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Well, since I was inspired by the other thread asking for advice about the Ford Escape, I've decided to ask you all for your help in narrowing down my choices for a new vehicle. Generally, I'm looking for a small-to-midsized car with decent fuel efficiency and an attractive exterior. My 1998 Contour now has over 80,000 miles, and it's starting to get to that point where it "needs a new this and that." Since I have plenty of money saved in the bank to put towards a down payment (as well as my trade-in value), I think 2007 may be the year when I upgrade to a newer vehicle. Please help me out by posting replies with your reasoning as well! THANKS!!
I voted for the Honda, simply because I drive one (2005 Accord LX) & love it! I considered some of the cars you're looking at, and eventually chose the Honda for a number of reasons... love the way it drives, it's reliability record, appearance, price, and what you get for the money. I don't know much about the Civic Hybrid specifically, but it is a popular car lately - they're popping up everywhere around here. And I don't know if this rule applies in PA, but in CA you can drive in the carpool lane with a hybrid... major bonus. Anyway, good luck!
Oh, and my second choice would be the Subaru... one of my friends has an Impreza, and she's been very happy with it. I fell in love with the bigger model (Legacy? Their names are so confusing!), but unfortunately it was out of my price range.
On that list the only one I would pick is the Toyota Corolla. Reliability and resale are the two main reasons. If you can go for one of the other Honda's in their line besides the hybrid then that would be fine. I look at car buying a bit different though, I also look at resale and what will hold its value in the long run, more from an investment side of things, I want my money to work for me even if it is something like buying a car. The Toyotas and Hondas tend to be the cars w/ better reliability and lower maint. issues over the Fords and others. I'm not sold on all of the hybrids right now. There is more to come in this area and I'm sure it will improve drastically in the next few years. I've seen a few studies that show w/ the high intial cost of some of the hybrids and the trade offs that come with it they may end up costing more to use. I've found a good source just to read consumer reviews on autos has been msn.com under "autos". I laugh at some of them and blow them off as you can see that the person truly can never be happy or pleased, some are just laughable. But the ones I want to know about are issues with safety and reliability. There was a positive review w/ their con being hilarious for my bmw that cracked me up, their "con" was that it would not fit thru the door to park it in their living room. LOL!!!! BTW, and for the record, I tend to be a Chevy girl but the only thing from them I like now is my Suburban. Now if it is a classic chevy like a Corvette or Camaro............. bring it on. But as far as the newer Chevy line I prefer their truck line over the small sedans.
I voted for the Honda, simply because I drive one (2005 Accord LX) & love it! I considered some of the cars you're looking at, and eventually chose the Honda for a number of reasons... love the way it drives, it's reliability record, appearance, price, and what you get for the money. I don't know much about the Civic Hybrid specifically, but it is a popular car lately - they're popping up everywhere around here. And I don't know if this rule applies in PA, but in CA you can drive in the carpool lane with a hybrid... major bonus. Anyway, good luck!
Thanks for your input! I'm actually leaning towards the Civic Hybrid myself, but I was afraid of "horror stories" I've heard about the technology of hybrid vehicles still being "too new" and "having bugs." Whether these complaints are indeed legitimate or are an effort by the oil companies to stop Americans from purchasing hybrid vehicles and dampening their profit margins is beyond me! I've also heard something about the batteries costing $7,000 to replace; is there any merit to this, or is this just another "old wives' tale?" I know people who have the regular Civics and LOVE them, but I thought purchasing a Hybrid would be a "step in the right direction" towards preserving our planet for future generations.
I voted for the Subaru. I'm a nerdy wagon-girl and I've always loved the Outback. Your recent snow pics made me think you might appreciate AWD.
The Honda would be a close second. I've had Civics as well; nothing but good luck with those!
Since I'm not in the market for a new car, I haven't been doing any research. In the past, I always used Consumer Reports. It might be fun to call Click and Clack and see what they recommend
Let me first say I LOVE car shopping, I know, I'm nuts. But I go all the time with friends and family when they need a new car. So I am pretty good at this process.
If your car has started needing a bunch of things you are making the right decision.
It sounds like you hang on to your cars for awhile so as far as holding value Imports are your best bet. Check the resales on the models you have listed and you will see.
Another thing you want to do is call your insurance company with a few of the models you are looking at, they will be able to give you an idea of the cost to insure each one. Being young, insurance hurts but try to find out which one will cause the "least pain"
You need to have a budget, decide what you want spend each month. there are payment calculators to help with this. So you will know how much you can "spend"
This is also the time to talk to your bank or credit union about rates, my credit union beat the dealer by 1%. It is nice to walk into the dealer knowing you have a "bank check" in your pocket.
Asking people is also a good idea that way you can find out the little"weird" things about cars that the brochure doesn't tell you, like the cup holders are to small, dumb but if you are like most of us that spend allot of time in their cars this could be an issue lol Heaters or A/C that don;t do a great job etc...
