We are beginning the process of looking for a new car. We started off by setting a few standards on what we wanted in a new car.
1. It has to be $18,000 or less
2. It has to be a 4 door
3. It needs to have ABS or AWD
4. It needs to be rated for at least 35mpg on the highway and 25mpg in the city
5. Automatic transmission
The next step was to go to all the automotive manufacturer web sites and start looking at their cars finding the ones that meet our criteria.
GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Suzuki, Subaru, Volkswagen, Isuzu, and Nissan are the companies I looked at. Here's what I came up with.
1. Chevy has a little car called the Aveo that you can get in either a 4 door or 5 door. Loaded down with ABS on all four wheels it is only $13,990. It's rated at 35mpg. Margaret isn't to keen on the looks of the 5 door.
2. Pontiac has the Vibe. It's a little bit above the price range priced with ABS and probably below the MPG with automatic transmission. But still it's a pretty big car and the extra storage would be nice for $18,365.
3. Honda has two cars that meet our requirements. The Civic and the new Fit. I have to say we're intrigued by the Fit and will definitely be checking it out. Both cars come pretty loaded down and both have excellent MPG ratings 40 for the civic and 38 for the Fit. The Civic is $16,519 and the Fit $14,650.
4. The Mazda 3 is a nice looking car but it is really on the edge of our criteria only rated at 34mpg and costing $17,450 and that's without ABS.
5. Kia like Chevy has a car that you can get in both a 4 door or 5 door configuration that meets our requirements, the Rio. Of course Kia's come with a great warranty and the two options cost $14,835 for the 4 door and $15,960 for the 5 door. Margaret really doesn't like the way this car looks with the trim going down the side.
6. Hyundai has one choice the Accent which comes in at $14,345 and is pretty loaded down.
7. Nissan comes in with the Sentra, though like the Mazda it is right on the bubble at $17,205 and 34mpg.
8. Neither Ford, Chrysler, Suzuki, Subaru, Volkswagen, or Isuzu have automobiles that fit our requirements.
9. Toyota though is the king with 5 automobiles that meet our criteria. 5 is amazing to be coming from one manufacturer, and it made me think that I guess Toyota is trying to sell us a car. I'm assuming we are the demographic they are going after. So the vehicles are the new Yaris (39mpg $15,635), the Corolla (41mpg, $16,654), the Matrix (36mpg, $17,730), the Scion xA (37mpg, $15,255), and the Scion xB (34mpg, $15,370). As ugly as the Scions are I'm intrigued by them although I believe Margaret has no interest.
So now that we have all of this information what next? Well I guess we'll actually start to go and look at these vehicles and see which ones we like. We're in no rush to buy so we can take our time and be really be picky and it should be fun.
