do any of know what would be a good first car for someone that needs looks without luxury, speed with good mileage, offroad capability with a smooth on road ride, and power without noise, im a fan of crossovers and price range is from 0 up to about 40thousand and it needs to be new and it also needs to be big with good towing capacity
Try the Jeep Liberty or Kia Sorento. Neither gets great gas mileage, but if you need to tow and off-road, those two are your better bets.
If you want better mileage, you'll need to trade off towing capabilites and off-road capabilities. Try the Ford Escape (both Hybrid and non-Hybrid, the twins Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute) the Honda CR-V, the RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, etc.
If you can find one, I'd also suggest looking for a nice, clean used year old Isuzu Rodeo, although they didn't sell many of them last year. (some of them are still sitting on dealer lots- the local Isuzu dealer here in TN still has 4-5 Rodeos left, and 1-2 Axioms)
If you can go up a size, the newly redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee is nice.
The Honda Ridgeline is nice too, and I think it'll tow 5,000 pounds.
The base 2.5l engine returns 22/30 or 23/30 mpg depending upon the tranny, and can tow 2400 lbs. You can buy an X model for under $20 grand even with automatic.
i know the baja is gonna be discontinued but is there any chance subaru will come out with a new crossover truck by 2007 or even make changes to the forester
I think you should go to post consolidation night school. Liberty: new model, american manufacturer with 1/2 mercedes parts... is that a real question? Subaru. Cheaper, less trouble. You'll save $5-8k initilally and get similar gas mileage. -Mathias
You should go with the Forester, unless you really want to off-road often and are willing to trade off some towing capacity and off road ability for a smoother ride and reliability.
I just graduated from college in Maryland where I am licensed driver and moved back home to New Jersey for the next month. At the end of June, I will be heading out to California where I will split time between the Bay Area and Los Angeles until mid August. At this point, I will have to settle down and get a place to live, car , etc. I guess my main question is, how should I go about buying a car? I won't be starting my job until September, I won't have a place to live until mid August at which point I will need a car right away. Without the income, an address, etc. I'm not really sure how to get this all started. Thank you.
You could use your parents' address and register it to New Jersey. Then when you get to California you can wait until you have your first place to live and then register it to that address.
Your parents can co-sign the loan, so then income won't be a problem. If you can't pay, they will.
Basically I'm saying that you should buy the car now, with your parents' help, and get something inexpensive because you have no income, register it to you parents' address under your name, and park it there until you settle down in California. Then you can have your parents ship your car out to you, and if it doesn't arrive in time you can rent a car temporarily from Enterprise or Budget or any of the major rental car outfits.
Does this sound confusing? I hope not.
Are you at the point where you're wondering what you should get yet?
has stricter emission laws than many other states; if you buy it there you will know it passes muster. Why start paying on a car when you don't need to yet? It doesn't take that long to get a car -- you could rent one for a week to go looking if you had to.
Thanks a lot for the replies. I have very good credit for a college grad, so I wouldn't need my parents to co-sign. The problem is I would need them to help with payments, but they can't afford it. Currently I am looking into the online car selling sites to see what I can do. Perhaps I can get everything set up before hand so I can just go out there and sign the paperwork and drive away with the car. The cars I am looking at right now are the Civic Hybrid, Prius, and Mazda3. And by the way, California does have the strictest emissions requirements as far as I know.
if it were me and i couldn't afford it - i'd exercise constraint and not buy it. i think in an earlier post you indicated you weren't working yet. so why not get the vehicle after you've had your job for a while? if practical, why dont you see if it's practical to locate near your place of employment or use public transportation if available.
if you must - why not consider a reliable used vehicle?
don't buy what you can't pay for. that would be my suggestion. when you've got the money, then buying something you'd really like will be all that more fantastic. starting out with something that represents the best means you can only sets your sites lower next time.
FWIW: i think buying a vehicle with a co-sign is a mistake myself.
"The cars I am looking at right now are the Civic Hybrid, Prius, and Mazda3."
Without steady income??? Without fairly HIGH income? Howze about a nice '00 Taurus for cheap until you've worked for a year?
It's a free country, and if it's important to you, do it. But with that mindset, you'll be in the hole for ages, and bancrupt if anything goes wrong -- job loss, illness, etc.
