That's right, ladies and gents. Don't we all love these generic threads? I know I do!
So, here's my deal. My Mz3 crapped the bucket over the weekend so I'm in search of a new car. I've almost exclusively ever had used cars as I don't mind tinkering and doing my own work. However, life is starting to get a little busy and I don't have as much time to devote to car repairs as I once had. Therefore, I'm looking to pick up a new or CPO vehicle. I've browsed through most manufacturer's websites to get a feel of what's out there and it seems like nothing is really jumping out at me. I'm also not sure I want to take the initial depreciation hit of simply driving a new car off the lot, hence the thought about going the CPO route. And instead of my usual habit of flipping cars once or twice a year, I'd like to keep this thing for a while. Therefore future maintenance out of warranty should be kept in mind.
Requirements:
- <$30k
- Ideally a compact sedan or hatch. No trucks, full-size sedans, or C/SUV's unless there's an absolute exception I should consider
- Decently loaded as I dislike driving bare bone cars. I realize this ups the future maintenance load potentially, but I'm okay with that risk.
- Ideally good fuel mileage and safety ratings
- While I prefer certain brands, I'm not a brand whore and don't mind considering companies outside of my past history (mostly VW, Mazda, Nissan)
- Has a warranty. The longer, the better.
I've been eyeing late model VW Golfs and Acura ILX's, just to get a general idea of where my preferences are at. Been considering a new MZ3 as well, but I haven't had much luck with their cars in the past. I'd also love a Volvo but the only ones that fall under the budget are still all last generation models and those things are far too long in the tooth, design wise.
Anyway, fire away!
