Car buying help

[Kilhart]

Alright, so I'm looking to buy my first car with some extra money I have saved up. My goal is something around $10,000. The favorites I've seen so far are a gold 2004 RSX coupe with 30,000 miles and blue 2007 Accord LX coupe with 20,000 miles. Also considering a silver 2008 Galant with 50,000 and a silver/cream-ish 2007 Mazda 6 with 35,000. I've gone to see all of them in person and none seem to have exterior damage, but I'll be ordering Carfaxes for all of them.

Granted that there are no problems with any of them, what would you recommend, BG? I'm a college student and I plan to roadtrip every 1-2 weekends. Most of my driving would be in suburban and highway settings.

[Qalbert]

2007 Mazda 6

[Korietsu]

The mazda for sure. If it's a 4cyl, which I would assume it is, it's going to get 35-40 MPG, handles great, and best of all, mazda is great about servicing.

[Zalius]

mazdas seldom last much more than 3-5 years, and the ones that do are usually to people that know how to take care of their cars pretty well. if you're planning on having the money for a better car by then, go for it. otherwise you'd be better off investing less money in a longer lasting car

[SDSD]

2006 Toyota Corolla. Done. That car will last you for ten years.

Otherwise, that 2007 Accord is a pretty good value.

[Elesirdur]

I would go for the RSX, though at that price I'm going to guess it's the base model and not the Type-S with the absolutely sublime, 197 hp, K20A2 powerplant. The less-powerful K20A3 (160 hp) is no slouch either, but the Type-S gains some nice interior and suspension bits over the base RSX.

However, if you want to easily tranport more than one passanger and/or lots of cargo and luggage then the Mazda 6 would be the way to go.

I would steer very clear of the Mitsubishi since their abysmal financial situation may cause them to pull up stakes in North America leaving you in the lurch for repairs and with virtually no resale value. The Accord Coupe is a pretty half-assed touring coupe because of it's FWD platform without any of the nimble handling and engine fun you get in the RSX (which is also FWD, but the RSX is arguably the finest FWD sport compact ever made).

[SephYuyX]

Youre in college, and roadtrip alot? None of those cars are good choices. As said above, save youre money and buy around the year 2002ish, and buy Corolla. Hell my car shop guy has a '97 Corolla for 2k with 50k miles on it.

At least youre staying away from American cars and buying used which is a good move, from your list I would pick the Honda as it has the best mpg (at least thats whats www.fueleconomy.gov says), but only if you can get it for around $6~8k. The only thing you should be worried about is current mileage, mpg, and price, everything else is irrelevant.

[Kilhart]

Well, performance is obviously one of my priorities, but I won't lie. Other things like aesthetics, interior, and quality of sound system do factor into my decision. <_< I just transferred to a school instate and I'm saving about $15,000 a year, so since my financial burden has lightened a bit, I don't mind spending an amount on the higher end of my budget for a newer, better looking car, even if the performance is roughly the same.

[_chuchu]

Well, performance is obviously one of my priorities, but I won't lie. Other things like aesthetics, interior, and quality of sound system do factor into my decision. <_< I just transferred to a school instate and I'm saving about $15,000 a year, so since my financial burden has lightened a bit, I don't mind spending an amount on the higher end of my budget for a newer, better looking car, even if the performance is roughly the same.

pimp the ride to your liking

[Kilhart]

Nah, I don't want to be the stereotypical Asian male in his early 20s. Part of why I'm straying away from Civics, too.

[Kyo]

Find an RSX Type S and buy that. I own a RSX Type S and I love the car, its an 05, I paid 6000 for it.

[Haiko]

Find an RSX Type S and buy that. I own a RSX Type S and I love the car, its an 05, I paid 6000 for it.

Fuck you...I bought an 04 for 8,500...how did you manage to find one for that price? Oh and yeah Type S <3 get that if you want style

[Kyo]

Fuck you...I bought an 04 for 8,500...how did you manage to find one for that price? Oh and yeah Type S <3 get that if you want style

I bought it from a family that had bought it for their teenage son as a graduation present, evidently he had gotten multiple tickets in it so they wanted to sell it. They only wanted what they paid for it which was 6000, so naturally I jumped on it. It's midnight blue, and I love it, I dont drive it all the time tho so not to put a ton of miles on it, I have an 01 Celica GT for that.

[Kilhart]

I've looked through listings within 50 miles of me for all 2003 and newer Acuras. I think the 04 RSX is the best deal I found in my price range :/

[Kilhart]

Oh <_< I just found a 2005 silver RSX with 50,000 miles asking for $9,000.. has some very minor scratches and dings though. (the gold 04 with 30,000 asks for $11,000)

[Zalius]

do not make your life more difficult than it already is. if you honestly think that having a mazda 6 for aesthetics is worth more than having a good looking, functional and effective car that wont fuck you in the ass in the future, then you deserve to be fucked in the ass in the future

[Heavencloud]

Carfax is pretty worthless fyi, but if it's in good shape the Mazda for sure. Seems way to cheap given miles/year though.

[SephYuyX]

do not make your life more difficult than it already is. if you honestly think that having a mazda 6 for aesthetics is worth more than having a good looking, functional and effective car that wont fuck you in the ass in the future, then you deserve to be fucked in the ass in the future

^
Youre in college now, not highschool.

[volcanicweather]

mazdas seldom last much more than 3-5 years, and the ones that do are usually to people that know how to take care of their cars pretty well. if you're planning on having the money for a better car by then, go for it. otherwise you'd be better off investing less money in a longer lasting car

wait, what? My family has owned mazdas for years and we've put at least 150k miles on every one with no major problems. they are solid cars.

I agree with whoever said the mazda is way too cheap though... I bet it has a salvage title.

you should get a mustang - i can't believe how affordably priced they are unless you get a souped up GT. I was going to get a new mazda 6 before I moved to Dallas but they were actually more expensive than a Mustang with comparable features. Plus your in college and let's be real, a Mustang is way sexier than a 6. You could easily find a nice used one for 10-12k, maybe even less. Worth looking into, I honestly had no idea how inexpensive they were, or maybe it's just the region of the US I lived in (Minnesota).

[*Shinzon*]

The RSX is a very rough ride. It's not very spacious. It's sporty sure, but not a car I would want to be in for several hours if you plan on going on long trips. Mazada or Honda for comfort.