Looking For a Car to Replace My Truck - I Need Your Inputs! Or: Talk Some Sense Into Me

[HoneyBadger]

The name of the game is "Tell me what car you think I should buy and why because I don't know a lot about cars". Or "Talk some sense into me because selling my truck is a bad idea."

Reasons why I want to sell my current vehicle:

My 2001 Silverado (1500 extended cab, standard bed, 115k) is costing me about $400 a month in gas to commute to work, and currently I don't need any of the "truck functions" - towing, hauling, etc.

When I bought the truck in 2010 with 70k miles on it, it KBB'd for $11k. Now it has 115k miles and is KBB'ing for $10k. Looking at market trends, it seems that the value of my truck is going to start dropping rapidly in the next year or two.

It is due for about $1k in preventative maintenance items - rear shocks and front control arms ought to be replaced, I couldn't afford some of the 100k maintenance items at the time and I forgot to go back and do them. I really don't feel like paying $1k or more to keep a 13 year old truck going.

It's a PITA getting a carseat into the back seat of the current vehicle. The back doors open like suicide doors, making it impossible to park directly next to anyone and have access to the cab.

If I get a more fuel efficient car, I can save $200 or more on gas alone. If I save $200/mo on gas, I can use that money to make payments on a newer car or (even better) put that money into the bank.

Reasons why I don't want to sell:

I love having a truck around. I plan on doing some hefty landscaping work and finishing my basement within the next few years. I like the idea of saving on shipping and delivery costs by doing it myself, especially with landscape materials. Delivery fee on a few tons of rock is $$$$. Long story short - I like the versatility and "Do It Yourself-ness" of having a truck.

I like being able to get places off the beaten path without bottoming out and destroying a car. Especially when it comes to going shooting, mountain biking, hiking, or camping.

I feel very safe in my 5500lb truck.


What I need help with:

I haven't looked at cars in a long time and I don't know what I should be looking for. I have about $18k +/- $2k after I sell my truck that I can put into a new vehicle.

If you are a mechanic or know a lot about cars, your input would be especially helpful.

If i'm crazy and should hang on to my truck, then tell me why you think so.

Requirements:

4 doors

~25mpg or better. Bonus points for 30+

Needs to be able to fit a carseat in the back

Needs to be safe

less than 60k miles... preferably less than 40k.

Nothing older than 2005 year model





Thanks in advance!

[TheBelly]

VW tdi.

Used golf or Jetta will serve well.

I folded the seats down in my golf and fit my entire reloading bench in there (6'x3').

[tmleadr03]

VW tdi.

Used golf or Jetta will serve well.

I folded the seats down in my golf and fit my entire reloading bench in there (6'x3').

Back sear is tight for a car seat in the jetta/golf. Passat would work better but you are stuck with an automatic if you do Passat.

[Great-Kazoo]

Nissan VERSA Hatchback. We have an 084dr SL, gets 33 mpg even doing "over the speed limit" can seat 2- 6'8, 230lb men in the back seats, with ease and comfort. Plenty of storage behind passenger seats, even more when seats folded. average mpg is 27-33 in town 33 hwy 27 in winter and summer with heat or a/c going. Ours has 69K and were kicking around selling for a new one.
FWIW: it's the first foreign / japanese we owned and doubt it will be the last.
Spent a lot of time test driving, researching EVERY small 4 dr on the market. The hatch back fit the needs of someone who doesn't like sub compact's let along foreign

One other reason the versa was chosen. LEG ROOM EVERY compact & sub compact center console was designed for narrow legged drivers. Due to lower extremity issues i could not drive any of the ones we narrowed the field to, except the versa.

The Hyundai's caught our eye, especially with the 100K warranty. HOWEVER we discovered they did business with iran, out of the running (we also don't own GE products either)


A passenger car that caught my eye is the new chevy diesel . Have not checked it out but again the up front room looks "confined"
http://www.chevrolet.com/cruze-compa...%20date#Diesel

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Given the "why you don't want to sell" section, have you considered a used but smaller truck? I haven't priced anything in a while, but seems like $18 could get you a Tacoma/Frontier.

[Robb]

My respectful opinion: VW SUCKS. I have a Passat and I'll never own another VW in my life. Wish I had the money to trade off on something else. Maintenance nightmare, ALWAYS something wrong with it and spendy to fix. Timeing belt went at 66,000, Dashboard can't help but light up like a Christmas tree every 6 months - no shit. Great mileage and 1.8 turbo flies up the hills but it isn't worth it, not even close.
Ford Chevy Honda or Toyota, period.
Keep the truck or replace the truck with another, or you'll regret it. Go smaller and more efficient. I've grown to love the smaller trucks. I bet you'd be way happy with a Tacoma.

[buffalobo]

Keep the truck, do maint a little at a time, buy a 4 cyl beater for commuting.

Sent from my electronic ball and chain.

[Sawin]

I'd just get a smaller, more fuel efficient truck...or a small commuter car, and do the maintenance depending on the math and possible space/parking constraints.

[speedysst]

Dodge Dart. 4 doors, 41mpg, MSRP $15995

[BuffCyclist]

2011+ MINI Countryman S All4.

It meets your requirements, has AWD, (though cost is around $22k-$25k depending on miles), AND it gets 32+ mpg and thats pretty sweet! Not to mention, the MINI is one of the most fun cars I've ever driven and hugs the corners tighter than a 1999 996 Carrera that I used to have access to.

Aside from their very small size, MINIs are EXTREMELY safe! Only downside to them though, is that if something breaks that you can't fix, its going to be pretty expensive for a dealer to fix. With that said, my 2006 MINI Cooper has given me 40k miles in the 2+ yrs I've owned it, averaging about 38-42mpg and the only thing I had to do to it was replace the thermostat as the gasket had a slight leak and would drain the coolant in about a week (but I did that myself for a cost of 2hrs and $45).

When I bought my MINI, I was driving my lifted Xterra 35 miles to/from work, so it was costing me about $350-400 in gas per month. Once I got the MINI, my gas budget dropped to about $100-150, if that, and the amount I saved in gas made the car payment. I'm considering selling it, and my Xterra, in the next couple of years and upgrading to the Countryman S ALL4 so I can have the fuel efficiency and AWD, so my opinion might be a little biased .

Good luck with the search!!

eta: The Countryman might set you back a bit in insurance, so if you haven't already, price out insurance costs for various vehicles you're considering too as that could really change your decision.