I bought a 2009 Honda Fit Sport and love it. It’s young, funky, has a small engine with a huge heart and is super practical to move arround your stuff or for sports, the MPG is amazing, super reliable and you’ll stay under the 20K mark even with the sport version.
I’m a big VW golf fan, but we’re not even in the same ball park MPG wise…
The Fit is a good suggestion I think.
Thanks for all the good suggestions guys. I think you are right that I’m not enough of a car buff to take good care of or appreciate the more classic cars. I’m open to the sportier models as long as it’s not a gas guzzler. Some of the models I’m currently looking at are the Civic, Ford Focus or Fusion, and maybe a Fit or KIA Soul. What do you guys think the sweet spot for miles on the odometer is before further depreciation is eaten up by repair costs? or is it typically just a matter of doing a complete inspection before buying?
Have a mechanic do an inspection. If they are good, they will see things that you will miss & be able to tell you what to watch out for in the near future. Mileage is only relevant for negociating.
Any modern entry level car is going to be mechanically fine up to 120k-150k miles as long as you change the oil once in a while. Other than moving parts, it’s more age than miles that does stuff in. Plastic components start to break down, electronics fail, etc.
You’ll be putting on ~20k / year, figure you’re keeping it for 5 years, I’d say keep your search to cars under 36k miles. Most cars coming off a 3 year lease will be right around that. I’d stay away from ex-rental cars, a lot of them don’t even get their oil changed, and they get driven like rental cars. They live a very hard life. Leases usually include free maintenance, so they tend to be better taken care of, and if you get it from a dealer, it will probably be a certified car with an extra warranty.
An inspection is especially good for spotting crash repairs, which often don’t make it onto Carfax.
In my eyes 120k miles is a bit high an estimate. These things are engineered to cost and purpose. We do have a new Turbo and new gearbox in my wifes Touran minivan at 40k miles. (Golf chassis) Previously we ran a 316i compact from 40 to 140k miles that only needed fluids, suspension bushes and brakes. That was a piggy bank on wheels.
You should make a total cost of ownership calculation before you decide if you invest that much money as a recent grad.
If you really decide to spend 14k on a car hold on another 4 weeks for the " year end" fire sales when dealers clear their inventory to cash in on supplier bonuses. Should enable you to pull a 2012 Focus on your driveway with a realistic 20% rebate.
2 year old used cars are less attractive in depriciation and maintenance…
mo-i
Thankfully the old car has been repaired and is working at the moment. That gives me quite a bit more time to make a decision (a few months rather than days.) That could let me wait for year end deals or look longer for a good used car. Any other advice/suggestions? and once again thanks for the help.
October is the best time to buy a new car from a dealer. At least historically, anyway.
There’s no excuse for a gearbox failing at 40k miles. I’ve got almost 100k on a 20 year old Lotus with a Japanese engine and gearbox. As you would expect, virtually all the electrical systems (lights, windows, instruments) the Brits designed have gone wrong, and it leaks in the rain, because apparently waterproofing is a low engineering priority in a country where it rains every day. But the engine is still perfect. Of course, now that I’ve said that, it will probably blow a head gasket next time I start it.
I like the 4-door hatchbacks. Small, fun, easy to park, great utility - you can haul anything, good milage. Mazda3 gets 40mpg. The Fit is smaller. Toyota Matrix is bland. The Golf and Mini are great but cost an extra $5K. The Lexus is an extra $10k. Never tried the new Focus, looks good though. Don’t know much about the Korean hatches, they are relatively new.
Scott: My focus is the same way (except no water leaking). I’ve had electric issues every other year. Wires snapping, poorly isolated terminals oxidizing. Greasy bits (engine and trans) have never been a problem. Really smooth running.
Plastics do a take a beating with age though. Whether in the AZ sun or -10 F in Montreal with a ton of road salt. This year, I replaced about $120 in plastic covers and air ducting for the radiator that was MIA.
Mind you, car is 10 years old. I’ve owned it 7.5 years now.
There’s no excuse for a gearbox failing at 40k miles.
No there is no excuse, but probably a reason. Or two.
