slick

iTrader: (6)

the civic is really starting to **** my dad off, yesterday, he was going out to pick up something from a friend, so he decided to take my car. he goes out to the car, and then comes back in, so i ask "whats wrong?" he said, "nothing, need some money for gas" i said, "for the civic? there is 1/4 tank left" he said, "no, its empty, the light is on, infact, its BELOW the E" so i went out to see, and it was below the E. i disinctly remember there being 1/4 left. so my dad asks "didn't you take the car in for this inaccurate fuel gauge problem" i said "yea, they fixed it they said, replaced the fuel signal sender or something". thats when my dad started to get upset, and he told me to go online and research cars because we might be selling/trading the civic. he is going to have a talk with the dealer that supposedly fixed the fuel gauge problem, and see what they have to say.
anyways, that brings me to my dillema, if i sell/trade my car, what should i get?
criteria is as follows, 4 cyl for gas economy, auto because other family members will also use it, and max price of $22K ( lower is better however )

i was thinking of the following:
2003 Corolla S
2003 Altima S or SL
2003 RSX base ( non type S )

and thats all i can think of, my dad is debating the RSX since it is a Honda, and my dad is pissed at Honda.
any other ideas? also, lets not bother with mazda, my dad had a 1992 mazda 929, and he hated that car to, it fell apart, lets leave it at that.

more than likely, i will end up with the altima or corolla, but i just can't think of anything else.

CarbonFly

iTrader: (12)

lol, you are gonna sell the vic because the gas reads wrong? I think most people just go by the trip meter. But hey, to each his own.

I don't think you are gonna get any better mileage out of the RSX. I wouldn't mind having an Altima or something Hybrid if you want good gas.

01civicboi

iTrader: (2)

the corolla is in a different price range from the altima and rsx

there's quite a difference between all 3 of those cars

cambo

iTrader: (1)

when will u STOP posting?!?! goddamn PW. change the f'ugly sig. geez

CarbonFly

iTrader: (12)

I'm trying to help him out thank you very much. What is your problem? Continue this with me on PM's or IM's so we dont take up the forum please.

slick

iTrader: (6)

cool, quick replies, but i think i should clarify a bit.
the problems weren't just the inaccurate fuel gauge that was "fixed" from what the dealer said, i also had a piece of paint that flaked off of the front bumper ( the size of a dime roughly ), the drivers door lock latch was broken and i went weeks without finding out ( the drivers door WASN'T locking because of this, but i thought it was ), i had a broken steering rack that caused power steering fluid to leak and whenever i would steer, i got this whining noise, even though the steering rack was fixed, i still get noises when i turn the wheel. the spoiler was also defective, but thats the dealers fault, not honda's. all these problems and only 67XX miles on the car, so me and my dad are questioning the quality of the car, we are afraid of what might happen after the warranty is up.
the corolla is in there because it is a nice car, and its cheap, if i can't get much for the civic, then the corolla is what i might end up getting, since its the cheapest of the bunch. i am shooting for the altima because my dad loves his maxima, and nissan, so he might go for it, even though it is more expensive than the corolla and base RSX. and the RSX was thrown in because its a luxury brand car, yet its not really that expensive, but again, it still is a honda, so i doubt my dad would go for it.
i'm heading over to www.altimas.net to find out more about the altima, but if you guys know anything about the cars, or have any input, i want to hear it.

CarbonFly

iTrader: (12)

dude, with all of those problems I bet you could get Honda to buy the car back for the exact amount you paid under the Lemon Law. Have you looked into that?

manixc

go for Corolla S. But I sugguest checking Mazda P5, Suzuki Aero, Toyota Matrix unless u dont like wagon

Travii

Yeah Flyriceracer is right. You can try and get them to buy your car back under a lemon law. You will get what you paid for it so it will be a much better deal for you. Either way if I was going to get a new car, i would get a new Accord but thats cause I love the design but thats me. Have you looked into a WRX or waiting for the new Lancer Evo 8? If you are going for a car with luxary...I would go for the Altima out classes the other ones in everyway, especailly if you go for the v6.

Mbow

Rsx base would be a waste imo. Not because it's bad or anything but if you are going to get an rsx, you get the s. Kinda like the v6 mustang deal.

Nissan - I'm not a big fan of that brand and don't care much for the styling.

Corolla - You're absolute best bet imo. Ultra-reliable, nice peppy engine, very quiet, and you'll be worry free for years. The only downside is the senior citizen image.

sspem2

iTrader: (22)

get a white 2003 toyota matrix. done up right like what i seen they are

LJ

I would have to say go with the Corolla. Can't beat a Yota

slick

iTrader: (6)

well, judging by the prices, unless my dad is feeling very generous, i will most likely end up buying a corolla. the altima is pretty nice, even the interior feels cheap and is filled with more hard plastic than our civics, but its kind of expensive, i priced a 2.5S model out at $22K, and a 3.5SE was like $24.5K.
anyone know of a corolla forum that is like this site? i found one, but it was lame, i need to find out some info on the car.

NBPD17A2

Go for the Corrola S or basically any Toyota. You cant go wrong. Great quality,reliabilty and customer service. If you are not too concerned with gas mileage why not get a Tacoma 4x4?

Steve

n00dleboy

Mazda has come a long way since your dad's old car. I would consider the Protege 5 as an econo car.

