HELP- Suggestions on a used car

[She_Prime]

Hey all,

As most of you who know me well know that I love my Mazda I feel like I'm driving it into the ground with my commute. I've owned it since October 2008 and the odometer currently sits at 51,100kms.

With that said, I'm looking into the world of a used car for my commute. The things I'm looking for are as follows:

- Reliable car with a good maintenance record
- Something (generally) cheap on insurance
- Good gas mileage (preferably better than the 3)
- Under $5000 (I know I'm asking for a lot at that price)

As for me-
(almost) 24 yr old female, one ticket, G driver with a 77km commute one way to work at the moment.

Any suggestions on models to look at/ actual car ads would be greatly appreciated. :)

[Donutz]

I'll throw this out there and I ask everyone "please don't shoot" because I'm going to use the "H" word. Get a honda civic. They are cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and parts are easy to find. Hell, drive through markham or scarborough and there are bumpers laying on the road in many intersections; I joke, but seriously... You could also drive the thing into the ground and not feel bad. And with your budget you could potentially buy 3 of them!

[She_Prime]

Yeah but Hondas are generally more pricey than Mazda for insurance and plus it gets about the same gas mileage as the 3.

Definitely thought of it though. Thanks :)

[SilentJay]

100% Corolla. I drive crazy distances on my gf's 2007, and the gas needle never moves.

[Thrizzl3]

how about a protege?

[STeeLy]

If you want just a daily driver without the fun of driving... get a corolla... It really is as much fun to drive as a fridge... one thing they have going for them is that they are AMAZING on gas (I drive my mom's 04 when I'm in Calgary and don't have my 3).

If you want a used car that still has some driving fun, I agree with phil on the protege.

[n00bMeiSter]

I'd suggest a Protege, Corolla, Matrix, Vibe, pretty much anything with a 1.8-2.0L engine.
You could even look into Hyundai's, like the Accent, or Elantra.

[JohnyGT]

EL? I know one whos selling for $3200

[DruidB]

100% Corolla. I drive crazy distances on my gf's 2007, and the gas needle never moves.

This X10000 As a former car salesman i have owned more than 40 cars in my lifetime and driven many many more if you include salesman demo's... nothing comes close to economical to run, extremly reliable and cheap to insure commuter cars.
Civics are economical and reliable but one of the most expensive small cars to insure $50 - $100 more a month due to the highest theft rate of any car in canada.

[blackm3]

i would say toyota tercel 93 - 96 or so i believe, i would think that would be the best bang for the buck, however i will tell you this, its not fun having two cars being that you are going to be the only driver, cars are meant to be driven so you might actually be doing more harm by parking it up and only driving on the weekend

[She_Prime]

I'm going to drive my Mazda any other time than my commute. I go to Markham, Toronto, Guelph, Kitchener a lot (I live in Hamilton) so the Mazda will get just as much usage as my "new" car. Plus my sister is in the works to getting her license so I'm sure she can help me to offset the costs of the new car when she starts driving.

[htc***]

How about these VW Beetles

http://www.autotrader.ca/used_cars_Car_details/BRAMPTON_Ontario_1998_VOLKSWAGEN_NEW%2bBEETLE_1247 690.html?srcID=19&frnID=2095780&prv=Ontario&r=40

http://www.autotrader.ca/used_cars_Car_details/HAMILTON_Ontario_1999_VOLKSWAGEN_NEW%2bBEETLE_1993 45.html?srcID=5&frnID=6382469&cofid=ON20090209111156074&prv=Ontario&r=40

http://www.autotrader.ca/used_cars_Car_details/KITCHENER_Ontario_2001_VOLKSWAGEN_NEW%2bBEETLE_765 88.html?srcID=5&frnID=5103343&cofid=ON20080421102339234&prv=Ontario&r=40

[PCLoadLetter]

Golf or Jetta TDI

[kevcol74]

Damnit Ang, I just sold my Protege ES for $4750!!! Only had 88K on it!!

