I've always driven trucks and vans. Thinking to get a 2nd hand car, have no idea about cars, but would be something not to heavy on gas, parts that don't cost a fortune and something that has some women pulling appeal.
Budget? under 8,000

Anyone got any suggestions?

The used car market has been pricey the past few years with the cash for clunkers program destroying lots of cars. $8k can get you a decent car but it you have to know what to look for.

A lot of people will tell you to get a Toyota or Honda but that's not really good advice. Japanese quality/reliability is not really better than late model General motors cars, but the prices are high for used Japanese cars. That's not to say a Toyota or Honda wouldn't be a decent choice, but it depends on price and condition.

You might consider Chevy Cobalts, late-model ('02+) Cavaliers, and Malibu. Ford Focus. As they are more resonably priced and are pretty solid cars.

Avoid European makes as maintenace, repair and parts cost are an issue.

The bottom line with a used car over every thing else is condition, condition, condition.

You couldn't give me a car made by the big 3. The Japs and Germans are still kicking their @$$es when it comes to making reliable cars.

Robert28 said:

You couldn't give me a car made by the big 3. The Japs and Germans are still kicking their @$$es when it comes to making reliable cars.

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That's not true at all. German cars can often be a nightmare and hard to work on and expensive to repair, absolutely not more reliable than American. Some japs cars are having more problems than GM models. Some Ford and Chrysler models are still a little iffy.

Bottom line is you can get a used GM or Ford and have a solid car with less money in it than a jap.

To a large degree GM the last few yearsis building better cars than the Japanese and were covering them under 5 /100k powertrain warranty.

Stay away from European, Korean (hyundai ad kia) and maybe chrysler makes. Other than that go by condition and price.

Ive had a chevy astro van for the last 13 years, got it new. Its been a great van.

The oldest cars I see on the road are Japanese and German. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, VW.

When I was looking for a used car, most of the cars that had the highest miles, but seemed to be in good condition were again Japanese and German. Whats that tell you about longevity and reliability?

I was thinking an older BMW or Mustang. I'm in Canada and we didn't have the cash for clunkers program here. you can pick up some good older cars that have a lot of style.
Im thinking going to pick up a chick in a year 2003 mustang is going to make more of an impression than going in a 2000 astro van.

I assumed you were in the US. The used car market is probably different and better in Canada. A Mustang would definitely be a good choice for image. You just couldn't get any decent one in the US for $8k unless you got lucky or work in auto sales.

But just about any car would have a better image than a van. Buy a used car that makes economic sense and not because you think women care. Mustangs are still cool with chicks but it's not like the past where girls thought a guy was cool because of his car.

I also assumed cost was an issue and BMWs are not cheap to maintain and repair. As I understand it, everything is more expensive in Canada, gasoline, motor oil, parts. But a BMW will just compound that. And the owners tend to be neglectful of maintenance. It's similar with other European models.

Plenty of American cars in the Midwest and south where there are more of them run very high miles, 200-300k miles or more if they are maintained. People that don't really know much about cars say European and Japanese cars are much more reliable than American.

Stagger Lee said:

I assumed you were in the US. The used car market is probably different and better in Canada. A Mustang would definitely be a good choice for image. You just couldn't get any decent one in the US for $8k unless you got lucky or work in auto sales.

But just about any car would have a better image than a van. Buy a used car that makes economic sense and not because you think women care. Mustangs are still cool with chicks but it's not like the past where girls thought a guy was cool because of his car.

I also assumed cost was an issue and BMWs are not cheap to maintain and repair. As I understand it, everything is more expensive in Canada, gasoline, motor oil, parts. But a BMW will just compound that. And the owners tend to be neglectful of maintenance. It's similar with other European models.

Plenty of American cars in the Midwest and south where there are more of them run very high miles, 200-300k miles or more if they are maintained. People that don't really know much about cars say European and Japanese cars are much more reliable than American.

