[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

There is a relatively low-miles Impreza in Troy. Check it out.

http://www.suburbancollectiontroymot...96f99440a5.htm

I am looking at the same car for my wife but it's slightly over budget.

note to Mods : please merge with above post if needed.

15k USD for a 4-5 year old Impreza is a bit rich, don't you think? Especially also considering that car got a full redesign in 2017 model year. I maybe totally wrong with judging the resale value of the car, but just feels high on first glance.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

15k USD for a 4-5 year old Impreza is a bit rich, don't you think? Especially also considering that car got a full redesign in 2017 model year. I maybe totally wrong with judging the resale value of the car, but just feels high on first glance.

Indeed. It does seem a bit high but then, on checking with some locals, I'm told Subaru's do retain good value out here. Either ways I have no intention of buying this anymore as it goes out of budget if after considering low-balling efforts.

Now set my eyes on a few low-mile CPO Ford Focus's.

Low-miler : My definition of low-miler is a car with 12k or lesser miles per year.
how do you guys see?

Interestingly,Ford Fusions, I'm told, are favorites to the Insurance folks and attracts lesser rate. Lower insurance = lower Opex since car pays back but insurance money doesn't.

Michigan Dwellers- can you confirm?

[m.shekhar]

Originally Posted by theMAG

All I can suggest is that considering you are in the world's largest automotive market, you would do yourself a favor by keeping an open mind and embracing diverse brands/models this country has to offer and possibly avoid fixation on just a limited set of brands that our demographic might be aware of while starting life in the US.

Thank you for your sharing your views theMAG. I am in no way fixating on brands 'our demographic' is aware of. I just listed cars I liked due to various factors and some which frequently show up in my searches for my price range and requirements.

And the reason I posted this...

I would love to hear what you guys think and also if there are any good options I am missing out on.

...was only to make sure I'm not missing out on any good vehicles on brands like Acura, Infiniti, Lincoln, Dodge and the many others which I may not have thought of.

As for embracing diverse brands and models, the points I have mentioned below each group are based on my personal experiences with the brands. For example, I have had two different Ford cars fail on me in the past month. You can't expect me to have an open mind about them now, can you?

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Absolutely. You probably can just take a trip up to Carmax to see the most eclectic mix of cars - just tell them you need AWD cars under 15k or so and they can show you tons of options - beyond what you even originally considered. Perhaps you might like something else that you did not think of originally - I can think that a Buick or an Acura also have AWD sedans (apart from luxury brands).

The nearest CarMax is 121 miles away and before making a visit to a CarMax or to any dealer, I just want to make sure I have at least a few models and the kind of spec I want them in mind. I have a tendency to be overwhelmed when presented with too many choices you see.

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

There is a relatively low-miles Impreza in Troy. Check it out.

Looks interesting but at that price there are some good deals on the Subaru Legacy too, which is a bigger car and with features I'd prefer having (heated rear seats, bigger boot).

[hema4saran]

For the folks out of Dallas area, there is a pre-owned dealership named http://driversselect.com/ . They have some very good collection of pre-owned cars and most of them are priced under KBB value.

Recently my friend acquired a Acura TLX V6 with Technology package for $26k OTD. The car is 2015 model one owner off lease with 13k miles and clean carfax.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Low-miler : My definition of low-miler is a car with 12k or lesser miles per year.
how do you guys see?

Yes 12k miles per year is low miles, but then the year also matters. I usually fix the budget, and then narrow down the year(range) of the specific models.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Yes 12k miles per year is low miles, but then the year also matters. I usually fix the budget, and then narrow down the year(range) of the specific models.

Thanks for confirming.

I agree the year does matter. Hence I am looking for CPO cars 2012 and newer which means cars 60k miles or lower.
I too have a fixed budget of $10k around which I am searching. In the area I live in (Troy, MI), I see a Ford Focus to be the most reasonable priced of all.

eg: 2014 CPO Ford Focus SE with 30k miles is up for $10k. It is pretty much on dot for the lower end of the price band KBB suggests which is $10k-$11.5k.

