What to do for a used car?

May 29, 2007 2:46 PM

Used car filter: At a fork in the road while shopping for a car. Opinions needed!

Details:

- My car was just totalled in an accident, I'm fine thanks!
- Shopping for good used car
- I don't drive a huge amount, commute ~20kms a day and don't drive a whole lot more but want to be able to hit the road if the urge strikes
- Purchase will be something small, used and Japanese, Mazda Protege, etc

The two choices are basically;

a) a car that's two years oldish and is pretty much everything I can comfortably afford.

OR

b) or a car that is 5 years oldish but costs less leaving more cash for living it up.

Thoughts?

posted by Cosine to travel & transportation (19 comments total)

Depends. How many miles on the 5yo car? If it less that 50k? If so, pick it up. I'm of the school that you can get 120k miles out of a decent car. That 70k of miles right there. If that car has 70+k I wouldnt touch it.

You might want to compromise and get a 3-4 yo car for a little more with less miles. A car with 30-40k in your price range might hit the sweet spot.

This is my person preference, but I feel buying a 2yo car and making payments of it means you're going to lose the warranty and might as well either buy a new car for the warranty or an older car for the cost savings.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:54 PM on May 29, 2007

Honda Civic, 2000-2005ish (i.e. the last gen, not the current one). It'll run forever, it'll be relatively cheap since it's not the latest generation, and it blends in quite well while not looking outright terrible.
posted by kcm at 2:54 PM on May 29, 2007

The 2003 Protege I've been looking at (so 4.5 years old I guess) has 84,000kms (52,000 miles).
posted by Cosine at 2:59 PM on May 29, 2007

Thanks kcm, unfortunately I'm a pretty big guy and tend to find Honda's cramped.
posted by Cosine at 3:01 PM on May 29, 2007

Ditto on the Civic. Toyota Corolla from the same era will be fine, too. If either of the two-year, five-year choices are a Civic/Corolla, take it.
posted by frogan at 3:01 PM on May 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

BTW, I am 6-4, 250 and found my 2001 Civic hatchback to be just fine, size-wise.
posted by frogan at 3:02 PM on May 29, 2007

frogan, you sir are a liar!

Kidding, you are the same size as me exactly (well... it may be 275 by now) and it could just be intangibles in limb length or whatever but the last Civic I drove (I think it was also a 2001) was crowding me a bit in headroom and in my fat ass.

I know Honda quality is a big plus however, for whatever intangible reasons, after driving a Mazda 3 GT against a new Civic the 3 really shone. (Civic looked better after I tested a 2005 Jetta later that day lol)
posted by Cosine at 3:15 PM on May 29, 2007

I second Civic or Corolla.
posted by Danf at 3:35 PM on May 29, 2007

FWIW--Honda Skivvies are the single most stolen car in the US---making their insurance costs uncharacteristically high for the actual value of the vehicle, of course that's more of a big deal in some states than others.

Really your answer depends on the service record of each vehicle. At that mileage, you're looking at tires/brakes needing seriously checked, plugs/wires, air filter, exhaust, and suspension also meriting a check-out.

You're still quite away from needing something like a timing belt, but since people tend to beat the CRAP out of those little mazda's and honda's, those engines and trannies can sometimes be a nightmare. I don't know of many mazda's that made it to 100k w/o needing trans work in the 75k area. For that matter, I don't know many mazda's over 100k...period.

If you're really looking to save money on something that'll sip gas and be cheap to repair, I'd go slightly older on the civic side of things, if you can find one under 60k miles. As in to say pre-2002 era. Seriously, parts for those cars are disgustingly cheap. (example: $14-$19 for a brake rotor and ~$15 for pads.) You might even get lucky and find something like a 98 stick shift accord, which'll get great gas mileage, be quick, and be quite cheap to repair.
posted by TomMelee at 3:50 PM on May 29, 2007

I'm your height, but proportioned differently. I fit great into my friend's Civic, but I can't fit comfortably into almost any vehicle made by Toyota except their larger pickups, and a couple of their SUVs -- I think that the Corolla is not a good option for a larger guy. Another friend owns one, and whenever I ride in it I feel like I have to tilt my head sideways to fit inside. (The Toyota Matrix, however, has lots of room, both head and foot, and is worth a look if you can find one in your price range.)
posted by Forktine at 4:00 PM on May 29, 2007

Try the Accord, if the Civic is too cozy. Hondas just last, there is no doubt about that. Mazdas, not as much.

