Ryan writes (again):

Ryan from Chicago again. My fiancé is currently driving a 2006 Civic Sedan that she loves. It was bought by her parents in cash 5 years ago. It has 55K hard miles on it. As a car that gets driven around the city a lot, it is starting to show some wear and tear, but obviously has a lot of life left.

Her father is someone who lies to replace cars every 3-5 years, so in his mind the Civic is due for an upgrade. I don’t see the need for the change, but this will be like a free new car for a wedding present.

Now the question: Is there a better car out there for my fiancé than a new Civic. Here is what she loves about the car; it is small, it has 4 doors, it has cloth seats, it has a small steering wheel. That’s it. Knowing her father, he will only buy new and the budget is between $15K and $22.5K

With the wedding a few months away, any and all input is much appreciated.

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Ryan writes:

Sajeev and Steve,

I’ve got a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon that I’ve had since new as my only car.  It was my first new car and I got it right out of college.  It is configured exactly as I planned and I still love it today just as much as when I bought it, and best of all, it’s paid off.  I live in Denver and take the Jeep up on mountain trails and explore the Utah desert from time to time.  Still, with 80,000 miles on the clock, the 4×4 is aging a bit.  My plan is to retire the Jeep from its daily burdens and add a more sensible daily driver.

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Ed writes:

Sajeev and Steve – I have 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 2 and have two cars – a 2009 RAV4 4WD 4cyl with 20k on it as the daily driver and a 1995 525 as the fun-to-drive car (well, more fun than the RAV4, at least) which is just about to turn 200k and I just sense that something very expensive is about to happen so I want to trade up and get something used, but recent, in the $15k – $20k range.

What do you recommend in a sedan that is a good drive, is reasonably economical and won’t cost a fortune to maintain?  The catch is that it needs to hold 3 kids in the back!

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TTAC Commentator GS650G writes:

I am looking for a station wagon in lieu of a mini-van or CUV/SUV.  Whereas before almost all intermediate cars were available in station wagon trim it seems only European brands and a few Japanese brands such as Subaru offer a true station wagon any longer.

I would like to move up a bit and go with either a BMW 3 series wagon or Mercedes R Class. Both trade in the 22K to 28K range. I don’t care for Volvo or SAAB wagons and their recent ownership changes has me concerned about the brands.

The Beemer and M-B seem like well-liked cars with practical carry space along with excellent driving dynamics. I’m not concerned with repair costs since I do my own work no matter what I drive.

So which would be the better choice, a 328i Wagon or a M-B 320 R?  I would also compare to a M-B E-Class wagon if the price was right.

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TTAC Commentator Astigmatism writes:

Dear TTAC: After six months of commuting by bus from New Jersey to Manhattan, I’ve decided to treat myself by buying myself a car (my wife commutes with our 10-year-old RX300), getting a monthly parking space through my company and driving into work every day. Please don’t try to talk me out of this decision: the buses are routinely late, stop at every corner between my house and the highway, take me to the wrong part of town, and generally take at least twice as long all-in as driving in the few, blessed days when I’ve driven to the office.

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Omar writes:

Hello all,

Love the site. One of the only sites that actually reviews cars instead of just reading like a feature press release.

I am in the market for a car. However, it is a bit different than most. I finally finished school and am in a position to buy a nice car up to about $200 000. I hate when auto sites use the line ”buyers in this category don’t care about costs”. I do! There is a difference between a guy who can buy one car like this and has to think about it vs. Someone with a supercar stable.

I am kind of all over the map right now. My main choice is a v8 vantage due to the not over the top looks and classic style. However, I am wondering if a pre-owned F430 or Gallardo would be a good choice. Or should I save up for another year and try for a 458? Each car has pros and cons and I’m still heavily leaning toward an Vantage. What would you do?

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Keith writes:

Hi Sajeev and Steve,

God, I hope you can help me out with this one. I’m not much of a writer so I’ll skip to the relevant points:

1. I have a 1993 Chevy S-10 with ~100k miles that I paid about $1500 for. I just found out it needs $2000 in transmission/brake work (it also needs a new muffler at some point, but that’s not urgent). Many are urging me not to put money into the Chevy, but use my $3000-ish in savings to buy something else. I’ve always had terrible luck with beaters– I’m on car #8 at 22 years old– and I am very reluctant to buy another collection of unknown mechanical problems. Apart from the work needed, the truck is otherwise in pretty good shape.

2. I’m a student by night and an office worker by day, live in Orange County, so there are no real weather or space considerations. I just need a commuter car that *works* and possibly has some hint of style or sportiness.

3. My credit is absolute shit. As far as I know, my score is around 610 currently. I know that the credit markets have supposedly thawed somewhat, and if I were to use the money as a down payment I could hopefully swing a loan for a car in the $10k-13k range.

Right now I’m leaning towards a Miata on the beater side, financing something in the $10k range such as a used Mazda 6 or Fusion, or stretching things and getting a new Kia Soul around $13k-14k. Alternatively, I could spend the money on the truck and hope that engine problems don’t develop anytime soon.

