Buying an expensive car right after graduation typically is a mistake - I have a dozen friends who did that over the years, all of them ended up in financial trouble because of it.

Besides, new cars depreciate - why would you want to lose value like crazy once you drive it home?

the new 2012 kawasaki ninja zx-14

Getting a new car will definitely depend on getting a job offer and being in a good situation financially, but yeah your 2nd point is something I'll take into consideration. Like I said I'm not opposed to buying used, just wanted to get everyone's opinion :)

the bike is great on gas and faster then almost any car lol

haha a bike will be next on my list

If your not opposed to used, get a G8 GT or GXP. Just drove mine to St Louis and back and got 26.2 mpg with mods in sig and DOD turned off.

Sonic RS pricing was released today at just under 21k. No power upgrades, but 4 wheel disk brakes, tighter ratio on for the 6spd, lower suspension, nicer seats, flat bottom steering wheel, and Chevy's new MyLink system for their small cars which I had a chance to check out yesterday. Very good and the $50 Navigation app will trump every single in-car navi system out there. People should be shouting from the rooftops how innovative this is.

For the record, I am seriously considering the Sonic RS and as soon as I get to test one, I will report back.

Buying a year old car will make more financial sense, especially with the job market the way it is. I don't know what you are going to school for, but I wish you luck.

Don't be worried about a 1-2 year old used car, but think in terms of taking care of it and costs of ownership along with your TA and other things.

I wouldn't touch a cruze diesel in the first model year, no way. Let other suckers be gm's guinea pigs. I'd also pass on a dead name plate as a daily driver. My sister is having issues getting parts, like a window regulator that went bad in her vibe. I had to wait for parts for my olds, and as time goes on parts will only get harder to get.

QFT. I am in the market for something to replace my Malibu, and I am strongly looking at diesels. I'd like to stay GM/American but it's way too big a risk.

Inb4 Al, but the diesel engine in em has already been out at least a year or so in foreign versions of the Cruze.

And VMI makes the diesels in the Jeeps, dunno how great they are, but again, their already out there. GM learned their lesson, outsource diesel engine design. :rofl:

Depends on the tires because different tires mean different classes. I would stay stock and just invest in winter tires.

Any car thats a manual and a turbo diesel. I hate to say it cause I hate Volkswagen but the TDI Jetta and Passat are nice cars and get like 50 MPG on the highway and are both can be had well under 30k depending on the option package. The downside is they can be expensive to maintain and you absolutely have to run synthetic diesel approved oil. But if your a maintinence stickler it will run forever. My uncle had a 2000 Gulf TDI that he bought new up until about a year ago because it got hit but it had well over 300k on it and still ran and drove like it was new. but he is a maintance stickler.

Buy preowned then...warranties up to 100k+ but cheaper than new. If your keeping the t/a i'd suggest something economical and logistical. I have 5 cars in my household and 2 of which are suv's and they are the most used and needed....winter reliance, towing ability, hauling people and supplies. TBSS, JGC SRT-8 used..awesome.

What he said. If you are keepting the TA there is no need for another toy. And buying new doesnt make sense to me.

G8's are really nice. Wust drove ours to Utah and back and with 5 people and a trunk full of crap we got 24 mpg and the thing uses regular unleaded as well..The problem with the G8 is around town it gets crappy mpg.. 18 or so city driving. Next time we see u when we have our G8 I will see if my wife will let you take it for a drive and see what you think.

C5 or now even some C6 vettes are really nice and fun to drive. I picked up my vette for 13,000..

We bought our Hyndai brand new back in 2006 and we traded it in 6 yrs later and they gave us 3500 for it.We paid around 20,000 for it and with 66,000 the trade in was around 3800 for a Elauntra. That is the last brand new car I will ever buy.


Its nice to have more then 1 toy. Everyday is a different driving expierence and you appreciate each car more everytime you drive it.

what would you guys suggest if I decided not to keep the TA? So I'd want it to be a toy and a DD?

Assuming I continue to work where I am now at Lockheed Martin I'd have a 30 minute commute each way to work, which I'm used to doing now with my trans am and the sucky gas mileage.

That'd be awesome thanks Jeff!

With everyone's advice I'm definitely starting to change my mind about buying brand new

Just buy a comfy, gas efficient, reliable beater. Use the TA for weekend drives and nice days to work.

ok if you work at lockheed martin, you sould make a few good dollars right? if you got rid of the ta then i would go with the 2014 impala ss

WRX's hardly depreciate. There's a 2011 with 65k(NO MORE WARRANTY) on it that just sold for 21k and 08's still selling near the 20's.

I'm not trying to be a subaru fan boy here but

The WRX was a second faster than the BRZ around a track, the BRZ was 2 seconds slower than a Miata but with a tire change(with cheaper tires than stock) the BRZ beat both. If the BRZ had some more power it would be one of the best bang for the buck cars ever made.

Just went to the dealer today. 2.9 % financing on WRX's, 10 week build time.

Scion has the FRS and is cheaper than the BRZ but no standard navigation and has $1000 off for being a recent grad. If you don't want a boring FWD car but also don't want a V6 Mustang or Camaro, these are the best options hand's down.

Just remember BRZ/FRS = sports car WRX/STI = rally car.

This is easily the best kind of advice.

Premium gas is not great in a DD. Expensive brakes and tires is not great in a DD. Bad in the snow is not great in a DD. I will go out on a limb and say in a lot of cases AWD is detrimental as well.

Dodge neon! :mrgreen:

Agreed, BRZ is under powered.

WRX has no chance in autocross against the BRZ plus they are in two different classes. 2dr vs. 4 dr, FR vs. AWD, different weights, dimensions, etc...

I don't want either of them, I'm just saying if I hit the lotto, I'd check out the BRZ for cars under 30k. My brother had an 08 WRX 5spd, nav. Very nice car but terrible gas mileage. He traded it in for that new Lexus hybrid station wagon looking thing.

My Legacy GT is fun to drive but the whole point of me buying it was MPG. Yes I know its AWD and turbo and I couldn't stop myself from modding it but im still averaging about 23-24 MPG per tank, but that is really paying to attention to gas pedal position, if i drive aggressively for a week I ber it would average 18 or less. Hindsight being 20/20 I should of bought something more fuel efficient for a communter. That being said the AWD and turbo is a lot of fun even if the Legacy's suspension is a little soft compared to the WRX, and STI

There is no such animal.
There will be an SS performance sedan, and there will be a 2014 Impala. Two different cars.

Id get an RX8, if there is any left on the lot, or a Subaru BRZ/Toyota FR-S.