New Car Choice Dilemma

Ladskater · Mar 13, 2005

Well folks, I went and test drove several cars today:

2005 models:

Honda Civic
Nissan Sentra
Toyota Echo - Hatchback and Sedan
Toyota Carolla
Mazda 3

Now I have to decide which car I want. I think it will be between the Honda Civic and the Nissan Sentra. The Honda is cherry red and fully loaded. The Nissan is less money and comes with several features that I want. Both cars drive very smoothly and are very comfortable.

Too many cars to choose from!!!!

bronxgirl · Mar 13, 2005

I drove a Honda Accord for 135,000 miles in NYC traffic, and loved it dearly.I know it's not the Civic, but Honda does make terrific cars that hold their value well. (Just my 2cents worth!)

LegalGirl82 · Mar 13, 2005

Ladskater: I'm a Saturn gal myself, but my brother and cousin both had/have Hondas and they swear by them.

Antilles · Mar 13, 2005

A friend of mine got a Honda Civic last year, and she just loves it.

show 42 · Mar 13, 2005

Our auto mechanic says the cars he sees the least are Hondas and Toyotas.....that's good enough for me.......let us know what you decide. I'm in the market for a new car next year.........42

Longhornliz · Mar 13, 2005

Hondas are great in that they dont depreciate at the same rate other sedans do. I've never had one myself, but my mom had a civic for a few years and many of my friends swear by them. I am also a Saturn gal, they are the only vehicles I've ever owned. But I think that if I was to ever stray from saturn it would to to get a VW Passat or Jetta.... love those cars.

euterpe · Mar 13, 2005

I am on my 3rd Honda, and I have found the car to be the most reliable and least problematic car I have ever owned.

PrincessLeppard · Mar 13, 2005

My sister's VW Jetta was a piece of crap, ALWAYS in the shop. I have a Ford ZX2 that is almost 8 years old, and has run brilliantly.

I know Hondas and Toyotas are great cars, though. You probably won't go wrong with either of those. My sister currently has a Mazda 3 and just loves it.
Have fun choosing your car!

PS.... which one is the most gas efficient? That might be something to look at when you get down to two or three choices.

SingAlto · Mar 13, 2005

I bought a 1991 Honda Civic, new. I drove it for nearly 12 years, and only had one major repair job done on the engine. I had to have it repaired twice for body damage thanks to other drivers, but I digress... It was a great little car. My current car is a 2003 Honda CRV. Here again, I've had no trouble with this Honda, either. I love Hondas.

Lynn226 · Mar 13, 2005

Antilles said:
A friend of mine got a Honda Civic last year, and she just loves it.

So did I and I just love it. I sometimes wish it were a little bigger, but I did spend ten years driving a truck.

Ladskater · Mar 14, 2005

Well that's several votes for the Honda! Actually, it's the one that keeps catching my eye! The colour is awesome. I know that is the last thing a person thinks about, but it sure looks classy. Of course, I always wanted to be Mrs. Peel from the Avengers driving an MGB. A sporty looking Honda will do!!!! Thanks for the replies.

:clap:

Kara Bear · Mar 14, 2005

We are doing some car shopping and have looked at some of the same cars.
Have you checked out Mitshibutsi (my boyfriend would groan at my spelling

)
We're thinking about getting a Lancer. Very nice with a good warranty. I'm just excited to get a car with 4 doors! Try to take a friend somewhere when you drive a Tiburon

We also ooked at the civic...weren't too impressed especially when the cost was factored in.
My parents have a Sentra and like it.
Good luck!

STL_Blues_fan · Mar 14, 2005

Nissans all the way

My family always had Nissans and we NEVER had any issues with them (Stanza, Maxima, Pathfinder, Altima). I drive Maxima now and my husband drives a Sentra. Murano is going to be my next car!!!!

I just wanted to say that a 2-3 year old car is the best bet. It already depreciated to the point that you won't loose any substantial money if you had to get rid of it for any reasons, and with Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas you don't have to worry about them breaking down - these are the most reliable cars. With the internet making everything possible you can check out carfacts.com (?) - all you need is the VIN and for a small fee you can find out everything about the car's history, so you can avoid the "lemons".

