foreign.concept14
New Member
I'll be straight to the point. Need a new car. In ball park of 8k. Looking for fuel efficiency and reliability. Was looking at the vs Passat or jetta TDI. Any have any suggestions. 
car suggestions needed
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Pinarello Rider
New Member
Need more information. Manual? Auto? AWD/FWD/RWD? Wagon? Sedan, vert? Etc. What are you going to use it for? Gonna haul a family around? Need to go to the dump once in a while?I'll be straight to the point. Need a new car. In ball park of 8k. Looking for fuel efficiency and reliability. Was looking at the vs Passat or jetta TDI. Any have any suggestions.
foreign.concept14
New Member
Lol I had to read that like employee of the month.
foreign.concept14
New Member
Anything other than a wagon. No I'm 18. College commuting (when its raining of course) and distance drives every month to a military base. I don't care if its fwd. Or rear or both. Manual or auto doesn't matter either. Prefer a manual because they are more reliable.
foreign.concept14
New Member
Yea I've thought about it but I don't want a payment. Schools expensive.
thats what i was going for, but seriously if you can find one in mint condition....
xleeb0y13x
New Member
For 8 grand the choices are huge. Civics, corollas, scions, aveos ect. That's a good budget for a lot of low displacement high mpg cars.
mdgreene2001
New Member
get a base model nissan versa. I work for nissan as a tech and those are pretty stout vehicles with good fuel economy.
foreign.concept14
New Member
Have you had any problems out of it? How many miles? I'm looking at a 2006 with128,000 for 8,500
Wow those nissans are cheap. I'll look into them more. thanks man!
For $8k avail to put down, being in college, not wanting a payment, I would look at a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla. Both of them get excellent MPG, have reputations for being very dependable and for $8k down you will be able to get a model that is not very old and has relatively low miles!!!
Jetta TDI's are nice and get good mileage but as if something happens engine repairs can get pricey, and also w/ Diesel it can be a crap shoot. There are times when diesel is a better price, but there are many times when it is much more than regular gas. Make sure that the mpg improvement is worth it still if the gas price goes up quite a bit.
Jetta TDI's are nice and get good mileage but as if something happens engine repairs can get pricey, and also w/ Diesel it can be a crap shoot. There are times when diesel is a better price, but there are many times when it is much more than regular gas. Make sure that the mpg improvement is worth it still if the gas price goes up quite a bit.
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While a diesel is undoubtedly fuel efficient, they are more costly. I would suggest comparing a couple of diesels to sub-compacts and figure out the projected difference in fuel costs. $50/month is only $600/year. You can probably get a gas sub-compact in equal condition to a TDI Jetta for a few thousand $ less. At that point, the fuel savings become secondary. You need to look at total cost of ownership.
+1 on the newer Civic or Corolla.
+1 on the newer Civic or Corolla.
Personal preference would keep me away from VW! To many reliability issues even if 50% of those reliability issues are cosmetic.
I am a ford guy at heart and I like the focus' I bought an 07 focus 2.5 years ago for $7,700 with 74,000 miles....
Since the purchase:
I have replaced the suspension (shocks, struts, strut mounts, front wheel bearings), 2 sets of tires, and one complete brake overhaul (wheel cylinders, pads, drums, rotors, shoes, e-brake cables), new spark plugs, spark plug wires, clutch, and flywheel.
I will state I have as much in repairs as I do in the initial cost of the car, but some of the repairs were done at the dealer for lack of a more reliable shop.
I will also state that in those 2.5 years I have doubled the mileage I am now at 143,000 miles with basically a brand new car mechanically.
I should also state that I am hard on vehicles...I treat the road like its my own personal race track, trying to apex corners like I do on the bike...
I deserve a :spank: for that but its almost as fun to drive as the bike is.
I love the car....would only consider selling or trading it for a manual 4x4 extended cab ford ranger.... just to have something to pull the bike with.
mdgreene2001
New Member
Being a tech for 6 years for nissan, 2 years for hyundai/suzuki/mitsu and doing used cars for a chevy dealer, and the other dealers i have worked for and seeing the parts prices and what goes bad on numerous cars, if i were to be buying a car, not a truck, i would stay away from mitsu, american, german. personaly if i wanted killer fuel economy and a car that doesnt cost that much to maintain and is reliable and durable and fairly new and inexpensive the versa would be top on the list, and the new 2013 sentra is very nice but starts at twice the price i believe.... really not because i work for them am i trying to sell it on you i just know the car really well and they dont have any major issues. get a base model manual nothin fancy they are right around 8k brand new i believe, maybe a little more im not in sales so im not sure on the price of the new 2013-14 models....
Integra is basically a better Civic
Had a DC2 Integra for a few years and BEAT ON IT. Always ran great. Friend of mine recently got a 2000 4-door GSR in the neighborhood of $3k. If I didn't have a car payment, I'd take another Integra as a wet weather beater.
Also about the Versa, helped my sister-in-law/roommate buy one. It's actually faster and comfier than my Corolla. If I could do it over, I'd take the Versa. Nice car and iirc she went OTD for $11k
Beware of that!! While it is capable of doing it, the Ranger is very comparable to a 4x4 Chevy Blazer/S10. My blazer can handle the bike, especially now that I cleaned the Mass Air Flow Sensor, new air filter and began using Non-ox in it also (too many fuel related problems and I will blame ethonal since it is a 2000 model - first year that is is acceptible to put E10 in, misfires, failed fuel pump, etc...). But when doing it, you can still feel the strain on the truck engine.. I would much prefer to go to a full size truck, either new or used with a high v6 or a v8..
I bought a 2012 Ford Fiesta at the beginning of the year. So far so good. Other than not being very powerful the car perform well. Handling is decent for a B spec car. Getting use to the drive by wire feel is the worst for me. If like automatic gearbox this one comes with dual clutch deal... its a manual gbox that shift like a manual... sort off.
The car look and feel a bit sporty and at 60MPH it would pound 42-44 MPG all day long. AVRG 35-38... all depend your driving style. You can also bankrupt yourself about 3 time with the aftermarket parts available.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
The car look and feel a bit sporty and at 60MPH it would pound 42-44 MPG all day long. AVRG 35-38... all depend your driving style. You can also bankrupt yourself about 3 time with the aftermarket parts available.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Brock Kickass
New Member
Find yourself a clean 1.6L Honda Civic, 1996-2000 generation. You will find one dirt cheap, have an extra $3k to blow on tuition or beer or whatever, and they are super cheap on gas and bulletproof. I bought a 2000 one owner Civic with 300,000km on it for $1500, drove it for another 130,000km over 4 years, taught my wife to drive standard in it, put less than $500 in to maintenance over 4 years, and sold it for $400. Total investment $400 per year plus gas and insurance. It got better fuel mileage than my FZ1 does! There is no better bargain.