I have the current issue of Consumer Reports in front of me and they seemed to love the Honda Ridgeline. My neighbor has one and he seems fairly happy with it despite the oddball styling.
My favorite small SUV is probably the Honda CR-V or possibly the Hyundai Tuscon.
If I were in your shoes, I would try something less expensive as a starter car. Maybe a Hyundai Accent or a Chevrolet Aveo. If I could go used, I'd probably go look for a clean 2-3 year old Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. I would also take a look at some clean Mazda Proteges and Saturns, as they are decent cars with relatively low resale.
I wouldn't be trying to get into a brand new Prius, Civic Hybrid or Mazda3. All three are waaay too expensive.
Maybe a used Prius is a possibility? One of the odd-looking first generation ones would get good fuel mileage and won't be horribly expensive.
If you want something fun to drive, the Protege is a good inexpensive choice, and if you can find a Protege5 it can be very versatile too.
I guess you could look at some older (2000, 1999) Saab 9-3 hatchbacks but those will give you lots of headaches and repair bills down the road, so I guess it wouldn't be a good idea.
If MPG numbers are what you had in mind, the first generation Prius, Honda Civic HX (some used ones, of course) and a Toyota Echo with a stickshift would be cheaper alternatives to a brand new 2005 Prius.
If neither you nor your parents can afford the payments on a brand new car, then by all means don't get a brand new car.
The Taurus/Sable though is dependable, cheap, reliable, boring transportation that gets you where you need to go and does nothing else.
It's a mid-sizer but you gotta remember it offers full-size width. You can fit 3 people in back and a 4'x8' sheet of plywood between the wheel wells. No other mid-sizer can do that.
So it might cost more, but it's arguably worth it.
The HHR is more of a PT Cruiser type of car- if that's what you're looking for. I haven't heard of any publication that has driven one yet, so I can't offer opinions. I think it looks like a nice car but nobody knows what it drives like yet.
The PT Crusier has a lot of incentives on it and I highly question GM's timing of the HHR, since the retro fad of the PT Crusier has faded for a while.
But if priced right, and if the incentives are heavy enough, it might be a bargain.
Well... My Top Picks are: (for midsized trucks, since its kinda hard to find a small truck nowadays unless you get a Ford Ranger, which has been around for a long time)
1) Honda Ridgeline 2) Nissan Frontier 3) Toyota Tacoma
The Durango isn't a bad SUV, but gas prices are rising, so you might have to ask yourself twice whether you really need that big of a gas guzzler.
I still think if you need to tow stuff, the Jeeps are good (Grand Cherokee and Liberty) as they aren't too bad on gas and they can tow quite a lot of stuff.
I don't know about DaimlerChrysler quality and long term reliability though, so you may want to wait a year for the annual CR reliability ratings on the new Grand Cherokee to come out before deciding.
......... The best way to find a vehicle that you like ... is for you get out a drive a few .. that means no sales person, but it does mean your streets, you lumps and bumps on the hiways and byways ....
Trucks "especially" are a Veeeery personal thing ... it depends on how the headroom works, the ride and the way it sits .. it's like me trying to convince someone that the new Taylor Driver is the best in the world, and "maybe" it is for the right person, but the guy next to me might play better with a Cobra or a Nike driver -- it's a touch feely thing, just like cars and trucks ..........
i grew up in a suburban but one of those would be too expensive and a gg so im lookin for a small replacement to one of those that wouldnt be big, expensive, and a gg but still have all the abilities of my burb so maybe thatll help yu get a better idea of where im comin from
Comments
im a fan of crossovers and price range is from 0 up to about 40thousand
and it needs to be new
and it also needs to be big with good towing capacity
-juice
If you want better mileage, you'll need to trade off towing capabilites and off-road capabilities. Try the Ford Escape (both Hybrid and non-Hybrid, the twins Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute) the Honda CR-V, the RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, etc.
If you can find one, I'd also suggest looking for a nice, clean used year old Isuzu Rodeo, although they didn't sell many of them last year. (some of them are still sitting on dealer lots- the local Isuzu dealer here in TN still has 4-5 Rodeos left, and 1-2 Axioms)
If you can go up a size, the newly redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee is nice.
