I'm seeing things two different ways when the cav gets replaced (probably about this time next year when student loans are paid) -
1) Its a daily driver that's gonna see 100 miles per day, it just needs to be efficient and reliable, not fast, not great looking, and not even that fun to drive. It's gonna see salt and snow in the winter, and its gonna sit outside (garage is reserved for the solstice!). With the mileage I drive, it will have ~75k on it in about four years and I'll probably do it all over again, so make it the cheapest piece I can find.
OR
2) Its a daily driver that's I'm gonna be in for 2 hours a day, it should be something I enjoy and that's fun to drive, even if I'll "wear it out" in four years or so. It should be efficient and practical, but also have a sporty ride and sweet powertrain that's worth modifying. The extra cash spent is totally worth it.
Replacement options considering 1) - Honda Fit, Saturn Astra, Hyundai Accent, or Toyota Yaris
Replacement options considering 2) - Cobalt SS/TC, Mazdaspeed3, Pontiac G8 GXP or GT (manual), Subaru WRX
I'm kinda leaning toward the 1) attitude because I already have the solstice for fun, but it sees well under 5k miles per year.
How do you feel about upgrading your daily driver and about what kind of car it should be in general?
add elantra to list 1
i have an 04 and its really not a bad car, and if you do cheap little mods to any car you have you can enjoy it more too
the new elantras motor has the hp and torque more in the usable range as opposed to mine which the peaks occur at higher rpms
my mentality is, you drive it all the time, there is nothing wrong with making it a little nicer
but i am not doing all out performance because i (and you) have another car for that
^^^ Werd.
If you're going to be in it for a few hours a day while you're sucking up Gas, you may as well have it sip at the gas. As far as upgrades, just leave it stock, it's not a play car so don't mess with it (other than simple stuff like a better stereo deck and tints if you want).
I have been driving my solstice daily for a while now. It's easy to live with if not roomy. If I had to spend 2 hours a day in it, idunno? Same goes for some of the smaller options you list. If your are driving highway miles, it doesn't hurt as much to drive a heavier/bigger car. As long as you behave with the throttle.
You have quite the range. A G8 GXP would be an awesome treat, but not a winter dream. Overal cost might be a little high compared to the others. Especially since there are no sweet deals to be had so far.
The lure of 4wd in the Subaru is tempting. The high prices of the car, relatively rough fuel economy and the limited driver space of a small sedan keep me looking elsewhere. My loyalty to GM product and it's workers keeps me buying GM anyway.
Cobalt TC would be a fun winter car, but I consider the Hhr for it's IKEA abilities and dog hauling roominess. The extra weight in the rear with help it be stable in the winter slip. I'm not sure what the smallest wheel that will fit over the Brembos? I love the idea of the Panel SS with a rear seat swap. I really don't like the normal HHR anyway.
Modding. I'd say stick with cat back and intake for a daily driver warranted vehicle.
The only rational way to shop for a car is to define the entire budget first. That way, you don't get in over your head buying something you want over something you can afford. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, everything. eg. Tires for my Kappa are going for 330 a pop compared to 100 for decent tire on a base cobalt. Sometimes more. Synthetic or not...and so on.
If I were highway running every day, I would likely opt for a slightly bigger car to better the odds with the common driver out there. When I was comuting, My Monte was a dream highway runner. Tall gearing for fuel economy, decent power and room to boot. I would likely have called in sick had I been driving a yaris or similar unit. hehe.
I hear ya on the GXP! I wasn't really looking at comparison of the cars, its just that list 2) are cars that i know I'd enjoy driving, but are definately pricier, and 1) has cars that are practical, economical and reliable, but no fun for the most part. I bet the G8 would surprise us in the winter - add winter tires and let the traction conrol and stabilitrak do its thing.
My ride to work is about 3/4 highway and 1/4 back road in terms of mileage BTW.
As far as the budget - thats kinda what this thread is about. Spend 35k on a car and really enjoy it for ~75-100k miles, or spend ~15k on a car and "deal with it". Or just run the cav into the ground
The Yaris is surprisingly comfortable. I'm about 5'10", and I sat in it fairly well with no real comfort issues. We settled on the corolla because we liked it better though. It just drove smoother, and came with 2.9% financing. Plus, the mileage is about the same on both, the 1.5L yaris just gets better city mileage. And for the tiny price difference between a factory kitted and loaded yaris with alloys vs. a loaded CE, I may as well take the 'Rolla.
2010 Honda Fit LX
or u could by a new v6 camry and be under both number 1 and 2, lol
Oh.. this is easy: Run the cav into the ground.
CrAzY Z24 wrote:or u could by a new v6 camry and be under both number 1 and 2, lol
Camry in number 2. That's a good one. Taking a turn in that car feels like the tires are going to roll of the rim.
Personally, for aw daily drive that i spend that much time in I'm much more happy in my Speed6 compared to the sunfire. WAY more pep, much more comfortable car, and the handling is just awesome.
