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ok, i am on a budget between $10,000 to $13,000 and here are my choices:
ALL 2003 OR 2002
1. HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS
2. FORD FOCUS but i think they are junk
3. DODGE NEON
4. CHEVY CAVALIER but maybe more than $13,000

Get a Civic !

honda civic in my area sells for $17,000

liteonrules, where are you from that Civics cost so much?

Out of your choices, the HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS is a better car than those pieces of American junk and has a longer warranty too.

i really don't know if the CIVIC costs that much but most HONDAS do. BUT AFTER A GOOD SLEEP, I WILL CHECK THEM OUT TOMORROW

PITTSBURGH,PA

Yes, Ford in general is junk. Hyundai...wannabe honda, not good. I dont even like Honda. If you absolutely have to have a new car, get the Dodge, or the Chevy. Probably getting a used car would be a better Idea, getting more car for the money

Honda once had the same reputation as Hyundai; it was looked at as cheap Japanese workmanship. Look at Honda now. Hyundai will become the same, just wait.

I vote for the Hyundai Elantra

Besides TheWizard and myself choosing the Hyundai Elantra, here's a trusted source in the automative world.

The Hyundai Elantra won Edmunds.com's Editors' Most Wanted Sedan Under $15,000.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/mostwant ... ticle.html

Edmunds.com Customer Raings
1. HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS - 8.9
2. FORD FOCUS - 8.3
3. DODGE NEON - 8.6
4. CHEVY CAVALIER - 8.5
http://www.edmunds.com/new/pricerange/u ... ntent..0.*

Like we said, the Hyundai Elantra is your best choice out of those 4. But better check your local Honda dealership if you could get a nice Civic for cheap.

Go for the Elantra. In recent JD Power associates charts it's been shown that Hyundai has surpassed Chevy and Ford on quality and reliability.

I don't generally favor Hyundai, but since you budget is tight out of the list you have compiled it is the best choice.

Good warranty for sure !

Yeah the Elantra is nice....i'd go with the civic or elantra...and if you are really brave(like me) you can get a nice civic or even eclipse for that much money on Ebay. I've gotten my last two cars off Ebay and if i had more money i'd get me something nicer off there...driving an '87 olds ninety-eight right now...it looks and drives like new and i only paid $1500.

How does the seller ship the buyer the car? Does the seller drive the car to the buyer's residence? If so, how does the seller get home?

Hmm...that's a mystery!

I'm sure the two parties need to be in the same area.

civics are expensive in my area
low end basic $15,000 and $18,000 for a loaded one

liteonrules wrote:civics are expensive in my area
low end basic $15,000 and $18,000 for a loaded one

Go with the Hyundai Elantra then.

I vote for the Elantra from your list. If you can, look at the GT package if you can afford that.

I was choosing b/w that and a Protege5 and I'm going to go with the P5.

Another good choice would be a Protege LX [not sure of the trim levels in the US].

Forget the Civic. There are too many quality issues and they still haven't been able to get the suspension to work "nicely". There have been suspension tweaks by Honda for the Civic every year since that 7th generation was introduced.

liteonrules wrote:ok, i am on a budget between $10,000 to $13,000 and here are my choices:
ALL 2003 OR 2002
1. HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS
2. FORD FOCUS but i think they are junk
3. DODGE NEON
4. CHEVY CAVALIER but maybe more than $13,000

Is there a reason why you're going for a brand new "inexpensive" car? I'm presuming the warranty...

Dodge has a 3 year / 7 year power train which is similar to the 5/10 of the hyundai... If I were you though I would test drive them all and see what you like best, then lay down the money and see which comes out affordable for you...

By the way, don't take any one persons word as to what's best.. it's always best to think for yourself and use others thoughts as plus/minuses

I just noticed that LiteonRules is from Pittsburgh.

I absolutely love driving there. I hated the traffic caused by construction though.

If I had to choose a place to live b/c I love to drive, it would be there.

BTW, I'm just finalizing my deal on a Protege5.

yes in pittsburgh, there are several different back roads and main roads to get to a certain place but there are always road constuction every where you go but atleast not much traffic.
action jackson, should i go for the elantra at my price range?
this is what i can get: 2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS

135 hp, 2.0-liter DOHC 4-cylinder,Power Windows, power Door Locks, and heated Mirrors, abs brakes, cruise control,tilt wheel, space inside car for heavy guy like me, cd player, front and side air bags, air cond.,lots of extras
$10,999

liteonrules wrote:2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS
135 hp, 2.0-liter DOHC 4-cylinder,Power Windows, power Door Locks, and heated Mirrors, abs brakes, cruise control,tilt wheel, space inside car for heavy guy like me, cd player, front and side air bags, air cond.,lots of extras
$10,999

Looks good for the price.