The Honda Ridgeline is nice too, and I think it'll tow 5,000 pounds.
-juice
isnt the forester what the baja is based on
But I think that the Baja is based on the Forester, although I'm not sure.
Have you thought about the Nissan Xterra? It's truck-based, a good off-roader, and tows a lot, although it won't get great MPG numbers.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Liberty: new model, american manufacturer with 1/2 mercedes parts... is that a real question? Subaru. Cheaper, less trouble. You'll save $5-8k initilally and get similar gas mileage. -Mathias
Jonathon
Your parents can co-sign the loan, so then income won't be a problem. If you can't pay, they will.
Basically I'm saying that you should buy the car now, with your parents' help, and get something inexpensive because you have no income, register it to you parents' address under your name, and park it there until you settle down in California. Then you can have your parents ship your car out to you, and if it doesn't arrive in time you can rent a car temporarily from Enterprise or Budget or any of the major rental car outfits.
Does this sound confusing? I hope not.
Are you at the point where you're wondering what you should get yet?
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
and what do yall think of the hhr
or even any more small suvs
The Forester is based on the Impreza platform, though it's more space-efficient so it's actually roomier than the Baja.
NJ - beware of seriously expensive car insurance. You might look into getting a temporary address in Cali if you have relatives there.
-juice
if you must - why not consider a reliable used vehicle?
don't buy what you can't pay for. that would be my suggestion. when you've got the money, then buying something you'd really like will be all that more fantastic. starting out with something that represents the best means you can only sets your sites lower next time.
FWIW: i think buying a vehicle with a co-sign is a mistake myself.
Without steady income??? Without fairly HIGH income?
Howze about a nice '00 Taurus for cheap until you've worked for a year?
It's a free country, and if it's important to you, do it. But with that mindset, you'll be in the hole for ages, and bancrupt if anything goes wrong -- job loss, illness, etc.
-Mathias
My favorite small SUV is probably the Honda CR-V or possibly the Hyundai Tuscon.
I wouldn't be trying to get into a brand new Prius, Civic Hybrid or Mazda3. All three are waaay too expensive.
Maybe a used Prius is a possibility? One of the odd-looking first generation ones would get good fuel mileage and won't be horribly expensive.
If you want something fun to drive, the Protege is a good inexpensive choice, and if you can find a Protege5 it can be very versatile too.
I guess you could look at some older (2000, 1999) Saab 9-3 hatchbacks but those will give you lots of headaches and repair bills down the road, so I guess it wouldn't be a good idea.
If MPG numbers are what you had in mind, the first generation Prius, Honda Civic HX (some used ones, of course) and a Toyota Echo with a stickshift would be cheaper alternatives to a brand new 2005 Prius.
If neither you nor your parents can afford the payments on a brand new car, then by all means don't get a brand new car.
The Taurus/Sable though is dependable, cheap, reliable, boring transportation that gets you where you need to go and does nothing else.
So it might cost more, but it's arguably worth it.
-juice
did i ask u about the chevy hhr yet
The PT Crusier has a lot of incentives on it and I highly question GM's timing of the HHR, since the retro fad of the PT Crusier has faded for a while.
But if priced right, and if the incentives are heavy enough, it might be a bargain.
1) Honda Ridgeline
2) Nissan Frontier
3) Toyota Tacoma
The Durango isn't a bad SUV, but gas prices are rising, so you might have to ask yourself twice whether you really need that big of a gas guzzler.
I still think if you need to tow stuff, the Jeeps are good (Grand Cherokee and Liberty) as they aren't too bad on gas and they can tow quite a lot of stuff.
I don't know about DaimlerChrysler quality and long term reliability though, so you may want to wait a year for the annual CR reliability ratings on the new Grand Cherokee to come out before deciding.
Trucks "especially" are a Veeeery personal thing ... it depends on how the headroom works, the ride and the way it sits .. it's like me trying to convince someone that the new Taylor Driver is the best in the world, and "maybe" it is for the right person, but the guy next to me might play better with a Cobra or a Nike driver -- it's a touch feely thing, just like cars and trucks ..........
Terry.
Geez, Terry, if everyone did *THAT*, who would be asking you for values on sub 10k mileage cars? (g)