Car Ideas?

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Evadig

Evadig

Crossing the Road
Premium Feather Member
May 16, 2023
4,677
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Blue Ridge Mountains
I need a car and I have a long list of criteria (my parents are helping to finance the car, and they want certain qualities, otherwise it would be a bit shorter). I'm not asking for someone to find me a car, I just want to know if y'all happen to know of a vehicle that checks the boxes. So far I've been looking at a 2017/18 Ford Escape SE, 2017 Volvo Inscription, 2017 Kia Sorento.

Criteria are:
No tech (lane assist, parking sensors, blindspot sensors, anything that tries to control your driving or beeps at you - I can deal with it as long as it can be permanently shut off)
Younger than 2015
Has a gear shifter not a dial
Reliable (not going to break down 'cause it's built cheaply)
Minimal screen - all heat/AC must be dials, not on a screen
Has a hatch
Less than $20,000
MPG City: 21+ / Highway: 27+

I'm interested to see your suggestions! :)
 
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I'm really happy with our 2014 Mazda 3. Granted, she does have a back-up camera and blind spot monitor, but you can adjust the volume or mute it so that kinda fits your requirements. I was surprised to find I liked that feature (on low volume) because it's linked to the blinkers. If I put a left blinker on, she'll beep twice if someone is in the blind spot on the left. If I don't blink she doesn't say anything.

Pros:
- She's super reliable
- Great gas mileage
- Not sluggish accelerating
- Comfy seats
- Better quality finishes than anything at the same price point. In my view, Mazda is the best brand for balancing price + quality.
- High safety rating.
- Great AC.

Cons:
- Road noise in the cabin only discernible on the highway. Not an issue for me since the highway requires loud music, but if you're a silence driver it could become an issue.
- That year was prone to a valve seal cover defect from the manufacturer that can foul spark plugs. We replaced with an aftermarket valve seal cover ($10 part / $100 for labor) that works better. + New Spark Plugs. Other years may not have the problem.
- Doesn't have 60 gazillion horsepower so I can't break the sound barrier 😞


Not that I'm suggesting it, but we actually got ours at salvage auction! She had been in a little accident, the damage was mostly cosmetic. We did all the repairs ourselves and saved a ton.
Neither my mom or I had ever done any work on cars, ever. But the info was all online, from the service manual to ChrisFix on you tube.
My mom even painted the new front passenger side fender. You can't even tell (yes, she's good, but there's also a great online shop for color matched auto paint).
It was a big risk, but we prayed about the decision and it just felt right, then the perfect car went through the online auction (copart).
With the repairs totaled in, we paid $5k for a $10k model/mileage at the time. Sure, she doesn't have the same resale value, but we didn't need a car to sell, we needed one to drive for less money and that wouldn't be coughing down the road. God really blessed us with Nelly!

123536059_3543207375744591_2106527365215065900_n.jpg

171060760_3973905022674822_6090893609612207448_n.jpg


We took the down-time opportunity to do new brake rotors & pads, brake fluid, coolant flush, transmission fluid (drain & fill, NOT flush) and of course the oil lol.
There were so many silly little things. Like the sunroof was stuck open, it just hadn't been properly closed. The AC wasn't working, it needed a $15 fuse and it still blasts freezing air in summer.
New headlights, foglights, passenger side mirror, grille, trim, window washer reservoir & pump, a new radiator shroud (the support, not the radiator itself), new bumper foam stuff, other odds & ends... and of course the fender. We chose not to replace the hood because it was purely cosmetic and we wanted to get back on the road sooner. Although I watched a lot of dent repair videos online, we only managed to decrease the dent on the dog ear area. It's not very noticeable, and kinda cute.
(okay, this is what happens when emotional sorts like us work on a car, so much anthropomorphizing).
 
SourRoses said:
I'm really happy with our 2014 Mazda 3. Granted, she does have a back-up camera and blind spot monitor, but you can adjust the volume or mute it so that kinda fits your requirements. I was surprised to find I liked that feature (on low volume) because it's linked to the blinkers. If I put a left blinker on, she'll beep twice if someone is in the blind spot on the left. If I don't blink she doesn't say anything.

Pros:
- She's super reliable
- Great gas mileage
- Not sluggish accelerating
- Comfy seats
- Better quality finishes than anything at the same price point. In my view, Mazda is the best brand for balancing price + quality.
- High safety rating.
- Great AC.

Cons:
- Road noise in the cabin only discernible on the highway. Not an issue for me since the highway requires loud music, but if you're a silence driver it could become an issue.
- That year was prone to a valve seal cover defect from the manufacturer that can foul spark plugs. We replaced with an aftermarket valve seal cover ($10 part / $100 for labor) that works better. + New Spark Plugs. Other years may not have the problem.
- Doesn't have 60 gazillion horsepower so I can't break the sound barrier 😞


Not that I'm suggesting it, but we actually got ours at salvage auction! She had been in a little accident, the damage was mostly cosmetic. We did all the repairs ourselves and saved a ton.
Neither my mom or I had ever done any work on cars, ever. But the info was all online, from the service manual to ChrisFix on you tube.
My mom even painted the new front passenger side fender. You can't even tell (yes, she's good, but there's also a great online shop for color matched auto paint).
It was a big risk, but we prayed about the decision and it just felt right, then the perfect car went through the online auction (copart).
With the repairs totaled in, we paid $5k for a $10k model/mileage at the time. Sure, she doesn't have the same resale value, but we didn't need a car to sell, we needed one to drive for less money and that wouldn't be coughing down the road. God really blessed us with Nelly!

View attachment 3916879
View attachment 3916880

We took the down-time opportunity to do new brake rotors & pads, brake fluid, coolant flush, transmission fluid (drain & fill, NOT flush) and of course the oil lol.
There were so many silly little things. Like the sunroof was stuck open, it just hadn't been properly closed. The AC wasn't working, it needed a $15 fuse and it still blasts freezing air in summer.
New headlights, foglights, passenger side mirror, grille, trim, window washer reservoir & pump, a new radiator shroud (the support, not the radiator itself), new bumper foam stuff, other odds & ends... and of course the fender. We chose not to replace the hood because it was purely cosmetic and we wanted to get back on the road sooner. Although I watched a lot of dent repair videos online, we only managed to decrease the dent on the dog ear area. It's not very noticeable, and kinda cute.
(okay, this is what happens when emotional sorts like us work on a car, so much anthropomorphizing).
Click to expand...
Thanks! This was so helpful! I'm starting to look into Mazdas now. I have read they don't have as much tech.

We went to a couple dealerships tonight and just looked at cars. I was able to test drive a Ford Edge. At the last dealership we stopped at, it was after hours and when we tried to leave, we found they had locked us in! Thankfully we were able to get a mechanic to let us out. Not doing that again...:oops:
 

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