Looking to buy my first car (Canada)

[Big Nic]

Good advice guys. My parents actually Drive a Subara Forester I think and I could buy their 2002 for around 12 000. I'm thinking about it, but worried about repairs that might come up, and the MPG isn't as good as smaller cars. Since I don't plan on selling anytime soon, I'm not really worried about depreciation either.

Lot's of people drive Civics around here, so maybe that's the way to go.

[Big Nic]

Originally Posted by Mike #9

what do you do out there? obviously i dont know but ive heard even working at Mcdonalds makes like 15- 20$ an hour out west

You'll only get those MacDonalds wages if you work up North in one of the small towns. Price of living there is super high though, so it's not as good as it sounds. Menial jobs still don't pay much, but if you're in the skilled trades (or even unskilled warehouse type stuff), oil industry or an engineer, you can make a killing.

I work as an Insurance Analyst, doing auto claims.

[X The Dude X]

A Subaru in the environment you live in, especially in the winter months with icy roads and snow, would be really good. Yeah, the MPG wouldn't be as great, and repairs are a little more expensive than with Hondas or Toyotas, but a Civic or Corolla won't grip and handle the road quite as well as that Forester.

But if you do go the Civic route, that's not a bad choice by any means.

[Big Nic]

Originally Posted by X The Dude X

A Subaru in the environment you live in, especially in the winter months with icy roads and snow, would be really good. Yeah, the MPG wouldn't be as great, and repairs are a little more expensive than with Hondas or Toyotas, but a Civic or Corolla won't grip and handle the road quite as well as that Forester.

But if you do go the Civic route, that's not a bad choice by any means.

My parents Subara is All Wheel Drive to, which is great for the winter roads. Very few of the cars that I mentioned are, except Toyota Matrix is though. Tons of people drive Civics around here though, which I take as a good sign. Then again, lots of people drive crappy trucks too.

According to consumer report ESD (Electronic Stability Control) is a really great safety feature to get, so I might look for that as well.

[X The Dude X]

Originally Posted by Big Nic

My parents Subara is All Wheel Drive to, which is great for the winter roads. Very few of the cars that I mentioned are, except Toyota Matrix is though. Tons of people drive Civics around here though, which I take as a good sign. Then again, lots of people drive crappy trucks too.

According to consumer report ESD (Electronic Stability Control) is a really great safety feature to get, so I might look for that as well.

My car has AWD, and it handles icy roads so well. Don't have that problem here in Vegas, but when I was still living on the east coast it came in handy more than once. I didn't know the new Matrix had AWD, I know they redesigned it and it looks much better than it previously did. And the ESD is a great feature to look for on cars these days.

The only thing bad about AWD is it consumes about 25% more gas than just front wheel drive cars. My car is a V6 with AWD and takes premium gas, and I get maybe 20 MPG, so that's a bummer. Handles like a fuckin dream, but I get a swift kick in the nuts everytime I fill up.

[Nihilistic]

avoid the civic for canadian winters man

[Big Nic]

Originally Posted by X The Dude X

My car has AWD, and it handles icy roads so well. Don't have that problem here in Vegas, but when I was still living on the east coast it came in handy more than once. I didn't know the new Matrix had AWD, I know they redesigned it and it looks much better than it previously did. And the ESD is a great feature to look for on cars these days.

The only thing bad about AWD is it consumes about 25% more gas than just front wheel drive cars. My car is a V6 with AWD and takes premium gas, and I get maybe 20 MPG, so that's a bummer. Handles like a fuckin dream, but I get a swift kick in the nuts everytime I fill up.

That's a good point. I could do without the AWD, but my last car handled like shit on the winter roads and I had to drive super cautiously just not to die. MPG is a huge factor these days with the price of gas. I'd almost be willing to shell out some big bucks for a Toyota Prius since the MPG is something ridiculous like 44, which is great.

[Big Nic]

Originally Posted by Nihilistic

avoid the civic for canadian winters man

Not good? What car in my price range would you recommend?

[Capn Morgan]

Originally Posted by Nihilistic

avoid the civic for canadian winters man

if he isnt going to by his parents AWD subaru then which one of those cars he listed is better than the civic in the winter? i dont know of any car thats great in the winter unless it has AWD

[X The Dude X]

Originally Posted by Big Nic

That's a good point. I could do without the AWD, but my last car handled like shit on the winter roads and I had to drive super cautiously just not to die. MPG is a huge factor these days with the price of gas. I'd almost be willing to shell out some big bucks for a Toyota Prius since the MPG is something ridiculous like 44, which is great.

I just googled it, and that Forester gets about 20/city and 27/highway. If it's a manual, probably a mile or two more a gallon. So with this asinine gas prices going on, might not be the best choice, but it'd handle your weather conditions very well. Still better numbers than my Audi, but you guys are paying more for gas than we are, so those fill-ups will hurt your wallet after a while. But for driving safety, you can't beat AWD in my opinion.

The new '08 Civics get around 26/city and 35/highway depending on the package you get. The new Civic hybrids run about $22K, but get 40/city and 45/highway, that's pretty damn awesome! The new Matrix is 25/city, 31/highway and has a slightly bigger and more HP engine than the Civic and Prius.