What Car Should I Buy? - A Weekly Megathread
Posted by AutoModerator@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 22 comments
Any posts pertaining to car buying suggestions or advice belong in this weekly megathread; do not post car-choosing questions in the main queue. A fresh thread will be posted every Monday and posts auto sorted by new. A few other subreddits worth checking out that will help your car buying experience are /r/WhatCarShouldIBuy, /r/UsedCars and /r/AskCarSales. www.everydaydriver.com may also be helpful.
Make/Model-specific questions should be asked on Make/Model-specific subreddits. Check the AutosNetwork for a complete list of those subreddits. Also check out our community-sourced Ultimate car buying wiki.
For those posting:
Please use the following template in your post.
Location: (Specify your country or region)
Price range: (Minimum-Maximum in your local currency)
Lease or Buy:
New or used:
Type of vehicle: (Truck, Car, Sports Car, Sedan, Crossover, SUV, Racecar, Luxury etc.)
Must haves: (4x4, AWD, Fuel efficient, Navigation, Turbo, V8, V6, Trunk space, Smooth ride, Leather etc.)
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc):
Intended use: (Daily Driver, Family Car, Weekend Car, Track Toy, Project Car, Work Truck, Off-roading etc.)
Vehicles you've already considered:
Is this your 1st vehicle:
Do you need a Warranty:
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc)
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc )
Additional Notes:
For those providing suggestions: Facts are ideal in this thread, especially when trying to help out a new car buyer. Please help out buyers with sources and reasoning for your suggestions.
For those asking for help, be sure to thank those who take the time to offer you advice (especially those who lead you to a purchase.) A follow up thank you and the knowledge that their advice led to a purchase is a very warm fuzzy feeling.
HandOfGood@reddit
Location: Midwest, USA
Price range: $30-40k
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Sports car/luxury/coup/sedan
Must haves: Leather, nice interior, 5 sec > 0-60 time, Carplay, reliable
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): Auto
Intended use: Daily
Vehicles you've already considered: BMW M240i, M340i, i40, Lexus is 350 f sport, RC 350 f sport, Supra, Genesis G70
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: Probably
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: No
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: Coming from a 2014 Ford Escape. Got a new job, finally looking to upgrade. Will be planning to buy sometime before the end of the year. I'd rather have an ICE car, but open to certain electric (not tesla) due to the gas price situation. I'm WFH so don't put many miles on. I'm open to tons of different cars, really just looking for an "upscale" interior and something quick/sporty. Please don't recommend Mazda/Honda/Toyota/etc. Ideally would love a Supra but it's pushing the budget too far.
ZePample@reddit
Location: Canada
Price range: Max 40'000.
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Probably Used
Type of vehicle: SUV? See notes
Desired transmission: Auto
Intended use: Daily, Family. Work on jobsite with unequal terrain.
Vehicles you've already considered: Mach-E but the 2023 has bad reviews.
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: Yes
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: No
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes:
I'm looking for a car that has a good height because i will bring it on worksite were terrain often is inequal.
I do about 1250km per week so i'll use it rapidly, that's why i'm looking to probably buy a 2023 or a location return so that the cost is limited.
I want it to be comfortable because i use it more than 4 hours per day.
I need minimum 400 km autonomy. Mentionning this because i'm looking for an EV.
Any suggestion ?
Sufficient-Grape6413@reddit
Location: Sacramento, CA
Price range: 40-50K
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: New
Type of vehicle: Luxury Sedan
Must haves: At least somewhat sporty
Desired transmission Auto
Intended use: Daily Driver
Vehicles you've already considered: Genesis G70, Lexus IS, Audi A5
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty:
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: No
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: Buying a new car to celebrate graduating law school. Looking for a luxury sedan that looks professional, but doesn't give the vibe of "first year attorney bought a BMW to make himself look cool."
I was pretty sold on a G70, but my local dealer closed and I'd have to go 2 hours to the closest one. Not sure if I'd really love taking an entire day off to go to the dealership if I'd need to.
False_Opportunity297@reddit
Location: Massachusetts, US
Price range: 35k or less
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Sports Car
Must haves: AWD, CarPlay, Sunroof, trunk space, Customization, just something fun and reliable
Desired transmission: manual
Intended use: Daily Driver
Vehicles you've already considered: 2020 Wrx Sti Limited, Audi S4 (18-21),
Is this your 1st vehicle: no
Do you need a Warranty:
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc): yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc ): no
I’m 20 M, (will be driving between MA and VT quite often (at least twice a month), looking for other options but I believe the STI might be the best option for what I’m looking for. Just trying to get some other recommendations to get more perspective.)
