What is the best car you can get for 20k?

[latino158]

I'm looking for something not old, relatively 2010+, low miles, no more than 40,000.

I'm looking for something decent for a young person, with a decent interior and good reliability. What car would you get if you were given 20k to spend only on a car.

I'm guessing you could always get an older more luxurious/sport car, but problem is it will come with high miles, hard driven, and higher maintenance costs, fuk that, i want something that can last me for many years

 

[Vivacity]

Toyota Corolla
Honda Civic
Nissan Sentra

Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Nissan Altima

Used or new, Japanese cars are the best - low cost, low maintenance, longevity, high reliability, da da da.

 

[Tictac]

I'm looking for something not old, relatively 2010+, low miles, no more than 40,000.

I'm looking for something decent for a young person, with a decent interior and good reliability. What car would you get if you were given 20k to spend only on a car.

I'm guessing you could always get an older more luxurious/sport car, but problem is it will come with high miles, hard driven, and higher maintenance costs, fuk that, i want something that can last me for many years

For you? Get a 2010 Trollmobile

 

[Billtx49]

Look at a new Mazda 3 sport model without sunroof. About 22,700 msrp and less, but can get it lower of course…
If I remember correctly, think they are rated model wise at #2 or 3 behind pricier first place Honda Civic.
Buy used and you buy other people's problems…

 

[raider87]

Go to a car forum bro.

 

[70th Win]

Get a Honda Accord or Civic. My biggest regret in life (no exaggeration) is trading my old one for a newer American car. Hondas run great, and repairs are cheap. They also hold their value for years.

If you're wondering about how they'll affect your game I think they're pretty neutral, which makes them an all around safe bet.

 

[bigneil]

I paid $25K exactly for a Hyundai Veloster Turbo with every option. Given that I drove an M3 for 18 years prior, it holds it's own. Front wheel drive is never as good as rear wheel drive but other than that, $300 a month can't be beat. The electronics and nanny state features are enough to make me want to attack an Asian with a crow bar, but other than that, it's never needed to go to the shop. The M3 cost $900 a month average for the whole time and was in the shop every 60 days.

 

[El Payaso]

Get a 2014 or 2015 Mazda 6. Excellent car and one of the best fuel efficiencies in its class. The handling is great and the engine has quite a lot of pickup and go.

 

[El Payaso]

You can easily find a 2007ish Benz C Class for $20k.

Terrible choice. The maintenance, gas, insurance, repairs etc on it would be too much. Not to mention the high mileage.

 

[Von]

Ford Fusion.... work and look wonders 2014-2015

 

[El Suave]

Get an Audi A8 2006 or so. Great cars and a lot of luxury. If you get yourself the cable (about $200) to read the codes and program it, and learn to work on it rather then the dealer, it's an excellent car.

 

[Dhoulmagus]

I got a loaded sentra for 20k

 

[wifehunter]

Gen 3 toyota prius.

50 mpg

 

[Bible_Belt]

I've never had a car payment, and I never will. There are plenty of decent vehicles out there that can be bought for $2-3k cash.

 

[yuppee]

3k is a lot, actually, to a private party, I can do a ton of repairs for 3k and still have only 1/4 as much money tied up in the car. if you are paying interest on a car loan, that costs, and if you get it on payments, they force you to have full coverage insurance for the life of the loan, which can easily run 3k per year, 4k if you pay by the month. to hell with that noise

 

[yuppee]

hmm. pay 3k to a private party,, cash, for a used Honda and buy a nice, used motorcycle for 3k more, and use the bike to get the chicks. It really does work, in nice weather, at least.

 

[Bible_Belt]

The "we finance anybody" car lot near me puts remote kill switches in all their cars. As soon as you miss a payment, your car stops running until you pay.

 

[yuppee]

I"d never buy from a dealer unless I was using the loan to build my credit.

 

[zinc4]

I'm looking for something not old, relatively 2010+, low miles, no more than 40,000.

I'm looking for something decent for a young person, with a decent interior and good reliability. What car would you get if you were given 20k to spend only on a car.

I'm guessing you could always get an older more luxurious/sport car, but problem is it will come with high miles, hard driven, and higher maintenance costs, fuk that, i want something that can last me for many years

Something you can immediately flip for 25k.

 

[JRT123]

i want something that can last me for many years

What people fail to realise is that cars built over the past 15 years or so just do not last like old cars do. No car you buy now will still run well or look good in 20-25 years.

As a Brit, I don't really understand the US obsession with Jap cars - I know it's all down to individual taste but a Honda Civic for example looks boring to me.

You want something interesting, something that sets you apart from the crowd of boring Jap and American cars. Always buy German when you can afford it - and at $20000 you can definitely afford it.

What you haven't taken into account is that as well as running costs, you have the depreciation costs of a car. Something like a Civic or a Mazda is going to be worth absolutely nothing in 10 years. That's possibly $20000 down the toilet.

Absolutely nothing in the world beats an 80s/90s era Mercedes-Benz. I suppose that they are probably rarer in the US but over here in Europe there is a reason why you see them everywhere, they last... and last... and last. They require little maintenance and servicing is extremely cheap as there are no fancy computers which can go wrong like on new cars.

My friend has just bought a 1990 Mercedes 190E which has 208,000 miles on the clock. It literally looks as though it's come straight out the factory (and bear in mind that this has been on wet, salted British roads all its life which in 99% of other cars would cause major rust). My family also has a 190E 2.5-16v and a 280TE station wagon with 155,000 miles and 180,000 miles on the clocks respectively. They still drive like they're new.

Depending on the size of car you would like, I'd recommend a Mercedes 190E (compact saloon) or a Mercedes W124 300E (saloon). If you want a racier look, you could go for a Mercedes 190E 2.3-16v or the 2.5-16v (a later variant) which were the competitors to the BMW M3 at the time and have around 200bhp.

In very good condition and low mileage (anything up to around 170,000 would be acceptable) you could expect one of these to last you as an every day car for at least another 15 years. They are also very cheap so you don't have to spend all of your money and will also certainly go up in value.