my cousin is looking for a decent car for 10k. looking for some suggestions of what he should get.

 

no brainer - get the gs4 in the classifieds for 10k!

 

too bad all the good deals aren't in cali.

 

actually given how many nice cars are in cali, i bet you will have no problem finding a nice one around. a decent gs400 for aorund 12k is probably doingable

 

it may be acros the country but it's worth it. that car here in AZ would fetch close to 13-14k. I'M EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT!

 

Be a little more specific, please, if possible. What kind of vehicle does your cousin want? What will he use it for ? What is his driving style? What is his risk tolerance for a used car? Does he want high gas mileage? How many people does he need to carry? How much insurance can he afford? Will he need traction for bad weather ? All these things help determine the best vehicle for him under the circumstances.

 

well, without getting real specific just trying to see what kind of car you guys would buy for 10k

 

OK, then. In that case 10K would rule out just about any new car I would want...that would cover only EL Cheapo, strippo versions of the Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, and Chevy Aveo. Unless that is what your cousin wants ( basic transportation ) , you're pretty much going to have to look at someting used ( preferably a Certified one ).

If your cousin wants a little driving fun, a 2 or 3-year old Honda Civic Si would be a good place to start...but check the car carefully before buying and try and get a Certified one. Si's tend to be driven rather hard by the caps-on-backward and " tuner " crowd. And it may also be hard to find one that has not had aftermarket stuff hung on.
The Toyota Corolla S is another nice small car if your cousin likes sporty trim....LX if he prefers a more plush interior. The Corolla XRS is a little more aggressive but will probably be hard to find for 10K...and I think it burns premuim gas.
For bad weather, it is hard to beat a used AWD Subaru Impreza for 10K. If you look at one with the 2.5L engine, try and get a 2003 or newer...the older 2.5's had head-gasket problems. The older 2.2L engines are just about bulletproof. Other good AWD used-car alternatives in the 10K or so price range are the Suzuki Aerio AWD, with its high depreciation rates making for good used-car prices, and older Toyota Matrix AWD's with their Toyota reliability.

If you want a bigger, more substantial, more luxurious, or more powerful car than these, ( cars like the Lexus GS, mid-size Acuras, Infinitis, Audis, etc......) yes, you can get used ones for 10K, but they are likely going to be older, higher-mileage cars with more wear and tear on them and more chances of having problems.

 

honda crv, infiniti g20, toyota carolla, mr2, mazda 3...

 

throw us a frickin' bone...

would this be his daily driver, a weekend project car (meaning it doesn't have to be running well when he buys it), a track car, what?

will he need to be able to reliably drive it 1000 miles somewhere?

does he need room for a lot of stuff?

without any of this input, we're just firing darts with eyes closed. we say a car, you then ask why if we don't say... it's ineffective.

having said all that, if I ONLY had 10K to buy a daily driver, I'd probably buy something like an Accord.

 

For 10K, probably a fairly old one with fairly high mileage. Accords depreciate slower than a Pam Anderson silicon special....but fortunately are just about as reliable as well.

I agree with bit, though..try to be a little more specific about what your cousin wants. He and I can both give you advice, but there are a LOT of vehicles in today's marketplace, both new and used, and the better idea we have of just what your cousin needs, the more we can help you.
Lacking anything further to go on, the suggestions he and I have given you are good places to start.

 

The Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer wagon tend to depreciate like mad too - and the Lancer is a fairly solid vehicle as far as reliability goes. Not as nice as a Corolla or a G20 - but you could get a relatively new one for around $10k - the 2003 model is selling around that price.

M.

 

This is an easy one. If he wants a Lexus then get the following

92-96 SC300/400 75k+ miles
93-99 GS300/400 80k+ miles
90-95 LS400 80k+ miles

97-99 Infiniti Q45 90k+ miles
97-01 Infiniti I30 70k+ miles

Any early 90s model 3 Series other than a M

 

You can get the new toyota yaris.

 

Id buy a 240sx and a SC300. .

Oh wait I did!


If I had another 10 grand... on top of that id swap and SR20det and a 1jz-gte, but im sure my goals are very different then most people's..