Aestro17@reddit
Location: Oregon, US
Price range: $15k - $27k, hoping to stay below $23k or so.
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Either, Used more likely
Type of vehicle: Hatchback
Must haves: Trunk space, Bluetooth, backup camera, Not Easy to Steal
Desired transmission: Auto
Intended use: Daily Driver
Vehicles you've already considered: Honda Fit, Honda Civic Hatchback, Toyota Corolla Hatchback, Subaru Integra, Mazda3 Hatchback
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: I've got an '03 Jetta that's only around 103k miles and I've done some minor maintenance like replacing taillights, air filters, the trunk latch and starter switch. I drive short distances most days, looking for something small for the city that could still move smaller furniture like a coffee table or small bookcase. Because I'm not piling on mileage, I'm more worried about age than miles on used cars.
Also property theft is pretty big here, so trying to avoid stuff like the Kia.
The Honda Fit and Civic Hatchbacks are my top contenders. Both are a little expensive used, but seem like they tend to make the best use of space in a small car while being reliable. I testdrove a new Mazda 3 and didn't like the trunk layout or the weird screen configuration and controls. Also testdrove a Subaru Integra and it wasn't bad, though a little bigger than I'd like, especially on width. I don't know as much about them in terms of reliability, just that they can be a little more expensive to maintain/repair.
Does anyone have anything else I'm not considering? Any thoughts on the Yaris compared to the Hondas?
Aggravating_Tip9666@reddit
Location: Norway (Vestlandet)
Price range: Min 0nok - max 50 000nok
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Sedan or coupe.
Must haves: It has to be good on winter driving. also a fun fast car. also it has to look good.
Desired transmission can be manual or auto but ive read manual is maybe better on older cars.
Intended use: dialy driver to and from school about 28km one way. also want to use it for roadtrips.
Vehicles you've already considered: i love BMW cars i think they look great. but i havent looked at any specific models.
Is this your 1st vehicle: Yes
Do you need a Warranty: No dont think so
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: i prefer normal size cars not anything bigger than a rav4 in width. here i live theres many small roads. theres also some steep roads that can get slippery in the winter. i am open for other car brands too not just bmw. ive heard toyota has very reliable motors.
ConfusedTapeworm@reddit
You can probably forget about BMW with that budget. I'd love to recommend some E46, which very much would be a fun fast car that looks great, but anything you get with that money is going to be an absolute rust bucket, barely more than a parts car. Hard to recommend that. Maybe a first gen BMW 1er. If and only if you can find a diesel with a very good service history with tons of documents. Otherwise it'll be just a good looking car. It'll be slow-ish, and it's relative unreliability will quickly suck the fun out of it.
Honestly there aren't very many choices that fit the "fun fast car" requirement within that budget. At least none that would be suitable as an at least somewhat reliable daily driver. You could consider something like a Civic EP2, and putting some money into mods. It would be fun and good looking car, but you'd have to pretend it's fast for the most part. And it's FWD, so the winter driving bit is debatable depending on exactly where you live. Also not sure if there aren't any EP2s left over there that aren't already half eaten by rust.
Another option would be a Fiesta 1.4, 2009 or 2010 or thereabouts. I personally think they're very nice looking cars. They're admittedly not fast by any meaning of the word, but you should not underestimate how well they can throw themselves around. They're also quite moddable.
In your shoes I'd probably go the safe route and get a Golf. A nice clean early Mk7 would be within that budget. Not particularly fast, not particularly fun, but looks good enough and is just a decent car overall.
Aggravating_Tip9666@reddit
I’ve looked at more cars and I am maybe doubling my budget. I’ve been looking at the Volkswagen Golf GTE 1,4 TSI 204hk phev bensin unsure about which year model but likely the one that’s the cheapest. But it seems like a fun fast enough car. I have found fully working bmws for around 50 000nok but all of them has a very high mileage. And with the cost of fuel I think a plugin hybrid or a fully electric car is best for my use.
