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The Garage Starting to look for a new car....college student

• chickenselects Male Location: MSU 22 Years Old Date Joined: 2/6/2008 Credits: 45345
  #1

  Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 4:41:50 AM

  Been driving around a pos escort through college and I don't think its going to make it much longer, been saving for awhile and its time to upgrade.
  My biggest issue is I'm 6'4" which makes headroom/room in general a big concern.  I'm currently looking at a 07/08 Grand Prix or Avenger.  I haven't had a chance to go for a test drive or even sit in the damn thing as I'v been real busy with school.  Opinions? Experiences?  I will most likely buy it used but might be able to grab an 08 from a corp lease.
  Any other suggestions are welcome but it must be an American car made in America.   I don't mean a Toyoda made in the USA.
• RogueS4 Male Location: Los Angeles 26 Years Old Date Joined: 10/10/2006 Credits: 148151
  #2

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 10:51:33 AM

  How much do you want to spend? And why on earth do you want a @#$% domestic?
• chickenselects Male Location: MSU 22 Years Old Date Joined: 2/6/2008 Credits: 45345
  #3

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 2:14:18 PM

  Because I live in Michigan and I support our economy, wish you'd do the same.  Probably around 20k-25k.
• SOHC_DOC Male Location: So Cal 25 Years Old Date Joined: 6/27/2007 Credits: 199677
  #4

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 2:30:25 PM

  Lol buying a toyota/Honda made in America supports our economy more then buying domestics where most of those are made in mexico or Canada...
  You know what the best part of our economy is? Free market. When other companies offer much better value, thats what I'm going to go with. Until American compnaies change from their super cheap interiors, rent-a-car exteriors, and materials that belong in a childs toy, I'll stick with cars that that far exceed the value that you receive when you purchase a domestic.
  I love to support our economy, I prefer American made products, but I don't buy inferior goods.
  You would be so much happier with the quality of a Camry or Accord.
• Dr_VW Male Location: San Luis Obispo… 20 Years Old Date Joined: 10/11/2007 Credits: 552452
  #5

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 5:10:32 PM

  <p class="quoteStyle">Because I live in Michigan and I support our economy, wish you'd do the same. Probably around 20-25k.
  
  either you missed a crucial lesson about our economy or you have been lead to believe that foriegn autos are the reason for the hard hits the domestic auto market has taken with our economic downturn.
  
  fact is, domestic autos have sucked, terribly, for the last 20 years. their engines are boat anchors, and they fall apart before hitting 100k. foriegn cars, on the whole, don't suffer from this. hence why people have been buying them. poor quality is what hurts the domestic industry, and continuing to buy their crap gives them no insentive to change.
  and SOHC-DOC is spot on in terms of global economics... whether you buy a USA product or a foriegn product, the sale is made in the USA, and the USA makes its money off of taxes. either way, you're boosting the economy with a big ticket purchase.
  
  HOWEVER
  
  if you're hell bent on going domestic, there are a few good choices that could fall in your price range.
  
  the avenger is not a bad choice, if a bit underpowered compared to its charger and magnum counterparts, which are better cars, IMO. Personally, I don't think any car would suit your needs better than a Mustang. It's a good, reliable car with a lot of power and lots of aftermarket room for improvement. Plus, an upgraded model falls right within your price range.
• rancecosta Male Location: Culver City, CA 30 Years Old Date Joined: 11/22/2007 Credits: 2432113
  #6

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 5:21:11 PM

  ahahahah Rogue gets pwned.
  
