Need advice on which car to buy

[Burninator]

Can't wrong go with a Mazda 3. Reliability is good, only downside is the potential for rust.

Ford Escape is good too. I've been very happy with mine. The V6 is very peppy, but the mileage is around 12L/100km in the city. AWD was awesome during the crappy days this winter. Reliability is suppose to be quite good as well. It fit what I wanted in a vehicle very well. There are tons out there so you have lots of selection and since they are so popular selling one shouldn't be a problem.

I thought about Subaru (Forester, Outback). But there is always something holding back almost every model. Too small engine, poor transmission, lack of options or price (with a decent engine). But if you don't mind a slower car with a lacking transmission it would probably make a good commuter.

[Erick Estrada]

If you are looking to flip the car in 6 months and resale is important buy a Civic or Corolla. I know they are boring but they hold their pricing extremely well and are as reliable as anything else out there. Kia and Hyundai's have improved but their resale value still stinks. Mazda 3's are okay but they don't hold their value as well and like someone said Mazda's are notorious for rust issues. Subaru's hold their value well but Impreza's are such uninspiring cars with horribly cheap interiors.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Hevishot

You do understand that most vehicles are written off due to the cost of the repair exceeding the ACV of the vehicle. Sometimes there is no frame damage nasty hits or airbag deployments. Sometimes cars get sideswiped and need a bumper, fender 2 doors and either a quarter panel replacement or repair. Most insurance companies start thinking about total losses and payouts after a vehicle reaches 75-80% of ACV that also varies by insurance company.
By the time you get around the price of the parts the supplemental damages, paint, blending color to adjacent panels for proper color match and R&I of glass and such it can be enough to total a vehicle. Also if a vehicle has less than a certain amount of kms and you have total vehicle replacement insurance you can also opt for a payout to the lien holder if any and go get another one.
Not all vehicles that are branded repaired status are cobbled together. Unfortunately alot of them that are come from out east where the law is a little more relaxed. Most shops will not repair a write off for off the street customers. Alot of the bigger shops that have excessive fleets of courtesy cars may have some "repaired/rebuilt" vehicles in their fleets.

I find cars that have had substantial post-accident work done are worse 11 times out of 10 versus cars that have not needed substantial amounts of work. If you want to roll the dice to save a few bucks, go nuts. Wouldn't take long to blow through whatever you saved by trying to fix mechanical problems/squeaks/rust/rattles/vibrations/not-quite-perfect fit and finish/etc., though. I really can't see a single reason why somebody would buy one of these cars, but I guess they do.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Subaru's hold their value well but Impreza's are such uninspiring cars with horribly cheap interiors.

Yeah, you hear a lot of love for Subarus from owners, but every time I get in one I'm so underwhelmed by the interior. I could never own one for that reason alone.

[bc-chris]

my mother-in-law has a mazda 3 and loves it!! she's had it for close to 2 years and has had no problems at all (and no rust)

my wife drives a 2011 mazda cx7 and loves it. we've had no issues with it what so ever


you know, being that you live in calgary you might want to consider something like this for your daily driver (this one's even red and definitely has a 'flames' vibe to it) ....

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yeah, you hear a lot of love for Subarus from owners, but every time I get in one I'm so underwhelmed by the interior. I could never own one for that reason alone.

I own one and every day I climb into the interior and listen to the symphony of rattles and ask myself what I was thinking when I bought the car lol.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I own one and every day I climb into the interior and listen to the symphony of rattles and ask myself what I was thinking when I bought the car lol.

Haha it could be worse, man. I bought a 4-door Jeep Wrangler in the summer of 2011. I returned it after three days. I bet your Subaru rides like a Rolls Royce in comparison.

[photon]

Yeah we owned an Outback a long time ago and had the same observation, decent car, fisher price interior.

My dad just emailed me, sounds like their car is ready to go now too and he's looking for a truck, and emailed me a link to this site:

http://newcarselloff.com/

The URL even looks fishy to me, and the site.. I emailed him back saying I haven't looked at any of their deals yet, but the site SCREAMS smarmy to me.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah we owned an Outback a long time ago and had the same observation, decent car, fisher price interior.

My dad just emailed me, sounds like their car is ready to go now too and he's looking for a truck, and emailed me a link to this site:

http://newcarselloff.com/

The URL even looks fishy to me, and the site.. I emailed him back saying I haven't looked at any of their deals yet, but the site SCREAMS smarmy to me.

ha! one of my buddies from hockey is with newcarselloff.com

i'll fire you a pm

[me_dennis]

I know you said no to VW, but if you do change your mind, my wife's car (2009 VW Jetta) is for sale
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=124324

VERY low kms (<45000km) and it is still under warranty until June 2013. It's the 2.5L engine, which was manufactured in Germany as opposed to most of VW's engines which are manufactured in mexico or brazil.

The price is negotiable as well.

If you're looking for something at a lower price range, and mileage doesn't matter to you, i've got a 2008 VW Rabbit for sale in your price range.