can't choose which car to buy

j fairlie · 11-24-2004, 05:19 PM

New to the forum and was just wondering if anyone has any advise. I'm looking for a family car (have always owned a truck), i'm undecided about a

98 corrola -110,000km-ac-4dr-4cyl-no accidents-$8000.00.

97 accord-120,000km-ac-all power options- 4dr-no accidents-ugly color-$10,500

00 saturn sl1-45,000 km-ac-4cyl-one accident fixed by the autobody shop that is selling it because provincial insurance company no longer pays for courtesy cars-$9500.00

all three are in excellent shape. if anyone has any opinions let me know, also i live in BC canada.

11-24-2004, 05:31 PM

Hi,

With the listed mileage, my good sense tells me the Saturn would be the best buy..........BUT...........I have owned an Accord and that is where my heart is. They just keep running and running and running. They are a wonderful machine. But, with an ugly color, I would spell for the Saturn. I just can't stand some of those ugly cars you see.

Volt-Schwibe · 11-24-2004, 05:43 PM

it's a toss up in my opinion, either the corolla, or the accord.

both have very good life expectancy, and both should give you very little trouble for quite the while.

check under the hood, you want to see an engine that didn't need to be washed.

if it was washed, then you should take it for as long of a test drive as possible, and check under the hood again after the test drive.

it shouldn't look oily, there should be no smoke, and it should not stink.

also, after the really long test drive wait 20 minutes talking to the salesguy and check under it for drips.

if there is drips, see if they are water or oil and ask the salesman if he can do something about the drip.

if he says no, then you might look for a different car.

fearless · 11-29-2004, 09:13 AM

play in on how much insurance will be... id do a 4 door for insurance... but i would also weigh heavily on what gas milege it gets

Matt

g.w. · 12-06-2004, 02:08 PM

Have owned 5 past Hondas, and 3 current ones. Have never had trouble with any of em. Decent price, great resale, ya buy them, drive them, not always in the shop, actually very little maintainace required, 3,000 miles for oil, about it. Not sure if it still is, but in 99 was most American made car in America, gets the true patriotic vote, probably doesn`t count for much in BC though, even if it is a wonderful place, lol.

Wife was a Toyota lover, until she started having trouble with them. "Camry`s" made joint venture with GM. GM can wreck even the best of cars. Other Toyotas probaly still a good bet, but wouldn`t suggest a Camry. Last one she had was a 95, started burning oil at 56,000 miles, it rode like a wreck, and had a few spots of rust starting, was only 3 years old, and falling apart.

Bother, and Sister have both had Saturns, loved them, they scare me, another joint venturn with GM.

g.w.

bry623 · 12-06-2004, 02:13 PM

My Saturn has almost 200k miles on it!

Volt-Schwibe · 12-06-2004, 04:43 PM

and you will probably get almost 50k more.

:)

Gearjammer · 12-26-2004, 12:55 PM

The Corolla[Prizm] is the best car in its class without exception . The Honda is te most overrated car of all time. Saturn is just another car....

Money wise Corolla seems too expensive compared to the miles..

Go price out a NEW Chevy Prizm..payment wise it might look REAL good compared to the ...oh shoot...Those a KILOmeters aren't they 110K = 70M ..oh that's not so bad....then the exchange rate....Cn/US

Still the Corolla is the better car

BTW, I'm a used car dealer....

Volt-Schwibe · 12-26-2004, 01:47 PM

any time you are buying a used car that is less than 10 years old, it's a good idea to cruise over to www.kbb.com and compare the price to what the "blue book" says the price should be.

it's sort of a beckett manual for pricing of cars.

the kbb will also tell you something about how much you will be able to sell the car for when you are done.

it's such a good resource, that everyone should at least know about it.

(and they also have a kbb for older classic cars, but i have no idea where to get it, or what exactly it is called. i just know it exists.)

Gearjammer · 12-26-2004, 03:28 PM

KBB.com is a good site but the retail values skew high...ANY dealer should be able to beat those rices on ANY make or model.

a site where the values are more realistic to what you should actually pay would be National Auto Dealers Association....
I believe the site is NADA.com or NADAguides.com....

**gotissues68** · 12-30-2004, 12:17 AM

I'd go with the Honda just based purely on the simplicity of maintenance and the fact that you can beat the crap out of them and they keep running. I'm a pure Volkswagen/Audi guy myself but with VW's unless you're willing to spend the money on more then likely maintenance issues its not worth it... Its never anything *big* but its just more frustrating then anything

I like the challenge of keeping my check engine light off tho heh.

