I agree with newer used. You can grab a mid to late 2000s car for pennies these days.. some with not a lot of miles on them. People just do not want them even though as a used car, they are probably the best built cars on the road. Long powertrain warranties generally mean they are screwed together well, they have most of the modern safety gear, get decent to great MPGs, and do not have all the problems with every system on the car talking to every other system down the CANbus
In reply to rcutclif:
I'm at $3k in the past year on a $3500 car, not accounting for my time, so...I'm not far off 
Let's just say that when you account for a CPO car that will depreciate less at about ~$15k and factor TIME and STRESS into the equation, suddenly the numbers make a lot of sense. FOR ME. Everyone's situation is different, YMMV, etc, but I'm increasingly of the opinion that the right CPO deal is a home run if you need a daily appliance.
Honestly, new inexpensive vehicles are crazy good value.
Hyundai Canada sold "the cheapest car in Canada" for years. A stripper Accent for $10k plus tax. These cars still sell 8-10 years later for $2k to $4k if under 200k kms.
New is the way to go IMO. But sometimes older cars just suck you in (I say as I buy a 1980 Toyota Corolla 
)
In reply to HiTempguy:
Absolutely! This is what I'm getting at. Mazda 2s sold for, what, $15k new? The few I can find for sale are still around $10k, even with 50k miles on them. Same goes for Fiestas, etc. And don't even get me started on the Honda Fit, the damn things seem to be a piggy bank on wheels! Sure, a brand new M4 is going to depreciate like mad and is a poor financial decision, but a $15k car can only sink so much in value...
Go to your local Buick dealer and see if they have any leftover Veranos. I went looking for a Sonic and for about $500 Morris got a 2014 Verano. It's got more room and options I didn't know I needed. The mileage is close, I'm getting mid 30s. I was there for an oil change last week and they still had a couple for $19k. They were available with manuals and turbos but I'm not sure how hard they are to find.
I'd say new, when shopping earlier this year we found the preowneds were no longer the smart choice especially with how willing they were to deal on the new models and financing rates being better.
Also, when looking, instead of the cheapest model that company makes, try looking at the next model up, for example, they were a lot more willing to deal on a 2015 Elantra than a leftover 2014 Accent and my mom got a better optioned, bigger car that had better gas mileage and cost less out the door than we were quoted on the Accents (different dealerships.)
Datsun1500 wrote:Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: I test drove an Abarth 500 about a month ago from a Toyota dealer down the street from my house. If we were closer to paying off my wife's car, about 9 months left, I would have got it. Plenty of warranty left, a ton of fun to drive and cheap. It was a 2012 with 28K miles on it, almost all of the bells and whistles and was 13K.You can get new ones for a few grand more.
I don't think you can buy a new Fiat 500 Abarth for 16k.
http://www.fiatusaofowingsmills.com/new/FIAT/2015-FIAT-500+Abarth-581373ac0a0a006576a1e601a268e222.htm
well sorry $16,300... There are a ton within the $17k range though...
SlickDizzy wrote: I've been doing the "neat older used car DD" thing for a while and it's fine when stuff is working, but when maintenance is needed suddenly things get rough. I've surpassed the $300 in parts a month number for 3-4 months at a time pretty frequently, and then I had to do all the work myself; whereas you can get a nice CPO vehicle with a 100k powertrain warranty and let it be someone else's problem for seven years and just sock away at the payments with peace of mind. IMO, what it really comes down to is how much time you've got to work on your daily, how well-equipped with tools you are to deal with any issues, and how much of a dollar value you place on stress reduction. It's kind of a no-brainer for me; I won't need my $150/mo shop space anymore with air tools, three phase and a lift if all I'm doing is super basic maintenance on a new car and letting that 100k powertrain warranty take care of any major issues, so that new car is basically paying for itself right there. And then, when I factor in the stress reduction of knowing that any big problems will be handled by the warranty and all that free time I've got that's not being spent working on my DD, I'm amazed I didn't do this four years ago. But, YMMV, etc...
1) You are doing something wrong if you are getting recurring costs that high. The OP would be unlikely to see costs like that with an SVT focus.
2) Your second paragraph is spot on. I work on my car about 30 mins/month... I'm not willing to exchange that for a significantly higher cost of ownership. Or more performance/cool factor. Some people are. Its a good way of looking at it.
91RSImpulse wrote: http://www.fiatusaofowingsmills.com/new/FIAT/2015-FIAT-500+Abarth-581373ac0a0a006576a1e601a268e222.htm well sorry $16,300... There are a ton within the $17k range though...
Well, poop. The ones listed up here in the 'burgh are in the 24k plus range. Thanks for the link.
http://www.blaisealexanderchevy.com/New-2015-Chevrolet-Sonic-LT-Manual-Muncy-PA/vd/23774649
This looks promising as well. Sub $200 payment with a few k down from selling my SVT. I guess my thought is that I will try to DD the SVT and see how it goes. The wife is not in favor of buying another car, but we'll see if her attitude changes if I start to break down and/or spend money for a shop to fix my car.
http://www.suburbanfordofsterlingheights.com/new/Ford/2015-Ford-Fiesta-d3a717a60a0a0065313defa552d0cdd6.htm?searchDepth=9:12
You may be able to get this car less than $20k... they have a blue and black at the same price
heck if you are in the Pittsburg area; the Fiat 500 Abarth is only about 4 hours away... that really is nothing to get a great deal! and it is a good way to break the car in on your trip :)
In reply to ProDarwin:
Let's just say that I've learned the hard way that catching up deferred maintenance on a 16-year old BMW gets very expensive and very time-consuming, very quickly. 
