Suggestions for a new car?

perhaps a used (like a 2009) VW Golf. Those get great gas mileage, crash well (safe happens lol), and have a nice sporty look to them.

Check Consumer Reports http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm you can get an online year subscription for not much money and it is the most reliable in my opinion. I think for value and reliability Nissan is fantastic, maybe get a Civic? I am not sure how much cars cost now. Ford seems to be doing much better now, but Japanese still reigns king for practicality for me.

I just got a 2010 mazda 3 and I love it. I got 370 miles on a full tank. The tank is 12 gallons I think.

The car was a little over 16k

your 17 with 15k to spend on a car!?! :S

You can get a great used one for 10K. Send me the rest. :-)

Don’t buy new with your first car.

newer model Honda or Nissan, (I’m a huge Nissan/Nismo fan). I totally agree with @ChazMaz in that I’d look at 2007–2009’s with low miles, and you’ll get an incredible deal.

My daughter loves her 2008 Mazda 3 w. manual shift.

Can’t go wrong with Honda, civics are known for safety but the new accords are really reliable, and pretty sharp too. Stay away from elements…deer are attracted to them and instead of just hitting them they will join you in the front seat. True story.

If you can, find a Certified used car just one model year back because they often come with extensions on the factory warranty and will several thousand dollars less than a new one while often being less than 12mos. out of the factory. You’re young so check with your local insurance and ask which brands are more reasonable for you to look at. Example, Honda’s are great cars but are super high on the theft lists and so insurance is usually crazy. Check out a Scion or Nissan too.

Never consider a new vehicle, unless it has Toyota or Honda on it. everything else is just junk. i bought a brand new Toyota Solara in 2000. best car i have ever owned. 246,000 miles on it and i have only changed the timing belt. everything else is original. 31 mpg is not bad, either. i am now looking for a replacement. Toyota quit making the Solara in 2008. said there was not a demand for two door sports cars in America. Toyota, Honda or nothing. you will be glad you bought one.

If you are looking for a good reliable car you cannot go past Toyota Corollas. Have known many people with them and have not heard one bad complaint over many many years. Had one for ten years (paid one thousand dollars) and the biggest repair I had was a starter motor which I changed myself. Drove that car all over Australia and traded it in for eight hundred dollars, will never beat that record. I recently bought one for my wife and as I had limited time and had to buy one quickly I only looked for Corollas as I know how reliable they are. She has only had it for 6 months but as expected has not missed a beat – highly recommend.

You haven’t mentioned what country you are in. Regardless of where you are, don’t buy anything Korean, or anything made in USA. The Japs build the best small cars. Germans are good too, but parts very expensive. Toyotas are bullet proof, but boring as hell. They also attract people who can’t drive. The makes to consider are Honda (not US made models), Mazda, and Mitsubishi. Others are correct to say avoid new cars- 1 or 2 years old is the way to go. You’ll save heaps of money.

@Harold My experience with German cars, although they drive like no other, they breakdown also. Little things, not like you are going to be in the middle of the highway waiting for a tow, but still annoying. We agree about the Japanese cars, most reliable bar none. My mom has a Hyundai and has not had trouble.

I just heard Alan Mulally speak at a conference, and I have to admit I was impressed enough that I would consider buying a new Ford. I am traditionally a Honda owner.

@JLeslie – My sister-in-law loves her Hyundai Getz, too. The Koreans are improving, but are still not a patch on the Japs for quality. Have never owned a German car, but I LOVE Audis!! Personally, I can’t go past my Australian built Mitsubishi- best car I’ve ever owned.

@Harold I loved my Audi TT, but it did have some stupid malfunction with the window. I have three Porsches right now, two bought in the last 2–4 years brand new, and each had some sort of thing that needed to be repaired. I bought a SAAB new about 3 years ago, problem with a leak where the coolant is contained, and the driver side window malfunctioned.

All of the Japanese cars I have owned, 2 Nissans, 2 Mazda, 1 Honda, 1 acura, have never had one malfunction. I did have a recall on one of my Nissans, although I never had a problem, and of course I just brought it in and the replaced whatever the problem was.

We have owned a few American cars, 2 Corevettes (1 never gave us any trouble at all like our Japanese cars) 1 Dodge Hemi Truck (the only thing that went wrong was a motor burned out in the seat, but otherwise it was a great truck to my surprise, we owned it for over 5 years).

I think the Korean cars have 10 year warranties, so I am thinking they have to be pretty reliable to offer that. My mom has not had any trouble with her car. She has had it for several years.

@Harold I’m in the US.

@wolfhound There’s actually a 2009 Corolla at a nearby dealership that has 34,000 miles on it and its a little under 12k. I plan on test driving it soon. Its definitely the best deal I’ve seen so far.