What got me into the speed6 was my dad bought a 6i, auto and a 4 banger. It had no go, but the handling and ride quality is just awesome. I think something with ~200 hp and great handling would be a perfect daily driver. Probably a sedan or larger coupe.
We just test drove a new Honda Accord coupe, and I would say it would fit into both your 1 and 2 categories. Ours was fully loaded, minus the V6; but it was decent for a 4 cylinder. I wouldn't mind having one for a dd...
With a family now, there will be no upgrading...I refuse to pay a bunch for a car anymore...
The Cavs/Balt will stick around for a while....I don't want car payments for a year or two (after the balt is done)
I want to save for a house, and put some extra money in savings...
Though a classic car could happen not to far down the road....
My thinking for the next cars: Cruze, Nox, Astra, Civic, Vibe, Mazda 3.
A DD to me should be well rounded. It should be able to do all the functions that you need to do daily - carry groceries, navigate city street, merge on highways & also get you through bad weather when it hits. It should be comfortable for any length of trip and fun enough to make it at least fun to drive, there are too many options out there to buy something you don't enjoy.
So I guess that means your Cav with snow tires for the winter? Any reason you're set on getting rid of it?
My personal choice for a DD, if I had to replace one of my cars for whatever reason, would be an Impreza (NOT WRX) hatch. Descent on gas, easy on the eye, sure-footed in the snow & not too expensive well eqipped. Plus, you know it's only worn in at 100,000 miles & even then, the resale value is super high. I've been fighting the urge to get one of these for months now! I'm convinced it's the perfect DD for me after owning my Outback, which after driving that for 2 months daily, I've realized that it's not nimble enough for me because of the raised suspension. The Outback is my perfect supplemental vehicle for travel, dogs, bikes, hauling, etc... but the Impreza should fix all the daily things that the Outback doesn't cover.
stargrrrl wrote:.
So I guess that means your Cav with snow tires for the winter? Any reason you're set on getting rid of it?
Nope the cav rides on all-seasons tire all year long. I just do my best in snow
I recently went on a beach trip with a signifcant other and realized that the cav is ... well, a cav. Granted I have the suspension set up for spirited cornering, it is a relatively rough ride compared to any stock suspension out there. I'm used to it, but there are newer options that will out handle and out ride the best aftermarket suspensions on Jbodies. I usually dont care about interior quality that much, but it got annoying on a 3hr trip (creeks and rattles). I just think its time to consider other possiblities.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving the cav, but a lot of that is habit. I remember a friend in college who had what was a 15-yr old honda accord which if you sat in it and closed your eyes, you would have thought it was a bimmer compared to my 4 year old cav. Just a though...
i go with fun daily driver. i daily my 02 wrx. the only bad part about it is the premium fuel that goes in the tank. plant my right foot though and you'll have a hard time wiping the grin off my face.
oldskool wrote:stargrrrl wrote:.
So I guess that means your Cav with snow tires for the winter? Any reason you're set on getting rid of it?
Nope the cav rides on all-seasons tire all year long. I just do my best in snow
I recently went on a beach trip with a signifcant other and realized that the cav is ... well, a cav. Granted I have the suspension set up for spirited cornering, it is a relatively rough ride compared to any stock suspension out there. I'm used to it, but there are newer options that will out handle and out ride the best aftermarket suspensions on Jbodies. I usually dont care about interior quality that much, but it got annoying on a 3hr trip (creeks and rattles). I just think its time to consider other possiblities.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving the cav, but a lot of that is habit. I remember a friend in college who had what was a 15-yr old honda accord which if you sat in it and closed your eyes, you would have thought it was a bimmer compared to my 4 year old cav. Just a though...
Guess you're aiming more for your #2 above then because I think a Cav fits every single thing you mentioned in your #1 option:
efficient
reliable
not fast
not great looking
not even that fun to drive
salt and snow in the winter
gonna sit outside
In my eyes, it's nearly a waste to get rid of a car "just because." But I'm also pretty tight with my money & I tend to do the responsible thing over the fun thing 99.9% of the time, so it's that part of me talking. I'm going on 8 years in my Sunfire because it has never done me wrong & it's been paid off for years. *shrug* It's pretty hard to get me into another cycle of paying for a car too, there are many other places I'd rather spend my money. I think Sunfires were built way better than Cavs too, you don't hear the complaints of noise nearly as much & both at my house are built 100% solid. Maybe if I had a rattlebox that would make me think otherwise too.
