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I just shopped the corolla and never saw anything even remotely close to $12,000? Are you serious? All Corollas, even the base comes with AC, power windows and locks. The sticker price for an 08 is $16,300, minimum. How in the world did you pay $12,000. There is just no way.
Without the gadgets means no engine
Corolla right now has $1k in rebates, you can always negotiate down some, the 09 Corolla starts at 15,500 (manual) so an 08 should start at less than that (I think around $14,400) and not too many people want a manual with absolutely no features so to go from 14,400 (technically 13,400 with incentive) I can see getting 1400 knocked off if you know what holdback is.
I just shopped the corolla and never saw anything even remotely close to $12,000? Are you serious? All Corollas, even the base comes with AC, power windows and locks. The sticker price for an 08 is $16,300, minimum. How in the world did you pay $12,000. There is just no way.
Got an 08 CE new w/o power equipment for $14K in 12/07 after a $1,500 Toyota and $500 dealer instant rebate Right now, Corollas are in short supply and Southeast Toyota Distributor is packing them with options. Noticed that at Leith yesterday when I stopped by for an oil change.
Corolla for 09 was gussied up and Yaris may be the new value choice at Toyota.
Since gas prices are currently falling, supply may catch up with demand soon and deals will come back.
If you can wait, you may be able to pre-order a stripped Corolla or Yaris for delivery in a month or less.
Power door locks with shift-activated locking feature (shift-activated locking feature on automatic transmission models) not available
Power windows with driver-side auto-down feature not available
Got an 08 CE new w/o power equipment for $14K in 12/07 after a $1,500 Toyota and $500 dealer instant rebate Right now, Corollas are in short supply and Southeast Toyota Distributor is packing them with options. Noticed that at Leith yesterday when I stopped by for an oil change.
Corolla for 09 was gussied up and Yaris may be the new value choice at Toyota.
Since gas prices are currently falling, supply may catch up with demand soon and deals will come back.
If you can wait, you may be able to pre-order a stripped Corolla or Yaris for delivery in a month or less.
Power door locks with shift-activated locking feature (shift-activated locking feature on automatic transmission models) not available
Power windows with driver-side auto-down feature not available
My wife has a 2007 Focus, and it seems OK. Peppy. Could give better mileage, but it is about 25-26 MPG on her 12 mile commute to the Park.
It only has about 8,000 miles on it in 17 months.
We don't really take it anywhere else but for groceries, so I don't know what it will deliver on the highway.
Her sisterhas a 2005(?) Focus, and has much higher mileage on it, and likes it a lot.
Focuses have likely depreciated faster than the Corolla or Honda, and the price for a comparable vehicle may be lower. It may be a good value, if the car is in great shape.
I like Consumer Reports April Auto issues, which are full of car feature discussions, and reliability charts.
If you plan on keeping the car long term, I would say that the Focus would be the way to go. You will get a great price and they hold up well. If you are concerned about trade in value down the road, then I would go with Honda.
If you plan on keeping the car long term, I would say that the Focus would be the way to go. You will get a great price and they hold up well. If you are concerned about trade in value down the road, then I would go with Honda.
That is me in a nutshell. I'm all about taking good care of a car but keeping it forever until I drive it into the ground (which is the point I am at with my current car). I bought my first car when I was 17 and I'm now 34 but I'm only on my second car. I'm not worried about resale. I might have to give the ford focus a good hard look. My first car was a ford (Bronco II) and I got 200K miles out of it. My second (current) car is a Nissan Sentra with 185K miles. I think Nissans are good automobiles but my car has always been a bit of a lemon.
Thanks for the tips so far. If I do go to local dealers to check out used Fords, Hondas, or Toyotas are there any particular dealers in the Traingle area that are better than the others? Unless he has the best deals, I would like to avoid that Toyota dealer (Mark Jacobson?) who has those terrible tv commercials with his ratty white dog and the bobble head dolls made in honor of himself!
Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it!