ConfusedTapeworm@reddit
Do be careful about those, and if you ever seriously consider buying one, make sure you are presented with documents of the car's service history, especially regarding its hybrid stuff and its battery. Make sure you're not getting stuck with the very expensive maintenance bill that the car's electric powertrain is very very likely gonna be due by now. Despite the numbers on the spec sheets, the early VW PHEVs were not very good PHEVs when they were new, they're not likely to be any better now that they're 10+ years old. There's a reason why you're seeing 200+hp Golf 7s being sold for that cheap.
In any case, I doubt you'll be able to find a decent (PH)EV with that budget. Nothing that remotely fits your criteria at least, unless you've also decided to change those while doubling your budget. In that case, go for a BMW i3 or a Nissan Leaf or whatever. The i3 is actually a surprisingly good little car, if it's powertrain has been kept well and maintained. Probably not gonna be climbing any slippery slopes in it though.
I genuinely doubt that they really are "fully working". With the rare exception of a clean, diesel E81, I would personally not buy a BMW at all with that money if it's gonna be my only car and my daily driver. See my flair. I have some experience with those old BMWs that appear to be good and within your budget. 99% of them are traps.
Now, doubling your budget certainly expands your possibilities quite a bit. You are now in F20/21 and E90/91 territory. If you can find a decent diesel specimen, which you should be able to, that'll serve you well. Looks good, decently practical for daily driving, RWD, not super fast but enough power the size, and the diesel gives you decent fuel economy with good torque. I am insisting on diesel here because BMW's diesel engines of that era are a decent bit more reliable than their petrols. They're pretty good IF you can find a nice clean specimen with a well documented service history that tells you it's been well taken care of. In any case, if you ever seriously consider buying of those, getting the car professionally inspected is not optional IMO. Do not trust your eyes and ears, get a professional involved. If the seller says "it's good don't worry" but cannot provide actual proof of service history, walk away. If the seller refuses to get the car inspected, walk away. Do not take risks with those cars or they'll hurt your wallet pretty bad.
Similarly you could be able to score a Mini Cooper S. They're pretty nice. Not very roomy though.
Something you might not have considered: Alfa Romeo 159. Might be a bit difficult to find a decent specimen of those with your now-doubled budget, but if you can... That's honestly gonna be very hard to beat. Absolutely gorgeous car, famously great handling, decent performance for what it is. Though I'm not sure about the Alfa ownership experience over there. Their costs of ownership tend to vary wildly by region.
Audi A4 could be a decent choice. A Quattro A4 could be possible with that budget. It'll probably be a bit high km, but that should be fine if the car has a decent service history. Their diesel options are pretty solid.
Melodic_Towel8763@reddit
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Price Range: under $30K or under $400 a month.
Lease or Buy : finance
New or Used: Don’t care as long as it’s reliable
Type of Vehicle: similar build to my Buick Encore or Car. Not picky.
Must Haves: I want something I can take for oil changes and routine maintenance and not have to think about anything else.
Desired transmission: Auto
Intended use: daily driver
Vehicles I’ve already considered: anything Toyota but open to anything.
Additional information: I don’t really care what I drive as long as it has good gas mileage and only needs routine maintenance. I do not want to do any work myself on the car. I’m a bigger guy (6’2, 250lbs) so would need something that I can be comfortable in while driving. Have good credit (760 ish), never missed a payment, and would like the least amount of hassle from trading in my current car for another as possible.
Thanks!
CollectionOwn8323@reddit
10th gen accord
Optical_reality@reddit
Location: Galveston, Texas, USA
Price range: 30k or under
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Hatchback, sedan, or pickup
Must haves: Cassette or CD player, Key Start ignition, good cargo space.
Desired transmission: ether one is fine
Intended use: Daily Driver
Vehicles you've already considered: 2019 Honda civic sport Hatchback, 2024 Subaru Impreza RS, 2019 Subaru WRX, 1998 Ford Taurus, 2005 Subaru Baja
Is this your 1st vehicle: Yes
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: no
Additional Notes: Car has to have under 80k miles
CollectionOwn8323@reddit
New[ish] Car: Mazda 3 (newest gen or old mazdaspeed 3) Used: v6 Charger
You seem to be into sporty cars. Since, its your first car focus on getting the fundementals of driving down (you will get dings at least 1.5 years)Then you can upgrade to faster/nicer cars.
