BG Auto: Buying First Car

[Korietsu]

Mazda 3 is an excellent car to use as a daily driver, and overall, its pretty fun to drive.

[takethistoyourgrave]

Your list is solid, I'd say find the best deal you can get between a Mazda, Toyota, or Honda, and go for it.

One of my cars is a 2002 Honda Civic, and it rides incredibly well 8 years and 100k miles later, with almost no maintenance.

My mom drives a 1998 Toyota Camry which has 125k miles and still drives like it is brand new, no repairs whatsoever.

Mazda 3s seem to be wonderful cars as well.

For what it seems you want (MPG, reliability, lower insurance rates) Japanese cars might be the way to go.

[Velgadess]

my 2 cents: I think Mazda is a good value. I have owned a Ford, Mazda, Toyota.

Ford: was crap. used, lasted less than a year. but to be fair it was a lolTempo. late 80's model.

Toyota: do not recall year or model. I wanna say Corolla. only had 6 months. used as a trade for the Mazda.

Mazda: actually have the older gen of the Mazda 3, a '98 Protege. runs fine. got it with about 34k miles on it now have about 120kish. never had major issues. most expensive repair bill was replacing power window motor switch and it was mostly my fault. left window open, it heavily rained with wind, water soaked in on window switch and shorted it. 250$. other than that, basic oil changes, transmission oil change, brakes replaced as needed and flushed radiator.

[Quixon]

If you like sporty cars with good mileage, you can pretty easily find a Mazda Miata MX-5 for around that price range, possibly one that's newer, even.

Downside, they aren't the safest cars, and the insurance is a little higher than something like a civic or a corolla.

I wouldn't recommend the miata to someone in Chicago with only 1 vehicle lol. I just got one myself, and they are serviceable cars in the snow.... but unless your experienced driving RWD in the snow.... pass on it.

The cost of insurance on Miatas are dirt cheap though. I pay $36/year more than I paid for a Ford Focus. Honda Civic insurance is usually on the higher end, b/c the car is the most commonly stolen vehicle on the road, lots of teenagers drive them, and their involved in lots of accidents.


Mazdaspeed3 would be my choice of a great practical daily driver type car that will actually be fun to drive. I had an 03' Focus Hatchback as well, that was a very serviceable car..... but extremely fucking boring to drive. Quality/reliability wise though...... it was top notch.

[Komm Suesser Tod]

I got an 02 honda civic earlier this year with over 100k miles on it, and I love it to death, good gas mileage, fun to drive, great ride, and at a good price.

I highly recommend getting a honda.

[Mrf]

I've got an 02 Civic as well. 79k miles on it right now and still haven't had any issues with it.

[Mojo]

Since people are recommending Civics so much (can't really blame them, they are very reliable and some people think they're cool, I got bored of my fast though), don't go below the 7th generation (2001 is the first year they started, so nothing below that.) Avoid the LX and DX models if you can. The exhaust manifold has a penchant for cracking (it's just a matter of time.) Normally it's somewhat of a cheap fix, but with those models the catalytic converter is integrated into the manifold. You can't buy those used and they're retardedly expensive new, so be prepared to shell out around $700 every time this happens (or deal with exhaust leaking out of it.)

[Cephius]

A lot of Mazda 3 fans here huh? Does that car perform well in the snow? I'm probably going to buying a new car later this year (I have a 03 Nissan Altima right now, no probs with it) and I was considering staying with Nissan, but is the Mazda that much better?

[Anakron]

Nissans are generally considered sportier if you compare the Altima and 6, but if you're looking at the Mazdaspeed 3, then Nissan doesn't really have an equivalent. A lot of the Nissans have CVTs though, and a lot of people don't like them.

[desertigloo]

subaru subaru subaru.
Go with the Impreza. AWD is so amazing is in the snow, and if you haven't been driving in snow since you were able to drive, you'll be less likely to kill me.

[Quixon]

I always assume snow tires are being used on the vehicle.

If they are... the Mazdaspeed 3's are very good in the snow. The car has good balance, and is FWD. Regular Mazda3's should be about the same, just with a shittier suspension, and much slower engine.

FWIW I wouldn't bother with a 3, unless you are going with the Mazdaspeed version. I'd prefer a focus over a Mazda3 (non-mazdaspeed only).

[Quixon]

Forgot to mention:

The Mazdaspeed3's come with a factory equipped LSD (limited slip differential), which helps greatly with traction in the snow.

[Cephius]

I hate the look of the hatchback, so that's out for me. Just personal preference I guess.

[kyod]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to be purchasing my vehicle at the end of August. I've been scanning a lot of used car sites, KBB, Edmunds and eBay to get ballpark figures of what I should expect to see and use as a bargaining chip.

I do have another question. Mileage vs. Vehicle's Age. Am I better off purchasing a higher mileage newer model or a lower mileage earlier model. i.e. 2004 Honda Civic w/ 30k miles vs. 2009 w/ 50k miles.

[Icari]

think about it this way.... if an older car has less miles on it how long has it been sitting around not being driven and letting the seals possibly start to rot. or a new car with high miles has it been abused and not had proper repairs been done? either way make sure you know why a car has low miles or high miles and get maintenance records and take the car to a mechanic if you can before you buy it.

[Haruk]

meh personally I'd go with the '04 over the '09 in that case mainly because I like the 7th gen civics(01-05) way more than the 8th gens. but for reliability i'd say they're pretty even... it's still a civic, they'll last forever(pretty much) 30k & 50k miles on a honda is really low.

also +1 for subbies, i never personally had one but i love 'em. drove a friends WRX and anothers legacy and I just really like them a lot, for my next car I easily wanna get an STi or a boosted civic si