norris@eosp1.UUCP (Cindy Norris) (02/11/84)
Can anyone recommend a TERRIFIC, reliable, auto in
the 8-9,000 dollar sticker price range (either domestic
or foreign)? I am looking for a peppy 4-cyl., front-
wheel drive, perhaps a 4-dr sedan type. One of the
biggies also is I want either a front door map slot
or console storage space OR BOTH! (I mean, where the
heck do my sunglasses go and all?) Possibilities
are OMNI or HORIZON, HONDA CIVIC or maybe ACCORD, and
what else? What is best value, where can I get best
price (I understand the Japanese dealers don"t "deal".)
Also, I have some horror stories from shopping at
dealerships in NJ - I am interested in knowing if there
are any NOTORIOUSLY bad dealerships to avoid. Thank-you.
--
CINDY, EOSC, Princeton NJ
...!{allegra,ittvax}!eosp1!norrisalex@aecom.UUCP (Alex S. Fuss) (02/16/84)
I don't as yet own one, but the Nissan Stanza meets your requirements.
Its between $8K - $9K, has the excellent repair record typical of Datsuns
(now officially Nissan motors and is a peppy 4-cylinder.
--
Alex S. Fuss
{philabs, esquire, cucard}!aecom!alexAnonymous@inmet.UUCP (02/17/84)
#R:eosp1:-57600:inmet:2700051:000:64 inmet!Anonymous Feb 15 11:08:00 1984 Stay away from horizons and omnis. This is your only warning!
hakanson@orstcs.UUCP (02/18/84)
As I've said before (over & over & ...), the Dodge Colt is a pretty decent
car. With a "twin-stick" transmission and 1.6l engine, you get very good
performance and also good fuel efficiency. My Colt just passed 51k miles
with no mechanical breakdowns. I've never been without transportation
because of this car, which is something I never expected to be able to say
about any car. Of course, I do care for the car relatively by the book,
etc., but that should go for any vehicle. Anyway, a Colt is relatively
inexpensive, not luxurious, but quite comfortable. You should have no
trouble with legroom and headroom unless you are over 6'3" tall (that's
my height, and I wouldn't want to be taller, but I don't feel cramped now).
Anyway, enough testimonializing. Good luck on your hunt....
Marion Hakanson CSnet: hakanson@oregon-state
UUCP : {hp-pcd,teklabs}!orstcs!hakansonsrradia@watmath.UUCP (sanjay Radia) (02/21/84)
The Nissan stanza is wort looking at (esp the XE model).
joec@u1100a.UUCP (Joe Carfagno) (02/21/84)
In response to ihmet!Anonymous's note to stay away from Horizons and Omnis, I would like to add my view (un-anonymously). I bought a 1983 Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue. It has never run right (engine skips at highway speeds), the dealer and factory rep. can't fix it (9 tries including replacement of the fuel control computer and carburetor), customer service has been poor (the factory rep. never returned my phone calls), and Detroit has been totally unresponsive. I was finally forced to go to the Chrysler Customer Arbitration Board for resolution. Net.auto readers may remember this, as I have looked here for help before. Read net.consumers to see how the story ends (I promised to describe my Arbitration board experiences). This is, of course, neither a recommendation to buy or not buy the car (translation - cover thy legal gluteus maximus)
norris@eosp1.UUCP (Cindy Norris) (02/21/84)
For those of you following this inquiry and interested in
the kinds of responses I've gotten, here is the run down I
promised last week. I have gotten about 25 responses in
all, and here is a ranking of the numbers:
Auto Recommended by Comments
VW (Rabbit GTI) or Jetta 8 persons Someone said it has a good
warranty. I also got a couple
of comments that this car's
service record isn't what it
used to be. For my needs, I
found it to be priced higer
than I wanted. You even have
to pay for decent exterior
colors! I was shown a 4-dr.
Jetta GLI. Nice car, but I
figured with Automatic, Air
and cassette, etc. it would
have been close to $11,000!
Mazda 626 or GLC Sport 4 Comments I received were that
the Mazda has great handling,
is zippy and has map slots, etc.
Unfortunately, I can"t locate
a Mazda dealer and it doesn't
make a lot of sense to me to
buy a car 80 miles from where I
live. I never got to check the
Mazda out.
Datsun NISSAN Stanza/Sentra 3 People said it was roomy and
I didn't get all that many other
comments about the NISSAN models.
Check at the bottom for my personal
auto choice.
Toyota Camry or Corolla 3 The Camry was expensive (over
$10,000) for what I wanted in it.
I drove a Corolla LE around a
parking lot and really liked it.
(Freehold Toyota) It has a 1.6
liter engine, which drove well
in a parking lot (automatic
trans.) but I don't know how
peppy it is on the highway. The
interior was very nice. This car
was a close second for me. Freehold
Toyota quoted me $8,800 which
sounded good to me - BUT they seemed
not to be able to guarantee DELIVERY
in what I thought was a good time
frame. I also would not have been
guaranteed the interior color I
preferred, etc.
I also got one recommendation each for Honda Civic CRx, Subaru, and
Mitsubishi (Cordia or Tredia). And I know many people very happy
with their HONDA Accords.
I also had about 6 responses on OMNI/HORIZON. Four of the six were
negatives, citing reliability as the major drawback. The people who
had good luck with theirs were enthusiastic and liked the car a lot.