We always bought new cars, but no more. I always knew that when you drive off the newly purchased car from the dealer lot, you loose a huge chunk of change, but it seemed that with new car there shouldn't be any surprizes, and it will be worth it in the long run. Well, my poor 3 year old Altima was totaled (in Canada BTW) and I got a mere pittance back (and I had about a year worth of payments left). There was no way I could've bought the same car for that money with decent milage. We ended up getting a 3 year old Maxima and now I wish I would've done that with all of our cars. We paid less for it than for the far more inferior factory-new Sentra and even with Sentra being new you just can't compare the performance of these 2 cars.

Anyways, just my opinion.

Yana

dlkksk8fan · Mar 14, 2005

Lad- I am on my 5th honda (just bought a used honda accord and love it). My husband has a honda too (Honda Element) and I gave my old honda to my son. The car is 9yrs old and still running great!

Lucy25 · Mar 14, 2005

I, too, am car shopping. I had several models in mind, but then I received the Consumer Reports car edition (just released). My final two choices are the Civic and the Corolla. Both received great scores and are in the right price range. Plus, both have very good resale value. I am leaning toward the Civic because it looks sharper, but it will depend on the test drives.

I really wanted to look into the Saturn Ion and Volkswagon Jetta, but the Ion received horrible reviews, plus the interior was rated too cramped. The Jetta has been completely remodeled for 2005! It doesn't look anthing like the cute little car it has been

. I am so disappointed. It is too new to have any ratings yet.

I currently drive a Ford Escort ('99). Not the sharpest looking car, but the best car I have ever owned. This is my second Ford and have not had a thing go wrong with either of them, except normal wear and tear. Because of this, I might look into the Ford Focus, which was rated the Best Buy for it's size and price range. I think this is the second year in a row it has received this award.

StillBlueLake · Mar 14, 2005

I just bought my first car a few months ago, used. It is a 98 Corolla. No problems so far. Corollas run forever, so I'm told. I'm hoping to drive mine for another six years before buying......most likely a new Corolla.

Ptichka · Mar 14, 2005

I'd go with Nissan. Hondas are nice, but IMO they are overpriced. Nissans are less popular, so you can get a good price. I just got a Mazda 6, and I actually paid under invoice, let alone MSRP. Much harder to do this with Hondas and Toyotas.

Ladskater · Mar 15, 2005

Ptichka said:
I'd go with Nissan. Hondas are nice, but IMO they are overpriced. Nissans are less popular, so you can get a good price. I just got a Mazda 6, and I actually paid under invoice, let alone MSRP. Much harder to do this with Hondas and Toyotas.

The Nissan is a bit less than the Honda; I am considering it. My husband likes Nissans, he had one before he bought his Honda. Will have to think about it.
Thanks.

heyang · Mar 19, 2005

My 1st brand new car was a 1991 Nissan Sentra in red. Right now it's got about 170,000 miles on it and no major problems - just standard maintenance for a car that's 14 years old. I've enjoyed having it and it's handled great in bad snowy weather. I'm probably going to donate the car later this year - mostly because fixing the brakes, muffler and new tires, etc is becoming to total as much as the re-sale value of the car.

My 2nd new car is a 2000 Chrysler Sebring Convertible. I have a lot of fun with it, but I'm sensing that it probably won't last as long as the Sentra - partly just by nature of it being a convertible and thus more prone to rattling noises over time.

If I were going to look seriously at new cars right now, I'd be considering a Subaru Forester or Outback. They are rated really well and I would like to have a vehicle with more carrying capacity than the Sentra and Sebring.

Good Luck.

CzarinaAnya · Mar 20, 2005

I'm a tall person, so I feel like I'm laying on the road at 50 MPH when I'm in a Mazda Miada(sp?). Your other choices sounde fine.

Which car has the most warranties, perks, best price, and most functional for your lifestyle? It also should be pretty lol

New Car Choice Dilemma

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

bronxgirl

LegalGirl82

Antilles

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan

Longhornliz

euterpe

PrincessLeppard

~ Evgeni's Sex Bomb ~

SingAlto

Lynn226

Ladskater

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Kara Bear

STL_Blues_fan

dlkksk8fan

Lucy25

StillBlueLake

Ptichka

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Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

heyang

CzarinaAnya

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