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:crackup:

Dude, my mother has owned NOTHING but American cars her entire life until I bought her a 2013 Toyota Camry last month. She traded in a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu that the paint started chipping badly in certain spots (had been garaged its whole life), the radio crapped out, gas tank sensor went out, interior showed premature wear for only being 5 years old and having only 49,000 miles on it. I won't even get into her one Dodge and 3 Ford cars because I could be here all day telling you about their problems.

In fact I've owned 2 Z71's and two Toyota trucks in my life. Guess which ones held up the best BY FAR? American auto makers are famous for putting all these fancy useless gadgets in their cars to cover up the sad quality. Look at the fitment of the dash panels, the A and B pillars, the uneven gaps in the interior. For all the hype about the 2013 Malibu, it STILL gets worse gas mileage then the Accord, Altima, and Camry. They do have blue ambient lighting throughout the car though. Yeah THAT'S what was missing and will sell cars.lol Please. European cars are not as expensive to maintain as those who've never owned one love to tell you. When you buy a $50,000-$80,000 car, a $100 oil change isn't but a drop in the bucket for you. BMW is even offering 5 years 50,000 miles free maintenance on their cars now. Go drive a BMW 535i or an Audi A4 and then go drive a Malibu or a Ford Fusion. It won't take you long to see where that extra 20,000-40,000 in price went. BTW, most European cars require you to change the oil every 15,000 miles or once a year, not every 5,000 like American cars. I think that's where alot of people get this notion that Eurpoean cars are expensive to maintain.

There's too much misinformaton to respond to here. You compare a BMW 535 to a entry-level midsize Malibus and Fusions, when the Cadillac CTS and ATS are its competitors. An GM cars do not require 5,000 mile oil changes. they have an intelligent oil life moniter and reguarly go up one year and 10k miles on readily available motor oil. $15-20 for oil and filter available everywhere.

BMWs have been prone to problems, electrical, transmission failures, plastic colant part failures. All very expenisive to repair. You can't even change the oil or the battery in a BMW without a scanner and spending a lot of money on parts.

The '13 Malibu gets slightly less mpg because it is a heavier solider built car without the problematic CVTs that the Altima and Accord use. Despite being all ready new model in '13, GM has already made updates on the '14 Malibu to increase fuel milage

American pick ups are used for work vehicles and driven many miles. Believe what you want. I work on all kinds of cars and know about the problems they have. GM is make as reliable or more reliable cars as anyone. And also some of the most quiet and nice riding cars.

I am a big fan of German cars (especially Audi and BMW). Yes, they are more expensive to maintain, but after you own one, you'd never want to go back to mainstream American or Asian cars. Plus, German cars are much more solidly built and safer.

For 8K you can buy an older A4/A6 or 3/5 series from the early-mid 2000's. Do some research on these cars and the common problems associated with them and make sure to get it inspected by a trusted mechanic, preferably one who is familiar with German cars.

Stagger Lee said:

There's too much misinformaton to respond to here. You compare a BMW 535 to a entry-level midsize Malibus and Fusions, when the Cadillac CTS and ATS are its competitors. An GM cars do not require 5,000 mile oil changes. they have an intelligent oil life moniter and reguarly go up one year and 10k miles on readily available motor oil. $15-20 for oil and filter available everywhere.

BMWs have been prone to problems, electrical, transmission failures, plastic colant part failures. All very expenisive to repair. You can't even change the oil or the battery in a BMW without a scanner and spending a lot of money on parts.

The '13 Malibu gets slightly less mpg because it is a heavier solider built car without the problematic CVTs that the Altima and Accord use. Despite being all ready new model in '13, GM has already made updates on the '14 Malibu to increase fuel milage

American pick ups are used for work vehicles and driven many miles. Believe what you want. I work on all kinds of cars and know about the problems they have. GM is make as reliable or more reliable cars as anyone. And also some of the most quiet and nice riding cars.

