Buying a used car?

[soonerj2015]

Might I ask what your price range and needed features are? I like to look for cars and do recommendations. My wife says it is a good thing so I stop buying more…

35k range

[FighttheGoodFight]

2-door car, I guess the technical term would be coupe. No stick, drove one for decades (Bugs, Jeep CJ-7, Saturn) and don't really need to deal with one any longer. Any of the rest isn't really necessary, would be nice to have some of it, though. My work commute is about 10 min each way and we don't take long road trips, and I'm just a pretty basic car guy. CD player would be nice to have, mine crapped out years ago.

That is a pretty tough ask as I look through models. It is basically a Civic or Accord coupe. Since you aren't into "muscle" style cars that limits one area. The only other two door style cars are Jeep Wranglers and Toyota FJ Cruisers.

If you are wanting the coupe I think just waiting it out for a Civic or Accord might be it.

[FighttheGoodFight]

35k range

For a mid size SUV in that price range you might check out the Subaru Outback or Forester. Try out the Mazda CX-5 or CX-9 as well. Good built quality and reliable. You can also get AWD in both of those and turbos. You can for sure get out for under 35k based on trims. In normal times you can get a good amount off by haggling a little. Both are top 5 in reliability so you are getting car to keep.

Both have their quirks or features but I would say give them a drive to see if they meet your family's needs.

[TheTravellers]

That is a pretty tough ask as I look through models. It is basically a Civic or Accord coupe. Since you aren't into "muscle" style cars that limits one area. The only other two door style cars are Jeep Wranglers and Toyota FJ Cruisers.

If you are wanting the coupe I think just waiting it out for a Civic or Accord might be it.

Yeah, that's what I was running into, thanks for the effort! Muscle cars are cool, but they're just too big for me now, don't like anything bigger than a smaller coupe (my cars have been a 75 Chevy Monza, an MGB, a Jeep CJ-7, a Saturn SC1, Honda Civic Coupe). Had a Jeep CJ-7, didn't like it when they turned into Wranglers, so that's out too.

I'm guessing I'll have to go higher price-wise or just go with a later used Honda (no way am I ever giving Honda itself any more money after the fiasco that my generation was, even though they apparently got their sh*t together on the one after that and later (again, because the generation before mine is stellar - wife has one and it's great). Thx again...

[Jersey Boss]

Subaru-BRZ
or
Toyota 86
Basically the same 2 door coupe.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Subaru-BRZ
or
Toyota 86
Basically the same 2 door coupe.

Also I guess I should say a Miata or Fiata could be something in the same area.

[TheTravellers]

Also I guess I should say a Miata or Fiata could be something in the same area.

Ha, was looking at a Miata way back in between my Monza and Jeep, couldn't afford it then, I think... And thx, JerseyBoss, I'll check those out.

[TheTravellers]

Interestingly enough, I've pretty much decided on a 2022 Mini Cooper SE (the electric one). Need to do some more research and a test drive (hard to do when they have none in inventory, but they have 4 that should be on the lot in Nov/Dec if they're not sold by then (which happens with almost all electric Minis, but they said they could ask the buyer if they'd mind me test driving it for a few miles before they pick it up)). Tax credit of $7500 brought the price down to something I could live with, and wife has wanted a Mini for years.

[Plutonic Panda]

Please follow up with how you enjoy your mini. I have a Prius right now and I’m considering a tesla(model 3) along with purchasing a Nissan Frontier(2022) because I love the outdoors and camping. I won’t be able to afford either until next year so I’ll likely stick to my Prius or get a Chevy Spark. But I’m serious eyeing the minis. I wasn’t even aware an electric one existed. I had an electric Fiat 500 in LA and sold it because I had an offer I couldn’t refuse and I miss it.

[TheTravellers]

Please follow up with how you enjoy your mini. I have a Prius right now and I’m considering a tesla(model 3) along with purchasing a Nissan Frontier(2022) because I love the outdoors and camping. I won’t be able to afford either until next year so I’ll likely stick to my Prius or get a Chevy Spark. But I’m serious eyeing the minis. I wasn’t even aware an electric one existed. I had an electric Fiat 500 in LA and sold it because I had an offer I couldn’t refuse and I miss it.

