I think I may have found my car...

[Stephanie Brim]

Now all I'm trying to do is to find a job to finance the down payment.

Sitting at a very small dealership in town is a shiny yellow 2003 Chevy Cavalier. I'm going to go check it out tomorrow, but it's pretty much everything I wanted in a car. It's not red (long story, not related to insurance), it would get good gas milage, it's sporty without being a sports car (it's a 4 door), it's yellow (not a real need, but I really wanted a yellow car), and it's new enough that I wouldn't have to worry as much about it breaking down on me. The only real problem is the price: we're talking $6200, more than I wanted to pay for my first car.

So yeah, applying for jobs wherever I can find a cooking job in town tomorrow.

[akptc]

I've always wanted a yellow car....
Best of luck with the purchase.

[Stephanie Brim]

If I can't get this one, there's another at the dealer that I'm going to look at. It's much older, though, and only about $2500. And green. Dark green. But it's a car.

[tedwhite]

No, Stephanie, a thousand times no. A Cavalier is basically a crappy little ho-hum car, and the asking price is way over the top.

Get consumer's reports and read up on the car. You could get a Mazda or a Toyota and have a smoother running, more reliable car with probably better gas mileage.

Research the Volkswagen Jetta or Golf with the TDI diesel low emissions engine. They will get - with manual tranny - 45-49 mpg.

Bottom line: There are better cars than the outdated Cavalier.

Ted

[Stephanie Brim]

My problem is budget. I have a really low one. My priority is getting something that will give me transportation to and from work plus something that will be able to do 70-80 mile jaunts to and from Des Moines without costing me tons of money yet something that's still cheap enough for a soon-to-be college student. If I had an unlimited budget or good credit I'd probably just lease a new Rabbit, but I don't...and therefore my options are limited.

[tomtodeath]

does it have parallax correction?

[wlewisiii]

Look for any low cost Toyota over the Cavilier. Late 90's Camrys, for example, run around $4k. As Ted says, that price is too high for a car that isn't very good. There are many reasons why Toyota is the number 2 car maker (and will soon beat GM too) in the world.

One other possibility is an older Saturn SL2 with a manual transmission. $1.5k & up with 25+ mpg average.

Good luck!

William

[tomtodeath]

id say go for the rabbit, new or old. i drive a 90 gti and i love it. also, honda civics last forever, my last car was an 88 civic that i paid 800 bucks for, and kept for three years. i gave it to a friend and it still ran good at 400,000 miles!

[akptc]

Originally Posted by Stephanie Brim

... And green. Dark green. But it's a car.

Dark green is the "invisible" color on the road, something to consider.

I agree with the Toyota / Japanese car advice. Another one could be a 1998 or so Nissan Altima. Cheap and reliable.

[flashover]

I will just through in the safety thing I have seen the way a four door Cavalier stands Up to side impacts. It's my advise to go with a Toyota or Mazada or VW. I have had to clean up the aftermath and it's not pretty. (My other Hobby is a Company Officer on the Fire Department) PS I do like yellow though my 64 Impala is bright yellow

[James Brannan]

Originally Posted by flashover

I will just through in the safety thing I have seen the way a four door Cavalier stands Up to side impacts. It's my advise to go with a Toyota or Mazada or VW. I have had to clean up the aftermath and it's not pretty. (My other Hobby is a Company Officer on the Fire Department) PS I do like yellow though my 64 Impala is bright yellow

I agree. It's not so much the fact that the Cavalier she's looking at is overpriced. Not so much that it's really not a safe car. Not so much that it's unreliable. The thing that would bother me is the fact she's on a limited budget and can get a much more reliable car for much less money. One good thing about most of the imports listed is that they are so common among young kids for modding that harness bars (or home installed roll bars) are readily available. A great platform for a camera mount.

I like yellow also. My 69 Eldorado is a sort of light yellow though. I'm thinking I'll go with a yellow leather for my Kiev later on so it matches the car.

[Stephanie Brim]

I may look for a Rabbit. The other problem is that there aren't many in IOWA. I'm going to have to go to either Minnesota or Nebraska (Hi, jlw!) to find a stupid car, especially if I want to go Volkswagon. Don't know why there aren't that many of them in Iowa.

Oh, and the other problem: I don't know how to drive a stick. I don't know anyone who can really teach me how to drive a stick. I pretty much have to have an automatic.

[varjag]

Originally Posted by Stephanie Brim

Oh, and the other problem: I don't know how to drive a stick. I don't know anyone who can really teach me how to drive a stick. I pretty much have to have an automatic.

Steph, it's not that hard. I can use manual, and I don't even have driver license

[Trius]

If there aren't a lot of VWs in Iowa, especially in your town, then don't get one! First of all, local servicing will be difficult. Even with a reliable car, things can happen and local service might be impossible. Second, local servicing would likely be expensive and of questionable quality.

I agree about the Cavalier, and about Toyota, Honda & Nissan. Among other Nissans, I had a '97 Sentra that I bought used, drove to 109K miles with very little problem, and is still running strong after I sold it. My wife has had two Civics and an Accord. (Note: 2000 was not a good year for an Accord V6. I know you wouldn't be shopping for a V6, Steph ... just a note to others who are reading this thread.) The Civics are great if plain and a bit boring, and are abundant.

