Need a New Car

I have a Chevy Cavalier. The bumper was duct taped on for a while, but it started falling off on the highway and I had to rip it off. It's fucked mechanically too.

Time for a new car.

What do you guys recommend? I'd probably get it on Craigslist unless somebody can convince me that a dealership is a better idea. Or that buying new is a good idea.

I'd rather not spend more than like $6-7k. I'm met with a bit of a dilemma:

I anticipate that in a few years, I'll be in a position to buy a new car. But I need a car now. So I can buy some Honda now for $2k and hope that it doesn't break by then. Or I can buy something half decent for like $5-7k.

Gas isn't really a huge issue, but maintenance is. I was looking at used German cars, but I hear that the maintenance is a bitch. Just how much more expensive is it to get Mercedes maintenance than, say, Nissan?

Any overall advice on where to start researching? Any specific models?

 

Hyundai....theres some deal wehre I live (westchester ny) 3000 down and 66 a month for a 24 month lease. All in all ends up like 5 and some change pretty sick deal if you ask me

 

If all you need is basic, inexpensive, reliable transportation, then buy yourself a plain jane Honda, Toyota, or Ford. Make sure it has a good service history, too.

German cars are expensive because they 1.) were made in smaller quantities, and 2.) most parts were made and assembled in a high-cost country.

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
 

You should be able to find a nice Civic/Accord or Corolla/Camry in the $6-7k range that you'll be able to sell for $5-6k in 2 years. Don't mess with a BMW/Mercedes if you don't want to bend over.

 
Best Response
Little Engine Would:

I can see the appeal in leasing if you make decent money and want to always drive a new car. But I don't see why I'd to it currently.

Because you can get rid of the car at the end of the lease. And you wouldn't have to worry about anything except paying some insurance for your brand new car (which happens to have zero mechanical faults because, whoa, it's brand new).

Just to illustrate where I'm coming from: I went through 3 cars in college. One handed down by my father (worthless, 1997 MINIVAN lol), one I bought brand new (2008 2-door, hooked up with racing shit, there's a thread about this somewhere), and one I bought used after my racing wip got totalled (didn't take long for that to happen).

I learned one thing from the entire experience: when it comes to college cars, go as low-risk as possible. Old cars are bad because they require a ton of maintenance and steal time away from you. I missed a final once because my car's passenger-side axle decided to get fucked (BMW, go figure). Buying cars is stupid unless you can afford them outright, which you won't be able to with $6K.

So, rather than spend your $6K on a used car that may or may not cause problems for you down the road, go lease a Honda or some other cheap car. You can probably get a $0 down-payment, it'll be cheap as hell, around $100-200/month, depending on where you are insurance won't be expensive, and you have a yearly option to simply get rid of your car.

Note: I am assuming you need it for college.

in it 2 win it
 

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