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Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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I graduated college in May and I traded in my 2001 Honda Accord LX 4-cyl for a 2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6 in July. I lucked out and found the Accord with a clean history at $2k below NADA retail and low mileage.
When I graduated from college in 1994 I bought myself a second-hand 1984 Pontiac Parisienne.
I LOVE it. You know Pontiac sometimes badged their cars differently in Canada than in the States. Their little P.O.S. was called a Firefly in Canada, but something else (?) in the States.
I had an old chevy van, Carpet on the ceiling and floor and wood paneling on the walls and curtains my girlfriend made so we would have extra privacy while smoking weed and "doing the deed" .This was in the late 60s
I'm trying to decide if I want to either buy new or used. I don't think I'll be driving much since I'm be traveling for work a lot (domestic flights). But the idea of finally owning my own new car is exciting.
I have been recommended by many to just buy used. Do you recommend buying used from a dealer or try to purchase privately through something like craigslist?
I'm so new to this X__X
Thanks.
I am right out of college as well ,but I do not have the money to buy new. However if your profession offers you enough income to buy a car $30,000 or more I have some recommendations. If you want a truck..get a Toyota.Period. New or used..they are tanks... If you want a Sports car, only buy from elderly people used and New? Get a Subaru WRX... Hands down the best 30,000$ sports car there is. (in America)
I have been out of college for a little over a year now and just bought my first new car on Tuesday. It's a new 2012 VW GTI. Perfect car for a 20 something IMO, it's fun, fast, and practical. I absolutely love it. You can get pretty good deals on used ones but I went new because I could afford it (payments ended up being less than 10% of my monthly income) and got a good deal on it. You can get good deals on 2012 models right now because dealers are making room for 2013 models.
FWIW I have also owned a '97 Ford Escort my parents got me when I was 16 (which turned out to be a lemon I still appreciated the wheels though!) and a 2000 Grand Prix I bought for myself my sophomore year of college. I've had jobs since I was 16 so a car was always part of the equation.
Was the GP any good? 3.1 or 3.8? They were generally reliable.
I had a 3.8L (GT) and it was pretty reliable. I ran it from 100k to 140k miles and the only thing I needed to fix over 4 years was a cracked sway bar. As far as I know the prior owner did not have any major repairs either, though it was maintained very well through it's whole life. I probably could have driven her for a while yet but I decided it was just time in my life for a new car. I didn't want to have to go through any repairs and I know it was just a matter of time.
I had a 3.8L (GT) and it was pretty reliable. I ran it from 100k to 140k miles and the only thing I needed to fix over 4 years was a cracked sway bar. As far as I know the prior owner did not have any major repairs either, though it was maintained very well through it's whole life. I probably could have driven her for a while yet but I decided it was just time in my life for a new car. I didn't want to have to go through any repairs and I know it was just a matter of time.
I love that model, especially in coupe form. I've taken a 3.8 V6, early 90s vintage though in another GM brand, from 0 to 271,000 miles with no major repairs and it was NOT burning ANY oil in between oil changes when I got a new car. No "forren" cars for me.
Well, I dropped out of college and my first Vehicle was a 1986 Honda VF500f. 8 years later I bought my first car (didn't have nor want a car for 8 years) and that was a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. Bought it for 6k, sold it for $8200 and put ~20k miles on it over the ~20 months I owned it.
Every 'new grad' I've seen who's bought a NEW car, made payments on it (and the school loans, and credit card bills, and...) for Decades. Conversely, those who've stuck with their 'college car' or went with used seem to be out of school loans/debt was sooner. I'm sure it's the mentality behind it and Not the car/payments, but it's just interesting to watch. I'm getting old enough now that even the youngest people I know are a few years out of college (or years from getting to college age).
BTW, wife came out of 7 years of college as a Dr, worked for peanuts ($32k/year) for the first 4 years and we STILL paid off her substantial school loans in 6 years. We bought her a used car...
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car out of college
I still appreciated the wheels though!) and a 2000 Grand Prix I bought for myself my sophomore year of college. I've had jobs since I was 16 so a car was always part of the equation.
