Hi everyone new to this forum!
I typed a whole novel of a backstory here so skip to the end if you don't wanna read all this.
I recently was told that I would be receiving my first car earliest this December and since then I have been researching the crap out of cars and the best car practices. I have used services like Autotrader which are great for finding cars being sold in my area. But it doesn't help with actually finding the car I would want/need. My Parent originally wanted me to get a 4WD because she believes that I would probably need it. Were moving to upstate NY after I get my car so snow is expected. I heard scotty say how a FWD car was enough for him but I don't know if its right for me. I'm not into off-roading or even sport cars, I'm probably gonna only use the car for driving on regular roads and highways so high fuel efficiency is preferred. A lot of the cars I originally wanted I saw had relatively bad MPG compared to our 2014 Hyundai Elantra (110k Miles) with 28 city / 38 highway. I wouldn't need anything over 35 😆, but something over 20 at least in both highway or city would be liked.
I originally wanted an SUV because I liked the idea of a larger vehicle but nothing as large as a truck. I wanted a vehicle that look "manly" so boxy and large. But when I found that most large SUVs are quite the gas guzzlers which is to be expected to compensate for there size I began to steer away from Large SUVs and focus on the midsize to compact size SUVs. The Jeep Renegade is what first caught my eye, but when I read reviews they were very split. Some people focused on the Off-road capabilities and said the entire car sucked because of it. While others said it was great with little to no issues. So i also began to doubt that vehicle as well.
After all that I feel like I'm back to square one I don't even know if I want an SUV or to just look for a Sedan, but I don't know if getting a sedan is great for living up in NY. That's why I'm here asking you all 😀. We plan on trading in/selling the Elantra, but it won't be much.
Start here to skip all the useless stuff 🤣:
To put it simply I don't know what to get as my first car. I'm not extremely experienced in car driving but I'm not a beginner I have at least 25k miles of experience driving. And see myself as a safe driver.
Here is what I see as minimum requirements for the car. But if you have anything that is outside of these feel free to tell me but do explain why. Thank you so much!
Price: <$31,000
Body Type: Any with a trunk!
Seats: ≥4 (For friends not family)
Mileage: 100k before typical breakdowns if new. If used than something that I should need to worry about breaking down if it has a lot of miles (>100k miles)
MPG (Least): ≥20 City | ≥20 Highway
Year: no older than 2000 if possible
Trunk Size: >15 ft³
Features: I would like a backup camera included at least lol
Thanks to anyone who would like to give there own opinion from all sorts of experienced people, even if you aren't an experienced mechanic all advice is extremely helpful!
Honda CRV.
I own an older model 2002 which is a manual, it is a joy to drive and has plenty of space in the back to lug a lot of stuff when I want to travel or help family move stuff around. If you need the space and like the 4wd look with a tyre on the back the crv or atleast the older one could be a great option.
@cootason please copy + paste your response in the ‘Your Answer’ section below, thanks.
Before you do indepth research I suggest you go and sit in your top choices. A few years ago I was thinking of getting a Chevy Cobalt. Spent a lot of time researching the models.
Then I sat in one. No more Cobalt.
If you need a car now, Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis/Lincoln Town Car. Those cars can give you most of what you need but not all.
Civic. Corolla. Latest HR-V. Corolla Cross. CRV. RAV4.
Preferably with a non turbo engine.
I hear AWD and think Subaru. I bet alot of people up there have them. I own one so alittle bias but their awd system is the best. Get a new one, their newer CVT's are better than the old ones (if you can drive stick get that instead)
OP wants to spend less than $31,000 dollars which is impossible with this current market.
no it's not
These would all be the best options. Buy used if new ones go over your budget.
Toyota : Camry (4 cylinder. V6 gets horrible gas mileage don’t listen to the ratings), Corolla, RAV4 (used if you want under $31k)
Honda : CRV, Civic, Accord
(used if you want under $31k)
Not necessarily. The 2023 Rav4 base trim is well under $31k. In general unless someone is buying a relatively old and/or high mileage car so many new cars are less expensive than the exact same used one. Take the Rav4 example and look at the used prices for a year or two or even 3 year old ones.
We bought Crosstreks for our kids, and turned out great. Would do it again without hesitation.
You can get new in your price range, and ticks all your boxes. Not a hot rod or luxury car, but supremely safe and competent in snow and foul weather.
Or if you want a trunk trunk (ie, a true sedan) find a Legacy. Not a lot of them out there. But it’s basically a sedan outback (I think they actually made an actual Legacy outback trim package for a few model years, but they are really rare).
Backup Camera: Any brand new car will have a backup camera. Backup camera is now mandatory on all new cars. It’s been that way for quite a few years now.
OP wants to spend less than $31,000 dollars which is impossible with this current market.
OP wants to spend less than $31,000 dollars which is impossible with this current market.
Many trims of the brand new Corolla, few trims of the new Civic, Accord, Camry, Corolla Cross, Rav4, cr-v all are under $31k even at msrp. And it's very possible in this market to buy at msrp; the key is finding a dealership willing to take a deposit then waiting for an incoming unit to arrive.