The Official Thread: Which Car(s) to Get?

[nicksaiz65]

I wanted to make an official thread on this… time to get a new car.

I’ll have to call my credit union and get a car loan. I can’t be car-less like this anymore.

For my main, my aim is to get a car that I can drive to hell and back. I want to drive out of town and back every single weekend, and just have many adventures. Mainly for game lol. I need a car that I can beat into the ground, essentially. I’m still establishing myself financially, so it’ll be a used car. I think it’s smarter to buy used cars anyways, because cars are depreciating assets. I don’t need some super fancy car.

But, I have no clue what to get tbh. I used to drive a 2009 Chevy Malibu. I thought maybe a 2012-2018 Honda Accord could be good for my purposes.

I also want to have a beater car, preferably one that I can buy outright. This way, when my car eventually breaks down, I’m not completely crippled while I work on getting a new one.

Just wanted to know what I should get, which ones I should target. There are so many options.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I wanted to make an official thread on this… time to get a new car.

I’ll have to call my credit union and get a car loan. I can’t be car-less like this anymore.

For my main, my aim is to get a car that I can drive to hell and back. I want to drive out of town and back every single weekend, and just have many adventures. Mainly for game lol. I need a car that I can beat into the ground, essentially. I’m still establishing myself financially, so it’ll be a used car. I think it’s smarter to buy used cars anyways, because cars are depreciating assets. I don’t need some super fancy car.

But, I have no clue what to get tbh. I used to drive a 2009 Chevy Malibu. I thought maybe a 2012-2018 Honda Accord could be good for my purposes.

I also want to have a beater car, preferably one that I can buy outright. This way, when my car eventually breaks down, I’m not completely crippled while I work on getting a new one.

Just wanted to know what I should get, which ones I should target. There are so many options.

Hondas are great reliable cars. So are Toyotas. Can't go wrong with either of them. Basically do your normal stuff like oil changes, tire rotations and brake changes and you'll never have issues with them.

Will never buy an American car again. All they are is maintenance headaches waiting to happen. They have fancier stuff in them but basic fundamental stuff always breaks.

Also be aware of what cars are maintenance nightmares where repairs are expensive due to amount of time it takes/complexity or parts are expensive to get or both.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Used Benz if you ask me, but most established brands are good - if you connect with a trusty worthy mechanic that knows the platform they will tell you exactly the year and model and engine to get.

 

[MatureDJ]

Once you have decided on the car, I would get a Certified Used one (I think all manufacturers offer this). To be certified, a dealer's mechanic goes through an exhaustive check of all the systems, and so you don't have to worry about the asymmetric information problem when buying something used (i.e., the seller knows it's got issues, but the buyer doesn't).

I would get a station wagon - or "crossover" - where the rear seats fold down, thereby giving you a nice big bay to haul stuff with, making it almost as practical as a truck.

Here's one to consider (but get it with the strong 1.8T engine):

2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Review & Ratings | Edmunds

Edmunds' expert review of the Used 2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen provides the latest look at trim-level features and specs, performance, safety, and comfort. At Edmunds we drive every car we review, performing road tests and competitor comparisons to help you find your perfect car. Read the...

www.edmunds.com

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Every one knows about Toyotas and Hondas. Chevy Impalas are a good buy OP. Good engine, durable, decent mileage. A well-maintained 2012 Impala LT would run you around 6 grand about would be good for about 5 years. There is a good number of these cars out there too.

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/a-used-chevy-impala-offers-most-miles-per-dollar-study-finds/

One moment, please...

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Used Benz if you ask me, but most established brands are good - if you connect with a trusty worthy mechanic that knows the platform they will tell you exactly the year and model and engine to get.

The Benz forums online would be good for this too.

 

[nicksaiz65]

Hondas and Toyotas keep popping up all over the place. Seems like they’re the best options for a bachelor looking to keep a not super expensive ride.

I had never considered a Benz, but I’ll do some research on those too.

Next step is looking into the cars, and I’ll call the credit union tomorrow. It’s a lot easier now that I know what I’m aiming for.

 

[Stanley]

Hondas and Toyotas keep popping up all over the place. Seems like they’re the best options for a bachelor looking to keep a not super expensive ride.

I had never considered a Benz, but I’ll do some research on those too.

Next step is looking into the cars, and I’ll call the credit union tomorrow. It’s a lot easier now that I know what I’m aiming for.

Toyota is a safe bet. I've got a Rav4 (older gen, 2011) and it's been great to me for years, that and it's a fun car and reliable as all hell. I fold the seats down and built a bed platform out of it for road trips too. I've put 70k miles on it in a few years and never had a problem. Take it on cross country road trips about twice a year and camp out of it too.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Be careful in all manufacturers there are motors and transmissions you definitely want to avoid.

