It’s no secret that we’re fans of the Mk6 generation Volkswagen Golf. In our model-specific buying guide, we say that anyone “looking for one car that’ll do it all” for under $15,000 should look no further than VW’s popular hatchback, which manages to balance performance, economy, refinement, and even reliability with surprising grace.
At the time, we stopped short of recommending any of the turbodiesel, or TDI, variants. That’s not because they aren’t good cars. On the contrary, VW’s punchy turbodiesel engine pairs quite nicely with the Mk6 chassis, making for an efficient and fun-to-drive all-rounder. However, in the wake of VW’s emissions scandal, aka “Dieselgate,” there was too much uncertainty about how the the TDI models would be affected to give them a solid thumbs up.
But in recent months, the Dieselgate dust has begun to settle, bringing some important new factors to light — factors which have caused us to revise our stance. Dramatically.
In fact, we now believe that VW’s TDI models represent one of the best used car buying opportunities to come along in years.
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Imagine a spirited drive along your favorite road in a top-down roadster. The scenery rushes past, and there’s nothing but sky above you. With nicely weighted steering and near 50:50 weight balance, the chassis becomes an extension of your fingertips, while your feet coax beautiful arias from the smooth-spinning inline six under the hood.
It’s no pipe dream. Thanks to the magic of depreciation, this fantasy, in the shape of the E85 generation BMW Z4, can be yours for less than $10,000.
And considering that buys you a premium German roadster with some of the best powertrain options ever offered in a BMW, we think it represents an outstanding buying opportunity in today’s market.
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Toyota’s 1992-1996 Camry is the greatest used car ever. Here’s how it got to be that.
Paint fades, that new car smell wafts away, upholstery wears, and dings and dents are inevitable. Great used cars don’t avoid those indignities, they wear them as battle scars. They’re indomitable and intrepid; reliable and resilient; and cheap to keep on the road. A great used car has an aging nobility to it. So, the greatest used car of them all is the 1992 to 1996 Toyota Camry.
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You can’t help it. You’re captivated by the sleek styling, the open top, the storied heritage, the rumbling V8 that shoves you back in the seat. Let’s face it. You’ve got Corvette Fever.
You’ve also got a budget ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 — a relatively modest outlay that nevertheless gains you access to three different generations of Chevrolet’s iconic sports car, spanning 30+ years and a wide variety of styling, engineering, and performance options.
Here we give you the lowdown on these: the C4 (Corvette, 4th generation), C5, and C6. With values that rise in lockstep with their successive iterations, each generation has its own unique set of pros and cons. Picking the right one can be a difficult choice.
But not to worry. No matter how badly you’ve got the fever, we’re here to help you find the cure.
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Many shoppers who’re thinking about buying a used car fret about vehicle reliability, and these qualms aren’t without merit. Relative to a new car, a used vehicle is more likely to need work under the hood earlier in the ownership experience. And the older the used car, the greater the likelihood of a significant repair bill.
So it’s no surprise that reliability is often the number one consideration for shoppers in the used car market.
An excellent resource in this area is J.D. Power. Every year, this company surveys more than 80,000 verified owners of three-year-old vehicles. The survey focuses on the type and number of problems these car owners have experienced with their daily drivers within the previous 12 months. The models with the lowest number of reported problems get the highest scores.
If you’re looking for a used vehicle that’s both affordable and reliable, Klipnik is here to help. We’ve sorted through the data to uncover seven excellent used vehicles that lead the pack in dependability, all while costing less than $10,000.
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According to data gathered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, on average, American drivers add 13,476 miles to their odometers each year. With that much driving, it’s easy for fuel costs to leave a notable dent in the pocketbook.
A vehicle’s gas mileage plays a crucial part in this equation. Mileage can vary dramatically from model to model, even among those within the same vehicle category. For this reason, Klipnik recommends taking a hard look at fuel economy if you’re considering a vehicle purchase.
With that perspective in mind, we’ve put together a list of five impressive used vehicles that offer superior fuel economy. Different buyers have varying requirements when shopping for a vehicle, so in addition to its gas mileage, we’ve included each model’s pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the best choice for your needs.
If you think you need to pony up big bucks for a new car in order to get all of the latest safety features, think again. We’ve identified five great used family vehicles that deliver safety in spades — and for as little as $10,000.
Safety is a prime consideration for most car shoppers, and it’s not surprising when you consider the statistics. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 34,439 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2016 alone. Scary stuff. A vehicle’s safety performance can make the difference between life and death in many accident scenarios.
Suppose you’re looking for one car that’ll do it all. Slip into compact spaces with ease. Accelerate and handle with grace. Fit four adults and their luggage in a well-appointed interior with little apparent cost-cutting. Command the road at highway speeds. Let’s throw in 30 MPG fuel economy for good measure.
Now suppose you’re looking to spend $15k or so, and the cheaper the better.
If you’re thinking about new cars, don’t waste your time. Even the cheapest new car on the lot will likely surpass the $15k threshold, and the only boxes it’ll check are the ones pertaining to parking and fuel economy.
But for the same money or quite possibly far less, you could have a sixth-generation (Mk6) Volkswagen Golf. Step up to the 200-horsepower GTI version if you’re feeling frisky; it’s in your price range too. As the final Golf built in Germany before VW shifted to a more global (read: cost-conscious) product strategy, the Mk6 arguably represents the pinnacle of Volkswagen’s small-car engineering.
Thanks to the magic of depreciation, a gently used specimen can now be yours for pennies (okay, quarters) on the dollar, promising years of delightful motoring with hardly any age-related drawbacks.
It’s pretty much common knowledge among car enthusiasts that if you really get a kick out of driving, it doesn’t get much better than wheeling a Mazda Miata down a road that on a map resembles dropped spaghetti. In fact, when you factor in its great reliability as well as its low acquisition and running costs, Mazda’s sporty roadster is a strong candidate for “Bang for the Buck” champion of all time.
But even after you’ve decided you want to join Miata Nation, you’ve still got a tough choice to make. The model has been on the market for almost thirty years now, and for less than ten grand, you can pick up great examples from any of its first three generations (which Mazda engineers have dubbed, respectively, “NA,” “NB,” and “NC”).
With pristine early examples, rare MazdaSpeed specimens, and even late-model retractable hardtops all within relatively easy reach, the hardest part of buying a used MX-5 may be figuring out exactly which one to pursue.
Not to worry. Below we’ve identified the pros and cons of each to make it easy to find the Miata that’s perfect just for you.
For the last few decades, Honda’s influence on the auto industry — and its corresponding sales volumes — has been nothing short of revolutionary. Consider that the latest Accord just made Car and Driver’s 10 Best list for a record 32nd time; meanwhile, the Civic recently became the top-selling car in America. This makes the underperformance of Acura, Honda’s luxury division, somewhat puzzling.
Acura was the first premium Japanese marque to launch in the US, with sixty dealerships by 1986, and its early years were heralded by world-class machines like the Legend and the NSX. But since then a mix of uneven investment, marketing, and styling choices has positioned Acura well behind its rival, Lexus, as a credible challenger to long-established luxury marques like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Though the Acura brand as a whole underwhelms, looking across its history one can find a handful of machines beyond just the original Legend and NSX that deserve respect and admiration. Judged on cost-to-quality ratio, perhaps none is more deserving than the third-generation Acura TL (UA6 / UA7 chassis), which debuted for the 2004 model year and ran through 2008. Continue reading