i was in a reck couple of weeks ago and will be getting little ove $5000 from insurance company. Parents decided to get me a new car. They are willing to speend around $23000 maybe little bit more. Between altima,maxima, honda accord and toyota carmy which would u get.

Btw it will be auto don't know how to drive manual and it must be japanes or german no amerians cars.


is their a feature that u feel a drive must hae in a car. Eather for comfort reason or for safety reasons? Don't want to buy a car and then find out that i should have gotten some safety feature that i didn't get.

Camery's are nice cars, but VERY easy to steal. BTW, most of those are made in the U.S.A.

>Camery's are nice cars, but VERY easy to steal. BTW, most of
>those are made in the U.S.A.

ye i know, i just don't want them to be made by american manufacture companies

>Camery's are nice cars, but VERY easy to steal. BTW, most of
>those are made in the U.S.A.

is it easy to steal even if u have good alarm system like lojack?

I'm love anything Honda so I go with the Accord. Honda has awesome reliability; I'm not so sure about Nissan's reliabilty but Altimas and Maximas are starting to look pretty sweet. Camry's are nice but over priced. But to save your folks some money, a fully loaded Civic Sedan is a great car and quite stylish. Accord's are starting to get quite pricey. Just my two cents.

as for "no American cars", I've owned 3 Hondas (Prelude, Civic, and a Honda Intercepter500) and now I drive a fully loaded Chevy Malibu and it is an awesome car (family sedan) I've actually had less problems than any of the Hondas I've owned and Parts are a lot cheaper if something does go wrong. I had a small bottle of Lock De-icer leak inside my Civic's Glovebox and they wanted 200 beans for a new one, 140 for an ashtray and lighter.

now I drive a fully
>loaded Chevy Malibu and it is an awesome car (family sedan)
>I've actually had less problems than any of the Hondas I've
>owned and Parts are a lot cheaper if something does go
>wrong. I had a small bottle of Lock De-icer leak inside my
>Civic's Glovebox and they wanted 200 beans for a new one,
>140 for an ashtray and lighter.


We used to build the Malibu, and I can tell that they are built with the highest quality. I own a 1997 Mailbu, it was the 97th one built at our Plant (the 97th 1997 )I have not had a bit of trouble with it.
We now build the GMC Envoy and the Chevrolet Trailblazer XLT. We build these vehicles in a plant that underwent a complete refurbishment, making the Oklahoma City plant the most modern vehicle assembly facility in North America.

Alot of people dont realize that most of the japanese and even some german cars are made in America by American workers.

As a member of UAW local 1999 all I can say is BUY AMERICAN ! whether it be Ford,GM ,Chrysler,Honda,Toyota,Mercedes Benz......etc.

BIG BROTHER

Lojack only works in certain areas, I think about 13 very large urban cities. And Lojack is by no means a "good alarm", in fact the alarm portion of it costs extra. Do yourself a favor and buy a decent alarm with a proximity sensor, a starter kill/disable, ignition kill, and if you can find one, a fuel kill. That will stop pretty much anyone.

>Lojack only works in certain areas, I think about 13 very
>large urban cities. And Lojack is by no means a "good
>alarm", in fact the alarm portion of it costs extra. Do
>yourself a favor and buy a decent alarm with a proximity
>sensor, a starter kill/disable, ignition kill, and if you
>can find one, a fuel kill. That will stop pretty much
>anyone.

k thanks, have lojack on my car right now but was not sure if i should put it on a new car or not. Do the manufacture alarm do any jack or should i still install an alarm even if the new car come with one??

That can be quite difficult, considering that a lot of newer cars have certain controls for the alarm system (among other things) wired into other pieces of equipment. For example, on certain Honda Accords (I think late 90's models), removing the factory stereo made it so that you could not roll down the windows or lock the doors, since the control unit for them was built into the stereo piece. Your best bet is to take the car to a reputable local car security/car audio specialist and have them install it. Avoid places like Good Guys, Circuit City, etc., because not only do they sell only average to below average alarms, but they are forced to cut corners all the time. Independant shops are usually much better, or if you have a Car Toys around, go there.

>That can be quite difficult, considering that a lot of newer
>cars have certain controls for the alarm system (among other
>things) wired into other pieces of equipment. For example,
>on certain Honda Accords (I think late 90's models),
>removing the factory stereo made it so that you could not
>roll down the windows or lock the doors, since the control
>unit for them was built into the stereo piece. Your best bet
>is to take the car to a reputable local car security/car
>audio specialist and have them install it. Avoid places like
>Good Guys, Circuit City, etc., because not only do they sell
>only average to below average alarms, but they are forced to
>cut corners all the time. Independant shops are usually much
>better, or if you have a Car Toys around, go there.

thanks for that info, will do that when i get the car.