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Cadillac's cheesy styling is what hurts it with the foreign luxury cars. They also have developed this image of wannabe "gangstas" and "rappers" driving them. your upper-middle class and upper class buyers are not buying Cadillac's. They buy Lexus, BMW, Audi, Mercedes. I see it all the time around where I live. How is Cadillac's depreciation these days? They used to hold their value pretty well but it seems most domestic cars take a bigger hit in this area then foreign cars do.

Robert28 said:

Cadillac's cheesy styling is what hurts it with the foreign luxury cars. They also have developed this image of wannabe "gangstas" and "rappers" driving them. your upper-middle class and upper class buyers are not buying Cadillac's. They buy Lexus, BMW, Audi, Mercedes. I see it all the time around where I live. How is Cadillac's depreciation these days? They used to hold their value pretty well but it seems most domestic cars take a bigger hit in this area then foreign cars do.

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That's your opinion about Cadillac styling, it's subjective.. I think the ATS is a gorgeous car inside in out and I'm not the only one. I'm not crazy about the CTS current styling, but the new CTS coming out is very good looking. GM has really nicely styled cars coming out and has often had good styling.

Cadillac is now taking buyers away from Mercedes, BMW Audi etc.

I don't have much against BMWs and other Euro cars plain styling but others think BMW styling is bland and getting worse. The average person often can't tell if someone is driving a $50k BMW or a few year old $8k depreciated BMW.

As far depreciation, Euro cars especially BMW have terrible depreciation. I see a few year old BMWs like M5 that sold new for close $100k sell for under $20k.

Depreciation helps when you are buying an American car used but with the Euro cars insane parts costs and difficulty in repairs it hardly makes up for it. While the higher price of Japanese used cars are not compensated by reliability advantage.

Stagger Lee said:

That's your opinion about Cadillac styling, it's subjective.. I think the ATS is a gorgeous car inside in out and I'm not the only one. I'm not crazy about the CTS current styling, but the new CTS coming out is very good looking. GM has really nicely styled cars coming out and has often had good styling.

Cadillac is now taking buyers away from Mercedes, BMW Audi etc.

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No, it's not. Audi, BMW and Mercedes are all posting record sales numbers. The Germans are true global brands; Cadillac can't even compete against them in its own home market, let alone internationally.

When I bought my Audi a couple of years ago, Cadillac wasn't even one of the options that I considered. It was between Audi and BMW, with Mercedes a distant third. Cadillac is improving but it's still far from the big leagues. Inferior build quality (i.e. look at the interior panel gaps and compare that to an Audi), outdated technology (the Germans are using 8-speed ZF transmissions or 7-speed DSG's, while Cadillac is still stuck in 2002 with it's 6-speed slushbox) and a serious image problem (these cars are mostly driven by retirees or 50 Cent wannabes) are all obstacles.

Cadillac's styling is pretty cheesy too, IMO. Take the ATS for example: the proportions are all wrong. It looks tall and narrow and has a fat ass...the opposite of what a sporty car is supposed to look like.

The ATS has better driving dynamics than even the BMW 3-series. The ATS is the driving dynamic champ now. The ATS is tall and narrow? No it's dimension are very similar to other cars in the class. BMW are all generally tall and narrow anyway.

The ATS is a sales success. The auto media has long been biased against GM and American cars, and a lot of people get convinced by that. Then their readers parrot what the media says. But even the media is saying the ATS is an outstanding car.

I really don't care about Audi and FWD/AWD.

You point out the ATS 6-speed auto as if that proves it's not high tech. GM is developing it's own 8-speed and is planning to use an Aisin 8-speed in the '14 model. Everything else on the ATS is as high tech as any other competitor. Really all the 7 and 8 speed autos are more about slight fuel economy improvement and marketing than they are of making the car perform or drive better.

I don't get why foreign car fans can't just like their cars without falsely bashing American cars. They most not research cars like the ATS much because the things they say are not correct.

Buy a used 2006, '07 or '08 model. Those are the magic numbers right now. Mine had 81,000 miles when I bought it in Oct. 2011. I'm about to replace the timing belt myself after recently hitting 105,000 miles.