What are your views on the Ford Focus?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

. Hence I am looking for CPO cars 2012 and newer which means cars 60k miles or lower.
I too have a fixed budget of $10k around which I am searching. In the area I live in (Troy, MI), I see a Ford Focus to be the most reasonable priced of all.

eg: 2014 CPO Ford Focus SE with 30k miles is up for $10k. It is pretty much on dot for the lower end of the price band KBB suggests which is $10k-$11.5k.

What are your views on the Ford Focus?

Really, you can not go wrong with a Ford Focus. 60K is just well run in.
when we lived in Kansas City we bought our Focus from Carmax. It is a while ago, but I think our had 60K on it as well, and we paid 10K.I think it was 4 or 5 years old at the time. (we bought it in 2009)

Focus is a very practical car and they have a very good chassis. So they are fun to drive and handle well. Ours was an automatic and to be very honest, I wasnt that impressed with it, a bit crude as autoboxes go, but you get used to it.

It never gave us any problems, proved utterly reliable and it's a comfortable enough car for big road trips as well as doing the weekly shopping. I bought it for my wife, who was very pleased with it. But I liked it too, and I often drove it. It was pretty good on snowy roads as well as I recall.

We got the the three door version, but in hindsight, a five door version would have been better. It's a bit of a pain getting into the rear seats. Although the 3 door version does look a bit better I think than the 5 door.

Most cars in the USA are fully loaded, so more or less all options ticked on initial order. And Fords are generally specced out well to start with, but still lots of options.

Ours had just about everythign, including leather and heated seats, electrical everything. The one thing that was sadly missing was the heated front window. Which in the winter is really magnificent. Few car manufacturers offer it, not even as an option. But as far as I know you can get it on all Ford models still.

In fact we were so pleased with our Focus, I have ordered a brand spanking new one here in the Netherlands. Again, it will be an automatic, but as far as I know this is a newer box then on our previous Focus. It will be delivered in the next few weeks I hope. Looking forward to be bumming around in a Focus again!

Jeroen

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Really, you can not go wrong with a Ford Focus. 60K is just well run in.


Jeroen

Glad to hear that. Gives me confidence now. Will go and check it out.
I've pretty narrowed down to this car but then, the spec level may not have all the bells and whistles. I'll be happy if it came with Cold Weather package. I'll not miss leather seats but I will miss Auto Climate control and heated seats.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Glad to hear that. Gives me confidence now. Will go and check it out.
I've pretty narrowed down to this car but then, the spec level may not have all the bells and whistles. I'll be happy if it came with Cold Weather package. I'll not miss leather seats but I will miss Auto Climate control and heated seats.

As we have said many times on this thread, you are in Car Heaven. Don't buy if it is not what you want. If those options are important to you, hold on, look around a bit more.

I'm running around in some Kia at the moment waiting for the delivery of my next company car. The Kia doesnt have auto climate control and until you get back into a car that doesnt, you just dont realize how convenient it really is. Can you do without it? Absolutely, but it's just so convenient to have.

There should be loads of Ford Focus's for sale. Dont be too hasty, if you can hold out till something shows up which meets most if not all of your requirements. You are likely to live and drive with whatever you chose for a number of years. So, it's important to get it right and in the USA second hand cars are all over the place. It's a question of keeping a sharp lookout

Just one afterthought; check if the car has a full service history, preferably with a Ford dealer. Also, check what the big ticket items are at 60K miles (it shouldn't put you off, but you might use it to knock down the price more, if say in the next 10K there is an expensive service coming up. (eg. timing belt)


Good luck!

Jeroen

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

As we have said many times on this thread, you are in Car Heaven. Don't buy if it is not what you want. If those options are important to you, hold on, look around a bit more.

I'm running around in some Kia at the moment waiting for the delivery of my next company car. The Kia doesnt have auto climate control and until you get back into a car that doesnt, you just dont realize how convenient it really is. Can you do without it? Absolutely, but it's just so convenient to have.