Kill switches are really good, a kill switch for the fuel pump is even better.

Under Construction

My brother just had to retire his 13 year old Maxima that had close to 100,000 miles on it. The car could have been fixed up for about $700 to $1000 (the transmission died). Since he's graduating from college he decided it wasn't worth putting more money into it. Instead, he bought his new car a little bit early. This was originally my father's car and didn't owe anyone a thing.

The Maxima was wonderful and until recently hardly ever needed any repairs. This is what made my brother look at the Nissan line again. He narrowed down his search to the Maxima and Altima. In the end he decided that he liked the Altima more. It took him a long time to decide between different features on the car. I will have to ask him what his car had on it. I know that it was loaded with a lot of things that he thought were important. Shop around you can get some wonderful deals on the 2003 models now since the 2004 line is already out (at least with the Maxima it is).

Jason is sitting here and says that he recommends the Toyota Corolla or Prius. We have a Corolla that is a '98 and has held up very well. The Prius is Toyota's hybrid car and gets close to 50 mpg in the city. He's been pestering me about getting one of them, but it's not really a family car.

--Beth

thanks everyone responds. I actually drive an altima 95 right now. I am not sure if i would want to get another altima as this one had some problem with electornics. As for the getting something lower class then altima both my parents and I feel that because i am used to cars this class we shoun't go down on class for ex like honda civic even do they are nice cars. Reason i hate americans is because my parents have bad experience with them. They have transportation business and all of their cars are americans mainly ford econoline 150. The newest car we got the transmission went bad on it after only 22000.

Question: How immportant is traction control and skid control especially in southern california when it rains?

The best German car in your price range is the BMW 3 series either two door or four door, 5 on the floor and away you go. No car can match its fun factor and cache.

Guns don't kill people. Husbands who come home early kill people.

>The best German car in your price range is the BMW 3 series
>either two door or four door, 5 on the floor and away you
>go. No car can match its fun factor and cache.

havent looked in to that one will do so. thanks.

In 1987 I purchased a brand new Camry and kept it until 1998 when I sold it to my next door neighbor. (he still has the car). In 1998 I purchased a used 1993 Camry and that is what im curently driving. As soon as this 1993 Camry gets close to 100,000 miles on it (it's at 88,000 now) I plan on buying a five year old Lexus ES300. I don't keep a car over 100,000 miles because my wife and I have only this one car. Also the car is usually only driven about 7,000 per year which creates more wear and tear on an automobile. Any trip thats more than 5 hours away we fly. Hope this helps. All the cars you mentioned are great cars, very dependable.

>In 1987 I purchased a brand new Camry and kept it until 1998
>when I sold it to my next door neighbor. (he still has the
>car). In 1998 I purchased a used 1993 Camry and that is what
>im curently driving. As soon as this 1993 Camry gets close
>to 100,000 miles on it (it's at 88,000 now) I plan on buying
>a five year old Lexus ES300. I don't keep a car over 100,000
>miles because my wife and I have only this one car. Also the
>car is usually only driven about 7,000 per year which
>creates more wear and tear on an automobile. Any trip thats
>more than 5 hours away we fly. Hope this helps. All the cars
>you mentioned are great cars, very dependable.

how come u don't buy any new cars?

Yirn13 I guess the main reason I buy used cars is that after about 6 or 7 years I get tired of driving the same car. As I stated in my earlier post the car is only driven 7,000 miles per year. So I buy a used car that has less then 50,000 miles on it and keep it till it gets to almost 100,000 miles. Also it is cheaper this way, it is common knowledge that the first 2 to 3 years of a new car is the biggiest monitary loss. If you keep a new car a long time then buying a new car really pays off. But for me to drive a new car 100,000 miles would take 14 years at 7,000 miles per year. It really is a personal choice and like anything else its a trade off. The plus factors of buying a new car is that you can get exactly what you want, and of course nothing beats that new car smell. lol

I just bought a 2003 Honda Accord EX Sedan. I've got 1500 miles on it and am really impressed with the car. It is solid as a rock, quiet, and the 4 cylinder (160HP) with the 5 speed auto will surprise you with it's power, Build quality is excellent and the stereo system is first rate. This is my third Honda and I expect the reliability and durability will be up to Honda standards. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the car.

Les

>I just bought a 2003 Honda Accord EX Sedan. I've got 1500
>miles on it and am really impressed with the car. It is
>solid as a rock, quiet, and the 4 cylinder (160HP) with the
>5 speed auto will surprise you with it's power, Build
>quality is excellent and the stereo system is first rate.
>This is my third Honda and I expect the reliability and
>durability will be up to Honda standards. I wouldn't
>hesitate to recommend the car.

if its not a secret how much did u pay for it? Did u chose any options that wre optionals?

