Need new car... please help!

[Vanessa CW21]

Hello everybody!
I don't know if you still remember, but I had a nice 2007 Toyota Camry... untill last Saturday! It got totalled when some 18-year-old b*tch ran the red light!
I need to buy a new car today, but I don't know what to get.
I have a budget of US$20,000, and I want a V6 engine with great gas-milage!
Any suggestions??

Thanks a million!

Vanessa

[GerardoG]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Hello everybody!
I don't know if you still remember, but I had a nice 2007 Toyota Camry... untill last Saturday! It got totalled when some 18-year-old b*tch ran the red light!
I need to buy a new car today, but I don't know what to get.
I have a budget of US$20,000, and I want a V6 engine with great gas-milage!
Any suggestions??

Thanks a million!

Vanessa

Sorry to hear that. Well, it all comes to what YOU like; I could make some suggestions but they would be from my 'wish list'.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Good to see you here again, Vanessa!

[Ed Rooney]

I can't think of a V6 at $20K, and V6's don't tend to get the best mileage. The 4-cylinder Honda Accord LX is around 20k and is plenty fast. Otherwise look at Subaru.

[jasonbellevue]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Hello everybody!
I don't know if you still remember, but I had a nice 2007 Toyota Camry... untill last Saturday! It got totalled when some 18-year-old b*tch ran the red light!
I need to buy a new car today, but I don't know what to get.
I have a budget of US$20,000, and I want a V6 engine with great gas-milage!
Any suggestions??

Thanks a million!

Vanessa

Good grief, thank God you're alright! Do your bit for the environment, go green, get a Hybrid. I'm not sure if you can buy one with $20,000 though. Best of luck to you and welcome back!

[Vanessa CW21]

Thanks guys.
I think I'm going to try the Honda Accord today, and I might just buy another Camry... it protected me pretty good on Saturday.

[GerardoG]

Quality wise, Toyota is making very good cars; and if it saved you on saturday, it might be a good option; happy to hear you are ok.

[roadcarver]

My neighbour was deciding between the accord and the nissan altima. For price, styling and gas mileage, the Nissan Altima was a good choice for him.

Also, it has the CVT transmission.

Go check it out.

[Vanessa CW21]

Originally Posted by roadcarver

Also, it has the CVT transmission.

Can you explain please
I don't know that much about cars....

[Bama]

Don't know what kind of deal you can get on the Accord, but they are fantastic cars. All Accords seem to have as much power as you would need and get pretty good gas mileage. I have a 2006 Nissan Altima which is a pretty good car also. The 2007 Altima gets better gas mileage than the 2006 model. Glad you are ok and I wish you the best.

[SLRdude]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Can you explain please
I don't know that much about cars....

CVT is a continuously variable transmission.
your standard automatic transmission will have 4, 5 (even 6 or 7 in a luxury car) forward gears. When you drive your car, your car will accelerate and change gears as you accelerate.

On a CVT car, there are no gears to be changed. The transmission changes the aspect/ratio of the gearing depending on the speed at which you are traveling. So basically it feels like a one gear car. If you have ever driven a golf cart, it feels about the same way.

Personally, I do not care for the CVT cars. It is a more complicated solution to a simple task, and it just feels weird having a car that never changes gears! You can drive a CVT car and then you floor it to pass somebody and the sound of the engine does not change! It remains the same. That right there messes me up LOL.

On the other hand... the first CVT was invented by Da Vinci in 1490, so that's kinda cool!

[redshirt1957]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Can you explain please
I don't know that much about cars....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...e_transmission

Vanessa,

Things have gone down hill since you last posted as they now let people like me become a member. Free of charge also! Can't help you with an automobile choice as I haul around six kids. Small, economical, fuel efficient, six cylinder...not in my vocabulary for the next 10 years.

I was slow in posting as SLRdude beat me to the enter button.

[Carolina]

I really like my Honda Accord. Good gas mileage, but it is only a 4 cylinder. For me, though, it has plenty of power.

Good luck!

[roadcarver]

CVT means Continously Variable Transmission. What it does is that the transmission is smooth, and you won't feel the shift jerking you would feel on normal automatics.

Here's the explanation for you...

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...05/024153.html

Here's your opportunity to try out other cars. Go to the dealership, review various sites and make your conclusion and see if it fits the bill. I myself has a 6 cyl van from Honda that shuts off the back 3 cylinders when to save fuel economy... well that's what Honday says.

PS. SLR beat me to it as well :p

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Can you explain please
I don't know that much about cars....

[Tools]

.
.. Mustang...


Should be able to get a new 2007 V-6 for 20k or less.

[Vanessa CW21]

Originally Posted by Tools

.
.. Mustang...

