by Jeff.Guo » Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:23 am
Forget all this fuel economy stuff, the first thing that he should consider is reliability - and for your price range, this actually rules out most European and American auto manufactures.
So if you want a sensible car, go get an AWD CR-V. It's economic and unbelievably reliable. It's also not underpowered, hauls just fine, and the steering is surprisingly sharp, so it's surprisingly fun to drive.
But if that's not your cup of tea (it wasn't mine), here's what you should stay away from that people haven't mentioned:
1. Rally cars. This includes the Evos and WRXs that people above me mentioned. Granted they are very fun to drive, but they make you look like a rice burner and you're just asking for high insurance premiums. I can take more than 80% of the turns here in Springfield, IL at 40+ MPH in my F-150 (5.0L with limited-slip diff). That is excessive even in my book and there is absolutely no reason why you need to do better. So there is absolutely no reason why you should own a rally car.
2. V6 muscle cars. Nothing wrong with them per se, but I would NEVER pay for a brand new one, let alone a used one. Those things have awful resale values where I come from, so I would recommend staying away from them.
3. Vans of any sort. They are not cool and I would not even wish them onto my enemies.
4. Sub-compacts. They're excellent city cruisers, but nothing short of a plastic death trap on the freeway.
5. The RAV-4. I rented one recently and wanted to drive it off a cliff. It made me lose my will to live.
So now, if you want something very cool and under $25,000, here are my suggestions:
If you're grandpa is paying cash (and this is important, because financing on these cars will be VERY VERY EXPENSIVE):
1. 2009-2010 F-150 (New or slightly used). I did a walk around last time I was getting my oil changed, and they're going for pocket change. I think you can get a SuperCab XLT 4x4 for just around 25k if you negotiate well. Two caveats though. First, don't get the ecoboost, its only 1 mpg better than my 5.0 and you only get that at low rpms (so if you tow or drive with a lead foot, it goes away), the torque boost is impressive but not worth the $3000 that they want over the 5.0, and most importantly, its unproven so repair costs can run you bankrupt if Ford didn't get it right. Second, these trucks will run your insurance through the roof, I'm paying 1,300 per 6 months with AAA.
2. A Toyota Tundra. They're slightly cheaper than than the F-150 and slightly more reliable. However, Toyota is much less likely to budge with the price and because its not Detroit, I want to kill it with fire.
3. 7-10 year old premium Mustang. You can easily find a Mach 1 or a GT500 at Ford dealerships. Go for one with low miles and has been babied. You can get a '03 Mach 1 with low miles for about 15k, so they're well within your price range. These cars have already gone through most of their depreciation hill, so the cost of ownership should be fairly low. However, you have to pick well to get a well built one and I will kill you personally if you drove it in the snow.
Last edited by
Jeff.Guo on Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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