So I'm excited to be starting a new job on Thursday, which will allow me a little bit more financial freedom. My plan is to have the S paid off by the end of June, which will finally give me the chance to turn her into a garage queen. Now, the catch is that I don't want to pay any more than $320 a month (my current S payment) and for no longer than 3 years. Lets just call it <$10k for my daily.

The most obvious choice seems to be a 02-04 Protege. I like the styling, they aren't parked four wide in every parking lot, and they are pretty easy on the gas.

Civics are another option... the downside here in insurance cost, which is HUGE compared to other cars in its class. Also, resale seems to be higher on these. Not even sure what year I could find for 10k, or with how many miles...

I really like the previous gen CRVs and Rav4's, but I'm not sure how well they do on gas...

So toss some suggestions out there. I just want to be able to find one with less than 60k miles on the clock for my price range, get better fuel economy than the S2k, and know it's going to run for a good long while.

 

Get a motorcycle it gets much better mpg . If it was me I might get a corolla over a civic since civics get stolen a whole lot often than the corolla. The civic does look better but if it gets stolen (like my friend's old civic) then there goes your $10k you just spent on the car.

Good luck!

 

^ more like there goes your deductible

I don't think you need to worry much with a single cam civic, I've had one for years and it's even been broken into twice, but not stolen.

Car vs. SUV will really depend on how important gas mileage is to you and if you need an SUV. I'm guessing image isn't a concern since neither the RAV4 or CRV are at all cool.

I'm in a similar boat, but I need an SUV. I'm looking at the 01-02 Pathfinder or a 99-02 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which I'd prefer but they seem to be very hit-or-miss in terms of quality/reliability.

 

i've got a friend selling his protoge 5. he lives in san diego. http://sandiego.craigslist.org/car/335191557.html

 

2002-2005 honda civic si, they are really sporty looking hatchbacks. I miss my old one so much!!! check out ephatch.com for some pics of them, if you don't know what they look like

 

how about leasing a new vehicle? that's what I intend to do when my s2k is paid off.

I know Mercedes is having a special lease offer of $309/mo for a C230

but that's after $3,800 due at signing

but still, there are decent deals to be found in leasing

 

If you want a motor that will last and get good mileage look at Golf / Jetta TDI's. The worst I've ever gotten on my Golf was over 40mpg and the best over 50mpg.

I like the Protege myself also.

 

I've always turned away from leasing because I grow so attached to my cars. However, since this isn't so much a toy and just basic transport, I might look into it.

I'm still torn between auto or manual too. I drive a lot, and auto would be really, really nice for sitting in traffic. At the same time, I'm afraid it would hurt my driving skills only having a stick on the weekend.

 

how much is "a lot"?

if it's more than 15k/year, then you should plan to use the s2k to do part of your commuting, or those excess mileage penalties will start to kick in (the shittiest part of leasing IMO)

 

Insight. They are collector's items now and built in the same factory as the S.