I'm going to buy my first car

[Zech Marquis]

My New Year's resolution can be boiled down to one word: mobility! So after I get my MacBook Pro, I'm saving up for my first car :bounce: i have set a limit of no more than 20,000, so I'm looking at several car models: the 2004 Toyota Camry, 2004 Nissan Altima, or a curret year Honda Civic sedan :-) my credit is good, and I want to make a $2000 down payment (maybe 2500) around June.. Silver or Black :-D This way my insurance and car tax won;t be too bad, and the gas milage should be very good on all 3. Anyone here owns an Altima or Camry?

[Hugin]

1. I have a co-worker who swears by Toyotas...

I once had a Toyota PU. Good truck.

[Droopy]

2. Buy 'merican ya commie!

Actually, I haul car parts for Honda for a living so I think you should go with the Civic. ;)

[mcscajun]

3. No, but I own a Honda (Accord coupe) and I Love it! Go Honda.

you won't regret it. :)

Nothing wrong with Toyotas, either, but they're priced just a tad higher, and as they're in slightly more demand (at least around here) the salespeople aren't terribly interested in making the sale, so I got better attention at the Honda dealership.

[The Traveler]

4. Toyota, Honda, and certain Chevys

I typically get 200K or more out of a Chevy before problems emerge and 250K-300K out of Toyota. Never owned a Honda but have worked on several owned by friends ... good stuff. I regard Nissan less favorably. Volkswagon is a pain in the ass. Saab ... ugh.

[Droopy]

5. Why do you drive so much?

Work? I currently have a 35 mile commute to my job and I have a 2002 Chevy S-10. It has about 45,000 miles on it now and it would be a real blessing if I got 200,000 out of it because the thing is paid for.

[The Traveler]

6. You can get 200K+ miles out of that S-10

Easy. Buy a grease gun ($25 bucks), a jack and jack stand kit ($50 bucks) and a tube of grease ($5). Every 15K shoot some grease into the fittings. Change trans fluid every 25K. Change oil every 3K (6K if you use synthetic.) 02 sensors will die about every 150K miles ... easy change out. Of course, a lot of people don't enjoy doing this sort of stuff and it might make more sense to get a new car if that is the case.

I do drive a lot ... partly because for some reason of bad karma I keep getting hired at places 30-50 miles from the house. Partly because when I travel I prefer to drive. Partly because I like to drive. But, also, I am 50 ... so I have had more time to drive. My daily driver is a 1991 Camaro RS ... been driving that car for 15 years. (It has become a project car ... I just did an engine swap and am now working on the body.) I had a Toyota in the 80s that had 300K+ on it when the ex wife lost control on black ice and totalled it. Got 9 years of hard service out of that car. One of my ex girlfriends bought a 1991 Honda Civic with 150K+ miles on it. We put $400 and a couple days of work into the car in 1999 and she is still driving it. (I have a lot of friends with old Hondas and Toyotas and they hold up really well.)

Happy trails.

:hi:

[Zech Marquis]

7. add in the 2007 Camry

another real nice model :-)

[Kutjara]

8. The Civic has a 5 star NCAP rating, so if safety is your thing...

...go with the Civic. I was going to buy one, but my dealer had a great deal on the '06 model Accord, so I got that instead. The Civic is a great car and holds it's value very well.

[catmandu57]

9. Get a Subie

They make a nice little license snatcher, WRX I believe is the model, they last forever, I sold my 1984 earlier this year, it had well over 300k on it.