Hahaha you guys rock! Thanks for the advice...although I'm getting a lot of mixed reviews here with most of them leaning towards the good however. Basically I have a sunfire now (or rather my mom does) and it's causing so much headaches...so many problems (it's 1998). So I guess if she will go on and buy something new, she wants something reliable...no headaches, something that will last for a while.

And I agree the sedan looks better than the sport hatch IMO It was very sexy interior too. But I'm so scared of Ford

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Originally posted by starsearcher But I'm so scared of Ford

In terms of reliability, Ford > GM.. from my experiences at least.

Japanese cars are what you should consider if you want a reliable vehicle. German cars a slightly more reliable than GM's, but theyre constly to fix when the time comes.

Stick with Japanese, you'll be glad. Toyoto, Acura/Honda, Nissan (Altima is a nice car which may be in ur price range, not sure though).

IMO though, the new Mazda's are very nice. However, I dont know how long you intend to keep it for (as long as its under warranty, reliability shouldnt be an issue).

Gotcha....yeah I do like the Nissans as well...Even Sentra was pretty decent when I planted my ass in it ...really simple, low end - you can tell it's "cheap" lol...but it seemed pretty good other than that.

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quote:

Originally posted by starsearcher Hahaha you guys rock! Thanks for the advice...although I'm getting a lot of mixed reviews here with most of them leaning towards the good however. Basically I have a sunfire now (or rather my mom does) and it's causing so much headaches...so many problems (it's 1998). So I guess if she will go on and buy something new, she wants something reliable...no headaches, something that will last for a while. And I agree the sedan looks better than the sport hatch IMO It was very sexy interior too. But I'm so scared of Ford

If you want something problem free, Go Toyota They are the most solidly built cars in that class. If you go Honda, buy a 4-door. The 2-door Civics are built in Ohio by drunk Yankees and they are having severe quality control problems. The 4-doors are built up here in Alliston, Ontario. As cars go Canada is one of the best countries for quality control in the world. (Behind Japan of course) Corollas are built in Cambridge. Mazda 3s are built somewhere in the southern states (Texas or Kentucky I think)

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Originally posted by starsearcher Gotcha....yeah I do like the Nissans as well...Even Sentra was pretty decent when I planted my ass in it ...really simple, low end - you can tell it's "cheap" lol...but it seemed pretty good other than that.

Oh and be careful of Sentra's. They are made in Mexico

If you're gonna have to buy a domestic car then stick with Ford.My experience at my work shows that GMs electrical system has a much higher failure rate then the Fords.The new Focus seems to have improved ALOT since they first came out.Otherwise stick with anything Japanese (Mazdas are tempermental & parts are expensive)...If you can't afford a new car then one that is a couple years old is just as good...I shopped around for like 3 months before I saw my 1998 Nissan Maxima at a used car lot.It already had new brakes (bonus ) and was "clean" with like 125,000 km on it.THey wanted way too much for it & because I had a very good idea how much they SHOULD cost, I was able to knock off $1,000 off the used car price...Also...be VERY VERY VERY careful about cars with rolled back odometers.I went to one car lot & checked out one Nissan Altima that had the odometer rolled back.It was the old, non-digital type & was clearly obvious that someone fucked with it...So I got the hell out of THAT dealership

Best thing is to do your research.Maybe even check out the "LemonAid" book...So shop wisely & you will end up with a car like this ...



My car

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"Kiss them for me...for I may be delayed."

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My family has owned 3 mazda 323s (the predecessor to the Mazda 3)

we never had a single problem with any of them, they were great cars... and a friend of mine has a New mazda 3, she has never complained.

Im looking into buying a car, and will seriously consider a used mazda.

D

^^^ (Malek) What are you trying to say? HUH HUH HUH

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Heh...well look what I found...decided to look for car reliability ratings in google and came up with this article from CNN Money (I think someone might have posted this before by the way)...

Small cars
These models earned ratings Most and Least reliable in Consumer Reports' 2004 reliability survey.

Most reliable
Toyota Corolla
Scion xB
Honda Civic
Mazda3
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Echo
Mitsubishi Lancer (except Evo)

Least reliable
Volkswagen Golf (turbo)
Volkswagen Jetta (turbo)
Volkswagen New Beetle
I guess that's good news....but VWs are least reliable...wow who knew


rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/...to_reliability/

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Last edited by starsearcher on Feb-22-2005 at 17:36

And consumers guide gives the Mazda 3 really hight rating, in fact - it says best buy lol well I guess it's good stuff.

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/38274

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Originally posted by starsearcher Heh...well look what I found...decided to look for car reliability ratings in google and came up with this article from CNN Money (I think someone might have posted this before by the way)... Small cars These models earned ratings Most and Least reliable in Consumer Reports' 2004 reliability survey. Most reliable Toyota Corolla Scion xB Honda Civic Mazda3 Subaru Impreza Toyota Echo Mitsubishi Lancer (except Evo) Least reliable Volkswagen Golf (turbo) Volkswagen Jetta (turbo) Volkswagen New Beetle I guess that's good news....but VWs are least reliable...wow who knew rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/...to_reliability/

didn't i post the whole thing at one point?!

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