Corolla right now has $1k in rebates, you can always negotiate down some, the 09 Corolla starts at 15,500 (manual) so an 08 should start at less than that (I think around $14,400) and not too many people want a manual with absolutely no features so to go from 14,400 (technically 13,400 with incentive) I can see getting 1400 knocked off if you know what holdback is.
That's the kind of car I buy. Many times these base models stick on the lot months. Mine sat 4 months before I bought it.
They are used as price leaders to get you on the lot in the hope you'll buy a more expensive one.
Even the base Corolla has an AM/FM/CD, air conditioning, trunk light, security key with chip, and lights on warning.
When I first started buying base cars, they were totally base.
That is me in a nutshell. I'm all about taking good care of a car but keeping it forever until I drive it into the ground (which is the point I am at with my current car). I bought my first car when I was 17 and I'm now 34 but I'm only on my second car. I'm not worried about resale. I might have to give the ford focus a good hard look. My first car was a ford (Bronco II) and I got 200K miles out of it. My second (current) car is a Nissan Sentra with 185K miles. I think Nissans are good automobiles but my car has always been a bit of a lemon.
Thanks for the tips so far. If I do go to local dealers to check out used Fords, Hondas, or Toyotas are there any particular dealers in the Traingle area that are better than the others? Unless he has the best deals, I would like to avoid that Toyota dealer (Mark Jacobson?) who has those terrible tv commercials with his ratty white dog and the bobble head dolls made in honor of himself!
Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it!
Leith is really "the badger" but has a good service dept. Fred Anderson is sinking.
Might try the AAA's buying service or a credit union's similar plan.
Mark's not really that bad but make them take off the fraudulent "Toyogard Protection Package" which is $600+ of distributor/dealer profit. His foofoo dog Dylan does appear rather dim witted.
Might look at a Toyota dealer further out like Henderson. A Raleigh dealer will honor your factory warranty.
That is me in a nutshell. I'm all about taking good care of a car but keeping it forever until I drive it into the ground (which is the point I am at with my current car). I bought my first car when I was 17 and I'm now 34 but I'm only on my second car. I'm not worried about resale. I might have to give the ford focus a good hard look. My first car was a ford (Bronco II) and I got 200K miles out of it. My second (current) car is a Nissan Sentra with 185K miles. I think Nissans are good automobiles but my car has always been a bit of a lemon.
Thanks for the tips so far. If I do go to local dealers to check out used Fords, Hondas, or Toyotas are there any particular dealers in the Traingle area that are better than the others? Unless he has the best deals, I would like to avoid that Toyota dealer (Mark Jacobson?) who has those terrible tv commercials with his ratty white dog and the bobble head dolls made in honor of himself!
Thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it!
Then I would go with the Focus. I have had many Ford economy vehicles in the past and always had really good luck. You will get the best deal with it. I do think you should stick with a good dealership. They will give you a nice warranty on a used car. Just find the real price on Kelly Blue Book, NADA or one of the others. They will tell you what you should pay. Print them out and bring them in. It should be fairly pain free when they see you with the printouts. I usually print out from every source and walk in with a mountain of paperwork. They don't battle much after that.
NRG, we were JUST in your situation last week. Our Jeep CHerokee had about another $1200.00 worth of repairs (after spending about $1000.00 already). We're now the proud owners of a 2005 a used Toyota Sienna XLE at Leith Acura in fabulous condition for 15,500K. Fred Anderson also usually has great deals. Wait till the end of the month.
I've never actually used Carmax, but when we were looking last month, my brother, who used to be a mechanic at Fred Anderson said that Carmax is very hit or miss. He said to make SURE you take it to a mechanic before buying it if you get it from Carmax.
If all else fails...I have a Jeep Cherokee that needs a new home!
NRG, what about a VW Beetle? I've seen a few on craigslist in your price range. Some under 10K & a couple of convertibles a little over your range.
We love our Beetle... bought it used from a private owner in Portland. And they are suppose to be "easy" to convert to electric if you ever want to go that route. Of course, finding the right team of people to help with this has been a bit tricky. But we are getting pretty good gas mileage in the mean time.
Good luck!
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Will look into the focus!
