New Car

[star_deceiver]

If you have the space, time, tools, patience, and knack... buy a used car. You can fix it up and drive on the cheap. What to buy.... there are many forums out there to help you decide what maintenance is like on an older car.

Or, if you're like me, buy a new car. My Vibe is the second new car I've ever bought. I bought new because, although I'm good at working on cars and have the knack (Millwright by trade), I don't have any space to work on them and keeping two sets of tools (work and home) is impractical and expensive. I also don't really want to be spending lots of time under the hood tinkering and maintaining any more then I have to. I do all the maintenance on my Vibe and KLR, so far that's mainly oil changes!

My first new car was an '05 Sunfire... drove it into the ground... got about $3000 out of it when I got rid of it. Got the Vibe new in '09 and the KLR a few months ago (new as well). Paid $16xxx cdn after taxes for the Vibe, it has zero options and is the base model... not even A/C! It's paid off, and (if I try) gets 38+mpg on a good day... but usually 33mpg and I'm not easy on the throttle...

There are some serious questions about what you're looking for in a car that you must ask yourself: What do you like? What do you want out of said car? Will you be hauling around a lot of stuff or people? Are you maintenance inclined and do you have the space/tools to do work? (adjusting valves in -20 isn't fun...) What's your budget including college and basic living expenses... can you afford a monthly payment? Do you care what your friends will think of you if you roll up in something that doesn't fit in as "cool" or "macho"?

Do your reaserch on vehicles... scan the various car forums and specs on said cars once you narrow your search.

Oh yeah, one more thing... Volkswagens are a NIGHTMARE to work on!!!

[GRU]

i would agree on buying a fiesta. if you have more money get a focus

[Specaled]

Thank you to everyone who has posted and I will keep all of this in mind.

[ecomodded]

A used jetta/golf tdi
You will fall in love with its fuel mileage first ,its reliability later.
If you have the coin buy new, if you are financing the whole thing, buy used, you can get Bank or dealership financing on decent used cars.

[wdb]

2007/2008 Honda Fit. Cheap to run, reliable, great gas mileage, excellent resale value. And, fun to drive!

[YukonCornelius]

Can you fix cars? I always enjoyed wrenching in my free time. I started college with a 95 accord with 200,000 miles and graduated 5 years later with 340,000 miles. Never on a tow truck. I still have this car, its at 370,ish. It has a scary amount of original parts on it but I would drive it to California right now. I believe the 94-97 2.2 sohc accords are thee best cheap used car on the market.

[ethan]

I think a used car is better if it's only for college trips.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I like the new Nissan Versa sedan. The X-Tronic CVT is better than the average slushbox or those AMT's such as the DCT used in the Ford Fiesta.