$22,000.00. I didn't add any options as the car had everything I wanted. I just discovered that the bank that financed the car is a french owned bank (Bank Of The West). I will pay the car off next week. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the first payment that I've already made.

Les

>$22,000.00. I didn't add any options as the car had
>everything I wanted. I just discovered that the bank that
>financed the car is a french owned bank (Bank Of The West).
>I will pay the car off next week. Unfortunately, I cannot
>recall the first payment that I've already made.

lol interesting that u will pay it off because its a french bank. Question for u ,what was the origional price of the car before u started negotiating?

Total sticker price was 25,000.

Les

>Total sticker price was 25,000.
>
>
k thanks for that info.

Well, it's no guarantee you'll get the same reliable service, but I have a '91 Honda Civic with 301,000+ miles on it. It still gets 36 mpg on the highway. Here's the repair history:
1 brake job
1 timing belt
1 transmission rebuild
1 replacement clutch
1 set of CV joints
1 distributor
2 sets of spark plugs
several sets of tires (For the last four years, I've thought every set of new tires would be the last ones I put one it.)

I made the mistake of telling all my friends that I was going to drive it until it drops. Now, I'm afraid it won't.

Pointman

Maxima, without a doubt, or Passat. Accord is boring, Camry is boringer.

Well, if sticking with cars go the Camry, it's the same chassis and power plant as Lexus without the expense.

Under Construction

thanks for everyone inputs can't do anything till i get my settlement check which will take couple weeks before i do. One more question on this.How is the car market right now, do alot of people buying cars if not how hard do u think i can negotiate, keep in mind my parents will be the ones buying it and they have credit history over 750 points and will be giving $5000 down.

Not having a trade in will help. Go to the Honda web page http://www.hondacars.com/landing.asp?bhcp=1&BrowserDetected=True and you can build the car and options you'd like and get a price. The dealer however, will add in more costs such as destination charges and whatever else they can dream up. Stop by a Honda dealer and check the window sticker prices.

Les

>Not having a trade in will help. Go to the Honda web page
>http://www.hondacars.com/landing.asp?bhcp=1&BrowserDetected=True
>and you can build the car and options you'd like and get a
>price. The dealer however, will add in more costs such as
>destination charges and whatever else they can dream up.
>Stop by a Honda dealer and check the window sticker prices.

k thanks will do both of that this week and will also see how much they are will raise the price up afte i bring it printout from the web.

Negotiate on the net.The dealers will contact you with offers .Go to the Honda factory site (or whatever car you decide on) and decide the model and equipment you want and check the factory list price.Figure the tax license etc and let the dealers in the area know you are interested.You will get plenty of attention and offers.Don't worry about their feelings.Take your time and let them know you are going to buy in"the near future".You will get a deal this way.If you visit a dealer who tries to reneg or change the deal ,walk out.Try to get them to Email you their best price.Take a few weeks and you will be surprised on what you can save.DO YOUR HOMEWORK.My 1990 Honda Accord LX with over 189,000 miles finally needed the air conditioner recharged.Other than tires batteries no problems.I changed the oil at 3500 miles and then every 10k miles thereafter.At least once a week 100+ freeway miles probably helped.It happened to be one of the last built in Japan,but friends with Hondas built in US are happy with theirs.Good luck and don't hesitate to dicker with the dealer.After you get your best deal they will still probably give you the first oil change free just to start you going to their service dept

81 Newbee

>Negotiate on the net.The dealers will contact you with
>offers .Go to the Honda factory site (or whatever car you
>decide on) and decide the model and equipment you want and
>check the factory list price.Figure the tax license etc and
>let the dealers in the area know you are interested.You will
>get plenty of attention and offers.Don't worry about their
>feelings.Take your time and let them know you are going to
>buy in"the near future".You will get a deal this way.If you
>visit a dealer who tries to reneg or change the deal ,walk
>out.Try to get them to Email you their best price.Take a few
>weeks and you will be surprised on what you can save.DO YOUR
>HOMEWORK.My 1990 Honda Accord LX with over 189,000 miles
>finally needed the air conditioner recharged.Other than
>tires batteries no problems.I changed the oil at 3500 miles
>and then every 10k miles thereafter.At least once a week
>100+ freeway miles probably helped.It happened to be one of
>the last built in Japan,but friends with Hondas built in US
>are happy with theirs.Good luck and don't hesitate to dicker
>with the dealer.After you get your best deal they will still
>probably give you the first oil change free just to start
>you going to their service dept



Haven’t thought of doing online but do know some of my friends got it by negotiating it online, will find out how their negotiation went.