If you purchase a used Benz (or any car for that matter) make sure it passes the SMOG readiness test (use a code scanner like ifixit). People will clear the codes for cats/egr/etc and try to morí are sale it, you need to scan it. iFixit is worth every penny, because it’ll tell you it has not completed the drive cycle for emissions.

Catalytic converters (most cars have two now) have a limited life ~150k miles and each one can cost upwards of $1500 each just for the unit excluding installation.

Hondas and Toyotas keep popping up all over the place. Seems like they’re the best options for a bachelor looking to keep a not super expensive ride.

I had never considered a Benz, but I’ll do some research on those too.

Next step is looking into the cars, and I’ll call the credit union tomorrow. It’s a lot easier now that I know what I’m aiming for.

 

[RazorRambo24]

2023 c8 stingray without a doubt if you know anything about cars. runs about 60k and will smoke most sht on the road.

 

[nicksaiz65]

So you're thinking of getting a car so woman can look at you? This is the wrong approach. Buy a used reliable car that is not costly to maintain, and most importantly a one you can afford, there is no reason to have a $600/month car payment that will mess up your budget.

Nah, not as in a car to get women attracted to me.

As in just a car that I can drive around to different cities as much as I desire. Go out of town every single weekend type thing, and have more volume that way.

$500/ month is the most I’d ever want to budget for a car payment.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

A tangential point here, but you want a vehicle that's reliable enough to limit the need to conduct car/automotive reseach.

Compared to any other subject on the internet, the car realm is a hellscape of half-assed and useless information. You have a lot of blue collar guys, engineering autists, and regular dudes with their egos engaged "explaining" things to you. The professional sites are so ad-heavy they are useless, the forums all have lazily written posts, and the amateur videos tend to have abysmal videography. You can expect 90% of your time to be wasted.

If you were to take a random sample of 100 people on the internet talking about cars, and sent them to school to become educators, 99 would flunk out in the first semester.

It's that bad.

 

[Bible_Belt]

A lot of people think they want a second vehicle, but don't realize that there is still effort involved. The worst thing you can do is let a vehicle sit without being driven. Everything starts to fail when it sits long enough, like the battery, tires, and fuel system. Sitting cars also attract mice, who like to chew wires and piss everywhere.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Nah, not as in a car to get women attracted to me.

As in just a car that I can drive around to different cities as much as I desire. Go out of town every single weekend type thing, and have more volume that way.

$500/ month is the most I’d ever want to budget for a car payment.

If that’s the case buy a used Prius.

Cars are money pits. Buy the cheapest to operate vehicle you can. Don’t buy new unless it’s electric (government pays legit 1/3 the cost due to all the tax incentives).

 

[Bible_Belt]

If that’s the case buy a used Prius.

They are a value, especially with the gas savings. They last about 300k miles, lots of cheap ones around 200k.

 

[threeforfree]

Those newer Priuses are no joke. I rented one for 10 days last year, I think it was a 2021. I was running around Tampa getting about 57mpg, and with the electric motor it was really quick at the stop lights. The are no longer "obviously" a Prius when you seem them on the road. The 2023s are coming out with AWD, 215hp, and look pretty sharp. I never would have considered them before but these new ones changed my mind.

I still want a Tesla instead, though.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

A lot of people think they want a second vehicle, but don't realize that there is still effort involved. The worst thing you can do is let a vehicle sit without being driven. Everything starts to fail when it sits long enough, like the battery, tires, and fuel system. Sitting cars also attract mice, who like to chew wires and piss everywhere.

All you really have to do is make a point to drive both cars. If you're well familiar with your original car, it's not a huge deal to have to familiarize yourself with one more. Buying two used cars at once would suck though.

This way if one breaks down you have a mere project on your hands instead of a headache/nightmare that needs to be urgently attended to.

 

[SW15]

A Honda Accord would be a good choice.

 

[Kotaix]

Toyota or Honda, those are the only real options if you want something that will be reliable long-term.

American and german cars are ticking time bombs of super expensive repairs.

Check out Car Wizard on Youtube for great advice from a guy who knows what the known problems are with brands/models.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Toyota or Honda, those are the only real options if you want something that will be reliable long-term.

American and german cars are ticking time bombs of super expensive repairs.

Check out Car Wizard on Youtube for great advice from a guy who knows what the known problems are with brands/models.

Car Wizard, Scanner Danner, Scotty Kilmer, Eric the Car Guy, and ChrisFix are all good. DonutMedia is obnoxious but has good info. The amateur guys suck lol.