Basic car-Used or New?

buy american you traitor wrote:

do NOT buy Jap crap....buy American and support your fellow citizens

People are recomending Japanese cars b/c .... they've had good experiences with those cars. Personally, I've had BAD experiences with American made cars, therefore, I'll never own another one. If Detroit wanted my business, they should have been making better vehicles ...

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Speaking of "the fit", I'm 6'2 shoeless so I do need something I can fit into. But after adjusting things I haven't had a problem when I borrow my friend's civic.

If I go private for the used car I won't build the credit, but for a couple years now I've Co-owned a house with my parent and have used a credit card that I always pay off. I admit, I've never run a credit check so I don't know where I stand right now though.

buy american you traitor wrote:

do NOT buy Jap crap....buy American and support your fellow citizens

After several Hondas and Toyotas, I bought a Chevy Malibu. Needed a head gasket at 34,000 miles. Brakes gone at 50k (I got 110k out of my Corolla brakes). Fit and finish poor. Lots of creaks. Tons of minor troubles starting as early as 20k -- some electrical that were never resolved. Gave up and sold it at 65,000 -- got nothing for the worthless piece of crap -- and back to Toyota.

This Camry was made in the USA (Indiana, I think). That's good enuff for me.

I say buy used and save some money.

Look to buy from a private party, but not just any private party. Buy from old ladies/grandmas because they more than likely didn't drive the car "hard" and it won't bust on you. Don't buy some riced out civic that was used for street racing. Take a look at who you are buying from and you'll have a good idea of what you're getting.

There are good used cars out there. You just have to look.

If you're really 6'2" then consider used Buick cars. Used Buick models are usually roomy, inexpensive, most are automatic and have good reliability records. Some of them get decent, but not great, gas mileage. Plus, General Motors dealers are struggling to move inventory now, so you'll probably get a good deal. If they have a garage, ask them to throw in some free tire rotations or oil changes.

I had a great experience at carmax. No BS pricing games and they have a huge selection of cars that have been used, but not abused.

The price is the price and you can browse on-line. no sales people bugging the crap out of you.

lkjh wrote:

The people recommending only Toytas and Hondas must be in the "Japanese cars are so great" cult that thrives on 20 year old info.

If you care where a car is actually built, you'll have to ask. Many BMWs, Toyotas and other "foreign" cars are built in the USA (Toyota has a massive car plant in Georgetown, KY). My Subaru was built in Indiana, for example. Some "American" cars are built in Mexico or Canada.

I'm with you, man. Never again will I buy domestic. Ford and GM have screwed me over too many times. Besides, my bro in law is an engineer at Ford, and he shakes his head at all the bad decisions they've made.

My Camry has 130K miles on it and rides like new. It would be the perfect car for the OP, but I have no reason to sell it. It's nearly 10 years old, but why get rid of such a reliable car?

Regarding recommendations on a used Civic, they seem to hold their resale so well that you might not get that good of a deal on a used one. I'd consider a used (older) Camry or Corolla, which are generally cheaper used.

Buy new for Chrissakes! Keep the economy going! Plus, my stock portfolio needs your support!

I also agree with the Toyota/Honda although most enconomy American made cars have improved dramatically.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned in scanning posts is interest rates. If buying a used car, banks/dealers will require a much higher interest rate in most cases. If that is the case, it might be cheaper to buy a new car. I would rather pay for the product being new than interest rates to a bank/dealer. Check out the difference in total cost at the end of the loans.