OK, I came, I saw, I test drove. It is between 2 cars or types of cars. I have very little room for financing, so here goes...
There is a 1998 Saturn SL1 for sale with 49,000 miles on it. It was owned by octagenarians and is in excellent condition. I'm talking, it looks like new. The a/c has a bit of a musty smell, and the drive is a little noisy, but it handles great for an older, small car. I'm not overly excited with the trunk space since we are going to try to get into adoption stuff this year, but it does have 4 doors and comfy seats which is more than I can say for my current P.O.S. The price on it is $4995 without taxes and tags, and the dealer fee is $398.50. It's Saturn, so no exceptions. The Kelly Blue Book on this car is only $4155, but the dealer fee is pretty low.
Then we have the option of a high mileage Honda Civic. Let me say that I like Civics more than the Saturn, but here are the options to consider. For example, one Civic (which is now gone) found at a Honda dealer which seems desperate to unload its cars was listed as $5995. It was an '03 with 88,000 miles on it. The dealer fee here is almost $600. I don't know if the Honda dealer would come down since they are NOT a no-haggle dealership. However, the KBB on this car is over $9000, so I don't know that they'd come down. This particular one is sold, but they have more like them. The Civic has better trunk space and handles better than the Saturn (not to mention it's prettier), but is the higher mileage worth it?
So here are my questions. Do I go with the higher mileage, nicer, more roomy car? Do Hondas REALLY run over 200,000 miles WELL? Or do I go with this crazy deal from old people who take care of their cars for under $5000? I don't love the car, but it is in great shape, and I wouldn't mind driving it. Would I get more years and better value out of it?
Please help!
The New Family Car Saga Continued - HELP!
Update Monday, January 12, 2009 at 8:20 AM.
Dalam topik decisions
Dalam topik decisions