Time For A New Car

[Thordic]

Well, it's finally time.

My mustang is getting up there (11 years old now), and starting to fall apart. Only 97k miles but it was parked for the majority of 18 months and that seems to have put the nail in her coffin, at least for me.

Roof leaks fairly badly ($1100 to repair), some part of the front suspension is literally falling apart (found a bolt on my driveway the other day, not sure if its tie rods or struts or what. Havn't driven it since, nasty vibration noise, I need to jack it up and take a look), and the transmission leaks (has leaked since day 1, but has gotten worse. Keep putting fluid in and it runs ok but it just seems like one of those timebomb problems).

So I'm finally giving up. I'm going to get a friend to fix up the front suspension, dry out the interior as best as I can (its been damp lately), and dump her on Craigslist. I can probably get a couple grand for her, I'm thinking $2500 tops but who knows. With a new roof or to someone who doesn't mind driving a swamp, she'll prolly live a good long while. She's got new tires, new exhaust from the headers back (stock, just replaced), new front brakes (incl. calipers), as is otherwise in pretty decent shape.

But anyway, now I'm at the point where I'm looking at new cars. Buying a new car isn't contingent on selling the old one as I'm not planning on getting a ton of money for it anyways.

I'm looking used, and I don't want to spend more than $17/18k. '07+. First I was looking at sports sedans, but then I shrunk my budget down because I decided I didn't want to waste money. I'd love a G35 or A6 but not worth the money to me. My morning commute is 1.5 miles.

So my other inclination was a pickup truck, or SUV. I know, big difference. I drove a Chrysler Aspen extensively when I was traveling for work and loved the damn thing. They are a bit pricy though for my cheap self. However, the Nissan XTerra falls right into my price range.

I found a 2008 XTerra Offroad, 34k miles, for $17.8. Thats a little under market value though, so I'm a bit skeptical until I go see it in person. So I want to keep my options open.

So what do you guys think? I don't think I'm going to get anything fast and nimble in my price range, so I'm shooting for 4WD. Pickup trucks would be great but quadcab pushes them into the mid-20s for the most part. So it looks like I'm stuck with SUVs but I'm open to ideas. I've been doing some research but its always more fun to post it up here anyways.

[vf-xx]

I've got a 07 Ford Fusion SE V6.

Has a good amount of pep to it, decent mileage, and rather alot of storage space for a car.

Should fit well under your budget rating too according to KBB. I haven't had any problems in this car that weren't caused by an old lady t-boning me

[Thordic]

Hows the dash? My Mustang had a dash that looked like it was from 1970. I dealt with it but the controls were terrible and felt cheap. Not a dealbreaker by any means but all things being equal, that dash was ugly.

And for the record, mileage is not really a concern. Like I said, I drive 3 miles a day. My mustang gets MAYBE 19mpg and I fill it up like once a month as it is.

[Thordic]

Also, unless I buy a dirt-cheap car, anything older than 2007 is a potential dealbreaker. Interest rate goes from 5.3 to 9.3 at the bank for used cars older than 2007. So yeah.

Putting 8 down and 10k financed @ 5.3 leaves my payments at around $200 a month. I could afford more but thats my goal.

As stated before, I'm a cheap bastard. And that lets me easily double up payments pretty often.

[Lohman446]

For 8 you can buy... oh... A 2006 Focus with 50K miles on it for less than that, drive it four years carpayment / interest free. Poof, instant savings of $12,000 over five years in car payments.

18K leaves you with some pretty open options out there though.

[Thordic]

For 8 you can buy... oh... A 2006 Focus with 50K miles on it for less than that, drive it four years carpayment / interest free. Poof, instant savings of $12,000 over five years in car payments.

Yeah, my past two cars I paid cash for. Bought a 1995 Saturn SL2 in 2000 for $5k, and my 1999 Mustang in 2004 for $8k.

Cars suck because no matter what you do its a money pit.

[vf-xx]

The dash on mine is fine. The center console holds the radio and AC controls, the dash material itself is a soft plastic/vinyl material that's quite nice.

Really, I was quite impressed with the interior. It's not quite as good as my 07 Civic, but it's far better than the comparable GM.

If you can find one of the few Fusions with the sports package those are very nice. Upgraded seats and the like.

[Lohman446]

I suggest you look outside of Jersey. Around here I have to explain to people that the NADA and KBB books are written by the dealers, and paying anywhere near those prices is paying WAY too much.

[Thordic]

I've been looking in Michigan as well since I'm out there for work every now and then and could drive it back. I figured prices would be friendlier there.

[vf-xx]

Oh, one item of note: On the 07 Fusion, ABS was not standard, but was a common option. Just an FYI.

[Coralis]

You ought to take a vacation down near my neck of the woods http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false and a bigger city like Orlando has better deals, best of all anything you buy here probably has never seen road salt and you could make it a vacation as well.

[MANN]

I would not own a Nissan suv/truck. Their cars are 10X better than their trucks/suv. I would not own anything Chrysler. Imo they are cheaply made. If I were purchasing a suv I would purchase a trail blazer for something small/cheaper on gas. If purchasing a truck I would prefer a chevy over ford, but ford over any of the rest. For a car I would look at older Mercedes or Cadillacs, but since you need it new it would throw those vehicles out of your price range.

If you can help it go south for your car. The cars we get from "up north" are nothing but rust underneath.

[Fred]

I VOTE DENIM XTERRA!

[punkncat]

If your round trip commute is 3 miles, I would suggest you save yourself the money and hassle of having to pay insurance and get a nice bike and some gear for the various weater....or just walk.

[BobTheCow]

I would kill a man to witness Thor bike his *** around for 3 miles a day through a Jersey winter. Best suggestion yet!