11-24-2004, 05:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
j fairlie Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 11 OS: xp	can't choose which car to buy New to the forum and was just wondering if anyone has any advise. I'm looking for a family car (have always owned a truck), i'm undecided about a 98 corrola -110,000km-ac-4dr-4cyl-no accidents-$8000.00. 97 accord-120,000km-ac-all power options- 4dr-no accidents-ugly color-$10,500 00 saturn sl1-45,000 km-ac-4cyl-one accident fixed by the autobody shop that is selling it because provincial insurance company no longer pays for courtesy cars-$9500.00 all three are in excellent shape. if anyone has any opinions let me know, also i live in BC canada.

11-24-2004, 05:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,372 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	it's a toss up in my opinion, either the corolla, or the accord. both have very good life expectancy, and both should give you very little trouble for quite the while. check under the hood, you want to see an engine that didn't need to be washed. if it was washed, then you should take it for as long of a test drive as possible, and check under the hood again after the test drive. it shouldn't look oily, there should be no smoke, and it should not stink. also, after the really long test drive wait 20 minutes talking to the salesguy and check under it for drips. if there is drips, see if they are water or oil and ask the salesman if he can do something about the drip. if he says no, then you might look for a different car. __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

12-06-2004, 02:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
g.w. Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 154 OS: Win 2000 pro Trying XP Trying a few Linux distros also	Gotta love a honda Have owned 5 past Hondas, and 3 current ones. Have never had trouble with any of em. Decent price, great resale, ya buy them, drive them, not always in the shop, actually very little maintainace required, 3,000 miles for oil, about it. Not sure if it still is, but in 99 was most American made car in America, gets the true patriotic vote, probably doesn`t count for much in BC though, even if it is a wonderful place, lol. Wife was a Toyota lover, until she started having trouble with them. "Camry`s" made joint venture with GM. GM can wreck even the best of cars. Other Toyotas probaly still a good bet, but wouldn`t suggest a Camry. Last one she had was a 95, started burning oil at 56,000 miles, it rode like a wreck, and had a few spots of rust starting, was only 3 years old, and falling apart. Bother, and Sister have both had Saturns, loved them, they scare me, another joint venturn with GM. g.w.

12-06-2004, 02:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
bry623 Manager, The Conversation Pit/Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NW Territory circa 1787 Posts: 11,692 OS: winxp pro sp2	My Saturn has almost 200k miles on it! __________________ "If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you are 50, you have no brain"

12-06-2004, 04:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,372 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	and you will probably get almost 50k more. :) __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

11-24-2004, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
mark3567 Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hi, With the listed mileage, my good sense tells me the Saturn would be the best buy..........BUT...........I have owned an Accord and that is where my heart is. They just keep running and running and running. They are a wonderful machine. But, with an ugly color, I would spell for the Saturn. I just can't stand some of those ugly cars you see.

11-29-2004, 09:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
fearless Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: kansas state university (electrical and computer engineering) Posts: 94 OS: xp pro	play in on how much insurance will be... id do a 4 door for insurance... but i would also weigh heavily on what gas milege it gets Matt

12-26-2004, 12:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
Gearjammer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 21 OS: xp	The Corolla[Prizm] is the best car in its class without exception . The Honda is te most overrated car of all time. Saturn is just another car.... Money wise Corolla seems too expensive compared to the miles.. Go price out a NEW Chevy Prizm..payment wise it might look REAL good compared to the ...oh shoot...Those a KILOmeters aren't they 110K = 70M ..oh that's not so bad....then the exchange rate....Cn/US Still the Corolla is the better car BTW, I'm a used car dealer....

12-26-2004, 01:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,372 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	any time you are buying a used car that is less than 10 years old, it's a good idea to cruise over to www.kbb.com and compare the price to what the "blue book" says the price should be. it's sort of a beckett manual for pricing of cars. the kbb will also tell you something about how much you will be able to sell the car for when you are done. it's such a good resource, that everyone should at least know about it. (and they also have a kbb for older classic cars, but i have no idea where to get it, or what exactly it is called. i just know it exists.) __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

12-26-2004, 03:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
Gearjammer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 21 OS: xp	KBB.com is a good site but the retail values skew high...ANY dealer should be able to beat those rices on ANY make or model. a site where the values are more realistic to what you should actually pay would be National Auto Dealers Association.... I believe the site is NADA.com or NADAguides.com....

12-30-2004, 12:17 AM	#11 (permalink)
gotissues68 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver Washington, Mountain View CA and Atlanta GA you pick the week! Posts: 716 OS: Linux/FreeBSD	I'd go with the Honda just based purely on the simplicity of maintenance and the fact that you can beat the crap out of them and they keep running. I'm a pure Volkswagen/Audi guy myself but with VW's unless you're willing to spend the money on more then likely maintenance issues its not worth it... Its never anything big but its just more frustrating then anything I like the challenge of keeping my check engine light off tho heh. __________________