lurker
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« on: February 16, 2007, 03:09:23 pm » |
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I was originally looking at new cars but have decided to just use our down payment on the purchase of a used car. I have a 5 month old baby girl so safety and room is a concern. My sitch: $10-13k to spend + taxes Car must have the following: Manual transmission unless the car is quite quick. 4 doors Enough room for a baby seat (or two). Reasonably safe in a crash Reliable So far the options seem to be: Civic, Protege, Accord, Maxima, Altima...
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mdxtasy
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« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2007, 03:14:12 pm » |
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Maxima and the Infiniti brother (I series) would be my top choice to consider.
An Acura TL? Mazda Millenia?
Rule out compacts if you want to put in a car seat or two. Too small. |
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ovr50
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« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2007, 03:17:19 pm » |
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$13K is not much money to spend for the vehicles you're refering to - they will have to be older models to get to those prices.  |
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2011 BMW X3 35i Vermillion Red, MSport
and
2005 Toyota Highlander in Indigo Ink
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mdxtasy
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« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2007, 03:22:35 pm » |
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$13K is not much money to spend for the vehicles you're refering to - they will have to be older models to get to those prices. Yeah....early 2000/1 at best. |
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2latecrew
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« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2007, 03:46:25 pm » |
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A quick auto trader search revels a few 1999 or 2000 Maxima's for sale in Manitoba for 10-13,000. 5 speeds are harder to come by but if its a 2000 with the 220 HP v6 its going to be plenty quick. We almost bought a 2000 5 speed SE about 5 years ago. Missed out on it and sorry ever since.
Or you could try for one of the lower mileage 199s and with the extra $ throw some shoks springs and wheels and tires on for a really sporty ride.
Nice thing about Maxim's is they are quite reliable in the 1996 2000 range.
Protege is sporty but 2 baby seats in the back of one gets tight. Same for Civic etc.
5 speed sporty 4 doors a re a pretty rare breed. not a lot to pick from especially if you want any amount of hp/torque.
Your best bet may be to find a more basic 4 door and then modify it a bit. The porty models are hard to come by. But if you buy something reliable with a decent 5 speed you can probably get more bang for your buck from suspension tire improvements than you can by spending extra $ to moive up to a "sport model". |
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lurker
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« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2007, 04:58:10 pm » |
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I love the Maxima styling up until 2000 when it lost me. I'd still be interested in looking at one though. This appears to be my front runner at the moment.
I can't believe it but there is a TL for under 13k with 76kms in the autotrader. Sorry can't post links yet. I shall check this out. Does the standard beware of Honda Automatic transmissions apply to this car as well?
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mdxtasy
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« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2007, 05:08:02 pm » |
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I love the Maxima styling up until 2000 when it lost me. I'd still be interested in looking at one though. This appears to be my front runner at the moment.
I can't believe it but there is a TL for under 13k with 76kms in the autotrader. Sorry can't post links yet. I shall check this out. Does the standard beware of Honda Automatic transmissions apply to this car as well?
Pre 2004 cars need their tranny's checked. |
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« Last Edit: February 16, 2007, 05:11:45 pm by MdX5 »
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articsteve
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« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2007, 09:11:10 pm » |
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They can't be checked. AVOID any Honda/Acura with these trannys. Honda never fixed the problem, just claim they have.  As far as Honda/Acura are concerned the issue is ancient history. Hence the low resale prices. Google for exact years and models. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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mdxtasy
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« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2007, 10:33:22 pm » |
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You can check the VIN against the huge recall they issued. |
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articsteve
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« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2007, 10:54:37 pm » |
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The recall, or more accurately, a warranty extension was irrelevant because Honda/Acura never fixed the core problem. AVOID this tranny and any versions of it entirely. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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Julie
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« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2007, 01:18:16 am » |
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Legacy Wagon.
Mitlov has one. 2.5i. It must be sporty enough if he likes it.
The turbo-charged 4 cylinder one is definitely sporty but pricey.
