Second the recommendation to check out Edmunds for reviews and pricing guidance. We have bought Civic and Elantra in the past, but based on recent reviews just bought a Mazda 3. Honda CRV is another good choice if you want more room.
I wanted to like an American made car, and considered a Fusion, but couldn’t warm up to Ford’s dashboard/electronics design. YMMV.
We just went through this car song and dance with one of our kids. She chose a Camry. Here were her thoughts…
Our kid does not need an SUV or four wheel drive.
Her top choices were the Camry and the Accord. She chose the Camry…we found one in their pretty light blue.
If you are looking at small SUV type vehicles, look at the Subaru Forester. It’s a great car…and especially good if you need four wheel drive.
A couple of comments on the whole thing about “American Made” cars. Some of the “American” cars (Ford and GM) are made in Mexico and/or have many of its parts made in Mexico, if it weren’t for the quirks of the regulatory system they would be called imported cars.
Many of the cars people are recommending are made in the US, Subaru has been building cars in Indiana for many years, Toyota builds cars in Kentucky (My Camry Solara was made there), Nissan builds cars in this country, Honda builds cars here, Hyundai builds cars here, last I checked most of the cars you buy from those companies (and others) are made in the US.
If AWD is important to you, Subaru is an obvious candidate, since they are all AWD. From what I can tell from my network of gearheads, they are still very reliable and relatively cheap to own. Honda used to offer AWD on their small SUV, but it might be out of your price range. Audi’s quattro is a great system, but even their cheapest models are going to be out of your price range, and with Audi while they are pretty reliable (much more so than in the old days), they can be very expensive when repairs are needed, because they lump Audi’s product line into the ‘luxury class’, the parts for them are very expensive, lot of parts are dealer only. I would recommend some of the crossover vehicles, like the Mazda CX5, but it could be out of your price range (I haven’t checked real world prices on them).
In terms of the US manufacturers, while they have improved a lot, quality (again, from my circle of gearheads and mechanics) is spotty. The best of the lot from what I have heard is Ford, cars like the Fusion get high marks from a lot of them, and when problems happen it seems to be spotty in nature, not a general trend.GM is still something of a mystery, people seem to have either great experiences with them or hate them, there is very little neutral ground.Personally I am skeptical of GM products, while I think the new management team seems serious about quality, GM as an organization still has a lot of the old time mentality, and it concerns me,knowing the way their management team was thinking not all that long ago, I don’t know if there has been enough time. The Malibu gets high marks, I have driven it and it was a nice car, but my concern would be both reliability and longevity. I tend to keep cars until they die, my honda minivan is over 200k now, and just keeps running, and from what I know of the US makers, that kind of longevitity is not quite as common.Chrysler I’ll admit is an unknown, the guys running the show at FIAT seem pretty sharp (now that is shocking to anyone that has been around a while), but I don’t know how well that has translated.
To balance that out, some of the ‘good’ manufacturers have had some serious problems. Subaru had some quality issues with their engines several years back (supply chain problems), that have been resolved, and from what I hear the newest models are fine. Toyota went through a mess where they pulled a GM, they decided they wanted to be #1 in car sales and their quality lagged, they had problems with the accelerator pedals and some other issues (note, I have a Toyota made during that window that fortunately was not recalled, but I can tell you it has been a honey,no problems), and they admitted they had screwed up and have made major changes. Nissan had problems for a number of years, there were signs it wouldn’t make it, but seems to have stablized. Honda has had problems as well, engines and transmissions are what I heard, and the jury is out on if they have fixed them. The gap between the foreign cars and the US manufacturers has closed, there is no doubt, but I am not sure if the US brands are quite there yet. One thing I can tell you from my network, that the foreign brand dealers still get high ratings, while the US dealers seem to be stuck in the 'Big Harry" school of 40 or 50 years ago, especially with service. For example, the Honda and Toyota dealers near where I live have extended service hours, including Sunday, you can do drive in service without an appointment, to make it convenient, whereas the Ford, Chrysler and GM Dealers in my area are still the 9-5, come in at my convenience mode (for the record, there are also Honda and Toyota dealers who are in the 9-5 mode, and US brand dealers who seem to go out of their way, but overall, the foreign brands seem to put more emphasis in customer service).
