Which car would you buy for under $5000?

[rosey2007]

I would like to get a car that has a good safety ratings, very reliable and gets decent gas mileage.

Here are the ones that I was thinking of : an old model Hyundai Santa Fe, 2002 Kia Sedona, Toyota Carolla, or a Honda Civic. I would also like something that is car seat friendly with a Britax Regent.

[mommaon112903]

Either the Civic or Corolla, Toyota and Honda are, IMHO, the two best car manufactures currently. Also hubby and I like the imports, and he is dying to get back into an import as he would be in heaven if the Implala was stolen.

I have not installed a Regent in anything but the SantaFe, and that is my sis's newer model. It fits great! :D

[tweetykl]

I was going to say Corolla or Civiv too. I had a Corolla that was 10 years old and never had a problem with it.

[southpawboston]

honestly, for $5000 you are pretty limited. for that little, i would actually recommend a ford taurus for the safety and car-seat friendliness, but not necessarily for the fuel economy or reliability.

for economy and reliability, the sedona and santa fe are bad picks, while corolla and civic are great picks.

you might also want to consider a mid-2000s hyundai elantra. very economical, roomy and carseat friendly, but not the safest or most reliable.

you can also get a 10-year old volvo in your price range that would be VERY safe, but not too economical or reliable.

[rosey2007]

Well I have ruled out the Sedona and Santa Fe. The dealer that we are trying to go through recommend a Mazda Protege which looks like a great car, but is made by Ford.

If anyone has any experience with the Honda Civic or Carolla please feel free to speak LOL.

[mommaon112903]

While it is made by Ford, hubby used to call it the "Fazda Ford" as it was part Mazda/part Ford. He is at work presently, but used to work at a Honda/Mazda dealership and :love: the Protege's. My second car was a Protege and it went EVERYWHERE :love: :D I was even able to get to work during the huge President's Day storm back in 2003 with my little Protege. I miss it!!!!! Mine was a 2001 model, white and sooo easy to install carseats in!

Well I have ruled out the Sedona and Santa Fe. The dealer that we are trying to go through recommend a Mazda Protege which looks like a great car, but is made by Ford.

If anyone has any experience with the Honda Civic or Carolla please feel free to speak LOL.

Hubby has owned a Civic, wants another one :D We traded it in for a CRV after Josef was born and it was only a two-door, we NEEDED something else also for the snow. A little 2-door Honda, steep hills and snow just did not mix. GREAT gas mileage, but his was also a 5-speed..something he misses more and more every day.

[southpawboston]

Well I have ruled out the Sedona and Santa Fe. The dealer that we are trying to go through recommend a Mazda Protege which looks like a great car, but is made by Ford.


that's incorrect. ford owns 1/3 of mazda. the mazda protege is made by mazda in japan with japanese parts and has been one of the most reliable cars, consistently rated "best bet" by consumer reports. we had a 93 for many years, and it was a fantastic car.

mazdas do share some parts with fords (like less than 5% of total parts), and the drivetrains are pretty much exclusively mazda parts.

i personally would not buy a US-made ford.

also keep in mind that the civic and corolla are both made in the US.

[codex57]

I wouldn't feel comfortable with an older Hyundai. Hyundai/Kia has made huge strides in quality/reliability/safety, but that's really recently. Say 2006 and on or so. A 2000 or 2001 Hyundai is the same kind that gave Hyundai a bad rep in the first place.

[rosey2007]

I really like the looks of the Mazda and if it is not completely made by Ford it makes it even more appealing. I may even give the Mazda MPV another chance.

[codex57]

The first gen MPV has pretty much no Ford parts. Unfortunately, it also wasn't very good. Bad safety ratings, etc.

The 2nd gen one was a lot better, but they were using Ford engines.

My family doesn't like Ford. Primarily from a Ford Aerostar we had that really crapped out everywhere. But the engine in that was fine (it was everything else). We had a 1st gen MPV, and while it had a Mazda engine, the engine crapped out on us after only 60,000 miles or so.

If you can find a 2nd gen MPV for $5000, I'd consider it. I wouldn't go for a 1st gen one though.

[SillyLily]

I always heard that the Hondas are one of the most stolen vehicles around. Not sure how true that is, but it is something you might consider. Having a vehicle stolen, or someone try to steal it, is the pits. :( And can be expensive depending on your insurance coverage.

[codex57]

The biggest reason a car is stolen is for the parts. The more popular the parts, the more likely it is to be stolen. Obviously, best selling models are going to be a target simply cuz there are going to be so many older ones later on that need parts.

There are a lot of Hondas on the top stolen car lists, but they're all various models of Civics, Integras, and Accords. Blame Fast & the Furious. Kids race em, and need replacement parts all the time for various reasons. Plus, it's pretty easy to take a bigger engine from one model and stick it in another. You'll also see Ford F-150s and Chevy Silverados on the list cuz they sell a ton of them too. Always gonna be a shady mechanic somewhere looking for cheap parts.

Suffice it to say, I don't think any minivan is that big a stolen car risk.

[southpawboston]

I always heard that the Hondas are one of the most stolen vehicles around. Not sure how true that is, but it is something you might consider. Having a vehicle stolen, or someone try to steal it, is the pits. :( And can be expensive depending on your insurance coverage.

this is certainly true, especially in urban areas. hondas routinely make the "most stolen" lists in my area. since demand for used parts is enormous given the shear number of hondas, parts theft is very common here (it is normal for a honda's wheels to get stolen from honda while parked in your driveway). this doesn't seem to happen to less popular cars. my next door neighbor had is acura (honda) stolen twice. no one else on my street has ever had their car stolen.

check with your insurance company and ask them about the theft insurance premiums and whether they are higher for a honda because of this.

[jujumum]

Mazda is part owned by Ford - not all Mazdas are made by Ford.

Our 2000 & 2003 MPVs were made by Mazda in Japan with some Ford parts (most notably the Ford Contour engine & transmission in the 2000). We love our MPVs.:thumbsup: