Car shopping: hard

[akawil]

I haven't posted here in a long time, but I've had a significant life status change lately. To wit, as of this past November 1st, I'm no longer at the university where I'd been since 1990 as undergrad, grad student, and post-doc.

Instead, I'm now working at a small start-up in New Jersey. It's fun, exciting work, and so far I'm having a good time.

However (the point of this post), the start-up is not in a place which is conveniently reachable by public transportation. I've rented a car from Avis, but the cost of this is adding up quickly. So I need to buy a car.

Buying cars is hard.

My company has (through the company we contract our HR through) a program with Toyota which gives us a no-negotiation-required discount -- $200 over dealer's invoice on new cars, and similar margins over the dealership's purchase price on used cars. So I've been looking at Toyotas.

At first I looked at a used Corolla, but the price they quoted me on it was $16,000 -- apparently they paid too much for it -- and that's essentially the same price as a new Corolla, so today ladymondegreen and I went to test-drive a new Corolla.

And we didn't like it. The ergonomics of the interior are awkward -- there's an oddly-placed handle where I keep bumping my head -- and the suspension is way too stiff, so we feel every little bounce and jolt of the potholed Jersey City streets we were testdriving over.

Larger Toyotas (the Camry, and the like) are bigger than I'd really feel comfortable driving, and also seem too big for the fairly teeny parking space I've rented.

So unfortunately I'm now back at square one, and ladymondegreen suggested I post to my Livejournal.

So, what do people like in compact cars, for about the $16000 range, in either new or trustworthy used? Any recommendations?

Comments

[victorthecook.livejournal.com]

16G for a used Corolla? Egad - that's no bargain.

Since you're in a hurry, if you're not completely and utterly strapped for cash, I'd recommend a new car -- it's easier to find an acceptable one quickly, and they'll tend to be more reliable.

I'd recommend you start by shelling out $7 or so for an Edmunds guide, which lists the prices the dealers pay for new cars. That gives you a fighting chance of a good deal. There's also a book called "Don't Get Taken Every TIme", by Remar Sutton, which I found very, very helpful when dealing with car salesmen. Those two publications together probably paid off $100 for every $1 I spent on them.

It's been a while since I last looked, but I'd definitely consider the Honda Civic line; I loved my stick-shift Civic EX sedan, and my brother has a Civic Si hatchback he's very pleased with. The last car we bought was a Subaru Impreza, which is a little noisy on the highway, but otherwise very nice, and has held up well. We actually got it because Lara loved the engine compartment; go figure.

I'd stay away from Volkswagens; the friends who've had them loved them when they weren't in the shop -- but they were always in the shop.