One more question, do you need the car right now? If you don't, I would wait until late summer to early fall when car dealerships start offering bigger mark downs on their cars as they get the new 2004 models in. Around that time, the car manufacturers also tend to offer huge rebates on the older models too.

i can wait but hopefully my rust bucket of car 1989 buick skyhawk could last till then, these cars my be the worst cars to hold up and not many are around today and the ones i do see seem to rust badly in the same spots, in fact i haven't seen these cars lately in good condition at all

liteonrules wrote:2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS

135 hp, 2.0-liter DOHC 4-cylinder,Power Windows, power Door Locks, and heated Mirrors, abs brakes, cruise control,tilt wheel, space inside car for heavy guy like me, cd player, front and side air bags, air cond.,lots of extras
$10,999

There's a few questions for you:

- what do you want to use the car for business or personal?
- what is your driving habit/style? Mario Andretti or Granny Smith?
- how long do you want to keep the car?
- How "heavy" a guy are you?

Honestly I haven't tested the Elantra even though I considered it.
I guess to add other vehicles to your list:
Toyota Corolla [never tested it] and Nissan Sentra [tested it], and yes even a VW Golf [never tested it].

You see, my tastes are : personal use, Mario Andretti, keep for a few years, and I'm not a big guy .

My choices were a little different:
-Mazda Protege5
-Mazda Protege ES + GT pkg.
-Hyundai Elantra GT
-Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
-Ford Focus ZX3
-Suburu Imprezza [base model]
-Acura EL [think of Honda Civic sedan +]

From your list, I would definitely stick with the Elantra.

Action Jackson wrote:My choices were a little different:
-Mazda Protege5
-Mazda Protege ES + GT pkg.
-Hyundai Elantra GT
-Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
-Ford Focus ZX3
-Suburu Imprezza [base model]
-Acura EL [think of Honda Civic sedan +]

We don't get the Acura EL here in the states. I've personally never even heard about such a car, but like you said, its a Honda Civic under all that.

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V is very nice and sporty too. That and the Protege5 would be nice choices from your list Action Jackson.

i ended up buying a used car, 1996 DODGE STRATUS FOR $1950.00 from a friend who hated it and put too much into it but i couldn't pass up the deal and i think the worst troubles are over for this car and It's in very good condition, a few scraches and tiny dings, two small cigerette burns on seat and if i don't like it , i could sell it and still get back my money

why i bought it:
1. new transmission under warranty
2. all 4 new tires
3. new rotors and new front and back brakes
4. inspected till 4/04
5. air conditioner recharged
PLUS I SOLD MY RUST BUCKET BUICK SKYHAWK FOR $450.00

enjoy your new car!

mmm...Dodge...
when i was a kid we lived in the States for a year (1978-9) and we had a red Dodge Dart Swinger!
i still have a soft spot for that car...

Good call. Personally I've never seen the point in buying new cars, other than the Kudos on your driveway (and that only lasts a few weeks).

I don't know if it works the same way in the US or the rest of the world, but in the UK a car loses around 2/3 of its value in the first 3 years. So if you buy a new car, you're basically p*ssing money down the drain.

I've always thought the ideal time to buy is after those 3 years are up, someone else has taken the hit and you end up with a car which has another 10 years maybe in it (and certainly another 5 good years) for a fraction of the cost of buying new.

Anyway, the RAC here in the UK (similar to AAA in the States) says that 80% of breakdowns they assist are in cars <3 months old. Modern cars are incredibly reliable, but in those first few months bad workmanship is most likely to be in evidence. Sure, it's under warranty, but that's no comfort if you're stuck on the motorway and your car is a shiny piece of $15k junk.....

A word in for Hyundai. I agree these are great cars for the money. Their mechanicals are based on Mitsubishi, one of the most reliable makes out there, and since they've merged with Kia (whose mechanicals are Mazda-based) both companies have got even better. They are like Nissan, Honda etc in the 70s -- very reliable mechanicals, but the build hasn't been brought up to scratch yet -- although I understand in Australia there's still loads of old Datsuns around, says a lot doesn't it? (And guess who helped Nissan/Datsun get where they are today -- Austin of the UK (every Nissan engine is still loosely based around the old A-series introduced in the 1960s and incorporated into most Minis) and they're now a distant memory, part of the Rover company who now buys in designs from Tata of India -- d'oh!!!).

I've always said, get a car with German or Japanese-based mechanicals and you can't go far wrong