All in all, Civic, Corolla or Protege would all be good choices. I'd stick with Corolla or Pro, niether one has the likely hood of throwing a timing belt and bending valves!

[Unoriginalusername]

Ford Focus or Corolla or Civic

[jaimie08mazda3]

Damnit Ang, I just sold my Protege ES for $4750!!! Only had 88K on it!!

All in all, Civic, Corolla or Protege would all be good choices. I'd stick with Corolla or Pro, niether one has the likely hood of throwing a timing belt and bending valves!

WHEN WILL YOU KEEP A CAR LOL. Anyway Angela what about a Neon? Yea its a hunk of crap but hell why not... its a beater it will take it, and there are 1000s of them in the scrapyard.

[blankets3]

U guys arent rly understand what shes asking for....

those cars are all expensive one way or another...

Start looking at some cavilers, SUPER cheep on insurance, SUPER cheep to buy, SUPER cheep to fix.

you cant go wrong with one as a beater

[JashiK]

I'd say Rolla. Great on gas, peppy engine, not expensive to maintain and insurance is pretty good.

[n00bMeiSter]

U guys arent rly understand what shes asking for....

those cars are all expensive one way or another...

Start looking at some cavilers, SUPER cheep on insurance, SUPER cheep to buy, SUPER cheep to fix.

you cant go wrong with one as a beater

A cavalier may be cheap for you, but expensive for others. You can't say to someone "oh get this car, it's cheap on insurance" because insurance is all relative.
Cavaliers are expensive for me to insure, but a mazda 6 isn't.

She set her max price range at $5000. We've all listed vehicles you can find for $5k and under.
And parts for them are quite abundant.

[laksman91]

EL? I know one whos selling for $3200

Man, 1.6 EL sips fuel...

[DualSoul]

Used Hyundai Accent?

[n00bMeiSter]

Man, 1.6 EL sips fuel...
I would hope so, it's only a 1.6L engine lol! But aren't parts for it a little on the higher side of things?


Used Hyundai Accent?
Hyundai's are good cars, it's just that they aren't as well known as other companies. (When I was growing up we had Hyundai Pony until someone "Y-boned" us. I was a good car though).

[iconicrocket]

77km commute one way to work at the moment.



Wow, that's a long commute. I had an old 96 civic sedan, that was really good on gas. They're cheap as dirt, I'm sure you can get a 1999+ civic for that price, high mileage though.

[blankets3]

A cavalier may be cheap for you, but expensive for others. You can't say to someone "oh get this car, it's cheap on insurance" because insurance is all relative.
Cavaliers are expensive for me to insure, but a mazda 6 isn't.

She set her max price range at $5000. We've all listed vehicles you can find for $5k and under.
And parts for them are quite abundant.

a 4 door cavalier is expensive for you on insurance? id bet my car its not....


she can get an 04-05 with under 100k for under 5g's and its very cheep to repair and would be a much better car than a 99 civic with super high km's, i looked into this when i was going to get my skyline b4 the mazda 3...

[-RJ3-]

Kia???

[RBoy8]

Super cheap to buy, super cheap on insurance, super easy to work on, and affordable on parts?....... Volvo 850 Turbo... seriously! They're also not too bad on gas as long as you don't have a heavy foot. lol

Funny enough, we called in to insurance a few days ago and inquired about rates if I were to switch over to a 95+ Toyota Tercel, and would be $400+ more a year than my current car. o_O

[twistedspoon]

The bigger question is: what is the purpose of a second car? The way I see it, it won't save you any money any way you slice it.

I can understand someone with a performance car wanting to buy a second car as a daily driver but I'm not sure I understand the need for a second car to take the place of a Mazda 3 for daily commutes.

[prinsesa]

Yup, KIA!

[DumpInfo]

Out of everything you suggested I'd suggest going for a Toyota Tercel. Had one during high school and definitely was best bang for your buck.

Right now I'm driving 77kms to work and it suckss big time! But you gotta do what you gotta do to pay the bills :)