I am car shopping, unfortunately. My car is dying quickly and we are still paying on my husbands. I don't want to buy a crappy car that is going to die in 2 years because I don't see the point in paying for that and I don't want to do this again so soon!!
I drive 40 miles to and from work each day and I have a 1 year old. We are also hoping to have another baby in the next year. I need a car that gets good gas mileage and I am currently driving a car that gets 32-34mpg highway. So when I am looking at cars that claim to only get 29mpg but have slightly more room than my Mit. Lancer I get confused. I also can only afford $13,500 after tax, title and license and that definately limits me to mostly used cars. I really don't want to drive another stick, but I will if it will get me in a good car I suppose.
Any other suggestions??
Having regret when it comes to spending that kind of money is awful, but so is having no A/C in my car in St. Louis in the summer!!!!! HELP!!!
So I searched forever and I finally found a Ford Fusion in my price range. It was an 08 with 29K miles on it, with all the bells an whistles!!
I was so excited and it just took a lot of test drives and focus.
Stay away from Jeep products! We have had several and they have all had problems. I had a Cherokke, Wrangler, CJ, and several others. They are not a low maintenance car. They are not long lasting. We have learned the hard way and no longer buy Jeep products.
Out of the three you mentioned, I would definitely go for the Nissan Altima. You are far more likely to get poorer gas mileage and have more repairs with the Jeep or Chevy. Have you looked at older Hondas and Toyotas? They run exceptionally even with rather high mileage and get fantastic gas mileage! You could probably find a used Camry or Accord that would be roomy enough and long-lasting.
can you run an online search and compare the vehicles side by side? That is how I buy my cameras. I think the Jeep is not going to give as good mileage as the sedan, however I didn't research and may be wrong. If you can get a Nissan within your price range, I would go for that first, just for the sake of quality. Then if you are interested in keeping the car, I would next go to the Ford. My daughter just got rid of an 04 with 120K miles and there was nothing wrong with it. If you will be getting an older car and keeping it for a while, check the interior of the Chevy vs the Ford. Chevy interiors used to made of a hard plastic that would break. Check to see if this is still so. You can also contact the company or a dealer finance office and ask if you are eligible to purchase an after market warranty or do a search to see what types powertrain warranty each vehicle makes. Each year the maker and model can come out with something different. While people often believe a lot of the items are not covered, it is worth it if an engine or transmission were to go out.
Let me say i have a 2006 Nissan Altima 4dr and loveeeeee it... No problems out of it we just keep the oil change in it. My husband drives it 60 miles to work and 60 miles home everyday monday - friday and my car has 250,000 miles on it and runs good as new. All we do is make sure the oil is changed every 6 months or when it needs it and it runs perfectly good. It also gets very good mpg we get about 30mpg. and it cost us about 35-40 dollars to fill it up. Very roomy as well. by far my fav. car.
right now i have a jeep, but id rather have an ultima or maxima, luckily jeeps have one of the best resale values that there is
I would look at Honda as well.
The Civics are great - ours has well over 150k miles on it and still runs like the day we bought it in 2001. My husband gets 35 mpg and commutes an hour a day each way -- sometimes in very heavy traffic.
Good luck!
LBC
Knowing your price range and that anyone of them will have to be new, I agree, you need to go with the Nissan. It gets better gas mileage than both the Jeep and Chevy and when you look at maintenance/breakdowns, Nissan has the least issues. I didn't do the research for your current request but I do know Nissan holds up better and longer than the others and should have enough room for 2 kids. You should double check the rear seat room to make sure there is enough for an infant carrier. If you are shor or average it might not be an issue. We had a Matrix and I'm 5'8" and hubby is 6'. The Matrix had to go, the passenger was kissing the windshield due to our height and the room needed for the infant carrier. Put on in each and decide from there. Good luck with your purchase.
I have a four door Focus and LOOOOVE it! It's five years old and looks/runs like new. We bought it two years before I got pregnant and works great with the carseat.
My husband has a Malibu and drives a LOT and loves his car too.
I like mine better because it's sportier and stick. I like driving sticks for some reason...better mileage?
The Malibu does NOT have a lot of leg room in the back. It may be hard to get 2 car seats in there. Also, I would definitely get a car that has 4 doors. Putting a child into the back seat of a 2 door car can be done but is NOT easy and NOT quick.
I was on vacation last month and got to drive a Jeep Wrangler 4 door. That is an awesome SUV. Don't know what the mileage is.
If you are able to, I suggest renting each type of car for at least 2 days.
M.
I don't know much about cars so I asked my husband. Hes knows a lot about cars. He said that if you want a car that last long, roomy and get good gas mileage....go for the Altima or the Focus. We have family members on both sides that have Chevy Malibus and they have had nothing but problems. My friend owns a focus and she loves it. We recently bought a brand new 2010 Subaru Legacy and we love it!
Good Luck..!
Of those options, the Altima is a good car. Have you looked at the Scion XB? I had to upgrade to a minivan when I had my 4th kiddo but I LOVED my 2006 xb. I got 36-38mpg, the seats were so easy to clean and the shape of the car made it very easy to get the kids in and out of car seats without killing my back. My xb also had these awesome blue lights under the dash and front seats that came standard. I wasn't very impressed with the idea of the lights in the showroom but the first night I drove the car and my 2 yr old dropped her bottle, those lights were PRICELESS...
