Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA (Bought Honda Civic)

[singh890]

Hello my dear Friends

I am looking to buy a pre-owned vehicle for about 6-7 months since I sold my sonata few months back. My budget is about $8000 -$10000. My requirements are since I need it only for 6-7 months, it should have a good resale value. Should be economical mid size sedan. Should have basic features. Since I am in US so usually every model comes with air bags. And also need decent boot space.

So keeping these factors in my mind I have shortlisted the following cars so far:
1. Honda Civic
2. Toyota Corolla
3. Chevrolet Cruze
4. Nissan Sentra

So my dear TAI’ns let your thoughts, views flow in. And I need to buy the car in this week

 

[sagpatel]

Re: Need to Buy a Mid - Size Sedan

I was also in US some time back.. I have driven all of them. But it really depends on the year and model of the car. also how many miles has the car on it. Civic is fantastic, more on the sportier side. corolla's suspension would be more on the softer side compared to civic. Cruze is a fun car to drive (with all the gizmos) but really cramped at the back. I drove a friends sentra didnt like that much (pick up, suspension).

Since you want a car only for 6-7 months you could also look at slightly bigger car with little more miles. I had a maxima (V6 3.5L 255BHP) and it was superb.I also had a camry super soft ride.

Whichever car you decide to go with, take it to a local firestone and get it inspected ($30 max).

Good luck.

 

[350Z]

Re: Need to Buy a Mid - Size Sedan

Honda Civic should be a sensible choice. Honda’s hold a nice resale value almost everywhere and reliability will not be a concern either.

Whichever car you decide to go with, take it to a local firestone and get it inspected ($30 max).

There’s also a useful online service to know an exhaustive report of a used car. Do check out: CARFAX® - Official Site - CARFAX® Vehicle History Reports

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[singh890]

Re: Need to Buy a Mid - Size Sedan

I was also in US some time back.. I have driven all of them. But it really depends on the year and model of the car. also how many miles has the car on it. Civic is fantastic, more on the sportier side. corolla's suspension would be more on the softer side compared to civic. Cruze is a fun car to drive (with all the gizmos) but really cramped at the back. I drove a friends sentra didnt like that much (pick up, suspension).

Since you want a car only for 6-7 months you could also look at slightly bigger car with little more miles. I had a maxima (V6 3.5L 255BHP) and it was superb.I also had a camry super soft ride.

Whichever car you decide to go with, take it to a local firestone and get it inspected ($30 max).

Good luck.

Thanks for your suggestion buddy. But the thing is that i wont get a good condition maxima in that price range. I checked few though but all the good ones were above $12K.

Honda Civic should be a sensible choice. Honda’s hold a nice resale value almost everywhere and reliability will not be a concern either.

There’s also a useful online service to know an exhaustive report of a used car. Do check out: CARFAX® - Official Site - CARFAX® Vehicle History Reports

Drive Safe,
350Z

Thanks for your suggestion Vibhor. I am more likely to go with the Civic as well. And yes you are right about the Carfax report. Every dealer provides you with a free carfax report for the vehicle yo want to buy. Other wise it costs around $35. That is the first thing i ask every dealer, before i even look at the car.

Took TD for 3 cars today.

Civic: TD a 2006 Honda Civic which had 107000 miles on it. The engine was quite, liked the pick up felt like a new car even after so many miles on it.
Big windshield, so the visibility is nice. drivers seat is well positioned. Feels like spacious from inside and the seating position is quite comfortable. Also offers a nice ride and the i just love the digital speedometer. The rear seat is comfortable as well.

Sentra: The second and third car i TD was the 2006 Nissan Sentra. The pickup was bit lower than the civic as Sentra has 126hp compared to Civic's 140 hp. And somehow it didn't handle nearly as well as the Civic. The engine was bit noisy and the interiors are dated. But overall it's not bad, good substitute for a civic or corolla.

Corolla: Will be taking a TD for 2006 Corolla tomorrow.

 

[freakdude]

Re: Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA

I feel you are looking at nice to DRIVE cars as I see civic in the list, so may I suggest a Mitsu Eclipse. Believe me buddy, it's gonna put a wide grin on your face every time you take her out. Do check KBB for used car evaluations/deals : Used Cars, Car Prices and Blue Book Values - Kelley Blue Book

freakdude.

 

[singh890]

Re: Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA

I feel you are looking at nice to DRIVE cars as I see civic in the list, so may I suggest a Mitsu Eclipse. Believe me buddy, it's gonna put a wide grin on your face every time you take her out. Do check KBB for used car evaluations/deals : Used Cars, Car Prices and Blue Book Values - Kelley Blue Book

freakdude.

Actually i don't want to go with Mitsubishi, reason they have high maintenance and the re-sale value is very low. And my first car in US was a mitsubishi galant and yes that was a nice car. But the only thing is that their re-sale value is too low.

 

[Iron Rock]

Re: Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA

From the list above Civic looks like a good choice, just do the regular service and the i-vtecs take care of you forever. Corolla would be my second choice, i wouldnt recommend the other 2. But really depends on the condition of the cars you TD and the deal you get, good luck, keep us posted!

 

[singh890]

Re: Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA

Hey Guys bought a 2006 Civic LX today. Will start an ownership review soon. Thanks for your suggestions and reviews.

 

[350Z]

Re: Need To Buy a Mid-Sized Sedan in USA

Hey Guys bought a 2006 Civic LX today. Will start an ownership review soon. Thanks for your suggestions and reviews.

Great choice. Congrats for Honda Civic. It’s time to update your forum profile with the name of new family member.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[singh890]

Thanks Vibhor and profile updated sir Will start a ownership thread soon.

 

[Akash]

Congrats Singh890 for your new ride. I am eagerly waiting for the ownership report of your Civic.

 

[singh890]

Thanks Akash and here is the link for my ownership report
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ership-review-pre-owned-2006-honda-civic.html