So I'm a 23 year old guy looking to buy my first car. For the longest time I was looking at old Civics and Corollas. I know for the most part they are extremely reliable, but the problem is that one pays for the reputation they carry as bulletproof cars. People know they last, so they charge more.
I am extremely practical when it comes to cars - I see them as a way to get from point A to point B and nothing more. My dad has mentioned Mirages to me a couple times now, but I never really gave them a serious look until yesterday. My local dealership doesn't have any in stock right now, but the sales rep said by the end of August or early September there will be some. I think I'm going to buy the standard version because
A) it's cheaper
B) I want to learn to drive stick
C) I have heard that if anything does break engine-wise it's the CVT (correct me if I am wrong)
What I really enjoyed yesterday was the discrepancy between the professional reviewers and the actual drivers of the Mirage. The professional reviewers give terrible scores, but it's for reasons I honestly don't care about. Noisy inside the cabin? Turn the radio on. Slow accelaration? I drive like a Granny already anyways. My running joke is that I go 0-60 in 30 seconds flat. Cheap plastic interior? I don't have to worry if I spill anything on it!
Reading the driver reviews is a breath of fresh air. I see overwhelmingly positive feedback for the car which is great. The negative reviews seem to come from folks who had unreasonable expectations.
My current dilemma is deciding between a new and used Mirage. New MSRP we are looking at $13,858 for the base model. The average price for a 2015-2017 is sitting at $4427 at least in my region. I'd prefer to see the average 2016 price because I want to see the depreciation after 5 years, but I can't seem to find any 2016's for sale. So I did half 2015's and half 2017's and averaged it out. Right now I'm trying to figure out the year over year costs for new vs used. So far the used is winning but I haven't accounted for repairs yet. I have zero repair skills with cars, but I have learned new skills before and I can again.
Anyways I am happy to be here and am going to start roaming around to learn as much as I can about these little cars.