Once you have done all of your homework, what I tell folks is if possible rent the models you like for a weekend, you can't tell just from a test drive how the car handles, if there are any blind spots, is it uncomfortable on long drives etc.
You also don't have the problems of
Pushy car salesperson breathing down your neck
Not making an impulse decision (most people that just go to look buy !!
Now the most important thing I can recommend is when you walk on the lot knowing the amount you are planning to spend and the "nice" car salesperson ask "what are you looking to spend per month" do not give a payment. It is to easy for them to "up you" which will make them more profit.
Just say this is the model I am interested in and I am willing to pay xxxx dollars. Because you have already looked on line and found out what the invoice price is.
That said lol
We just got a leftover 2006 Acura TSX and I love love love this car !!!!!! If your budget is in the $30k range it can be less if you are considering used
I would take a look at this car !!!
Good luck and have fun
lol too bad I won't be going home to PA any time soon or I would so be there helping .
On that list the only one I would pick is the Toyota Corolla. Reliability and resale are the two main reasons. If you can go for one of the other Honda's in their line besides the hybrid then that would be fine. I look at car buying a bit different though, I also look at resale and what will hold its value in the long run, more from an investment side of things, I want my money to work for me even if it is something like buying a car. The Toyotas and Hondas tend to be the cars w/ better reliability and lower maint. issues over the Fords and others. I'm not sold on all of the hybrids right now. There is more to come in this area and I'm sure it will improve drastically in the next few years. I've seen a few studies that show w/ the high intial cost of some of the hybrids and the trade offs that come with it they may end up costing more to use. I've found a good source just to read consumer reviews on autos has been msn.com under "autos". I laugh at some of them and blow them off as you can see that the person truly can never be happy or pleased, some are just laughable. But the ones I want to know about are issues with safety and reliability. There was a positive review w/ their con being hilarious for my bmw that cracked me up, their "con" was that it would not fit thru the door to park it in their living room. LOL!!!! BTW, and for the record, I tend to be a Chevy girl but the only thing from them I like now is my Suburban. Now if it is a classic chevy like a Corvette or Camaro............. bring it on. But as far as the newer Chevy line I prefer their truck line over the small sedans.
I agree. The Chevy Cobalt would probably be #9 on my list (Just above the Scion xB, which continues to get very poor ratings from everyone I know on reliability, fuel-efficiency, and safety issues, even though I think they're "cute"). I was leaning towards either the Corolla or the Civic Hybrid. If there is the chance that Hybrid technology will advance greatly over the course of the year to be more economical, then I might just push off buying a car until 2008 when I could get a Hybrid with the "kinks worked out of it." I'm mostly concerned about fuel-efficiency for the time-being, as I'm stuck driving over 300 miles per week the way it is between my home in the suburbs and work, school, committee meetings, etc. in the city. Once I move into the city in several years, my car will become something I use sparingly, perhaps once every other day or so, making fuel-efficiency something I won't be as concerned about. For now though, I NEED something that's not guzzling gas!
I went with the Prius. If you can afford it they are great. My old boss bought one and loved to rub her fuel mileage in our faces. It is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.
This will most likely be the one & only time I do not go with a GM product.
I voted for the Subaru. I'm a nerdy wagon-girl and I've always loved the Outback. Your recent snow pics made me think you might appreciate AWD.
The Honda would be a close second. I've had Civics as well; nothing but good luck with those!
Since I'm not in the market for a new car, I haven't been doing any research. In the past, I always used Consumer Reports. It might be fun to call Click and Clack and see what they recommend
You bring up an interesting point with the snow storm issue. AWD would be a "benefit" to have when we occasionally get these freak blizzards, but in the case of this storm, even my mom's AWD Forester is stranded in the driveway! They still haven't plowed our roadways even once, and the area is still being crippled economically, even though the storm started way back on Tuesday! It's times like these that I wonder how those who have well over 100 inches of snow just north of Syracuse, NY are able to get "out and about" when a foot-and-a-half cripples Scranton. I keep on telling myself that I don't need AWD for the 2-3 "decent"-sized storms we typically get per winter, but it's times like these that truly make you look at your small sedan in the driveway with snow drifted up to the windshield and think "Yikes!" Subarus always rate very highly among my friends as well, including my sister, who just traded in her Legacy for a TrailBlazer. Wow! So many good cars, and thus far I've only written a couple of them off! HELP! LOL! I want 'em all!
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Please help me out by posting replies with your reasoning as well! THANKS!! 
Anyway, good luck!
I've also heard something about the batteries costing $7,000 to replace; is there any merit to this, or is this just another "old wives' tale?" I know people who have the regular Civics and LOVE them, but I thought purchasing a Hybrid would be a "step in the right direction" towards preserving our planet for future generations. 