For the list of cars that would go into pile #1, I would add a Hyundai Sonata (2006 - 2009 models) to that list. It actually fits everything you want and probably more. It's loaded with a ton a safety features (6-8 airbags, TPMS, antilock brakes, traction control, ESC). For a car of it's size it's exceptionally well on gas. Most 4 cylinder owners are reporting averages of mid to high 30s in the 4 cylinder (mixed driving) while the 6 cylinder owners are getting high 20s to low 30s. I get about 34 - 36 miles per gallon out of my Sonata and easily get 600+ miles out of tank of gas (Sonata has about an 18 gallon tank) and I'm sure if I was harder on the Sonata I wouldn't see my average go lower than maybe 32mpg. You don't have to worry about being suckered into getting anything for the Sonata because there is hardly any aftermarket for the Sonata other than the KDM stuff that one would have to buy overseas if they are really that interested. The four cylinder isn't the fastest but putting it into "sports" mode could make for a little bit of fun driving as well as giving you a little bit more acceleration than letting 4 speed (5 speed in +09 models) auto tranny shift for you. If you're good with haggling and know the market you could probably get a fully loaded 08 Limited 4 cylinder model (leather, sunroof, upgraded radio & sound system, auto climate controls for under $20,000. Even the revamped '09 model (which from an interior stand point is 1,000 times better looking) has a $2000 rebate on them. The only downside is that it is a Hyundai and well the resale value/trade in value isn't going to be that good if you would be trading it in in four years. However if you plan to keep it for the long haul..say 5 years or more...then you'll definitely get your money's worth out of it. I've had mine since December 2007 and for it being a strictly a commuter car (60 miles round trip to work and back with 65% highway travel) it does an all-around good job. There are better cars out there for sure and there are worse cars as well but I would say (and others professional have) the Sonata belongs with the list of good cars and would definitely be a cheaper alternative to the Altima, Malibus, Camrys and Accords of the world.
I bought my wife a 2007 Elantra. We got the higher model with the 16" alloys, 172 watt stereo, etc. It's economical (30+ mpg), rides and corners fantastically, and has quite a nice fit and finish.
You can't go wrong with one (or any Hyundai, for that matter) as a daily driver. They're not the most fun, but they're not the least either.
-John
Scott Ryman wrote:tl;dr
Good to know. No one's holding a gun to your head.
my daily is 2008 ford fusion, 4-banger
peppy enough for intown
room enough for two fat adults
room for two childs seats, and stroller in trunk
35 mpg on the highway
sirius radio stock from ford
and purchased at x plan priceing
we love the car
we have done nothing to the car other than a tint
not even change the radio
stargrrrl wrote:A DD to me should be well rounded. It should be able to do all the functions that you need to do daily - carry groceries, navigate city street, merge on highways & also get you through bad weather when it hits. It should be comfortable for any length of trip and fun enough to make it at least fun to drive, there are too many options out there to buy something you don't enjoy.
So I guess that means your Cav with snow tires for the winter? Any reason you're set on getting rid of it?
My personal choice for a DD, if I had to replace one of my cars for whatever reason, would be an Impreza (NOT WRX) hatch. Descent on gas, easy on the eye, sure-footed in the snow & not too expensive well eqipped. Plus, you know it's only worn in at 100,000 miles & even then, the resale value is super high. I've been fighting the urge to get one of these for months now! I'm convinced it's the perfect DD for me after owning my Outback, which after driving that for 2 months daily, I've realized that it's not nimble enough for me because of the raised suspension. The Outback is my perfect supplemental vehicle for travel, dogs, bikes, hauling, etc... but the Impreza should fix all the daily things that the Outback doesn't cover.
I agree 100%. My Legacy now is sitting with 107k on it, and if it wasnt for body damage, its still worth around $4k in resale (its a 98).
Personally, I like the Subaru cars. Have you also looked at maybe a newer Legacy (non-GT)?
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At 100 miles per day I'd find myself a nice used accord, or civic with 75->100K, they can be had for fairly cheap and will do anywhere from 100->200K more miles before breaking down, you can easily throw on some nicer suspension which can be had for cheap and still get 40mpg on the highway. Barring that, you could always just get used old J's for 1-2K a pop and part them out when they die to come out fairly even.
.
If your dead set on new, my vote is for the Yaris, or the astra. Both have great handling and should have enough comfort for the 2 hours or so of driving you have everyday.
-Chris
IamRascal wrote:At 100 miles per day I'd find myself a nice used accord, or civic with 75->100K,
+1
Screw car payments if it's a beater. Find a late '90s Civic with under 100K and drive it until it won't move.
1989 Z24 Convertible - Dust Covered
2006 tC - Dust Covered, but driven more
ZlineDavid wrote:IamRascal wrote:At 100 miles per day I'd find myself a nice used accord, or civic with 75->100K,
+1
Screw car payments if it's a beater. Find a late '90s Civic with under 100K and drive it until it won't move.
I used to think that honda were gods gift to daily drivers, but all the experiences friends have are changing that attitude real quick. 02 crv - AC and tranny went at like 75k, 98 accord w/ ~75k - burns a quart every two weeks, 03 civic ex ~100k - burns a quart every two weeks. All of those are unmodified. My old cav sold to family w/ 125k - burns no oil between 3-5k changes.
So now I say screw honda; they're over rated in terms of real world reliability IMO.