Sounds great... but I forgot to mention I want a spacious car, with 4 doors and a big trunk! In case we're expanding the family within a few years...

Thank you all so much for your input!

[ohsixx]

I had a Toyota Camry once. All I ever did was put gas and oil in it during the three years of ownership.

Never had a mechanical problem. The new ones look almost like a luxury car!

[Paulie]

If you can swing a bit more in the budget, take a look at a Toyota Prius. Base model is in that range, v6 power in a i4, and how can you beat 50mpg?

It's a midsize, close to the Camry in size and the hatch is very handy hauling loads.

I love my 05!

[Lisa]

Gotta love those Camrys. How can you go wrong with a Toyota? I read something a while back that the Toyotas are way up at the top of the list of cars that will easily surpass 100K miles with no problems. I have a Nissan Pathfinder - needed all the kid-hauling room - but my next car will almost surely be a Toyota.

[kcmo]

Vanessa, I'm glad you're all right! What a scare.

What's funny is that this morning on the Today Show there was a story about the Toyota Camry decline in quality. Strange, right? Anyway, apparently this is the first year (or maybe they're talking about '08) that Consumer Reports has NOT recommended the Camry due to numerous quality issues, including thousands of consumer complaints regarding transmission problems. I believe all their Camry ratings are below average now. Who knows.

I can tell you that I drove a Honda Accord Coupe for 6 years and would highly recommend Honda. Mine only had 33k miles when I sold it 7 months ago!!!! What can I say....I live close to work!

Good luck and safe driving, whatever you end up with!

[Ed Rooney]

I have both a Honda Odyssey van and a Toyota 4runner SUV. Both are excellent. In general, between the Camry and Accord, the Camry has more of a soft luxury ride whereas the Accord has a tighter, sportier ride. Both are great cars.

[S2000 Driver]

Can't go wrong with a Honda Accord.

I had one for 300,000 miles and it was still going strong without any major repairs.

Finally gave it away to a charity so I could get a new car -- although it was still 100% reliable!

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Sounds great... but I forgot to mention I want a spacious car, with 4 doors and a big trunk! In case we're expanding the family within a few years...

Thank you all so much for your input!

Get another Camry...Buy a bag full of Lexus emblems..

No one will tell the difference

[Superlative]

You are not going to get a new v6 Camry or accord for 20k new.the Camry and accord are the #1 selling import. I would stick with one of the above cause they are reliable and hold their value like a Rolex!! once you own an import you dont want to own a domestic car trust me! The best thing if you want a v6 Camry or accord is to find it uses. or you can put 20k down and finance the rest..your call Use or new you cant go wrong with ether!!

[JJ Irani]

Hi Vanessa,

Great to have you back and so glad you're safe and well after that encounter.

Ever considered the new Honda Euro Accord? Superb car and great value for the money.

I would also go with another Camry!!

Good luck in your final decision - JJ

[Superlative]

JJ we dont get the Euro accord in the state. You guys get all the best JMD model out thier!

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Superlative

JJ I dont dont get the Euro accord in the state. You guys get all the best JMD model out thier!

The EURO version is an amazing car. I've actually test driven one. It's powered by a powerful 2.4 litre, 4-cyl engine that goes like a rocket.

The interior finish and get-up would make most European car manufacturers blush....and the V6, 3-litre version is an absolute dream to drive. This one produces a whopping 177kW of power and just flies down the motorway.

Excellent value for money!!!

[Ed Rooney]

Check out carmax.com.

[Welshwatchman]

You can't go wrong with a Toyota. My wife loves her new Rav Diesel.

$20k for a 2007 Camry. Wow those USA prices.

In the UK that would be £22.5k ($45k) and fuel is £4.60 ($9.30) a gallon.

Rolex watches on a price par though.

[Rockrolex]

Originally Posted by SLRdude

CVT is a continuously variable transmission.
your standard automatic transmission will have 4, 5 (even 6 or 7 in a luxury car) forward gears. When you drive your car, your car will accelerate and change gears as you accelerate.

On a CVT car, there are no gears to be changed. The transmission changes the aspect/ratio of the gearing depending on the speed at which you are traveling. So basically it feels like a one gear car. If you have ever driven a golf cart, it feels about the same way.

Personally, I do not care for the CVT cars. It is a more complicated solution to a simple task, and it just feels weird having a car that never changes gears! You can drive a CVT car and then you floor it to pass somebody and the sound of the engine does not change! It remains the same. That right there messes me up LOL.

On the other hand... the first CVT was invented by Da Vinci in 1490, so that's kinda cool!

Da Vinci may have invented it in 1490, but Buick (or Oldsmobile) put into commercial production as their Dynaflow transmission in the 1950's.

P.S. Good to see you back, Vanessa (and glad you came out of that altercation OK.)