Not too many foreign car dealers are going to bargain on your price. If you want, you can order a price report from here to improve your negotiating stance:

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv2.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=16319&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=16271&bmUID=1049627396504

I bought a used Maxima 10 years ago. I put over 150,000 miles on it, picked up some rust (Vermont salt) and then had problems with the air conditioner, so rather than fix the air conditioner I bought a 2000 model with about 17,000 miles on it. But now I drive the old car in the winter and keep the newer one hangared so it's less exposed to the salt. I still like both cars, and don't hesistate to drive the one with now 165,000 miles on it to distant destinations. They are very reliable cars.

One option (and the way I bought the second car) is to find the car on Autotrader.com, or some similar site, and then negotiate with the seller. Autotrader will give you both dealer and private sellers. There are advantages and disadvantages to buying from each, but if you spend a little time at it you can get a fairly good price.

Dave

Dell 8300 Dimension
Pentium 4
W XP Home


www.woodenpropeller.com

Haven't any of you guys driven a large truck, or even a car equipped with a V-8? After living many years driving p.o.s. rice-burners, I now only drive Amercican vehicles with V-8 power. I love the sound of flooring the pedal and hearing the roar of the V-8. The sound those 4-bangers make make me nauseous.

Whenever I pull up next to a chump punk with a suped-up rice-burner at a traffic light, I feel compelled to taunt him. They are always astonished when my average-looking Ford F-150 blows their doors off at the line.

http://cyclingcaptured.com

Why won't you buy US??????

Ethan

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
"Why shouldn't the American people take half my money from me? I took it all from them." - Edward Filene

US cars aren't cool among the younger, upwardly mobile set

What are you going to get that compares to a Maxima, Accord, Camry, or Passat that's American?

A Grand Am??
A Cavalier??
A Malibu??
A Monte Carlo??
A Buick Century?
A Sunfire?? (what an ugly POS)
A Taurus??
A Grand Prix??

They are so outclassed, it isn't funny.

BTW, I have a mini-van, so I'm only half a man

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

>Haven't any of you guys driven a large truck, or even a car
>equipped with a V-8? After living many years driving p.o.s.
>rice-burners, I now only drive Amercican vehicles with V-8
>power. I love the sound of flooring the pedal and hearing
>the roar of the V-8. The sound those 4-bangers make make me
>nauseous.
>
>Whenever I pull up next to a chump punk with a suped-up
>rice-burner at a traffic light, I feel compelled to taunt
>him. They are always astonished when my average-looking
>Ford F-150 blows their doors off at the line.


No disrespect but I hate f-150 it’s the car that hit me and totaled my car. as for v-8 as someone mentioned it each to much gas and being in southern California gas prices are the highest in the nation so don't really want or need to get a v-8 and then pay $100 each time I need to fill the tank full.

I can taunt people with the sound, but getting 2 tons of car moving takes quite a while.

>Not too many foreign car dealers are going to bargain on
>your price. If you want, you can order a price report from
>here to improve your negotiating stance:
>
>http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv2.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=16319&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=16271&bmUID=1049627396504

thanks for the link.

>Parents decided to
>get me a new car. They are willing to spend around $23000
>maybe little bit more.


Are your parents looking to adopt? I don't each much.

Noonie

>>Parents decided to
>>get me a new car. They are willing to spend around $23000
>>maybe little bit more.
>
>
>Are your parents looking to adopt? I don't each much.

lol no but alot of people asked me that question.

I would definitely get either one of the following cars:

1) 2003 Mazda 6 S-type


2) 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer O-Z Rally Version 4dr Sedan


3) 2004 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS AWD 4dr


4) 2003 Volkswagen GTI


5) 2003 Volkswagen Jetta



But the Mazda6 would be my top choice.

Have you thought Italian?

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

ylen, why get a rice rocket if you can have a schnitzel rocket? the cars on your list are popular but boring sedan-style family cars. nothing wrong with them, but for the money you can do a lot better.

i have to disagree with scaramouche about the bmw 3 series. you have to put some additional money into them to get the sport package to make driving them fun. in addition, they are overpriced, and extremely expensive to repair and maintain.

i bought myself a new car last year. i got a vw golf gti. it has a 201 horsepower 6 cylinder 24-valve engine, a six-speed transmission, leather interior, fully loaded (and i mean loaded!), 17" alu rims w/ 225/45/17 sport tires, it's a hatchback that can transport bigscreen tvs, drumkits, and more, it has a very roomy backseat that comfortably holds 2 people for extended rides, plenty of headroom, it's very light and nimble, it's a blast to drive, gas mileage on the freeway up to 29 mpg.

short: in my opinion, it's the most perfect combination of sport, luxury, and practical you can get, and by far the most bang for your buck.

price: $24,000

you'll be hard pressed to get that much bang for your buck anywhere else.

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/schnitzelrocket.html