Thinking of buying a small car | GTAMotorcycle.com

Thinking of buying a small car

black_CG2

Well-known member
I have been thinking of selling the mustang and get a small car. My mustang has been great, however, I want to downgrade to something small that still has more room. And amazing on gas.

A lot of my friends told me to get an mkiv or mkv golf tdi. However, I do not know anything about diesels.

I was considering Honda Fit. Here is the funny part. Its insurance is $20 more per month than my mustang. Surprising, eh? Not really, apparently Mustang has better insurance rating. Also all Hondas and Toyotas have higher insurance. That was not a surprise either.

Budget is $5k or less. Manual. Let the discussions begin.
 
I have a Jetta Mk6 manual transmission, with the low-powered ancient 2.0 gas engine. It's been great for me, trunk is huge. I've fit 2 disassembled dirtbikes inside the car one time. I've driven it to California and back 5 or 6 times, and a bunch of other road trips all over the place. No issues so far, going on 140,000 with regular maintenance. 6-7 L/100km (36 mpg or so). I won't win any races with it, but its done everything I've asked of it without complaint
 
I really like the fiesta ST. Every time I travel to europe I come back with small car fever. Dunno if it's very fuel efficient, or under 5K but... damn they are nice.
 
I'm not sure I'd aim for TDI with your budget. I sold my previous MKIV TDI when it was 10 years old with 320K on it with a broken radio, separated dual mass flywheel and a couple other issues for $3500. The maintenance costs on an old TDI could easily cancel out the fuel savings (unless you are planning on putting on lots of highway km).

Corolla?

Mazda 3 assuming the body isn't swiss cheese? The standards take an absolute beating in the used market (which is good for you). A standard VW or Subie seems to be desirable, in most other brands they are like lepers.
 
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My wife's Fit is a decent car, but the clutch engagement zone is quite narrow and it has a ridiculously short first gear, so I find it difficult to launch smoothly. Manual transmission models are not common. It also has twitchy, sensitive steering which is not much fun on windy highways. Good space inside though, and it has the funky folding rear seats. Quality on the Fit has not been as good as my Hyundai Accent of the same year (rust, and a couple of major repairs).

In comparison, my 3rd gen Accent had a much wider clutch engagement zone and was more stable on the highway. The steering could be described as heavy, but it was very predictable and easy to manage near the edge of traction. Power was low enough that it could be driven hard without drawing too much attention, and it lacked any kind of drivers assist technology, and was therefore kind of fun. It was completely spartan inside, which I liked, but that's not everyone's cup of tea. These are completely uncool, but good ones are in your price range.

My 4th gen Accent is a much nicer car in every aspect, but it also feels a lot more grown up. I don't thrash this one nearly as much as I did the 3rd gen. I don't think you can find one of these in your price range.
 
I have a Jetta Mk6 manual transmission, with the low-powered ancient 2.0 gas engine. It's been great for me, trunk is huge. I've fit 2 disassembled dirtbikes inside the car one time. I've driven it to California and back 5 or 6 times, and a bunch of other road trips all over the place. No issues so far, going on 140,000 with regular maintenance. 6-7 L/100km (36 mpg or so). I won't win any races with it, but its done everything I've asked of it without complaint

That's pretty damned respectable mileage. My Mk6 TDI is averaging ~5.5 (haven't updated the spreadsheet in a while for an accurate #). The diesel is more fun than the 2.slow, but overall the 2.slow is probably the more cost-effective choice for most people.
 
The budget stated doesn't give much room to work with.

Believe this european car fan: A cheap used VW/Audi/Mercedes/BMW will end up being very expensive. I've put 400,000+ km on two different VW diesels but one of them was bought 3 years old off-lease and the other was bought new, so I knew (and could control) what engine oil was used for most/all of the car's life, what coolant was used, ensured that prescribed maintenance tasks were done properly and on time, etc. These cars can last a long time when treated properly but can have a lot of expensive problems if neglected or if maintenance is done improperly. On any well-used VW TDI the big question is when was the timing belt last replaced, and did they replace ALL of the rollers and the tensioner and the water pump and the "stretch bolts" on the engine mounts, and did the person who did it know how to properly set the belt tension (it's tempting to turn the tension adjuster the wrong way ... which will cause the belt tensioner to fail prematurely ... which will result in a timing belt failure ... which grenades the engine). Only way to know this ... is to price in having this job done the moment you take delivery of the car.

