Went to go check this out and it's actually a "re-built" title. Car Fax shows it as being a to owner and involved with two total loss reports. Yikes!
Drove my car for the first time in 5 months. Getting a new battery (I goofed and left the car on for about a week while it was jacked up lol) and an alignment later this week. It's a '97 but mechanically, it's brand new.
I've been saving up for a new car for a year. Going to try and pull the trigger on one before October, hopefully.
I know nothing about cars. Going to have to buy one as it seems mine is done. Can huge dealerships be trusted with "certified pre owned cars"? Or just pre owned cars in general from a huge dealership? Are Nissans reliable? There seems to be some pretty good deals at a Nissan dealership near me for used cars.
i ended up getting my car from Hertz Car Sales. That might be a good route to go. They're usually new(er) and around 30K miles.
Certified pre-owned (CPO) stuff is a solid way to go. However, most of the time, you can find a similar car to that of a CPO for a few thousand cheaper. The only difference may be a limited extended warranty on the CPO, which may or may not be worth it depending on brand and warranty length. It's usually harder to talk down the price of a CPO over a similar car without the CPO moniker, but with the car market the way it is now, you might still be able to get the price lowered considerably. Here's a good article about buying certified pre owned cars from this year: http://jalopnik.com/when-its-really-worth-it-to-buy-a-certified-pre-owned-c-1794738731 Newer Nissans are pretty nice. The transmissions are dull, whiney, and unexciting, but they get good gas mileage. I'd recommended a used Altima - the Versa is awful, the Sentra is okay, but you're best bet for value/performance is the Altima.
Thank you so much. This all really helps for someone as clueless as me. Any reason why the Versa is awful? Naturally that was the cheapest one when I was browsing yesterday - so just curious. My friend has an Altima and said it's always been reliable for him, so I've definitely been checking those out too.
I test drove the Versa and didn't like it when compared to the Hyundai Accent. I've driven the Altima many times between south San Diego and Anaheim. Great car right there. It's bigger than what I need right now so that's why I didn't bother looking at it for myself
The Versa was built to be small and cheap, so it feels small and cheap. It's slow and the interior is low quality. You're better off getting almost anything else. Crossshop Hyundai Accents and Elantras, depending on what size car you're looking for.
Originally I was gonna get a used FRS or BRZ, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to driving stick and paying for premium fuel for the next decade or how ever long I'll have it. I'm really set on a used 2014 Mazda 3 grand touring hatchback, so I'm just waiting for the right on at the right price. If I can get another car for a really good deal though i might just get something else.
A friend of mine suggested this. What kind of car did you end up getting and price range? If you dont mind me asking Edit: Wow, Hertz Car Sales seems almost too good to be true
So just curious would any of you consider either of these a good deal? Not that I plan on buying either but I'm just trying to o some research. https://www.woodburynissan.com/inventory/Used-2009-Nissan-Versa-1.8_S-3N1BC13E89L481504/ and https://www.woodburynissan.com/inventory/Used-2012-Nissan-Altima-2.5_S-1N4AL2AP6CC255554/ I know I sound kinda clueless but I don't know a whole lot of people that are great with cars haha
Don't think that Versa is a good deal at all. It's an 09 base model (s) for $7K with 50k miles. For perspective, you could probably buy a 2017 brand new for $11K with more advance safety tech and low or zero miles. Again, I probably wouldn't buy a Versa under any circumstances - there are just many better options. The Altima is an okay deal. It's a base model with 70K miles, is 5 years old and is just an overall better car. You might be able to find a higher tier trim model or one with less miles for around that price though. I've heard good things about buying fleet cars such as from Hertz. You can usually find a newer car for a good price. Things to look out for are super high mileage or the absolute base model. For example, there are 2015ish Mazda 3 sedans around the $11K mark in Cleveland, but they are the base trim which comes with this trash radio. It's almost like Mazda had to work to make something so trash. Normal Mazda base models come with a touchscreen - it's like a tier below the base model, if that makes any sense. Just depends what you're looking for I suppose.
2016 Elantra. 37k miles 10k-12K range. It is the base model so no newer features like keyless start or back up camera.
The hydraulic lines on my steering rack are suspect right now. I put an entire bottle of steering fluid in today and it's empty again. Those lines are my arch nemesis and I am going to fuck them up asap.
Nice car for the price. A lot of people like to crap on Chevy for build quality on their cheaper cars (and how they tier their trims) but it's basically a mini Cruze - which is a good car. Drives pretty good, hatch utility is great, steering isn't overly numb, power is around 135hp which isn't bad. Not exactly sure what comes standard on the LT trim but it's one of the better cars in the class - it won't feel like you're driving some kind of penalty box like a Nissan Versa. I drove one and thought it felt a little smaller than it actually is. Two cars to cross shop: used 2015 Honda Fit EX and a used 2016 Scion IA. the Fit has the fold-flat Magic seats (more cargo space than most SUVs - it's insane) and is more fun to drive, but the touch screen isn't perfect and it lacks a normal volume knob. The Scion IA is actually a Mazda2 that isn't sold in the US - it's got superb build quality and value, but it's sedan only and has like 25 HP less. The Sonic may be the best value if your main concern is overall package for the price. I'd say check it out and see what you think.
Got a new wrangler. My eighth. Hopefully I don't flip it like I did the last two. 2007 Rubicon only has 29K miles on it. Putting lift and 35 inch tires on it this weekend. Not a bad way to spend 5K.
I went to Napa, Walmart, and Lowes to get some spare keys made and all three said they couldn't do it because of the blanks I have. What a joke.