What used car would you buy w/$10-13K
 

I'm looking at getting a used car for my wife, that really will double as our take the whole family car. Really don't want to spend too much, say no more than $13,000.

Preference would be for auto, but either fine and 4 door. Right now I'm leaning towards a 96 or 97 Nissan Maxima, but interested in what else is out there.
Any ideas??

Mark, I have a 95 Maxima for sale at my work. Car is clean with no accidents. I think it has 130,000 kms....(have to check)
We will certify and emission test as well as detail the car for you.
I think I could give it to you for around $9-10,000.

edit: or you could buy it as-is.

I have lots of Hondas available. How about a '97 Toyota Camry with 75,000 kms ? Great car for around $13,000 + tax.

I find the best thing to do is goto a website like autotrader.com and do a search by price, and look for cars within the range you're looking at. You'll probably find a whole slew of nice cars within that price range that you never even knew cost that little.
That's how I found my BMW, i was originally looking at eclipse's and talon's when i saw an E36, and i just HAD to have one!

Rob,

May get back to you on the Maxima, although they did some small upgrades in 97 to the 4th gen. that make that one a little bit better.

One Honda I might look at would be an Accord, but Camry's are just a little too bland.

DJContra,

I actually did that search a while ago, will need to do again, was more interested to hear if anyone had any hidden gems out there, or what their preference would be. A ton of Domestics come up in that range. And although I am not a huge fan of domestic's (primarily for their fit and finnish), it's hard to argue with their used car value(already depreciated a ton). Lots of Grand Prix, Intrepids, etc out there with enough room, priced right, and all the bells and whistles.

yes, I would go with the maxima. they did change a little in 97. they redesigned the internal body structure, which made it safer (95-96 had so so crash ratings) otherwise from what i know all the other changes were cosmetic (Se's came with 16 inch wheels) they all had new steering wheel, lights, grill maybe u know this stuff. nissans depreciate more than toyotas or hondas and they still have good japanese quality. so i would go with the maxima. "the nissan maximas V6 engine (VQ series 95+) has won many awards and is claimed to be the best V6 ever made. i figure, your just braking that engine in at 100,000 (miles not Kilometers or w/e) good luck.

what about a volkswagon passat, or audi a4?
those are pretty nice cars. Are they in that price range in USD?

I know I may get flamed for this but if you are a student and/or DONT have money to burn, look into an Integra. They are cheap to maintain and the resale on them is almost too good to be true.
*flamesuit on:moon: *

Go with the Maxima
 

An Accord or Maxima would be a good choice. You can’t go wrong with either one. My preference would be the Maxima, even a 96. The V6 engine is just awesome! I believe they are a bit cheaper.

The 4Door Integra LS is a nice car too. My 4Door Integra (RS) is fun but a practical car. A little tight in the back for leg room.

Not to put anyone down, but I'd stay away from the Passat; especially when you’re buying it from someone else. They've had electrical issues. My mechanic was dead against me buying a Passat for highway driving... did not recommend it at all.

Re: Go with the Maxima
 

is that only the older passats? or are you talking about the new rounder ones?

Re: Re: Go with the Maxima
 

On the older ones... the ones with no grill... they are the #1 lemon car ever

Thanks for all your comments, like I said I am leaning toward the Maxima. From everything I've read, this is a very solid car, and does offer the space I'm looking for. I regularly view maxima.org, as I know a couple of guys on that site, good to see the strong following there.

As for Passat's, I would also stay away, I would be leary of their electrical problem old or new. Another friend has a 2002 1.8 turbo, and he's left it at the shop three seperate occasions for a total of 7 weeks...ignition problems twice and now rear brakes.Yikes

Would consider an A4 but haven't investigated that avenue yet.
Thanks again

A4's have the same ignition coil problem in the 1.8T models from what I hear.

I personally would pick up a used '92 E36 325i bimmer for around $12k-$13k.

Would really prefer to get something a little more recent, say 95 and up. Plus Four Door E36's aren't my favorite. With a 92, I'd likely end up having to replace all the wear and tear parts that I have just done with my 91, blower motor, wiper motor and linkage, bushings.

I actually did a search this morning based on price, and saw a couple of 95 525's, a 94 Cadillac STS, A couple of 97 Maxima's and a 99 Subaru Impreza RS that looked interesting. Must remember this is primarily for my wife, so different philosophy's than many of us.

Cheers

well maxima's are good, and quite quick but if i was you since you live in canada the A4 would be your best choise a 96-97 can be found for 10-12 K. or a passat instead