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I am a single guy who needs a new car. My GF cannot deal with my car falling apart with us in it.
Here are the final choices:
2002 Toyota Celica GT - gorgeous, manual, older stereo, sunroof, very clean, interior as good as an 07-08 used car, great gas mileage, handles fantastically - but with 106K miles, but incredibly cheap, I could pay cash for it.
2007 Honda Civic Coupe EX - very good looking (sporty look), manual, excellent stereo, sunroof, great gas mileage, cloth seats OK, 35K miles, OK price, will need my credit union to help me pay for it (and they said yes). $11K+
2007 Mercury Milan (V6) - sedan, nice leather interior, very elegant, smooth ride, pretty good handling, suspension leads towards the sporty side, decent stereo (not as good as Honda), sunroof, 37K miles. I will need help from the credit union to pay for it (and they said yes). $11.5K+ Older people would probably like this car.
All have clean Carfax.
2007 Pontiac G6 - Vert & GTP, I have eliminated both of these...although both looked great.
I could continue to wait and get more choices - (Scion or an Accord, etc.), or some Camry, but the car I have is falling apart, and the 3 cars listed above, I can buy them tomorrow. I have been looking and test driving constantly for about 3 weeks.
I'm not going to be part of the "Car payments are the Antichrist" crowd, so that's not why I'd suggest it, but you really seem to like the Celica, only holding back partly due to the mileage.
But that MY Celica should be pretty bulletproof if you haven't found anything else wrong with it yet, now I might've read your post wrong, but that seemed to be the one you were most enthusiastic about.
I'm not going to be part of the "Car payments are the Antichrist" crowd, so that's not why I'd suggest it, but you really seem to like the Celica, only holding back partly due to the mileage.
But that MY Celica should be pretty bulletproof if you haven't found anything else wrong with it yet, now I might've read your post wrong, but that seemed to be the one you were most enthusiastic about.
Well, I like it because it's not something you see on the road everyday, there really are not very many...I am a little concerned about the mileage, and the stereo is a bit dated (it has a cassette + CD, but I called around, and I could actually buy cassettes to use for cheap). Other than that, it looks great. Someone said it's a girl's car - not for a guy. It's lower to the ground than the Civic EX.
The Honda is more modern, with a modern interior... and it looks pretty cool, and the Mercury is a bit upscale, but they are known for having good interiors - and although stylish, I don't care for the sameness of the sedan style we see everyday - but then again, so many people drive them so it's nothing to criticize.
Depending on how the Celica racked up the miles, it may be good for that much more again. Of the cars you list, I would go with the Celica. They do have somewhat of a "chick car" image, but, sod that. It's a good car, in terms of build quality and design. Don't let current "popular culture" influence your decision in buying the best car for your needs at the best price you can get. The 100K + miles freaks out people who don't know cars, who get ideas from geriatric uncles who last really looked at a car in the 50s. In 1965, yeah, 100K was a lot. Now it ain't. Lest you think the Camry is a freak, we have a Subaru Legacy with about 250K on the original engine as well.
Keep in mind I am not looking at the vehicles in person - if I were, I might pick something else or might nix them all and look for something else.
I have an 87 Camry with 245K, when I had the head off at 160K to replace the head gasket, the cylinder bores not only did not have any ridge that I could feel with a fingernail, they looked NEW.
Only possible downside of the Celica is at that mileage it *may* need a clutch fairly soon. Depends on the skill of the driver and how it was used. But a good indy shop can do a clutch for probably around $1K.
If you don't really know cars, find a good indy shop and get them to inspect the car as a pre-purchase.
Well, I like it because it's not something you see on the road everyday, there really are not very many...I am a little concerned about the mileage, and the stereo is a bit dated (it has a cassette + CD, but I called around, and I could actually buy cassettes to use for cheap). Other than that, it looks great. Someone said it's a girl's car - not for a guy. It's lower to the ground than the Civic EX.
The Honda is more modern, with a modern interior... and it looks pretty cool, and the Mercury is a bit upscale, but they are known for having good interiors - and although stylish, I don't care for the sameness of the sedan style we see everyday - but then again, so many people drive them so it's nothing to criticize.
Well the stereo is usually a simple fix, and something you could do yourself.
If the car has a good maintenance record and it checks out mechanically I don't think the mileage would bother me too much.
The Honda is probably the "safest bet", but you're left with a lot of money to do repairs between the price of the Honda and the Celica.
Oh good grief - the stereo is "dated" - this era car they are all DIN, you can either use it as is, get an adapter to use an I-Pod or whatever with it, or for 2-300 bucks buy whatever you want from Crutchfield, since it's DIN changing it out is very easy.
Cassettes are IMHO still a very viable medium.
Make it a point to punch the guy who said it's a chick car hard on the nose.
Depending on how the Celica racked up the miles, it may be good for that much more again. Of the cars you list, I would go with the Celica. They do have somewhat of a "chick car" image, but, sod that. It's a good car, in terms of build quality and design. Don't let current "popular culture" influence your decision in buying the best car for your needs at the best price you can get. The 100K + miles freaks out people who don't know cars, who get ideas from geriatric uncles who last really looked at a car in the 50s. In 1965, yeah, 100K was a lot. Now it ain't. Lest you think the Camry is a freak, we have a Subaru Legacy with about 250K on the original engine as well.
Keep in mind I am not looking at the vehicles in person - if I were, I might pick something else or might nix them all and look for something else.
I have an 87 Camry with 245K, when I had the head off at 160K to replace the head gasket, the cylinder bores not only did not have any ridge that I could feel with a fingernail, they looked NEW.
Only possible downside of the Celica is at that mileage it *may* need a clutch fairly soon. Depends on the skill of the driver and how it was used. But a good indy shop can do a clutch for probably around $1K.
If you don't really know cars, find a good indy shop and get them to inspect the car as a pre-purchase.
Good Luck!
That's interesting your comment about "Current Popular Culture", because society actually leads us to conform which seems to limit our personal freedom - and it results in guys who may be afraid to buy a Celica, because it looks like a chick's car. It's not like it's a pink VW bug - it's black. Plus cars are a lot like women, lol, and I am indeed attracted to the car. Maybe the car itself looks like a woman?
Re: 100K miles, I am not freaking out, and I have heard numerous stories of people driving the Celica up until 250K - with the original clutch. The Celica's clutch seemed to work great when I test drove it a few times.
Another thing is stop & start traffic - many people tell me to get an automatic because in Miami during the traffic jams, the foot gets tired. I used to drive a Jeep Wrangler here (I sold it last year) and it was bothersome to shift in certain situations. Others have told me that it would be more difficult to talk on the phone and text - as well as eat, and shave, LOL, and some have said the Celica is not hip at all, because I cannot plug an mp3 player in the stereo and it does not have Bluetooth connectivity that many covet. I realize that I could replace the system, but I am trying to conserve cash.
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