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: Mazda and Ford both offer 7-years and 100k on the powertrain (from the initial service date, so be careful there) on a number of cars. I think the Fords have to be under 50k for CPO eligibility, but Mazda? I just found a 2012 3 with 75k on it that's being sold as a CPO, so who knows...
That's a non-Skyactiv 2.0L "Sport" model, and I'd skip those. FWIW, that is a pretty basic car: no Bluetooth, no cruise, and steelies. It's got the 5-speed manual instead of the 6-speed the 2.5's and the Skyactiv cars have. My wife has a 2010 i Touring, which has the same engine. It's been a good car, mostly. She's had to replace all of her TPMS sensors because they corroded apart at different times (sometimes taking out a tire in the process), and her transmission oil pan rotted out and I had to replace that recently. She has nearly 120k on hers.
You could get a CPO 2012-13 Skyactiv car in that price range. Well worth the extra money. If you want mediocre gas mileage, but want most of the looks of the MS3, you can get a 2012 2.5 S Touring like I did. I still like mine 93k in, but all the parts with FoMoCo stamped on them have been suspect, like the motor mounts and the brakes. Other than that, these are great daily drivers. Cheap and easy to maintain, some are very efficient, and still somewhat interesting to drive.
In reply to SilverFleet:
I think you missed my point...I was simply demonstrating the fact that Mazda will apparently throw their CPO warranty at pretty much anything, there's no way in hell I'd buy that car at $11,444 or recommend it to anybody myself!
I just got an SFE Fiesta for 14.8k out the door. For a tiny amount of money, you can upgrade the suspension and tires and it will be E36 M3 loads of fun. I am averaging 39 mpg right now too, so there is that. 1.0L Turbo is the wave of the future!
DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I'd say new, when shopping earlier this year we found the preowneds were no longer the smart choice especially with how willing they were to deal on the new models and financing rates being better.
I found the same. I got 1.99% on a new car and would have gotten 3.99% preowned.
In reply to SlickDizzy:
Yep, totally missed the point.
I have seen cars advertised as CPO cars that are actually the dealer's version of a "CPO" car and not authorized by the manufacturer. Maybe this one is?
singleslammer wrote: 1.0L Turbo is the wave of the future!
https://instagram.com/p/5V3M8ZO5D4/
Looks like I'm jumping on the cheap new car band wagon,going to trade the 8yr old Rav4 we picked up 3 yrs ago on a 2016 Elantra Gt.Rav is leaving us cold now and with a 4runner also in the driveway no need for two SUV's.Getting a good trade price for the rav is saving over 10k alone plus there's no interest financing and 1k off the car.Looking forward to having one vehicle in the fleet I don't have to touch.
Pick it up on the weekend.
Have you thought about the Jeep Renegade? Priced at $20K with turbo, stick, and AWD/4WD. I took one for a spin and not bad for a scooter. If you want to go the used route (my favorite) I would look at cars around three years old as (most) they tend to cost a LOT less than a new car and still have a lot of life in them, and have not been passed around like a DSM car.
Paul B
It costs less for the payment+insurance+gas driving my Mirage to work than fuel alone was costing me in my Silverado. Ac, cruise, Bluetooth, power everything, it's better equipped than any 90's beater, has 100k warranty, and like an old truck if it gets a door ding I don't have to care.
Scottah wrote:DirtyDiesel wrote: I test drove a Chevy Sonic Hatch 1.4T 6-speed LT or whatever the mid level trim is and loved it. It rode like a larger car on the expressway and still soaked up bumps at low speeds. It's light (2690lbs) The 6 speed manual is a nice little shifter that returns 40ish mpg and can be chipped to 188rwhp/237rwtq (yes at the front wheels). The sportier RS model adds no hp and ruins the gearing so it only gets 30mpg on the highway so pass on it. The one I drove was $14ish MSRP. ZZP and trifecta tuners are very active with them. http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/general-discussion/8024-sonic-dyno-thread.htmlThis interests me greatly as well. Looking.
Those must be modded numbers as that is no where near what GM is posting, and as such you run the risk of voided warranty and getting the bill. Which is what you are trying to avoid to begin with by moving from the SVT.
ENGINE, ECOTEC TURBO 1.4L VARIABLE VALVE TIMING DOHC 4-CYLINDER SEQUENTIAL MFI (138 hp [103 kW] @ 4900 rpm, 148 lb-ft of torque [199.8 N-m] @ 1850 rpm/auto, 2500 rpm/manual)
Fiesta ST is just outside the given range.... 197 hp, 202 torques $20,945 starting MSRP.
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