Help choose my new car

[blueflame]

Check with the wife...

"Does it go? Does it go? Does it go with my hair?"

[1337]

If I were you, the TDI would be top on my list. A few months ago, people were paying huge amounts for TDIs. My mom drives an '06 Jetta TDI with nearly 100k miles on it, and friends of ours offered us over $20k for it last summer.

With both gasoline and diesel prices hovering around $2, there is no great demand for TDIs, so you could probably grab one for a good price.

I'd also take a look at the Mazda Protege5. Proteges depreciate significantly faster than the Matrix/Corolla/Vibe, so you can get more car for your money. I hate to play Protege fanboy, but I got mine really cheap, and I couldn't be happier.

[malibuguy]

look at dodge calibers...the base model 1.8 can get a 5-speed...quirky looks, decent handling, decent room...enough to get by for most people & my mothers 2.0 CVT SXT i was able to get decent mileage out of it when i was driving it everyday while i was "in between" cars, my driving style would constantly change tho, but i averaged bottom 30s, with a peak of 34mpg with the a/c on



also look into '93-'97 corolla wagons...i love them *******s, i want one to shove a silvertop 4age into...but thats just me, the 4afe/7afe are good motors & get upper 30s beating it with a manual...my best friend had a '95 sedan 4afe, would get 38mpg without trying to save gas, i'm sure upper 40s are easy at least

[AndrewJ]

Originally Posted by 1337

I'd also take a look at the Mazda Protege5. Proteges depreciate significantly faster than the Matrix/Corolla/Vibe, so you can get more car for your money. I hate to play Protege fanboy, but I got mine really cheap, and I couldn't be happier.

I totally forgot about the Protege5! I always liked the looks of those, and Consumer reports had a report a year or two back saying that the 05(?) was one of the best values in a used car.

I'll have to see what I can find...

Found a $2500 BMW wagon on CL, looked tempting till I looked up the EPA #'s on Fuel Economy and it's showing 15 city/20 highway

[MetroMPG]

That's funny - I also completely forgot about the Protege5. So much so that I even went to check if it was ever sold in Canada (it was).

I don't remember whether it was available with the smaller engine though. I seem to recall the sedan had a couple of engine sizes. 1.8 and 2.0? 1.6 and 1.8? Don't remember.

[Daox]

I looked into the Protoge5 when I was looking at cars (and ended up with the Matrix). It only comes in a 2.0L, and the EPA rating is a fair amount lower than the Matrix at 28 combined vs 24 combined in the Protege. That, plus the Matrix being a slightly larger vehicle was enough to turn me off. I can't deny I'm a bit biased toward Toyota though.

What about a VW Golf TDI? To small?