VW uses the same plattform items for the minivan,thus they are not specced
for the higher load capacity (volume). But those Touran things tend to get laden to the roof…
Anyway there are lots of typical faults that the Golf platform cars show. Which
tells me that quality at VW really runs only skin deep. Perfect paint. Tight shutlines
and nice dash materials, but everything beneath it is not engineered up to the
same standard. Thus I tried to persuade the wife into a W124 T-model. To no avail.
In my eyes all compact and subcompact models are hampered in more or less the
same ways. The new Focus is said to be a class leading offer, as is the Kia C’eed, that
you US citizens do not get. Those compromises would always lead me to by a used
car of a higher standard with some warranty and substance. Highway and freeway
mpeg figures don’t differ that much from a Focus.
mo-i
P.S.: I just realised, that the 1-series hatch was not offered to you, as well and that
the discontinued Volvo C30 is extremely pricy in the US. So the reasonable choice
narrows down to a used Z4. At least for me. 
Now that we discussed Porsche, I want a 993 in robin blue. I think I’ll always want one of those…
Right now, I like the Subaru Impreza alot. Great new engine. Supposedly, still very robust mechanically. However, design is awful and they’ve slowly sucked the character out of their cars (no more frameless windows, 2-door model).
From a design standpoint, I love everything Ford is doing. However, the mechanicals are too fragile for Canada. Maybe in AZ it would be fine though.
VW is like the Rolling Stones. I love their old stuff, but don’t want to hear them play a new track in concert.
Mazda is getting interesting with the new 6 and whatever that SUV is (something-5). However, they don’t design for Canadian winters either:/
Kia/Hyundai is interesting. I love the Sonata. That thing seems class to me. The smaller ones look good, but my cheapness spidey-sense keeps going off. I’m sure there is stuff that is going to rot out or get damaged under those in winter.
The near luxury market seems the most boring to me. BMW, Audi, Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura. I can’t think of one that inspires me. They are great cars, I’m sure. It feels like they are all just copying each other now. At least Bangle BMWs looked a little fresh.
Jag is spot on design wise too. Great little gizmos. Shame they still can’t screw them together better.
Toyota, Honda, Nissan are too boring to mention. Reliable though.
Everyone else is a mixed bag. Who knows what’s good out there in GM, Chrysler, Volvo land.
As you would expect, virtually all the electrical systems (lights, windows, instruments) the Brits designed have gone wrong …
Scott, you do know that you can buy a Replacement Smoke Kit for your electrical system, right … … ? Or, maybe you just need a new SRV (smoke relief valve).
So I went to the Honda dealer today and it looks like I can get a new 2012 civic for $19,700 including all the taxes and fees. I was looking at Ford online and it looks like they have an incentive that can get me a 2013 focus for about $1800 cheaper, but I haven’t gone there yet so I’ll have to check. Reliability wise do you think it would be a mistake to go with the Ford? Is the extra $1800 worth it for the Honda reliability?
For that price you can get 2 used Audi TTs. Just saying. Think you can get a much more fun a still usable used car but maybe I just think a car should be more than appliance…
R
The Civic makes my eyes hurt. If you are going with a new Honda, at least get the Fit, you are a designer man!
I’m with R though. Get a used TT. I’f had my 01 TT for 7 years and it is still going strong. Sure it needs a $1,000 fix every 12 months or so, but still cheaper than a new car all in, and understandable for a 12 year old car. Not to mention way cooler, faster, more fun, and environmental (the greenest car is always the one that did not have to built).
Check out some VW GTIs. At least drive a bunch of stuff so you get the feel for what a difference it could make. Cars are one of those things, you don’t get what separates them until you experience them yourself first hand in the driver’s seat.
Jetta TDI for 16K
Don’t walk, run.
There’s 58 Audis available for 18K or less within 30 miles of Phoenix. They’re desert cars! They’ll be perfect!
That I agree with. I’ll most likely be hitting 3-4 dealerships tomorrow. I also test drove a Kia Soul last night, but they said they have a shortage due to strikes and they are marking up their models almost 2K over MSRP, and the steering felt kind of stiff and weird, but maybe I’m just a wimp and don’t know what a sporty car feels like. 
I did like the Fit, but I don’t think I’m going to get as good of a deal on it, but it is a cheaper car to start with so I don’t know. At first it was looking like used cars didn’t save much compared to new, but as I keep looking I’m starting to see some better deals so I think I’ll look a little closer.