Editor's Choice - World of Wheels/Le Monde de l'Auto, 2002
Heart's Choice - World of Wheels/Le Monde de l'Auto, 2002
Best Buy in its Category - Auto Guide / Guide de l'Auto, 2002
Best Selling Car in Quebec - 2001
Car of the Year / Voiture de l'Annee" - Auto Guide/Guide de l'Auto, 2002
Editors' "Most Wanted List - Small Station Wagons Under $20,000" - Edmunds.com, 2002
Best Economy Car - Motoring, 2002

Comes standard with 16" alloys with excellent dunlop sp5000 tires, 4 wheel ABS, cdplayer, dual airbags, power everything and remote keyless entry. Roomy, Sporty agressive look, and price is good and insurance is cheaper than a Civic DX. .. oh.. and it will outhandle the civic, corolla S, and rsx in stock trim. It's also 100% made in Japan with Japanese Mazda parts. No recalls. Go test drive one as this should definately be something you should consider.

slick

iTrader: (6)

nah, i dont like trucks, i dont care for SUV's either, too big imo. i was looking at dealer inventories on the corolla S, and most dealers dont have many to choose from, they have lots of CE's and LE's though, this is going to be a long process.

slick

iTrader: (6)

i know, mazda seems like a good car company now.
the mazda 6s is now on the car and drivers 10 best list, it has a 220hp V6 for less than $22K with good features like ABS and alloys, even a 4 year/50K mile warranty, but its that ONE bad experience that can turn you away from something. i am still trying to turn my dad, but i dont think he will budge.
is the protege5 in any way related to the regular protege? i'm sorry, but i dont really like wagons, that might change if i actually drive one, but i dont know, wagons dont suit me. the regular protege doesn't seem bad at all, seems like you know a lot about the company, got any info on the protege.

CivicRyder

WOW!!! Every time you experience a slight problem with a vehicle, are you going to sell it??? You must sell cars quite often then... lol. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] I suggest you just have the problem with the gas gauge fixed and keep your reliable Civic, unless you want to go through the aggravation of selling it and purchasing a new car, and losing a substantial amount of money due to depreciation. Besides, your new choices don't really thrill me, except for the Altima.

03Eclipse

Did you happen to see his second post...looks like he's had a couple of problems with a brand new vehicle ....... I'd be a bit pissed as well .....I'm not saying he should get rid of it but if I was in his shoes, I'd be looking around as well

slick

iTrader: (6)

dude, you dont even know half the story on the mazda we had. it was a 1992 mazda 929, it was around $27K, leather, V6, moonroof, loaded.
the only good things about the car were the engine and paint, they both lasted well, and we kept the car until the day i got the civic ( we used the mazda as a trade in ).
the mazda's problems were as follows: interior faded ( dash especially, went from grey to blue ), drivers and passengers door lock didn't work and door wouldn't open, 3 of the 4 windows stopped working ( regulators or something ), both front seats became loose over the years and the joints got all rusted and stuff, so they stayed loose, buttons like the fog light button fell into the dash because the cheap plastic pieces the car was made out of broke, windshield wipers didnt work, power antenna didn't work, trunk and gas door release didn't work, a/c needed to be replaced twice, once under warranty, once after warranty, tranny was messed up to, didn't shift into 4th. this is all i can think of at the moment, everything happened after the warranty expired, around 50K miles+. at the end, when it was traded, i got a measly $1000 for it, KBB priced it at $2000 for a good condition, which this car wasn't.
we dont trade cars in like this, but my dad doesn't want the civic to turn out to be like the mazda, he bought the car and its his decision, if he decides not to trade in the civic, i wouldn't be upset, i still like the car, i just want what i was expecting.

btw, the mazda was the only car we ever traded, my dad's other cars were either sent to a junk yard, or given to a friend, because they were so worn out. but they NEVER gave him problems like that mazda did, and all of my dad's other cars were american ( 1972 chevy nova 4 door, 1984 olds cutlass, and currently he has a 1993 dodge caravan and 2001 nissan maxima gxe, both cars are shared between him and my mom )

i know my posts are long, but it seems that people are thinking i am just too picky and i'm whining like some baby, and i dont want to looked at in that way.

slick

iTrader: (6)

oh, i dont know if i mentioned this, but i did take the vic in a few weeks ago to get the inaccurate fuel gauge fixed. they determined that the fuel signal sender unit is bad, so they ordered it. i brought the car back, they installed the new unit, and the guy in the service department said "its fixed, the fuel gauge readings should be fine now".
then the incident with my dad happens that i posted about, where he went out to my car, and then came back in to get gas money, and i told him he didn't need it because there was 1/4 tank left, but he said that it was empty, and when i checked, it was empty.
that pisses me off, because its not fixed, but i was assured it was. now i have to take the car back to the dealer so they can figure out what is wrong with it, and then have them order parts because they never have the parts off hand, and then take it back do they can fix it.

Mbow

All hondas have funky gas guages when the tank gets down around the 1/4 mark from my experience. They tend to have trouble making up their minds as to what is in the tank and isn't. Then, they settle down. What you described as a problem sounds pretty normal to me.

slick

iTrader: (6)

my dad has been talking with the honda dealer this week, and it seems that they are willing to offer me an extended warranty, 100K mile / 10 year i think. my dad made a call to honda NA last week ( i didnt even know he made the call ) and they supposedly contacted the dealer i got my car from, thats why the dealer is offering the extended warranty. it sounded wierd to me, but if they are just going to give me an extended warranty, i guess i should take it, no harm in that. now its a question of keeping the car since i am getting more warranty, or if i should still sell it. anybody have that extended warranty, how much did it cost?