I know the OMNI has a great little 2.2 liter engine that is extremely
peppy and all. That was what I liked best about the car.
In general, I found the Japanese cars to handle better and be
more "user friendly" (!). They think of the map slots, thingee
hiding places, etc. The American models often miss out on these extra
conveniences. I also think the Japanese cars look "richer" and more
stylish.
Among American cars, I drove the Renault Alliance (not bad at all-
seemed to have a good engine, better pick-up than I expected), the
Ford Tempo (nice interior, nice styling, but had trouble getting up
a hill - not enough power for me). I also tried a Pontiac Sunbird,
which had absolutely NO PICK-Up. The guy tried to sell me the TURBO!
Anyway, you must remember I tried ONLY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS and
there is a good deal of difference between the Automatics and what
you can do with the manual shift.
I have ordered a NISSAN SENTRA 4-dr. sedan. (LE package, and air-
conditioning, am/fm/cassette, automatic). I dealt with a couple
of Datsun dealers, but got the better price from Freehold Datsun.
I also like the Stanza which lists for about $10,300. with the
options I want. Freehold Datsun gave me a price almost $400. below
that. I went with the Sentra, however, as it was less expensive
and although I may lose a little in "classiness", it has just about
the same things as the more expensive STANZA. My biggest hesitation
about it is that it has the smaller engine (1.6 liter) and I have
NOT been able to drive one of them yet! It seems these cars are
never on the lots! I am promised delivery within a month! I
figure that if I drive it and it is pooping along at too slow a
speed and I don't like the acceleration and all, I will maybe just
go for the Stanza at that point, or maybe one of the Hondas. The
Stanza has a 2.0 liter - and is extrememly peppy even with automatic.
I only hope the Sentra is good.
The other part of my inquiry concerned dealerships to avoid. I
got the following NEGATIVE recommendations:
Reedman in Langhorne, PA
Garden State Ford, RT. 22, North Plainfield
Burns Honda/Pontiac (Cherry Hill/Marlton NJ)
VIP HONDA
Someone also said "Avoid ANY dealer on Rt. 22". I know of people
who were pleased with Richards Honda in Freehold (Rt. 9) and
Picarin (Rt 1 - near Langhorne) Honda. I felt pretty good with
the treatment I received at Freehold Datsun and Toyota. Solomon
Datsun at 130 and 571 in Hightstown was a bit higher priced on
their Datsuns (maybe not a volume dealer), but they were nice.
I also like Greenfield Dodge on Rt. 1 in Lawrenceville. If anyone
wants to check out Freehold Datsun or Toyota, I can give you the
sales reps name if you want. Anyhow -
I have now discoverd people with Sentras and have heard no
negative remarks on the car!
Again, thanks to all of you who rose to the occasion and took the
time to mail me ideas on cars to check out - I really appreciate
it! I don't have time to respond individually to everyone, but
if anyone wants any other specific info, I can be reached at
(609)734-9200 days.
--
CINDY, EOSC, Princeton NJ
...!{allegra,ittvax}!eosp1!norrisstanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (Don Stanwyck) (02/22/84)
Hakanson at Oreg. St. likes his Dodge Colt.... Well, I, who bought my car while I was at Oregon State also, would like to suggest that the Datsun 310, a no longer produced piece of automobile is also a candidate as a good car to buy used, or an example of Nissan's workmanship. My car just passed 75K, and, simultaneously was out of service for the first time since I bought the car new. It is a 1981, bought 12/80. The service it required was front brakes, and it was out of service over night because I did not take it to the dealer, and the place I took it to had to ship some of the work out. So it is very questionable whether it would have been out of service at all had I gone to a dealer. It is comfortable for me (6'3", 36" inseam), but I do approach the limits of comfort for the vehicle. But then, I can't seem to find a comfortable US made car short of a) a truck/van or b) >$10K. The car was $4900 to drive off the lot. It has lost most of its value, but the body is still in real good shape, just like the engine. But would YOU buy a 3 year old car with 75K miles? Shop around. Many dealers sell good cars, and many people are happy with the ones they own, or are unwilling to admit a manyK$ mistake. -- ________ ( ) Don Stanwyck @( o o )@ 312-979-3062 ( || ) Cornet-367-3062 ( \__/ ) ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck (______) Bell Labs @ Naperville, IL
jlilien@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Joel Lilienkamp) (02/23/84)
Speaking of Omnis and Horizons...... I knew a guy who bought a 1981 Omni. He owned it for a while and had a large number of problems with it, such as doors not opening, windows not closing, and mechanical problems too. Sometime in 1983, he lost his job, and was unable to continue making payments on it. The Chrysler loan company called him on the phone, told him of his failure to pay his loan payments, and threatened to come and take the car if he did not pay. He laughed, told them about his problems, and invited them to take his car. He would even give them the keys, just to get that piece of sh*t out of his driveway. Suddenly, Chrysler was able to make arrangements to refinance the loan. Joel
berry@zehntel.UUCP (02/28/84)
#R:eosp1:-57600:zinfandel:3200050:000:380 zinfandel!berry Feb 22 10:32:00 1984 /***** zinfandel:net.auto / Anonymous / 4:50 am Feb 22, 1984 */ Stay away from horizons and omnis. This is your only warning! /* ---------- */ This is totally useless. WHY should I stay away from Horizons and Omnis? And why haven't you got the guts to sign your article? Berry "This is my real name" Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) (415)932-6900