hack_my_nipples@reddit
Location: Northern Ireland, UK
Price range: Up to around £60k
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Sports car
Must haves: Manual gearbox, RWD or AWD, interesting engine, sounds good
Desired transmission: manual
Intended use:** Weekend toy...mostly
Vehicles you've already considered: Lotus Emira, Aston Vantage 4.3/4.7, Audi R8 1st gen v8/v10, Lamborghini Gallardo 5.0, BMW Z4M, Ferrari 360,
Is this your 1st vehicle: No, also have a 2016 Audi RS3 and a 2014 Jaguar F Type R
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Rarely
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Standard-Juice-3738@reddit
Get an Emira. I love mine
Iridium-Silver@reddit
If you’re considering an Emira but want something a bit spicier, you guys got the series three Exige V6 which would be my choice for a sports car experience at that price point. There is a liveability sacrifice compared to anything else you’ve listed though, which leads to the obvious Porsches. £60k gets you into a 997.2 Carrera S with a manual along with plenty of 986/987 Boxsters and 987 Caymans. Not as spectacular as some of the supercars you’ve listed, but if you want to carve up some backroads, I think they would be better choices.
hack_my_nipples@reddit
I've never driven any of the porsches, on paper they should be all I ever want, but they just don't pull on my heartstrings... Except for some of the GT3's GT4's etc, but they are way out of my league
Iridium-Silver@reddit
I would suggest giving them a try but if you still don’t end up falling in love with them emotionally (despite them fitting every rational requirement), I would go with a V8 Vantage like you listed. They’re not as light as you would hope for a sports car, but they make a great noise and are still sporting enough to make a backroads blast fun. And as an object of desire, the 911 struggles to match it.
NoGas287@reddit
Location: Canada (a cold and snowy region in Canada - long winters)
Price range: 20,000-26,000 CAD
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Crossover or SUV
Must haves: Heated seats (trust me very long winters), AWD, apple carplay (4x4, AWD, Fuel efficient, Navigation, Turbo, V8, V6, Trunk space, Smooth ride, Leather etc.)
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): Autmatic
Intended use: Daily driver with a few longer trips a year (6-10 hour one way road trips)
Vehicles you've already considered: Nissan Qashqai 2023, Mazda CX30, Mazda CX5, Kona maybe
Is this your 1st vehicle: No. Drove a 2016 honda civic hatchback for a few years but sold it while living in a city. Loved it.
Do you need a Warranty:
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: No
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: Based on my local used car market, 2023 Qashqai fits the best within my budget and I enjoyed my test drive. However, I have read a lot of bad reviews online for the earlier Qashqai models but I have not seen much about the 2023, except that it is boring (I am indifferent to boring). The Mazda's are great cars but would run me a couple thousand over budget. I liked the Kona but also don't know much about it and I felt like the front of the car was super long when I was driving and it weirded me out. My main concern is that I am in school for the next 2 years so don't want to have a lot of costs during this time and would like a car to last at least 2-3 years after that.
arb098@reddit
Location: Colorado, USA
Price range: Max $25K
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: Crossover/SUV
Must haves: Needs to be AWD or 4WD for the winter months. Has to be big enough to haul 2 adults, 2 car seats, and 2 medium-large dogs. Preferably decentish gas mileage (20+ MPG), but that's not an absolute deal breaker. Reliable enough for 2-3 5,000 mile road trips annually.
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): Auto
Intended use: Daily drive/family hauler.
Vehicles you've already considered: Older 4Runners, Mazda CX5/CX50/CX90, Volvo XC60/XC90
Is this your 1st vehicle: Absolutely not
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc): Yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc ): Yes
Additional Notes: No mini vans. I'd drive one in a heartbeat, but my wife has a hatred for them so intense that it's honestly terrifying.
Super_Baime@reddit
I really like my 2020 Colorado pickup truck. It has been very reliable.
It has the 3.6l V6 engine without turbo charging, and the 9 speed transmission has been solid too. I would avoid 2019 and earlier units, because they were still dealing with transmission issues.
Anyway, I'm considering a SUV for a second vehicle. Chevy made a Blazer in 2020 with the same engine and transmission configuration. I'm considering one.
They are priced better than Toyota and Honda SUVs.
FYI: my buddies Toyota Highlander had the transmission go bad, way too soon, so they aren't perfect on reliability either.
Good luck.
Old_Let6608@reddit
Having a clear template like this makes it so much easier for people to give actually useful advice instead of vague guesses. Half the time in car threads people forget to include basics like budget or intended use and the replies end up all over the place.