BF2S Forums Looking to buy my first vehicle

civic isnt cramped unless youre fat or a giant
or require a ton of personal space

RTHKI wrote:

civic isnt cramped unless youre fat or a giant
or require a ton of personal space

I doubt thats a problem for Sh1fty

I dislike smashing my head on the roof every time I hit a bump. This is why I like larger cars.

Or that.

I think attacking anyone's choice in cars is really ridiculous, to be honest. My first vehicle was a Jeep Pickup and I loved it. It was also at the time in the late 90s when gas dropped down to $0.63/gallon. It was on the bad side of gas mileage, but not very bad... Probably averaged 16mpg. For an 80s vehicle, not awful. Compared to my current 24ish, not great. Compared to the newer 35+ cars, pretty bad. However, we sold that to someone that lives by my parents, and they still drive that thing.

I frequently would like to have a small pickup for basic things. Hauling off stuff... Picking up stuff... Etc. Someone just gave us some really nice furniture, but we have to go pick it up... So I have to find or rent a truck. This happens a lot.

However, I don't just buy a new truck, because they are not practical for every day use for me... They don't get good gas mileage to and from work. They are harder to park in a narrow parking garage. They SUCK on ice/snow. They are crappy in rain. Unless you buy a giant truck,you aren't going to be taking friends places. There is a group of 4-5 of us that go to lunch about 3 times a week. We alternate who drives... Except of course the Ford Ranger guy. So hey, he saves some gas there.

The thing is, like I said before, don't just settle for something available. Decide what all you want out of a vehicle first.

If you don't own a house/live on a farm, want to take more than one person with you places, and want decent gas mileage, then why even look very seriously at trucks?

If that is what you want though, then more power to you. Don't let the bizarre hatred on this forum scare you off.

May be getting a job soon where I don't have to commute. Would love to trade in my 2 current cars for a Tacoma. Then to buy a sled to sit in the back of the thing.

HITNRUNXX wrote:

By the way, for those of you that are complaining about space in cars, go sit in a Sonata... I was shocked and amazed and loved it... Roomiest non-luxury sedan I have ever been in. It is on my "possibly buy when I need a new car list." The turbo engine that gets 34mpg isn't a negative either.

Makes me wish even more that my dad got that instead of his smaller 2011 Elantra, the main reason he got it was because he thought he was going to get above 30 MPG and it turns out he averages 28 on it and the seats are tight on it too.  He said the gas mileage was the whole reason he bought it too, otherwise he would've probably gotten something else or kept waiting till the diesel Minis finally came out over here.  He had an 05 turbo-diesel Jetta station wagon that got MPG in the mid-40s before he got the Elantra

On the fair side, I really hate schmucks who trick out their trucks with massive exhausts, lift kits, huge tires, and then never take them offroading. A waste of a vehicle. Customizing a vehicle meant for working is a travesty.

Sisco wrote:

_j5689_ wrote:

Not everybody cares about fuel economy or wants to have a small unlikeable ugly cramped little car, sometimes people just want a car that they like and for many people, that's not a hatchback

I personally don't think I ever wanna get something that's not an SUV or a full-sized sedan

My point was that shifty and people in general should think about fuel economy. This isn´t the 80´s anymore, oil is finite, smoking defiantely kills and the money doesn´t lie on the street.
The hatchback statement was brought up by jay, and even though there are enough hatchbacks that are not ugly and cramped, its this "I need the biggest car there is" sentiment that grinds my gears. The very dumb american stereotype I mentioned before and the one you are now reinforcing.
If you need space a sedan or kombi is fine too, but thinking about fuel economy should be one of the main factors in making a decision. A SUV is just dumb.

I agree with you in principle, but having lived on both sides of the pond, I can tell you that American gas prices have always been lower than European ones (or at least, in the last 25 years). Sicne fuel represents less of an expense per unit, Americans can buy more of it. They've grown accustomed to that, and carmakers have responded in kind.

That being said, as the prices climb, so does the number of small cars populating the US. The question faced by most American car buyers, I think, is "how much metal can I afford to run?" Since large cars are not very expensive (shitty equipment helps, although that is drastically changing--see new buicks/opels), they can affrod bigger ones.

Also, it is unequivocally a part of the lifestyle. Americans live a suburbia-driven lifestyle (pun unintended)...and let's face it, for soccer-mom Sally, a SUV gives her a false sense of security that she craves because of her woeful driver education.

/rant
/only owned german cars

Jaekus wrote:

American gas prices are far cheaper than what we pay for petrol here. Whenever I hear an American complain I just think "man, get some perspective".

but remember america is full of suburbs and to get anywhere its 20-30 minutes away, its a lot more spread out.

I found some really nice Accords and Civics. Going to get check some out with a mechanic friend this Wednesday.

If you can, buy a car from a pensioner who didn't drive much with it and now can't drive it at all.
You'll most likely end up with a car that has been sheltered in a garage and well-maintained.

Jaekus wrote:

globefish23 wrote:

If you can, buy a car from a pensioner who didn't drive much with it and now can't drive it at all.
You'll most likely end up with a car that has been sheltered in a garage and well-maintained.

Very true. As long as it hasn't been sitting the garage for more than 12 months without the engine being turned over you'll get a sweet deal most of the time.

Unless it's a manual transmission, in which case the clutch plate has been scorched.

Ultrafunkula wrote:

Cybargs wrote:

Jaekus wrote:

American gas prices are far cheaper than what we pay for petrol here. Whenever I hear an American complain I just think "man, get some perspective".

but remember america is full of suburbs and to get anywhere its 20-30 minutes away, its a lot more spread out.

And the rest of the world lives 5min away from everything?

not as urbanized. and public transport in lots of places is fucking ass in the USA.

australian petrol prices is just fucking retarded in general.