Hey guys,
Sorry for the late reply. Spent the last two weeks looking around for a car.
Given the economy, I have no hopes for a high resale value though I would like to have one with high resale.
GTO: While a lease seems like a good idea, it gives me very limited options to play around with as well as many restrictions. Also, since I am here only for 2.5 years, I couldn't find anything that was worth it new and am hence looking for a pre-owned car.
Some options I looked at and considered:
2007 Audi A4
2006 BMW 3 Series
2006 Nissan Altima SE-R
2007/8 Toyota Camry
2008 Honda Accord
I had (and still have) my heart set on a used Nissan Altima SE-R with the 3.5 V6 and 260 BHP and even paid a non binding deposit on her (who wouldn't given the insane power, 18inch alloys, Bose speakers etc.)
However, I had a change of mind and have reduced my budget primarily because:
- It's not my money. I would appreciate a more expensive car more if I bought it with my own money and suppose I bought a more expensive car now, I wouldn't want to downgrade to another car with my own money because it simply wouldn't feel as nice and wouldn't give me the level of satisfaction that one would like.
- Some unforseen expenditures and high insurance rates.
- I am a college student, don't want something too flashy or something here. I feel weird driving the Merc in Mumbai where they are really common. I would rather buy a car which fits in with the surroundings rather than a really flashy car.
My new budget is around $7000 and I have shortlisted the following:
- 2004 Lancer ES (similar to the Cedia Select minus alloys) done 68,000 miles with a clean Carfax for $5500 (with a plan of alloys, new ICE and probably some performance mods). 2 Owners.
- 2000 Honda Civic LX done 73,000 miles with a clean Carfax for $6,000. Again 2 owners.
- 1999 Toyota Camry V6 done 80,000 miles. Still to see the carfax on her for around $7000.
- 1999 Honda Accord done 80,000 miles, 3 owners, clean Carfax.
Out of these, I am leaning towards the Civic and the Lancer as they have the emotional feeling I am looking for and want in a car. We already had a similar Accord and I want to experience new cars, not drive the same ones again (even though I miss the Accord a lot).
I would prefer the Civic as I have a really good feeling about that car, though the Lancer seems like a better deal with more features, newer body, more powerful engine etc.
Please advise me guys on the:
Reliability of these four cars
Performance
The ideal price to pay for them
Things to look out for
Your choice
Thanks a lot guys!
Pics have been taken from
Buy Cars Online, New & Used Car Search, Auto Classifieds and are actual pics of the car in question.