In terms of how to buy a car, many people have made some valuable points. Once you know what car you want, then you can do research on sites like cars.com and edmunds and Kelly Blue book to see what prices are like, they often will give things like the dealer price on a car you want. You can also on cars.com see what cars dealers have that match your needs and see what the sticker price is. If you know the dealer price for the car you want, with the feature you want, rough rule of thumb is to offer 10% above that (so if dealer cost is 30k, offer 33 or so). You can also offer via the internet, I think cars.com allows you to do this, do if you don’t want to haggle in person, you can make an offer, and often it will be for a price less than you could negotiate in person. One thing is, if the dealer says “no” to your offer, there are other dealers, and don’t be surprised if you walk away, that suddenly they come back and agree.
As others have said, it is probably better to get financing before going into the dealer. Unless they have special financing (like 0%), you generally will get a better rate from a bank or credit union, and going in with money in hand gives you an advantage in terms of negotiating a deal, if you take their financing, it often will cost you more (both in fees, and the negotiated price). If you notice with ads for cars with special financing, they will say things like “dealer contribution will affect the price”, which means with that 0%, you may pay a lot more for the car and over the long term cost you more (you would need to work that out).
In terms of when to buy, the end of the month is the best time to go in there, when they are trying to meet sales quotas, you can often do better deals. Also, in my experience, you do better going to a dealer during the week, when things are generally slower, then during the weekend (weekdays tend to be good, because it is when dealer’s sales floors are often really slow) If you can wait until summer, you start getting good deals because they are trying to get rid of the 2015 inventory, since the 2016’s will start arriving by late summer.
Also, be careful at the dealer, when they start throwing all the ‘extras’ at you, the undercoatings and other things, I would turn them down, they are designed to make the dealer money and give you very little in return, it is one of the oldest scams on the book. If you want an alarm system, get one aftermarket, and things like the glass etching and such is of dubious value. If the area you live in is common with car thefts, something like LoJac might be an option to think of, but if the area is not known for it, may not be worth the cost.
Another thing to do before going in to the dealer is to get a quote from an insurance agent, or do a search online (I think Progressive insurance will give you information on that). When you buy a new car, and finance it you will want comprehensive and collision, that basically covers anything (with a loan, it will be required, with someone paying cash, still wise while the car is new). Insurance costs are important, and you might be surprised at what a car you would think as being inexpensive can cost, if they decide it has negatives to it.
It seems like a lot, but you will get the hang of it, fast. I personally don’t recommend the buyers services, to be honest you can do as well as they can, and will end up with a price as good as they can get and not paying them for it.
My S had to buy a car when moving from NYC to VT/NH for his first job last year. He has the new Ford Focus hatchback, which looks sort of like a mini-SUV. It’s a nicely appointed, attractive, driveable car that gets excellent gas mileage. He got it with the winter package, which includes heated front seats and special floor and trunk mats for collecting winter sand and grit. When winter rolled around, he bought snow tires, since he frequently drives through a lot of it on country roads.
We’ve had nothing but Fords since about 1985: 2 Taurus station wagons, 1 Escort station wagon, 1 Fusion, 1 Focus wagon, and now his. They have all been reliable and fine to drive. (Part of this is because a BIL works for them and we get cars on the Friends and Family plan, which ensures a good price and eliminates haggling, but we wouldn’t do it if the cars weren’t good.)
On the subject of AWD: I’ve lived in Maine for the last 20 years, and we’ve never had it and never missed it. I’ve also never had snow tires. There’s a lot of exaggeration out there. It is a good thing to make sure your car isn’t too low-slung, though.
There are lots of cars that fit that description that can be had for around $20,000 or less.
If it really matters to you:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/Part+583+American+Automobile+Labeling+Act+%28AALA%29+Reports
http://www.american.edu/kogod/autoindex/
I would get a Mini. But one of my kid has a Toyota Corolla and she wouldn’t trade for a bigger car because of the gas advantage. I love my Ford Explorer SUV, great for commute. I feel like driving a limo, so quiet. But the problem with it is hard to park such a big car. But I wouldn’t buy the Ford Escape, there was some safety issues with it.
