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I had no idea where to put this but I need some advice. I'm getting a car on Saturday as a gift to myself for my birthday, which is tomorrow [Friday] but I work Friday so I have to get it Saturday but that's another story.

My issue is the car itself. I'm getting a Toyota Matrix. I know that much. But my issue is what year to get. I wanted a brand new 08, but they're completely GONE. Litterally, gone. They sold out of them LAST MONTH. >_<

The 09's are running around at 18-20,000. I could probably haggle it to about 15-16,000....
The 06 I'm being offered is a little over 16,000... which is how much the 08 would've been, and I can probably haggle it down to about 13,000 which is my goal. It's only got 12,000 miles on it which is REALLY good, considering the year.

Now the question is, should I try for an 09 or should I just get the 06? I'm trying to get a payment of about 250 dollars a month, that I will be paying myself, and I am a first time buyer, with a co-signer. My Father and I are going to figure it out on Saturday when we do a full comparison and then I get to pick one.

In my shoes, what would you do? I'm dead set on getting a Matrix. I've fallen in love with the car... so don't suggest anything else ^^;

EDIT:

Don't get the Matrix. You're looking at 21/29 miles per gallon. That's garbage for anything that's not an SUV. My Plymouth still gets about 28/29mpg at 11 years old. Go find yourself a sedan, maybe a four-door. You'll save your parents $10,000, you'll beat the hell outta the gas pumps, and you'll have a car whose insurance isn't going to bite you in the [censored] when you get a fender bender.

Cars are about getting from Point A to Point B. Doesn't mean you need to buy a Geo, but getting a brand-new vehicle that's going to lose $15,000 in value the moment you drive it off the lot (I'm serious) is a waste of money.

As I'm sure you know, the moment you drive off the lot with the '09, it's a used car. Not to belittle a new car, but just the few years of depreciation of the '06 can make a huge difference, about $5000 or so according to you.

If I were in your shoes, I'd try to haggle down the '06 a little and just go with that. Assuming it's still under warranty -- 3 years isn't near enough time or mileage to void it -- it seems like the much better deal.

Unless, of course, you have your heart dead set on the '09, because that fresh car smell is quite nice.

That's about all you get extra. Fork out another five grand to avoid having a few chips in the paint, :s

I have a car already, I should've clarified that. I have, at the moment, a 95' Chevy Cavalier. The reason I'm getting a new car is because mine has a coolant leak and it sounds awful right now. I'll be lucky if it makes it to July.

That, and I have a trip to make in August to Baltimore, MD which is 4 hours from VA Beach, VA and my current car barely makes it 1 hour away.

I had the same thought about the 06 already being 'broken in', and I'm already leaning towards that car. I just would prefer more opinions on it before I jump into it. It's my first car from a dealership. My Cavalier I got from my Mother who got it from an auction.

The 06 is certified, and has a 7yr/100k mile warranty on it.

And I've heard the new car smell is actually toxic o_O

Mm, my sister had a '96 Chevy Cavalier. Piece of crap, she junkered it a few years ago for a Chevy Vibe. Also a piece of junk, just shinier.

If you've already got a car, I'd see how much you can trade it in for. I'm sure if it's leaking like that, they'll part it out on you, but you can probably get a good $1,500 for it if the parts are useable. Put that towards a used car like that '06 you're looking at. I don't recommend you get the Matrix simply because now you're looking at $4/gallon for gas on top of a interstate trip.

You're looking at a 13 gallon tank, at $3.60 a gallon... just under $50 for a tank of gas.

I might look at plane tickets, :)

Cars aren't an investment, they're an expense, and they depreciate incredibly rapidly during the first year. I agree with Ryusen -- unless you absolutely must have the latest model, go with the '06.

The only good things I can say is that it ought to last you five or more years after you get the loan paid off, and it's a great way to establish credit; but those're true whichever one you go with.


