Advice, PLZ
Ok, so the time to buy a car draws nigh, and I was planning on buying a friends car but now I am having second thoughts:
1) Doing business with friends is a bad idea - what if something in the car busts just after buying it? Awkward.
2) Corollary to #1, the car is from 2003 and is out of warranty, and since it would be a private party purchase, is not a 'certified' used car. Any repairs/maintenance will be my full monetary responsibility. I've already bitten the bullet and applied for student loans on top of my stipend - unexpected expenses for repairs? DO NOT WANT.
3) The car is selling for about $11,000. That's not cheap (but a good price for the car, a Honda Civic), but for a few thousand more I could have a Honda Fit, a super-fuel efficient and tiny and SUPER CUTE hatchback, and the comfort of a 3yr/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty (5yr/60,000 powertrain).
I dunno, I'm sure my friends Civic is a good car and is well taken care of, and probably will not break instantly after buying it. Buying a used car abrogates some of the monetary loss incurred basically the instant you drive a new car off the lot. But spending so much money and not having any kind of warranty is really starting to bother me.
The Fit is a super-practical car, great gas mileage, can haul a ton of shit despite being so tiny, and has a lot of safety features that the Civic doesn't (mainly airbags all over the place). It will also be very easy to park in the city, and in general has been getting pretty rave reviews. The gas mileage is around 36mpg, so it will go easy on my wallet at the pump (FYI gas prices in California are around $4.20 a gallon, will probably hit $5 this summer).
Any car owners out there have any thoughts?
1) Doing business with friends is a bad idea - what if something in the car busts just after buying it? Awkward.
2) Corollary to #1, the car is from 2003 and is out of warranty, and since it would be a private party purchase, is not a 'certified' used car. Any repairs/maintenance will be my full monetary responsibility. I've already bitten the bullet and applied for student loans on top of my stipend - unexpected expenses for repairs? DO NOT WANT.
3) The car is selling for about $11,000. That's not cheap (but a good price for the car, a Honda Civic), but for a few thousand more I could have a Honda Fit, a super-fuel efficient and tiny and SUPER CUTE hatchback, and the comfort of a 3yr/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty (5yr/60,000 powertrain).
I dunno, I'm sure my friends Civic is a good car and is well taken care of, and probably will not break instantly after buying it. Buying a used car abrogates some of the monetary loss incurred basically the instant you drive a new car off the lot. But spending so much money and not having any kind of warranty is really starting to bother me.
The Fit is a super-practical car, great gas mileage, can haul a ton of shit despite being so tiny, and has a lot of safety features that the Civic doesn't (mainly airbags all over the place). It will also be very easy to park in the city, and in general has been getting pretty rave reviews. The gas mileage is around 36mpg, so it will go easy on my wallet at the pump (FYI gas prices in California are around $4.20 a gallon, will probably hit $5 this summer).
Any car owners out there have any thoughts?