Thoughts? Saving up more money isn’t really an option since without the transmission work the car doesn’t really have much longer. Thanks for any advice!

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Keith writes:

It’s time to buy my 17-year-old son a car; my wife’s previous car (a 2000 Mercedes E320 wagon) has cost us more than what it’s worth in maintenance one time too many. For his car, we’ve established two possible paths: a beater for now, or a moderately nice used car for now and later (through college.) For this beater, he’s narrowed the list down to just the 2001-06 Elantra, and the 2000-04 Ford Focus. For a nicer car, a 2005-08 Scion tC or 2004-07 Mazda3 seem to be ideal. Which path do you think would be best to go down? Are there any choices we’ve overlooked?

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Vincent writes:

I’m having a bit of a dilemma in the car buying/selling front. First off, I’m a 21 year old college student. Last year, using money gifted to me by my wealthy grandparents (yes, I’m a spoiled brat. Sorry) I impulsively purchased a 97 Mercedes C36 AMG (yes, I’m an awful spoiled brat). It had a plethora of problems including the previous owner installing a faulty air intake, improperly lowering the car and damaging the suspension, and some thermostat issue. Several thousand dollars later, my mechanic got it back to speed. It hasn’t had any problems since, but I definitely can’t afford to fix it if anything else were to happen. Furthermore, premium gas is a bitch, especially here in Vancouver where gas is at an all time high. It doesn’t snow often here, but I’m not comfortable driving it when it does.  I am contemplating selling the C36 and purchasing something more practical (I’ve had it listed on classifieds for months, but eh, no bites)

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Marc writes:

As a long time reader and a new financial advisor, I am seeking advice from you and your readers concerning choices for a second-hand automobile. Here are the constraints:

1) $10,000 or less

2) Would prefer avoiding GM & Chrysler

3) 4-doors required (for clients and/or two under-five children)

4) Reasonable annual maintenance

5) Sporty OK but not flashy — message is ”prudently successful” not ”mid-life crisis on the client’s dime”

6) I’m a 47 year-old, married, 2 children, in southwestern Connecticut.

As a starting point, I see this as two basic options — Audi/BMW/Acura on the sporty side or Mercedes sedan on the prudent side. Which cars(year/make/model) do you or your readers suggest I consider? Thanks!

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Adam writes:

I’ve been mulling over a car-buying decision, and see you post similar things to the main page from time to time. Here’s my dilemma if you need some more copy.

I have a 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport 5-spd as my skiing, biking and camping car. My mom got it new, and I bought it from her in 2000. It now has almost 200k miles, but it has led an easy life- it still has the original clutch. Oil has been changed every 3500 miles or so, and it’s been generally reliable, but it has the brake-pulsation problem I can’t track down, several rapidly worsening oil and coolant leaks (main seals, oil pan, valve cover), all the rubber parts on the car are rapidly deteriorating, and it needs tires, some front end work, etc. Figure about $1500 in repair. However, then I’ll still have a 16 year old 200k car I’m relying on to get me 150 miles home from the mountain on a 15 degree snowstorm. I’m afraid electronic parts and sensors may soon leave me stranded. It’s worth high $2000 range- it runs fine; the body and paint are very good.

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Will writes:

I currently own two vehicles and am thinking of returning to just one, or maybe not. I own a 2005 BMW 330i sedan with 98k miles and a pristine 1986 Chevrolet Silverado 2WD short bed with 65k miles. I use the truck to work on the house I am renovating and keep the car…well, because I like it and it is more comfortable to commute to and from work.

I am making payments on both vehicles and while I could conceivably pay both off right now with little trouble, I wonder would it be a) cheaper to keep both with their associated maintenance costs, insurance, etc. or b) sell both vehicles and buy a late model car/truck/suv that is comfortable, relatively fuel efficient, generally reliable, has ABS and an airbag(s). I do a fair amount of highway driving but I need something that can haul some tools, old house paraphernalia, a dog, and a mountain bike. Also, I prefer to drive a manual, but it’s hard to find something useful with a manual.

Thoughts?

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Bob writes:

Long time listener, first time caller.

We’re a three vehicle couple living in inner-loop Houston. We just turned half our garage into a gym, and if we keep all three cars then we’ll have to park two of them outside. Therefore, it might be prudent to sell one of our vehicles. The problem is we’re attached to all of them, and need help deciding which to sell.

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Shawn writes:

I am in the process of helping one of my female friends purchase a new car. The problem is, she has no idea what she wants! This is a fairly urgent matter too, because she is currently driving a high mileage 2003 Buick Century, which has been overheating with alarming frequency. The repairs it needs do not make financial sense at this point.

Anyway, the price range that she is looking in is between $15,000 and $25,000 Canadian. Some cars we have already looked at new, are a 2011 Scion Tc, a 2011 Ford Fiesta SES, a 2011 Honda Civic SE, and a 2011 Mazda3 Sport GS. Some cars we have looked at used are a 2007 Ford Fusion SEL w/2.3L, a 2007 VW Jetta 2.5L with Lux pack, and I am trying to convince her to look at a 2007 Lexus IS250 AWD. (Canadian winters rule out anything rear wheel drive).

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