Not for a four hour trip. Not unless she's driving my dad's '75 Scottsdale 4WD 3/4 ton truck with eight miles to the gallon. For goodness sake, I can't be the only one who drives for multiple hours generally one weekend a month. This month, I have three hour drives every weekend in the month.

I think I smell a winner.



No...wait...just toxic fumes. My bad.

I saw your edit up there. Is the gas really bad on it? Prices for gas down here are at about $3.50-$4.00
The gas didn't look too bad when I looked at it. Maybe I'm not looking at it right?

And yes I'm trading in my car. I'm going to have about $3,000 on the down payment. And it won't be cheaper to fly. I already checked. Plane tickets are gonna cost a HUGE amount. The cost of the plane tickets would pay for our hotel, and we're already getting free lodging. The car is just going up there, it's gonna be parked for 3 days, and then it's coming back.

What should I look for when I'm looking for a fuel efficent car? And can you make some suggestions? I need a car with some good space in it since I do go on trips at least 3-4 times a year and have a lot of things to carry.

Edit: $50 isn't too bad. I usually fuel when it's coldest outside. You get more gas out of that >_> And if you go to WaWa and pay cash for gas, you actually get discounts. My current car takes only $40 to fuel up and I don't drive much so it's about approx. $50 dollars for 2 weeks.

For the trip to MD, I've got people carpooling with me, so not all the gas money is coming out of my pocket :3

Well, if your folks are willing to blow thousands of dollars on whatever you want, get a hybrid. Even then, the parts on those cars are high enough up there to make you wonder if it's cheaper to just buy a Leer for yourself.

Fuel-efficient cars, look for sedans. Anything around 30mpg is pretty good these days. I'm sure the dealer is going to really lean on the Matrix's 29mpg highway, but they never tell you to think about how many times you're going to fill up on that highway. I find sedans, like your Cavalier, tend to have better fuel economy. Lighter cars = less gas. Hell, if you're willing to buy a 2-door, even, go for it, though all your tall friends will hate you. :)

I'd do some research online. I'm sure there are plenty of sites dedicated to glorifying cars with good MPGs.

xD

Did I mention the money is all out of my pocket? My parent's are just co-signing with me cause I need to build up credit.

So you'd say between 25-30 on street and 30+ on highway?

And it has to be a 4 door. I'm fed up with my 2 door baby x-x I love her to death but the 2 door thing really kills me.

Gas is expensive no matter what. I've got a seventeen gallon tank. That sucker isn't at all cheap to fill right now. I've got a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.6L. I love the style, and it's a four door, which was something I wanted because it makes it easier for me to haul my computer around (which I used to do fairly regularly), and it's nice and roomy for carting friends around. Gas mileage isn't spectacular (~16/25 according to http://www.fueleconomy.gov). We've had a lot of improvements in economy since 2000, but I disagree with fastchapter that less than 30 on the highway is out of bounds for cars. By the government specs, nearly all the "most efficient" ones hit just over 30, but those are also almost all manuals (automatic transmissions aren't quite as efficient in general) or hybrids (which we'll exclude for the sake of this discussion).

Seriously, that's a factor to consider, but there are a lot of factors to weigh your decision on a car. If you've fallen in love with the Matrix, go with it.

That site is useful :3

Looking over the MPG now, it's good. Not the best, but it's good. What else should I be looking at? I'm new to all of this so as much knowledge I can get about getting a car or what things to look at/into, would be helpful.

I studied a lot of Consumer Reports and similar books out of the library when I made my decision. Safety and reliability were what I was looking for, rather than fuel efficiency, which is part of why I've got a car that isn't as fuel efficient as it could be.

You should look into getting a Honda Civic or Honda Accord. Both are reliable, well made cars, and the manual transmission (mostly found in Civics) makes for a fun and more fuel efficient ride. But any Honda in general will be an excellent car, and not too hard to locate either.

And, just for the heck of it, try to find a RWD. Thats what really makes a manual shine.