We test drove a 2019 higher-end model they had and it was more decent than I thought it would be. Reviews kept saying the ride is rough and the cabin is noisy, but the saleswoman said "if you come from a Lexus, yes, of course you'll find it noisy/rough, but if you're coming from a 2003 or 2007 Honda Civic (as we are), it'll be fine and might even be better", and yeah, we thought it was perfectly acceptable. Biggest downside right now is the 100 or so mile range, reviews have said they should just put the BMW i3's battery in it, which would triple the range and bring it in line with most other "comparable" electrics, since so much of BMW's other tech is in it, but the saleswoman said it would probably raise the price and it wouldn't be that large of an advantage, because most people would not use it as their primary (or long-distance) car, it's just kind of a city car for short commuting/trips (and that's exactly our situation).

I'll let you know in 2022 how we like it, lol...

[TheTravellers]

So I've found out that all Mini SEs ordered by the dealership are sold before they hit the lot, both here in OKC and in Dallas, and apparently the buyers have (generally) never test-driven an SE before.

I test-drove my 2007 Honda Civic coupe a little bit before I bought it, but didn't take it out on the highway to find out how it would merge, which was a huge mistake - their drive-by-wire system has a serious lag in it, literally takes one second (or a little more) for the computer to realize that yes, pushing the accelerator all the way to the floor means give it all the power you can RIGHT NOW. Hate it, and will never buy another car without checking everything possible beforehand. So the big thing about having to drive the SE itself, rather than just a standard gasoline S model is the regenerative braking - heard it described as very different from regular driving and you really have to get used to it. So since I'll probably never get to test-drive an SE, I think I'll just try a BMW i3, they have the same type of braking. It's a shame Mini can't just have one SE sitting at a dealer for people to test-drive, but I guess since it's just an S with all the guts replaced, most people can just look at and test-drive an S and that's all they need, just wonder what the attitude of the new SE owners is towards the braking once they realize it's so different...

[TheTravellers]

Please follow up with how you enjoy your mini. I have a Prius right now and I’m considering a tesla(model 3) along with purchasing a Nissan Frontier(2022) because I love the outdoors and camping. I won’t be able to afford either until next year so I’ll likely stick to my Prius or get a Chevy Spark. But I’m serious eyeing the minis. I wasn’t even aware an electric one existed. I had an electric Fiat 500 in LA and sold it because I had an offer I couldn’t refuse and I miss it.

I've had my 2022 MINI Cooper SE for a little over a week now, still getting used to all the new tech. Going from a 2007 Honda (base model with pretty much no extras) to this car is incredible WRT the amount of new technology everywhere. So there's that part of the learning experience - navigation system, all the ways the lights can work, rain-sensing windshield wipers, all kinds of options, ambient lighting everywhere, climate control, buttwarmers, just tons of new things like that.

Then there's the electric part, and *that* takes getting used to. The control panel/dashboard is quite different from a normal car's, but since the Honda's dash was digital, it's probably easier for me to adjust to the MINI SE dash than it might be for others with conventional instruments. The regenerative braking takes quite a bit of driving to get into the mindset of and to lose the 40-year-old muscle memory of having to step on the brake when you stop since you can basically do one-pedal driving with an electric car. I can't foresee anybody switching between an ICE and an electric car often, the way the pedals work might be too different to handle. The instant power and torque are great, one of the things missing from my Honda, and if you're not used to the power, it can be scary (if you floor it, you can literally twist the car into the next lane and end up going 90 MPH before you know it). Kind of wary of driving it on snow/ice, since the cardinal rule of that is "don't brake" and with an electric car, that's impossible unless you shift into neutral. I did some reading on snow/ice driving for a MINI SE and if you change the driving mode from Mid (average, normal driving, the default) to Green (dampened and less aggressive than Mid, which is less aggressive than the Sport setting), and switch regenerative braking from High (default) to Low, that's about as good as it can get for a MINI SE. Might get out today or tomorrow and run around the neighborhood to see how it goes.

Interesting fact - MINIs have runflat tires, not because they're cool and handy, but mainly because there's no place to store a spare, lol.

All in all, a very cool car that's fun to look at and drive, will probably own it for many years to come.