4 and cr-v are good choices imo

how abt mazda 3s? what exactly will the new car be used for?

99-01 RX300's can be had for under $11k, but since they were so popular and people held onto them for so long it's hard to find them with lower mileage. I like the way they look more than a 330 or 350 though. But I digest.

I wouldn't rule out a Mazda 3, good suggestion sir. The car will be her DD, she is a teacher at a preschool so she hauls kids stuff around a lot (books, crafts, supplies, etc). It will also get a lot of miles very fast with all the school meetings and events outside of her everyday driving to work.

 

[nyknick1015]

Re: New car time

you can possibly get an older rx300 for around 10k but gotta factor in tax which will come to more than 10...

the crv and rav4, i'll tell you know, if you are above 6 feet... the driver seat is the most uncomfortable place to be. the steering wheel doesnt go that high and it feels like driving a go cart... at least for me

the equinox is a good suv but you might as well get a trailblazer which you can def find for under 10 grand... my boy found his on clist, an 03 with around 100k for about 6k

the i35... because of the release of the g35 and m35's, the prices of these cars have gone up to the point where it is rediculous to pay almost 10k for almsot a 10 year old car. I wanted this car when i started.

maxima.. ehhh.... thats all i gotta say. nothing special about them anymore, powerful engines but ehh...

and the TL, no real difference from the 6th gen...

7th gen.. im kinda biased because i went this route but it feels alot more comfortable than the 6th gen and ever since they made the swap for the k motor, best decision ever, or the v6 6spd. and plus the 7th gen has been rated the bet interior by many car maganzines for about 3 years straight

 

[RedRyder]

Re: New car time

you can possibly get an older rx300 for around 10k but gotta factor in tax which will come to more than 10...

the crv and rav4, i'll tell you know, if you are above 6 feet... the driver seat is the most uncomfortable place to be. the steering wheel doesnt go that high and it feels like driving a go cart... at least for me

the equinox is a good suv but you might as well get a trailblazer which you can def find for under 10 grand... my boy found his on clist, an 03 with around 100k for about 6k

the i35... because of the release of the g35 and m35's, the prices of these cars have gone up to the point where it is rediculous to pay almost 10k for almsot a 10 year old car. I wanted this car when i started.

maxima.. ehhh.... thats all i gotta say. nothing special about them anymore, powerful engines but ehh...

and the TL, no real difference from the 6th gen...

7th gen.. im kinda biased because i went this route but it feels alot more comfortable than the 6th gen and ever since they made the swap for the k motor, best decision ever, or the v6 6spd. and plus the 7th gen has been rated the bet interior by many car maganzines for about 3 years straight

I was excited about the possibility of the RX300 at first, but I'm thinking there's better choices the more I think about it.

She's shorter than me (I'm 5'11") so she should be fine in the CR-V/RAV4.

I can understand there is a value in the Trailblazer over an Equinox, but those things might be a little too big for what she is wanting.

Since it's her car, an I35 or 02-03 Maxima would be a huge step up for her. Yeah I agree the Max isn't anything special, but the car is for a girl so I'm not too worried about that. lol

7GA is a very attractive option, but the question is can I find one for around $10k with lower miles that's not a base model...

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[98ExAccordwv]

Re: New car time

I would say definitely a 7th Gen Accord if you can find one with low mileage under 10K. If not the maxima's aren't bad cars either. We just bought my wife a 2010 RAV-4 and if the older generations are anything like it, I would put that up their with the 7th gen accord. They get decent gas mileage and feel like your driving a car rather than an suv.

Good luck with the search.

 

[Wildman]

Re: New car time

I would avoid the older Equinox's and Trailblazers, they aren't rated so well on CR. Plus, horrible gas mileage.

Personally I probably wouldn't buy an import, just because (IMO) import resales are inflated, or at least domestic resale prices are so drastically deflated I wouldn't spend the extra on a comparable import.

They are boring cars, but around here I've seen 2000-2006 Taurus's/Sables with 50-80k miles all for under $6k. Imports in the same price range are all over 120k miles lol. For the same money, I'd feel more comfortable buying some grandma's Taurus with 50k miles than a car with over 2x as many miles

 

[BPAccord]

Re: New car time

had the same problem last month. Went to enterprise and bought teh wifey an 09 Hyundai Elantra with 19K for $10K

Power window, power locks, CC, four disk brakes, front aux input. Better than the Civic she had before. Got nookie for about a week straight.

 

[hiddengamer7]

Re: New car time

You can get 7th gen accord LX's for pennies now (definitely under $10k). If you wanted to, you could step up to the 2006-07 SE for a few more bells and whistles and still keep it under $12k. Look to spend around $14-16k for a 7th gen EX(-L) retail at a dealership.

 

[JMillerUA6]

Re: New car time

dun think u can get an rx300 for $10k

Sure you can. You can get an 00-02 AWD model for about 10k OTD.

I'll sell you my TL for $12,500