What kind of car should I buy?

January 21, 2016 12:42 PM

I'm really a truck girl at heart, but current circumstances mean that it's smarter for me to buy a car in the interim until I actually need a truck again. I just sold my 1989 Ford F-150, which I loved. Looking to buy a fuel efficient, cheap to maintain car for now, but darn, do I miss the feeling of driving my truck.

Looking for something that is relatively cheap, can easily be found for say under $4k on Craigslist, to get me by for the next year or two. Needs to be manual, and preferably somewhat "fun" to drive - "fun" in the way that I found my pickup truck fun to drive. (Probably can't recapture that feeling in a little car, but I'd also like to avoid the ho-hum feeling I have when driving, say, an automatic SUV....)

High MPG, fuel efficient would be a plus. Reliability is a huge factor. Ease/low cost to maintain is also something I would like.

A friend recommended looking at older Civics, which I am starting to look at, but I wanted to see if you all had any other recommendations. Perhaps a bit of a weird question, but let's see what y'all come up with.

Thanks!

posted by Malleable to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

Mazdas. I've driven Hondas and my husband had one for quite a while and they are soooo boring and pedestrian to drive. You could probably find a used Mazda 3 for the price you're looking at and they are a blast to drive and pretty easy to maintain.
posted by notjustthefish at 1:19 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I have a Mazda 3 but under $4k look at a honda fit which is super low cost/reliable and can fold out seats to carry a huge amount of stuff.
posted by radsqd at 1:30 PM on January 21, 2016

Subarus are fun as heck to drive. I love my Outback. They are quite affordable used.
posted by bearwife at 1:38 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Subarus are also very reliable, but make sure the wear items like timing belts have been replaced when they were supposed to be. Some of those things cost real money to replace, and cause even more expensive damage if they fail. Mazdas are less reliable, on average. As usual, Consumer Reports is a valuable resource for comparing different used cars. Your local library probably has a collection of CRs.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:04 PM on January 21, 2016

There's a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me....

I drive a 10 yo F-150 so I know what you mean.

Reliability and high MPG under $4k? I would agree with your friend on the Civic but fun to drive? Not so sure.
posted by AugustWest at 2:14 PM on January 21, 2016

i can give you some reverse advice and suggest you do not get an older jetta.
posted by lescour at 2:25 PM on January 21, 2016 [6 favorites]

I am just like you. I bought a Pontiac Vibe when I found myself in the same situation, having to temporarily give up my truck. Thing is, i freaking love this car so much, I can't give it up. It's safer for my dogs to ride in than my truck was, has fantastically practical goodies that come standard, it gets super gas milage, looks pretty sporty in my opinion, and is as rugged as any truck I've ever owned. I confess though, sometimes I do still miss sitting up above all the rest of the traffic the way I used to in my truck.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 3:02 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

I believe the official "my last car was a pickup" car is a Subaru. I think that's less about drive feel (having owned a F150 and three Subarus) and more due to front (?4?) wheel drive and/or clearance and/or the ability to put down the back seat and haul lumber or sleep in the back.
posted by salvia at 4:41 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm guessing you've already considered and rejected it, but you might consider a compact pickup (I'd say Toyota, Nissan, Ford/Mazda, in that order). You can find a 4-cylinder manual without much trouble, mileage will be... better, parts are widely available, repairs are cheap and easy, and these trucks will likely be 2-door, power-nothing, so there's less to go wrong.
posted by box at 5:37 PM on January 21, 2016

Around here at least, small trucks and subarus have really inflated prices on the used market. Anything that's 4k or less will have a bajillion miles on it, a salvage title, be beat to shit, or all of the above. I really really wanted to get a subaru last time i was shopping but was completely priced out of the market for anything that wasn't older than the car i was replacing. Hondas also tend to cost more than they "should" for the mileage/year.

I like the mazda 3 recommendation, but with a similar budget i found that the small nissans(micra, sentra) also had a higher bang/buck ratio than most of the stuff out there. The mazda will be pretty much objectively more fun to drive though, and has a nicer interior as well.

If you do look at nissans, skip the models that have a CVT. It's literally more fun to drive one of those electric shopping carts at a grocery store, and they just feel slow and meandering/disconnected.

Honestly if i wanted something cheap and fun to drive i would get whatever the best car i could find for the price in mileage/year/condition as the manual version. One of the funnest cars i've ever driven was my old two door tercel. The absolute most basic one with an AM radio and a 3 speed. The modern version of that, the yaris, is available as a two door stick shift... And they're VERY cheap used. I bought a 2005 nissan, but i could have bought a 2010 yaris for almost exactly the same price. The only reason i didn't was my partner wasn't into the idea of a two door car.

I would also throw the ford fiesta and focus into the ring on this, and they seem to come with much nicer options by default(better interior, nicer stereo with bluetooth, steering wheel stereo/climate controls, etc). Keep in mind that fiesta is TINY though. But then again, so is the honda fit. It FEELS tiny however, whereas the fit has a tardis-like "how does it feel this big?" interior.
posted by emptythought at 7:16 PM on January 21, 2016

If your only parameters are fun, cheap, reliable, and economical the car for you is a Mazda Miata! They are an absolute BLAST to drive, and in fact I can not think of another car under 15k that is near the fun. That being said, I am just guessing you are thinking of something a little more practical. If so, the Mazda 3 seems like a pretty good option. The original Civic S models were a hoot too, but not sure you could find one around. And if you do find a Civic make sure the timing chain is recent, because on the old ones when it failed it was cataclysmic for the engine.

All that being said, go drive a Miata just for fun. It is the most visceral driving experience you can have without being on a motorcyle. (I own one, not as a primary driver, just for the joy)
posted by jcworth at 7:52 PM on January 21, 2016

JC worth is right about the Miata - the things are a hoot to drive, especially if you have any sort of winding roads or terrain.

That being said, they're utterly useless for hauling anything more than two adults and a sack of groceries. No cargo capacity at all.

Fun to drive with cargo capacity? You might look for a high-mileage well maintained Mini Cooper. The non-turbo models are easily in your price range, feel roomier than they are, and they're as much fun to drive as a Miata. I've talked two friends into buying them, and they love them - one friend is on his second one.

If my wife didn't hate them so much, I'd likely buy one, but we're a one-car family and have a paid for Jeep.
posted by Thistledown at 8:34 AM on January 22, 2016

Subarus are not fun to drive, at least our Impreza isn't. It's sluggish compared to our Fit. I'd recommend the Fit if you can handle being lower to the ground, because the manual transmission version is much loved, and it has great cargo space. Plan for snow tires if you live in such a climate - I still haven't bought them and I curse myself every time it snows (and I have upgraded all season tires now).
posted by cabingirl at 8:44 AM on January 22, 2016

I don't agree with the used Mini idea. They're fun to drive, but they don't do well at the kind of age/mileage you're looking at for $4k. Honda's CRX / Del Sol could be a fun choice if you can find a good one (like a more practical Miata), but they're really aging by now. The Fit's a practical, modern choice.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:57 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

As someone who owns a going-on-14-year-old Mini Cooper with 140,000 miles on it, I would advise against the used Mini idea. Don't get me wrong, the Mini is a hoot to drive; and for its size has decent cargo space. Maybe it's my bad back, but the ride feels a lot stiffer than it did 14 years ago when I bought it.
Also, maintenance and repairs start to get pricey. New exhaust system 3 months ago set me back $1,100. Ouch!
posted by jrchaplin at 10:50 AM on January 22, 2016