  MOPAR is all i have to say
• chickenselects Male Location: MSU 22 Years Old Date Joined: 2/6/2008 Credits: 45345
  #7

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 6:05:32 PM

  thanks for the reply DE_VW, everyone else's reply is pretty much worthless.
• goat1966 Male Location: NJ 24 Years Old Date Joined: 1/26/2008 Credits: 102215
  #8

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 7:43:18 PM

  Check out a Cobalt coupe or the G6, they have decent headroom.  A lot of guys on the forums who are tall say its more accomodating than a lot of other coupes out there.
• chickenselects Male Location: MSU 22 Years Old Date Joined: 2/6/2008 Credits: 45345
  #9

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/19/2008 9:16:19 PM

  thanks for the suggestions goat.
• EJking Male Location: California 23 Years Old Date Joined: 10/11/2007 Credits: 139878
  #10

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/20/2008 5:46:24 PM

  can you say.....Malibu???
  me neither
• Dr_VW Male Location: San Luis Obispo… 20 Years Old Date Joined: 10/11/2007 Credits: 552452
  #11

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/20/2008 7:05:40 PM

  the malibu is one of those sleeper cars that one day everyone will collect. watch.
• endlessct9a Male Location: Southern Califo… Date Joined: 9/24/2007 Credits: 162090
  #12

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  3/28/2008 9:00:50 PM

  There is no such thing as domestic anymore. Look at the foreign contents summary on the sticker. It'll tell you exactly where parts for that car came from. On top of all that, many "foreign" makes are made here in the States. Honda has huge plants in Ohio and Kentucky. Hyundai has a huge plant in Alabama. Mercedes has a huge plant somewhere on the east coast. BMW is produces some of their cars here in the States. Some VW's are made in Mexico. So are some GMs. Ford owns a majority stake in Mazda. Volvos come equipped with parts from the Ford bins. Some Saab models are Subarus in disguise. The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky are variants of the Opel / Vauxhall VX220 from GM Europe. The Pontiac GTO (now defunct) and the G8 are from Australia, made by GM's Australian counterpart Holden. It's a global economy, with multinationals the norm rather than the rule. Don't they teach you that in college?
  
  Rather than being "patriotic" (or xenophobic for that matter), why not look at a car for what it is? A mode of transportation that should be value packed, enjoyable to drive, possess good TCO (total cost of ownership) and retains its value far after you've driven it off the lot. Afterall, regardless of whichever marquee you may buy, you're still buying it from an AMERICAN dealership with AMERICAN salespeople, you'll still put in AMERICAN gasoline (although this is another discussion altogether) and have it serviced by AMERICAN technicians.
• chickenselects Male Location: MSU 22 Years Old Date Joined: 2/6/2008 Credits: 45345
  #13

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  4/1/2008 6:57:11 AM

  I'm famous
• brian7 Male Location: Augusta, GA 26 Years Old Date Joined: 2/26/2008 Credits: 236229
  #14

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  4/2/2008 2:39:22 AM

  I drove a 2000 Grand Prix from '01-'08.  I really got tired of the seemingly constant repairs nickel and diming me to death.  I really don't drive very much relative to the average American -- I only put 65k miles on the car over a 7 or so year period. 
  During that time, I had the alternator die twice, A/C compressor die, power windows go out, windows go off track numerous times, and was having some transmission problems during the end, and this is just off the top of my head.  I had a Grand Am for a couple years before that, and I had the alternator die at least 3 times, among other problems.
  I recently purchased a new Sentra SE-R after my Grand Prix got totalled in early February, and so far I'm really glad that I went with a reliable Japanese car to get me through medical school.
• WRC1 Male Location: Los Angeles 23 Years Old Date Joined: 2/29/2008 Credits: 7403
  #15

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  4/2/2008 4:43:48 PM

  Chickenselects, there is really no point in going with an american car just becasue its american. Most Japanese cars sold in American are more American then an F150 (Americas best selling pickup). Most/all japanese companies have design centers in the Los Angeles/San Fran area where they design cars for the american market, build them here and sell them here.
  Plus there is nothing wrong with free trade, its a win-win. I wish america would expand NAFTA to the EU (obviously with a name change).
• Buzzw00dy Female Date Joined: 1/24/2008 Credits: 137368
  #16

  Re: Starting to look for a new car....college student

  4/7/2008 6:25:28 PM

  I always bought American until my recent Hyundai purchase.  I am really impressed with the new style Santa Fe.  It is one heck of a car for about $23K (you can spend more with options, but the base GLS has most things you need: ESC, Tiptronic tranny, V6, reclining rear seats, tire pressure monitor, lots of air bags, etc.)  You may find the Tucson is just as good, but it was a little small for me.