The Subaru Impreza should be considered. All wheel drive, decent gas mileage, not too big, and a reliable car. Does great in the snow. And is well within the OP’s price range.
I also would recommend a Subaru as it gives good bang for the buck, reliable and has awd. While awd may not be required in snow, i think it makes a difference. Definitely test drive as they tend to be stiffer/sportier than a Prius for example.
I had an Audi that I loved, but agree maintenance is going to be more expensive.
I always recommend buying a couple years used as well unless
@sidkane is right, another option might be to buy a late model used car. A lot of the time, dealers have cars coming off low mileage leases (cars with 25, 30k on it), which can allow you to buy a car you like at a price you can afford. The only downside of this is used car prices are pretty high, a lot of people are turning to used cars rather than face the cost of new ones, so you may find the price differential isn’t all that great at times. The nice part is across the board is that almost all cars these days will last a long time, this isn’t the ‘golden age’ that people try to convince me once existed, it is likely you may get tired of the car long before it dies, so buying a used car with 30 or 40k is not the same thing it once was if you want to go that route.
We did very well buying a 2 year old Audi A4 for our daughter. It had just come off a lease and had 25K miles. The dealer put new tires on it and certified it which upped the factory warranty to 6 years and 100K miles. The car is now 7 years old and (knock on wood) has never needed anything more than oil changes. Yes, Audi repairs are probably more expensive, but we haven’t needed any repairs. I don’t think we could have done any better by buying a new car for the same price.
Yes they do, and it is almost certainly worth the price of membership ($55 per year) even if you do not live near a Costco. If you are not experienced with negotiating, the dealers will take advantage.
Also consider purchasing outside your state of residence. I twice saved over $1,000 by purchasing my car in an adjacent state. My uncle, who is an expert car buyer, has purchased cars half way across the country.
It sounds to me like you might like:
My favorite American cars are:
If you want a durable car, then I recommend avoiding any German vehicle (VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes). Most struggle with reliability once above 100,000 miles. Plus, their electronics are the worst. I love those cars when they are new, but they age very poorly. Same with Mini Cooper.
Good Luck!
i’ve had many toyotas and hondas and 3 volvo’s. If I was still living north of Boston, I’d be checking Subarus. I usually buy a car they’ve been using for test drives, or slightly used. I’ve never bought one with more than 15,000 miles. If I had decided on one model, then I would probably use the internet. Who cares if I drive 1 or hours to save hundreds?
One thing that can help in the long run is to rent a car for a few days, then try a different model. When test driving a car, you are only in it for 10-15 minutes. I had a 3 week gap between my Volvo dying in its 11th year, and I didn’t want to rush. I tried several different models during that time. (I mean, I took 3 weeks purchasing another).
Just throwing in a smiley for Ford Focus. I was helping my tall and wide friend buy a new car. Most had seats too uncomfortable for him. Since another friend had just bought a Ford and liked the salesman, we went back with an appointment. My friend leased. He used the same salesman for 2nd car. When his DD started college, again, the Focus, but she got it in red (so less old lady looking). My friend really likes dealing with one salesman.
OP did mention wanting a smaller car, which each of the brands does offer:
Honda: Civic, Fit
Toyota: Corolla, Yaris, Prius C
Subaru: Impreza
Ford: Focus, Fiesta
Chevrolet: Cruze, Sonic, Spark
Others:
Mazda: Mazda3, Mazda2
Hyundai: Elantra, Accent
Kia: Forte, Rio, Soul
I’ve never had good luck with American cars, and I think a lot has to do with the mentality of American car mechanics, at least in Boston.
Japanese car mechanics, especially Honda and Toyota, know that people buy them for their reliability even though they cost a little more, so when they break, they figure that the customer probably wants the repair “done right” even if it costs a little more. I found that American car mechanics were always trying to “save me money”, probably assuming that I bought American to save money. They saved me money right into the junkyard missing important maintenance.
