Quote:
Originally Posted by rev_hard However, as some suggested earlier, you'd be better off with a "lower" mileage civic or corolla or altima.
I understand that the lure of a "bigger" car at such prices is there. But resist the temptation and you'll be happy in the long run. |
Well I started looking specifically for low mileage Altima/Civic/corolla. Didn't find any good deals. I am yet to find a good (low mileage, automatic transmission, 4Dr) used civic up for sale. Here in Detroit good used jap cars are really hard to come by. Try a quick search on detroit metro craigslist. you'll get tonnes of ford, dodge, chevy, chrysler etc. The jap cars if at all you find would be screwed up, bad carfax, rebuilt titles, accidents, odometer tampering etc. Also going for test drive after office hours is a pain when u don't have your own ride.
The next option is sites like autotrader.com where you don't find individual sellers that often. Dealers charge b*mb for a decent car. I tried Altima/Civic/Mitsubishi Galant/Mazda 626/Protege/Corolla. Ummm Corolla...OK I took a test drive of a decent corolla only to find out it had a serious suspension problem. The mechanic gave a rough estimate of $700 to fix that up. + $400 for new rubber.
I have my family of 3 members including my 1 yr old daughter with me. So mobility is becoming a critical issue. None of my friends can always occupy all of us in their cars (most of them are married.) With the temperature consistently below 0 C its difficult to visit even a grocery shop across the road. Also keeping my daughter's health and her possible emergency requirements I need a car and I need it right now. Hence I decided to relax some of my car selection criteria. Thats when I found out that I can get a good choice of vehicles around 100-120K.
As mentioned in my earlier post I can't extend by budget beyond 5k. There are other things in life to take care of.
Regarding the low mileage thingy...my 2 cents.
The first car I test drove was a 1999 Honda Accord EX, Single owner, 78K, Clean carfax, excellent exterior, no rust... doesn't that sound like the "Strong" Indian batting lineup? Well it does but only on paper... During my test drive I figured out the single owner was a chain smoker, he had screwed up the interior of the car. torn seats. broken/cracked switches. dark yellow stains on seats. Power windows not working...rust in the engine bay and what not. Add to it 0 service records. Dhakka-start sun roof.
So it happens even with the low mileage cars. Low mileage need not mean a maintenance free car. Used car is a jackpot at the end of the day. Like every used car buyer I just hope I'll get the best "like 2008" car
![Clapping](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Clapping.gif)
and it'll serve me for a year's time at least.
I don't know if the reason to opt for a >100k accord/camry is a lure of bigger cars or not, but i certainly know that my needs for own transportation far outweigh all other factors like low mileage, high resale value etc. and these are the only decent used cars that are available "right now".
Lets see what Firestone guys have to say about the accord and most probably that car would bring down curtains on my used car search in US for now.