I have a buddy who had a '90ish 929 and that bugger was great. Hauled a$$ and handled like a dream. (He was from Senegal, I had to teach him to drive in it.) Luxury living at a fraction of the cost. (He got it in '98 with about 60k miles for a song - about 3 grand.) But things kept breaking, from the radio, (day 2) to all the power crap (seats, windows, sunroof, etc.). He drove that thing into the dirt, but the review is that it was not a quality automobile like the Accord. Nothing is.
posted by valentinepig at 4:14 PM on May 29, 2007

I'm kind of disappointed if I don't get 400K out of a domestic vehicle so I'd go with the 5 year old car. Especially with expensive imports more of the high depreciation has occurred while not really impacting your reliability unless you plan to keep it over 10 years.
posted by Mitheral at 5:29 PM on May 29, 2007

I'm backing up your attraction to the Protege; even though it's a bit off the radar, they're fun little cars and quite reliable (unlike the bigger cars Mazda makes.)

Having said that, a 5-year-old Protege is great, too. Here's what I'd do:

1. Find out how much it will cost to replace your entire engine, or your entire transmission, in the 5-year-old car;

2. See if that cost is more or less than the difference between the 2-year-old car and the 5-year-old car, and select your car accordingly.

Also, don't buy either without at least having a compression test done on the engine, the oil looked at to see if it's thicker than recommended (which suggests they're hiding an engine knock), and (if it's an automatic) having the fluid looked at to see if it's in good shape but also not brand new, by an independent mechanic. Those two steps will somewhat decrease the likelihood that you're buying a car with a beat-up engine or transmission.
posted by davejay at 6:20 PM on May 29, 2007

three steps. I can count
posted by davejay at 6:21 PM on May 29, 2007

Mazda is an excellent brand, I would search for a 04/05 Mazda3 in your price range.
posted by crewshell at 7:38 PM on May 29, 2007

cosine, you do not indicate in your profile where you are from. This, to my mind, is an important aspect of the equation. In Montreal, where I am from, I would be loathe to purchase a car older than 5 or so years, unless upkeep was tremendous, because the salt on the roads in the winter is hell on car bodies. However, out here in Vancouver, I bought a fifteen year old car seven years ago, and it is still going strong. I bought a Toyota Camry with 182000 km on it, and while it is a little less fuel efficient than I would like, for a $3000 CDN car, whatcha gonna do?

The one proviso, with a used car, probably a good idea to be a member of AAA or CAA, or whatever automobile association your region possesses.
posted by birdsquared at 7:45 PM on May 29, 2007

I love, love my Protege! I never have any problems with it.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:59 AM on May 30, 2007

I'll second Mitheral's sentiment, mostly.. I regularly expect to get a minimum of 200,000 miles on reliable imports (hondas, old saabs, toyotas, etc) and 300,000 without much trouble if you do the maintenance. I would hope to get at least 150,000 on a domestic but that isn't always as for sure. I have never purchased a car newer than 8 years old and have, in my experience, had no more "down time" than any of my friends and family members with late model cars.
posted by mbatch at 12:05 PM on May 30, 2007

My commuter car is an '03 Protege5, the hatchback variant, and it's a pretty great little car. It doesn't have a ton of power, but it handles much better than I would have expected, making it a decent overall performer.
The back seats fold down, giving lots of room for hauling band gear or whatever -- think of it as a Miata wagon or a shrunken SUV. Also, I'm 6'4" 205lb and fit it fine.

And good call, birdsquared -- southern and non-coastal cars are *much* less rusty underneath it all.
posted by LordSludge at 12:09 PM on May 30, 2007