[abhijitaparadh]

Hi,

I am in market in the US for a new/used car. Budget is around $25k on road. So around $22k MSRP.

Considering following options:
1. Hyundai Sonata 2011 - Fabulous looking, great features, but havent had any experience with Hyundai before.
2. Honda Accord 2011 - How can you not consider accord in this price range?
3. Used Audi A4/Used BMW 328i - Luxury brands..should I be concerned about maintenance? No idea about how much are approx maintenance costs.
4. Used Acura TSX/TL/Used Lexus IS 250 - Again, luxury brands, but come from Honda and Toyota Stable. So may be easy on maintenance.

My usage will mostly be highway usage, around 15 miles a day. And occasional long road trip...

I dont understand, how much emphasis to give for sporty handling in the US, because most of the roads I will be driving are 3 lane freeways with hardly any turns...

Please advise...

[sreedotk]

Here is my 2 Cents

1. Your location says NewYork City- If you are staying in NewYork consider a car that can help you through your winter schedule also

2. Parking - Are you having covered parking

I like a few cars that are not in your list from the Nissan Stable- The Juke and the Rouge.

The Murano also is a nice car.

Does the Chevy Volt come in this price bracket. You could do a test report :-)

[chevelle]

2 cents from my side.

Please consider a AWD sedan if you can since you stay in NYC, i think subaru has one, impreza awd. You can also consider getting a 4wd/awd crossovers or soft roaders like CR-V, RAV4 and likes. One of my friends stays there and he has a malibu, he really feels lack of awd and is unable to use it during winters. Like you he does mostly freeway miles.

Are you only looking for sedans only? If not Camaro/mustang is a good car too in that price range. Among the car you listed, try to pick up used Acura/Lexus. They also come with awd and would give you piece of mind along with great drive.

Ignore Sonata, Accord, Camry unless you want run-of-mill(read no non-sense) sedans that will do their duty for 10 years without complaining. You can also look at new malibu, its great too.

Regarding sporty handling, its always advisable to get a car that has good highway manners since you will be doing mostly freeway miles. Test drive some cars on the route you will usually be doing and see which one suits you.

If i have to pick, i would pick a pre-owned Acura/Lexus awd sedan or a brand new Subaru, Mitsubishi awd sedan/crossover.

Hope this helps

[infotech58]

2011 Nissan Xterra (X varient) might be in your budget. It is an awesome (almost no maintenence and very capable) SUV if you are looking for something like that.

Among others, you may be able to get a 2007/2008 Acura TL with less than 40000 miles at approx. 22-23k.

[Akshay1234]

Man, in the US you can get some crazy used car deals. And you have a pretty good budget, so im sure you can get anything from a Charger to a 7 series.

But, unless there are specific cars that you want search for good Jap cars like a Lexus, like chevelle mentioned. They will have all the technology, better handling than american cars and be very reliable.

[abhijitaparadh]

Forgot to mention, this is for my cousin who stays in Raleigh NC.

I cant afford to maintain a car in NYC. I can afford to buy the car, but cant afford parking and insurance

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by abhijitaparadh

Forgot to mention, this is for my cousin who stays in Raleigh NC.

I cant afford to maintain a car in NYC. I can afford to buy the car, but cant afford parking and insurance

Everything remains the same, the only thing is now awd is optional. Its upto your cousin to determine if he wants an awd/suv/coupe or not.

while you have wrote the cars in consideration, you haven't wrote requirements of your cousin. What kind is he looking for. That would help clear doubts and would cut down plenty of options that you have at disposal considering there is a huge pre-owned car market here.

Still get him a Lexus/Acura and he should be a happy person. If he/she is considering a coupe, get a Hyundai Genesis coupe, falls in same price range and is quite awesome.

[abhijitaparadh]

Only concern about a used Acura or Lexus is that they are used. So maintenance costs might compound over time.

My cousin is a bit novice in cars, he likes to drive, but doesnt necessarily know the mechanics behind it. So I suggested some hassle free options for him like Sonata and Accord.

I dont know his opinions about Coupe, but I didnt find anything decent coupe-like in his price range.
Genesis is an unknown entity. But will check it out...

[VooDoo]

I can vouch for the 2011 Malibu. It is great to drive. Not as fuel efficient as Accord or Camry I am nearing 2000 Miles on dash and getting 22mpg! However, it supports my enthusius driving.

[gshanky]

Luxury cars from any brand would be expensive to maintain. The expensive maintenance starts with premium gas, continues with expensive oil changes and expensive dealer only spares.

However if you would like to buy a regular car I too would advise an AWD sedan. But before arriving at a particular (set of) model(s), I would suggest you get your requirements right.

Like whether fuel economy is more important that ride and handling, or comfort is more important and power, etc.

Once those are down, my suggestions would be
1) Ford Fusion - one of the best midsize sedans, jack of all trades in terms of power, fuel economy, gadgetry, etc. In the budget you also might be able to get a used hybrid. Check it out

2) Suzuki Kizashi - A decent performance car in the guise of a sedan.

3) 2011 Dodge Charger - Seems like a very good performer. The main drawback so far has been the transmission not being able to keep up with the engine.

4) 2012 Ford Focus - Compact sport car that could give you 40 mpg

5) 2012 Hyundai Elantra - similar to focus

6) Used Cars - Infinity G sedan or coupe that fits the budget.

Check it out..

[thegr8one]

You could get a good certified Acura tl(07-08)/tsx(08 or 09 ) lexus is(>2008)/es(>2007) for your budget they usually throw in a 7yr/100k mile engine/transmission warranty and in case of the Acuras you will get a free oil change until the car hits 7yrs or 100k miles (at least that's the case in Kansas City where I live. In case of the lexus don't take a non awd version its useless in snow had to sell my is because I couldn't even get it out of my driveway.
My vote goes for the tl or in case you want to go in for a new one and have some time wait for the new altima which is supposed to be launched soon.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by sreedotk

Does the Chevy Volt come in this price bracket. You could do a test report :-)

the MSRP of a Chevy Volt is $ 40k but some dealers are found to mark it up as high as $65k too ..so, its clearly out of league.

[VCheng]

If you want to buy new in this price range, grab the best deal on a 4 cylinder Camry, Accord or Sonata.

If you want to buy used, stay away from all German makes.

My 1.2 cents. (actually 2 cents, but adjusted for buying power.)

[aah78]

Originally Posted by VCheng

If you want to buy used, stay away from all German makes.

Yes, I'll agree with you on this point when it comes to the German big three, but an older generation VW Golf or a Jetta are popular second hand buys.

[Jomz]

Browse away.. there are a lot of new cars between 15k to 25k.

Perfect Car Finder - Kelley Blue Book

Meanwhile just for Info, I just bought a 2005 Honda S2000 for 16.6K.