Posted on:
09/01/2006 04:58 PM | Hello everyone.
I'm 23 and I go to college full time. I just decided to
start driving and took lessons. I'm going to take my road
test once the bad weather passes but in the mean time I
decided to start gathering information on possible cars and
what I would like in a vehicle. I have not discussed a
budget with my mother but I'm assuming it would be no more
than $5,000 to $10,000 (Maximum). In all reality I have no
intentions of driving a lot because it took me this long to
shake my fear of driving.
I plan to drive to my campus (40 minute drive one way;
about 6 days a week), within a 20 mile radius of my home to
run errands, and that is about it. For long distance travel
I intend to use the subway, planes, Amtrak, etc.
My mother and I discussed going to a credit union new and
used car sale at the end of the month. I checked the site
to see if they would have a listing of cars for me to
research but they had none. Has anyone had any experience
with something like this?
What cars have stood the test of time for you all? My
instructor had me driving a '99 Toyota Camry that I was
very comfortable with. And, I've driven and will be taking
the test in my mothers Mercedes SUV which I liked the feel
of but I know isn't possible to get a smooth feeling ride
in my budget or is it?
My main concern is gas mileage, low maintenance, heating
since I live in Northern VA, and road reliability. I'm not
concerned about how flashy a vehicle is or if it has a lot
of bells and whistles.
Thanks for any help ladies, Angel. |
Posted on:
09/07/2006 05:17 PM | Hi,
Actually it looks like you will be driving quite a lot of
miles. If you drive about 80 miles a day, 5 days a week, 10
months a year, you'll be putting 17,600 miles a year on your
car, and that's without shopping trips or vacations.
The national average is about 15,000 miles a year (and
increasing.) So in addition to purchasing a car that gets
good mileage -- aim for something near 30 mpg --
reliability should be an important factor in your decision
making.
The most reliable products on the market are built by
Toyota, Honda, and Mini (BMW.) All of them offer reliable
cars that get excellent miles per gallon. Take a look at a
Toyota Camry, any of the Scions (also Toyota products), the
Honda Civic or Accord, and the Mini Cooper. $5000 is likely
not enough money to purchase a reliable car as you need to
find a car with less than 75,000 miles on it.
If you purchase a vehicle for $5000 make sure to keep $400
to $500 around for repairs. If you end up spending $200 or
more dollars a month on repairs, you might as well purchase
a new vehicle (Civic, Scion, Mini, Toyota, Kia, etc.) You'll
have a 3 to 5 year warrantee that will cover any repairs you
might need while you are still in school.
Whatever vehicle you purchase, make sure to change the oil
often. You're going to drive a lot of miles and thus put a
great deal of wear and tear on the car. Changing the oil is
the single most important things you can do to keep your car
happy and runnning smoothly.
Change the oil no less than every 3000 miles. That means
you need to change the oil every 7 weeks, while you are
attending classes.
Have a serious talk with your mom about this. It might be
better to put that $5000 down on a new, small, high-mileage
car, rather than purchasing something old. The last
experience you want to have is being stuck on the side of
the road, at night, in bad weather. It's VERY unpleasant
and scary.
Also don't forget about the cost of insurance. It's
expensive.
Good luck and have fun with your new car.
Sandra Kinsler - Editor in Chief |
Posted on:
09/10/2006 04:49 PM | Thanks a lot for responding. After a discussion with my
mother we decided to spend $12000 on a car so now with this
in mind I'm looking at newer vehicles. But, your advice has
been some of the most straightforward I've received thus
far.
Thanks a lot, Angel. |
Posted on:
09/22/2006 12:33 PM | Hey I'm in Nova too! I would second the advice on Hondas
and Toyotas.
Autotrader has 02-04 Corollas with about 50-60k miles going
for around $11k. Same for Civics.
You'll be able to purchase a car like a Neon for much less
but remember that for a used car, dependability and
maintenance issues should be factors.
Are you going through a private seller or dealer? |