I've friends who had Cavaliers and all had to get brake jobs very, very frequently, as well as had other issues. All-in-all, not a great value as they age unless you do your own maintenance.

[Richard Black]

As a previous owner of Nissans, Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, Hyundai, as well as weird 3 cyclinder Saab, I think you should find the major Japanese used cars a good bargain. Probably higher that Chevy or Ford, but in the long run a better deal. I loved my Subaru Loyale, 160k before I gave it away. The Subaru is not hard to find old time mechanics that can work on them. Good luck

[kmack]

Poor Steph, so many 'uncles' with good advice.

Get a motorcycle, I would suggest a used Royal Enfield "Military' add a sidecar for stability.
(Just kidding, not practical in the winter.).

[Nick R.]

Steph, If you're going to be taking out a loan to buy this car then you might want to consider the cheapest lease you can find. Loans on used cars carry pretty high interest rates. Dealers usually can put together great loan packages on new cars but it seems that you are priced out of even the cheapest. Otherwise, if your pocketbooks really tight check out used minivans. Ugly, but really cheap used. They are a lot more useful than any compact. You just have to get over the looks thing. One of the good things about being married is that I get to use my wife's minivan whenever I need it.

[SolaresLarrave]

Stephanie,

As a student, look for a car that takes you places, it's easy to repair locally, and will withstand a lateral hit. The Cavalier may be easy to repair, but it ain't cheap (not this one), and it's certainly a risk to own (one of the most unreliable cars manufactured by GM).

BTW, so is the Dodge Neon. In fact, it's discontinued for a reason.

Good luck with your search!

[James Brannan]

Originally Posted by SolaresLarrave

Stephanie,

As a student, look for a car that takes you places, it's easy to repair locally, and will withstand a lateral hit. The Cavalier may be easy to repair, but it ain't cheap (not this one), and it's certainly a risk to own (one of the most unreliable cars manufactured by GM).

BTW, so is the Dodge Neon. In fact, it's discontinued for a reason.

Good luck with your search!

In my area the Neon has to be the number one abandoned car. People take them to local mechanics for repairs and then decide it isn't worth the cost. Most end up as errand cars. My ex father in law has two of them right now. Not very reliable but fun to drive (IMO). Neon is a good car to own if you like working on things.

[ClaremontPhoto]

Get something with four wheels that gets you to work and back. Yellow sounds good.

[DrSquirley]

Originally Posted by tedwhite

No, Stephanie, a thousand times no. A Cavalier is basically a crappy little ho-hum car, and the asking price is way over the top.

Get consumer's reports and read up on the car. You could get a Mazda or a Toyota and have a smoother running, more reliable car with probably better gas mileage.

Research the Volkswagen Jetta or Golf with the TDI diesel low emissions engine. They will get - with manual tranny - 45-49 mpg.

Bottom line: There are better cars than the outdated Cavalier.

Ted

^^ Exactly

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by tedwhite

Research the Volkswagen Jetta or Golf with the TDI diesel low emissions engine. They will get - with manual tranny - 45-49 mpg.

Bottom line: There are better cars than the outdated Cavalier.

Now, where's the smiley with the wagging finger?

But you're right, Ted. I wish I had waited a few more months and had bought a Jetta TDI. I've always admired VWs; that frame is built to protect you like you really matter and are a living human being, not some dummy in some test that is just trying to meet some numbers in a chart. The steering is a whole different ballgame, and handling those curves ... grrrrr.

[tedwhite]

Richard: I thought I was the only guy around who had owned and driven the hell out of 3 cylinder, two-stroke Saabs. A better snow car has yet to be made. But Steph should stay away from the newer Saabs. And, of course, finding one of the older ones would be a career in itself.

I have a motorcycle, and it gets 65mpg. But in Steph's area - Des Moines - it would be useless in winter.

There's a Toyota Tercel in town here driven by an old guy that has 400,000 miles on the odometer. Engine's never been touched. If I were in the market for a Toyota, I'd probably get a later nineties Corolla. Shouldn't cost much.

Ted

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by tedwhite

But Steph should stay away from the newer Saabs. And, of course, finding one of the older ones would be a career in itself.

There are lots of those here in Nova Scandinavia (aka Minnesota), perhaps she should look at the Star Tribune ( http://www.startribune.com/ ) classifieds. If she needs help coming up here/picking it up, etc., I'd be glad to assist.

[JoeFriday]

Originally Posted by tedwhite

Richard: I thought I was the only guy around who had owned and driven the hell out of 3 cylinder, two-stroke Saabs. A better snow car has yet to be made. But Steph should stay away from the newer Saabs. And, of course, finding one of the older ones would be a career in itself.

I beg to differ.. my Audi A4 Quattro will plow through 10 inches of fresh powder without flinching.. we had a snow storm back in February where nearly every one of my coworkers was stranded at the office.. I offered a ride home to a coworker who lived near me.. she said she couldn't get her car to move 6 inches in the parking lot and looked at me like I was crazy for saying I could get her home.. I insisted it was no problem, so we hopped in my car and took off without a single slip.. got her home in 20 minutes.. slowed down only by all the tow trucks pulling at least 20 other cars out of the ditch

of course, it helps to have Nokian snow tires, too