There should be loads of Ford Focus's for sale. Dont be too hasty, if you can hold out till something shows up which meets most if not all of your requirements. You are likely to live and drive with whatever you chose for a number of years. So, it's important to get it right and in the USA second hand cars are all over the place. It's a question of keeping a sharp lookout

Just one afterthought; check if the car has a full service history, preferably with a Ford dealer. Also, check what the big ticket items are at 60K miles (it shouldn't put you off, but you might use it to knock down the price more, if say in the next 10K there is an expensive service coming up. (eg. timing belt)


Good luck!

Jeroen

The CRV I drove in Finland before moving here had the most important bits (for me)- Auto A/C, heated seats and mirrors. I do miss it as my KIA Sorento I currently drive doesn't have it. I agree with you.

After seeing a lot of R & S Titled cars around, I am going only to a Dealer to buy a CPO which comes with Warranty too.

They do have a Titanium spec car available that comes with all the whistles I want but the car has high miles on it - 77k. Keeping my distance from it for now. Looking at other ford dealers too.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

They do have a Titanium spec car available that comes with all the whistles I want but the car has high miles on it - 77k. Keeping my distance from it for now. Looking at other ford dealers too.

Titanium on the Ford is a very nice level. Our Focus is a Titanium version with a few more toys thrown in. (Advance Technology Pack, adaptive cruise control and Candy Red paint).

If a Ford has been properly maintained I would not think twice about the 77K mileage. The good news, many people don't want those sort of mileage car and it should be reflected in the purchase price. But a modern car can easily do double that number without needing anything other than regular maintenance. (I bought my Jaguar in the USA on Ebay with 93K on it, no problems)

But you need to feel comfortable with it, of course.

Jeroen

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Titanium on the Ford is a very nice level. Our Focus is a Titanium version with a few more toys thrown in. (Advance Technology Pack, adaptive cruise control and Candy Red paint).

If a Ford has been properly maintained I would not think twice about the 77K mileage. The good news, many people don't want those sort of mileage car and it should be reflected in the purchase price. But a modern car can easily do double that number without needing anything other than regular maintenance. (I bought my Jaguar in the USA on Ebay with 93K on it, no problems)

But you need to feel comfortable with it, of course.

Jeroen

+1. My friend bought a 2012 Fusion with 85k miles on the odo for around $7k couple of years back. The car was mostly trouble free and drives very good. But he got an issue with alternator which needs to be replaced. The dealership quoted around $1300 for replacing it. He got it done at a local garage for around $400. He sourced the part from a scrapyard.

The build quality of Ford cars are very good compared to the Japs and Koreans. They are built like a tank.

[maddy42]

My cars back from the dealership. Looks like the previous installer of the sunroof didn't provide drains and this led to change in wiring being done on this visit. Is a drain not a necessity? Anyways currently drying up the interiors of the car using a commercial fan used by cleaning crews. Do you have any other suggestion to dry the carpets ?

Maddy

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Thanks for confirming.

I agree the year does matter. Hence I am looking for CPO cars 2012 and newer which means cars 60k miles or lower.
I too have a fixed budget of $10k around which I am searching. In the area I live in (Troy, MI), I see a Ford Focus to be the most reasonable priced of all.

eg: 2014 CPO Ford Focus SE with 30k miles is up for $10k. It is pretty much on dot for the lower end of the price band KBB suggests which is $10k-$11.5k.

What are your views on the Ford Focus?

Focus is a decent car, and very practical assuming its your 2nd car(right?).

Plus service can be done at a local shop after the CPO period is over.

[mohit]

Since we are discussing the Focus, I should chime in. After owning Japanese cars for quite some time, I just replaced my ageing Civic with a Ford Focus Electric. The trim level is not specified but is equivalent to Titanium.

Things I like:
- Decent driving dynamics. Chassis is good and is not floaty like a Toyota.
- Equipment level. Comes with quite a few goodies and the Sync system is intuitive enough to use.
- Build quality. The doors seem much heavier than the Civic it replaced.
- Mid level grunt. This is a electric only thing but even though the motor is not super powerful (140 something HP), the instant torque is a joy to use when passing or merging.

Things I don't like
- Space. Somehow seems smaller than the Civic.
- Build Quality (Interior) - Some parts like the area around the sun glass holder seem very fragile.
- Rear visibility. Mine is a hatchback and the rear visibility is not that great.