Plus it's safe. And roomy. |
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village
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« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2007, 01:24:37 am » |
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Saab 900/9-3, of course one would question said reliability... But it might fit into the price range. A nice Saab 900/9-3 4dr Viggen is what I would be looking for. =) |
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lurker
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Location: Winnipeg
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« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2007, 04:35:27 am » |
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I like the idea of a Legacy especially in Winnipeg however I've been afraid of the problems with the 2.5l. Is this problem overblown?
Saab 900 not my cup of tea although I like the looks of them.
I looked on the temple of Vtec regarding the TL auto transmission and it seems like Honda is actually fixing the issue. 2 weeks of the car being out of service doesn't excite me though. |
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« Last Edit: February 17, 2007, 05:27:22 am by lurker »
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dr_spock
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« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2007, 10:57:35 pm » |
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I was originally looking at new cars but have decided to just use our down payment on the purchase of a used car. I have a 5 month old baby girl so safety and room is a concern.
My sitch:
$10-13k to spend + taxes
Car must have the following:
Manual transmission unless the car is quite quick.
4 doors
Enough room for a baby seat (or two).
Reasonably safe in a crash
Reliable
So far the options seem to be:
Civic, Protege, Accord, Maxima, Altima...
How big are you and your spouse? How much baby stuff do you normally carry around? |
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Julie
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« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2007, 11:03:29 pm » |
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I like the idea of a Legacy especially in Winnipeg however I've been afraid of the problems with the 2.5l. Is this problem overblown?
Saab 900 not my cup of tea although I like the looks of them.
I looked on the temple of Vtec regarding the TL auto transmission and it seems like Honda is actually fixing the issue. 2 weeks of the car being out of service doesn't excite me though.
I dunno, but CanadianDriver has good used car reviews. Check them out for those year Legacies and TLs. |
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lurker
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« Reply #16 on: February 18, 2007, 11:53:32 am » |
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The reviews here are great for scratching the surface but when you visit some of the car specific forums a great deal more specific problems emerge.
My current contenders are being hampered by the following:
Legacy = 2.5l gaskets
Accord = Auto transmission problems (if I could just find a manual!)
Maxima = woeful crash protection
Altima = 4 cyl problems. It seems like there are numerous problems with them.
It seems like the more time I spend researching the cars that I find more weak points. I think my next move is just to test drive one, like it, get it checked out thoroughly and buy the darn thing. |
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Julie
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« Reply #17 on: February 18, 2007, 12:15:56 pm » |
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The reviews here are great for scratching the surface but when you visit some of the car specific forums a great deal more specific problems emerge.
My current contenders are being hampered by the following:
Legacy = 2.5l gaskets
Accord = Auto transmission problems (if I could just find a manual!)
Maxima = woeful crash protection
Altima = 4 cyl problems. It seems like there are numerous problems with them.
It seems like the more time I spend researching the cars that I find more weak points. I think my next move is just to test drive one, like it, get it checked out thoroughly and buy the darn thing.
You're right you'll always find something at car-specific forums. Even though we know that no car is perfect, I agree it worries you nonetheless. Maybe if a problem seems more versus less frequent, in terms of % of owners affected? Of course, totally non scientific (depends who posts), but you can also supplement that with Consumer Reports reliability ratings, and books like Lemon-Aid, etc. |
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Damien
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« Reply #19 on: February 18, 2007, 01:55:47 pm » |
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Protege5, that little wagon thingy for 13K.
Or spend the little extra and go for a new Mazda3-5-6 with a manual would be a nice choice. As would a new Civic. New Altimas look great. Nissan=Domestic in terms of reliability though. Parents Altima engine blew up after 1 year of ownership, powerseat failed etc.
Heck, 13K down on a 20-25K$ car would leave you with pretty low payments, 0% financing (on most) and none of the worries that you have listed in terms of reliability issues given the warranty.
Just throwing it out there. |
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