Car Buying Troubles

Well, here is the situation. i have between 2000-2500 dollars to spend on a car. i am about 18 and i want something that is preety quick, but also fuel efficient. i know this is hard to do but bear with me. so far i have been looking at (and finding, on craigslist mostly), BMW 318-320i, VW GTI, VW rabbit, Honda Civics. if you can think of anything else that would fit those criteria, i would love some recommendations. but between those, which one would you chose and why? all feedback is apreciated. THANKS!

I'm sure the Beamer is the fastest stock. If you add aftermarket stuff/put money into it, then i'd get a civic and lighten it as much as possible.

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Between all those cars you listed, I'd reccommend the civic. Not just cause its guaranteed to be built solid but also because insurance rates should be the lowest and its waaaay easier to find Civic parts than it is to find Bimmer parts and far less expensive if anything should go wrong. VWs are questionable depending on what years you're looking at. Early and mid 90's VWs had some reliability issues and their parts are also a bit more expensive than honda parts because of the lower demand :2cents:

Here is my advice. If you walk into any car dealership with 2000-2500, they will sell you a vehicle they paid a couple hundred dollars for. Most large dealerships have to make $6000 on the "front end" of a vehicle to cover operating costs, commissions, advertising, etc. If you are buying a vehicle that is that inexpensive, you will be getting an aged vehicle (5-15 years old) with a lot of miles (over 100,000 miles) and little to absolutely no warranty or guarantee. These vehicles are usually trade-in vehicles that have problems and they quick fix them to sell you the car. Once you drive off the lot and the transmission falls out, you are stuck at square one having paid taxes, purchased a license plate, and now you are without a car unless you want to pay another $2000 for repairs.

I have a lot of customers that come to me with this issue. A smarter idea is to take the 2000 to 2500 and put that money down on a vehicle that you know is going to be reliable. If you already know that you have a tight budget, the last thing you want to do is get yourself into a situation where a VERY pricey repair would leave you walking. Rather than getting yourself into a stressful situation, take the opportunity to research vehicle pricing and you will find you can get a used 2007 vehicle with about 12,000 miles on it with factory warranty for about $12,299. I work for the car sales department for ,name of company removed by moderator- unauthorized advertising >and we actually have the 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser on national promotion right now. We have plenty of vehicles that are in that price range too! That would keep your payments very reasonable and Enterprise works to get you the lowest possible interest rate (rather than a normal dealership that tries to make the most money on financing by raising the interest rate). It would be a lot easier to budget $200-250 a month and know you have a new vehicle, that is reliable, under warranty, is certified, and has a seven day buyback guarantee (no questions asked you get your money back) if you decide that vehicle isn't right for you.

Sidenote: A BMW for 2500 is a money pit. Over 150-200k miles and INSANELY EXPENSIVE to repair. Not to mention about $80 an oil change and not fuel efficient at all. Volkswagon is the #1 WORST rated vehicle to buy used (and pretty much new as well). Ever since they started making the German car in Mexico, the reliability shot south and I'm not talking geographically. A Honda for $2000-$2500 is as well, going to have over 200k miles. Think about the long run and something that will be a good investment/decision. Really consider buying a newer, used car. Enterprise normally has a credit union they can finance through if you are a first time buyer too. Down here in Southwest Florida I can usually finance a first time buyer with 15% down with interest rates between 6.4%-8.9%. A+ credit right now is yielding 9% interest rates so that is awesome. Do some research (as you seem to be doing here) and I think this will all make sense to you. Hope it helps! - Molly

"Sweet Sales Woman" is exactly that, BS. Never put a dime down on a car. Use your $2000 and buy what you can, unless you can get a loan from your bank or credit union. Only suckers put cash down on cars and finance from dealers! Go with a Honda, very reliable, all those others are to expensive for parts.

yes..Beamer is the fastest stock.

Yes beamers are fast but the cost in maintenance is HUGE!!!