Help me buy a car.

I've fallen into analysis paralysis and need someone to tell me what to buy.

I need a daily driver, 2008 or newer. I want to spend at most $12K. I'm in Ontario, so that does affect pricing. Cars rust here like crazy (I will not own a Mazda up here) so keep that in mind. It needs to not suck the life out of me every time I get in. I prefer German cars, so at this price point it would be VW, but am open to anything. It needs 4 doors. Hatch or wagon is a bonus, but not a necessity. Needs a manual or dual clutch type trans; see life sucking comment above about auto tragic.

There is a case of beer (or funds to purchase one) if I go with the suggestion provided. Double that if you find a car within 100km of downtown Toronto and I buy that one. Yes, I need help

Thanks.

Jeff

I would drive a Saab 9-5 with a manual. I owned a 1999 and it was a great car. You should be able to get a 2008 or9 for that money.

Have fun.

Golf four-door?

Not German....2008, less than12k$, 4 door stick, in Toronto, for the win?

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2008-Honda-Civic-DX-G-5-SPEED-A-C-CRUISE-CONTROL-ONLY-101K-W0QQAdIdZ494768107QQfeaturedAdZtrue

and

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2008-Mercedes-Benz-B-Class-B200-TURBO-PANORAMIC-SUNROOF-W0QQAdIdZ497496665

I'm probably not supposed to like that red Merc but it looks pretty cool / useful. Nice price for the mileage. Would be more interested if I could easily bring it home to the USA...

Clown, like your style

Anyone know anything about the Merc's? A friend had one and she liked it, in fact traded it in and got another. Off to do research.

Acura TSX is my vote. Heated seats in winter FTW!

So what did you end up buying/ looking at.

For the money, you can't beat a Saab (story), preferably a 9-3 Aero or 9-3X.

Went and looked at the Merc. To boxy and suv like for me. Found a 2013 Dart with 4500km on it with the 1.4 for $16500. Liked the car, really wanted to drive it home, but the motor was a huge disappointment, no power until 3k rpm and poor throttle response (posted more detail in one of the dart threads).

It's now turned into a two pronged attack. 2013 that can be had on the road for under 20k and the original criteria above.

Btw, is 10k to much to pay for a 2007 9-5 Aero with 100k km on the clock? 260 horsepower is calling me.

Mmadness wrote: For the money, you can't beat a Saab (story), preferably a 9-3 Aero or 9-3X.

NO! do not buy a 9-3X, the XWD is a nightmare! Seriously, don't.
9-3 fwd, go right ahead.

Not a Saab fan over here. The wagon looks coo l though....

This one has higher mileage, $8500 in ATL.

Im gonna have to go with an early 2000s Saab 9-5 Aero. My friend owns one... great daily driver!

How about this: Forester XT and it's a unicorn, 5 speed. We have one, but it is autotragic but still a great car.

Unicorn

The rule of thumb is to not buy cars from Quebec as their accident history is difficult to attain (IIRC accident history clears after 6 months, but maybe some the other Canadians can chime in).

Right now I'm trying to get a KIA dealer to commit to selling me a 2013 Optima with a 6 speed manual (so 2.4 motor) for $20K all in. I also can't stop thinking about this car:

http://www.langmotorcar.com/used/Saab/2007-Saab-9-5-3a7580410a0a001f231be086ca846c85.htm

J

NO CARS FROM QUEBEC! There I said it.

As I understand it, they do not "brand" wrecks in Quebec so a car that is totaled in another province can be fixed in Quebec and it has a clear title.

Sit on the side of the 401 and look at the trucks full of smashed cars heading east - there is a reason they are heading that way.

Buy the Forester linked above and here.

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2004-Subaru-Forester-XT-SUV-Turbo-W0QQAdIdZ482505579

Thanks for the clarification Dave.

NGTD wrote: NO CARS FROM QUEBEC! There I said it. As I understand it, they do not "brand" wrecks in Quebec so a car that is totaled in another province can be fixed in Quebec and it has a clear title. Sit on the side of the 401 and look at the trucks full of smashed cars heading east - there is a reason they are heading that way.

That's BS. Wrecked cars are branded in Quebec, just like anywhere else. BUT, the SAAQ (Quebec DMV) doesn't share it's information with the regular information sources (Carfax, etc). So, if you want to know if a car has been crashed, you need to "confront" the SAAQ. Most people can't be bothered to do so and the information is lost.

People around here do buy a lot of wrecked cars, because rust kills them so fast that it doesn't matter. For example, I don't think I saw a 1st gen Neon for sale in the last year, that wasn' about to break in two from the rust.

Edit: How about this Saab 9-3? or This Saab 9-3?

Chevy Cruze Eco gets my vote. The six-speed is great.

So I did it, I bought a car! Yes, for most of you here, this is a non event. I on the other hand tend to agonize on this. I'm really decisive on just about anything else. Cars though, are tough for me. It's the constant battle between heart and head. And heart almost always wins out. I should remember that next time.

I picked up a 2009 SAAB 9-3 with 65K km for $9100. Yes, no warranty (at least practically, it should have a few months of PT left, but since SAAB is gone...), but all the cars with one at/or near this price did not make me happy. Bought it from Beacon Motors in Etobicoke, a long time SAAB specialist. Oh, and it's auto tragic too! It's got the flappy paddles, but it does shift a bit slow. There is supposed to be an ECU tweak that will crisp it up. Though I have to admit, my commute in GTA traffic this morning was much nicer with the auto.

I'll post some pics and after the long weekend. And who do I owe beer money to?

Jeff wrote: And who do I owe beer money to?

Me - because I am in the same province.