Until American cars can over come this “cheap” mentality, and train mechanics to treat the cars that way, I don’t see this changing soon.
I used to like Corollas but the Civics seem better recently. Last time I looked (some years ago), Corollas still had crank windows standard.
@classicrockerdad -
I don’t think it is the mechanics with American cars, given how expensive they all are, I doubt they are skimping on things automatically (the person owning the car, on the other hand, well, another story). The real problem is in the corporate offices of the US automakers, even this far into an era where quality is so important, where GM thanks to the idiots managing it went from a 47% market share to 25% in the space of maybe 5 years, there is still the mentality that all that matters is producing a shiny piece of metal at the cheapest cost and get people to buy it through marketing. Put it this way, many of those running the show at the Japanese car companies are engineers and product guys, the upper level execs, at US companies the finance and marketing guys still are dominant (it is changing, the head of GM is an Engineer by training). The mentality is about marketing and sales, and also finding what they used to call the golden egg, the item you can charge a customer X bucks as an option, that costs you about 50 bucks (air conditioning is a classic one, things like positraction rears, navigation systems, high end audio systems, the infamous “vinyl roof” oye).
The ignition switch at GM was the classic example, just when GM was trying to pull itself out of the whole, that came a long to remind people of the bad old days. I am sure someone on here is going to point out that Toyota did the same thing with the accelerator pedal linkage,and they are correct, but the difference is that Toyota’s was an aberration from an otherwise solid reputation, and Toyota admitted the problem, fired those who caused it, and they admitted it was caused by them putting their eyes on the wrong prize, of basically doing what GM was famous for doing, while GM is still whining that the ignition switch thing isn’t a big deal (or at least their spokesmen are), and that is what concerns me. One of the biggest comments I hear about American cars is that the interior looks cheap, and they are right, compared to competitors, it looks like they cheapened up on interior materials to save money, not realizing it makes them look like they haven’t learned anything.
I drove a Chrysler 200 not long ago (was a rental, but had like 500 miles on it). Thing is supposed to be upscale, but quite frankly, it lacked pickup, drove pretty sloppily, and the interior looked like a Chevy Monte Carlo from the early 1980’s, despite all the digital displays and such.
ClassicRockerDad, sounds like you have a problem with the mechanics you used. In the Philadelphia area, I’ve never had the problem you’ve described. I 've used the same dealership for my service needs other than routine oil changes for the past 12 years and have always found the mechanics and service writers to be thorough and proactive. I am also very selective about private mechanics I use once warranties have expired. There are good ones and bad ones like anything else.
Chrysler is now Italian; it was German for a while before that.
Great suggestions – thanks and I’ll certainly take any more info.
Question – someone upthread mentioned, try getting financing first from a bank/credit union. Is that something people do? I assumed everyone just uses Toyota Finance or Honda Financing or whatever? How would it work to have financing set up beforehand elsewhere?
I think I’ll be looking at Hondas, Toyotas, etc. to start. While I wouldn’t mind a luxury car, I feel like I’d be on the very top end of my budget and struggling not to go over; whereas with a cheaper car, I feel like I can add on extras here and there without worrying too much. And I can consider buying instead of leasing.
Does anyone have any experience with a VW Jetta? Seems to offer a lot for the price. Though I hear people on this thread saying that German cars don’t last the way Japanese cars do. I don’t want to keep a car forever, but I’d like to feel like it’s brand new for 5-8 years of “regular” driving (10 miles each way to/from work; 5-15 miles per weekend; 300 mile round trip roadtrip 5-10 times/yr).
If you are moving to a small town, it might be best to go to whatever dealer is in your small town and choose from that dealer’s cars, whether it’s Honda or Ford or whatever. It can be incredibly annoying to have to drive ten miles just to get a minor problem solved. (We lived in a small New England town for about ten years. The car dealer was 11 miles away and it was a huge annoyance every single time something needed to be done. RIght now, my dealer is 4 miles away (in Portland) and DH’s dealer is 15 miles away and guess which car I hate getting serviced? My dealer (I have a Ford CMAX, made in Michigan) drives me home or I bicycle home…