Anything Honda and Toyota is almost certain to be overpriced for what it is. (edit: someone mentioned the Echo/Yaris ... that might work)

What you really want is a "depreciation-mobile": A car that is not from a premium brand, and which doesn't have a good reputation, and yet actually isn't really that bad of a car.

It might be hard to find some of these with a manual transmission ... but if you do find one, it will probably be cheap, because they're harder to sell.

Chevy Cobalt. Maybe even a Cruze. Someone posted a link to a 2012-ish manual-transmission Cruze a few days ago for not a whole lot more than your budget.

Ford Focus. Probably before the current generation. Look for rusty rocker panels. These cars are tin cans. My brother-in-law had one for a long time, at last check it was a field car at my niece's farm because there was no way it would pass inspection. (actually I'm not sure if they still have it, they might have scrapped it by now)

Mazda 3 in that price range i.e. age range will probably be a rust bucket.

Anything Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi. Out of the bunch ... Mitsubishi Lancer, IF you can find one. They are actually decently built for what they are ... but they're unpopular, therefore sell cheaply - but there are not many out there because so few were sold.

Beggars can't be choosers.
 
I really like the fiesta ST. Every time I travel to europe I come back with small car fever. Dunno if it's very fuel efficient, or under 5K but... damn they are nice.

Fiesta ST is an awesome fun little car with enough hp and handles like a go kart. I'm not so sure about fuel efficiency (my focus ST an RS drink like trucks). But if I was looking to replace a Mustang (fun car) with something else, it would have to be something fun to drive.
The Fiesta st can't be had for 5k though lol. The fit is a good choice as well, not as fun, or a regular Golf.
 
wife has a mazda3 4dr, its very good on gas and cost to keep is very cheap. Its on 2 1/2 of a 3yr lease so no rust yet.....
 
I have to vote for the Mazda 3 as well. Great unassuming car with good engine build quality, cheap to maintain and insure and overall great value for the money. When I was looking for myself, I came across Downsview Auto. They always seem to have a load of 3's that are rust free at great pricing. They have a bucket load of manual trans at or under your price range now.

Buy one of these, do virtually nothing to it but drive it. Have it oil sprayed though.
 
The 1.3 Toyota iQ 6spd is another great ride. The engine behind steering rack makes it handle very well.
 
My Kia Rio is okay. Way cheaper than Toyota and almost as good

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Subaru impreza hatchback (so 2008 +) if you can find one around your pricepoint and if headgaskets have already been changed lol
 
Some are good with taking the time to calculate the operating cost of a vehicle. Insurance, maintenance needs, fuel consumption etc.

OP has already put a budget in place of $5000.

There is no “stand out”.

Fuelly is a good resource to examine real world fuel consumption and insurance broker is a good resource for insurance rates.

And independent mechanics can be helpful about what they see for expensive repairs and others that need regular wear replacement like wheel bearings, exhaust bits, shocks and ball joints, brakes etc.

The quality gap between foreign and domestic brands has blurred as even the foreign brands have caved to bean counters and taken cheap short cuts on things.

For me, the driving experience needs to be comfortable. Even if it’s an appliance.

Personally, I’d try to get the newest, low mileage, budget category vehicle, regardless of a specific brand.









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would agree with a Fiesta
decent little cars, fun with a manual trans
depreciate quicker than an import
would likely get one with more life left for 5K
than you would with a Japanese car
 
would agree with a Fiesta
decent little cars, fun with a manual trans
depreciate quicker than an import
would likely get one with more life left for 5K
than you would with a Japanese car

actually, they've announced that they're stopping production of fiestas so price might not depreciate as fast, especially for the performance models!
 

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