Newer car purchase Options

[Taxiwardance]

Anybody have any experience with either the Mitsubishi Lancer ES (2004-2006) or the Nissan Sentra 1.8 S (2003-2006) I am looking to buy a car on Monday and have narrowed it down to the two. I can get the Sentra for 13,990 brand new off the lot or the Lancer 2004 for 10K with 30K miles. Both are autos. I drove the Sentra and it seemed OK but the ride wasn’t that great. Haven’t drove the Lancer in about a year but I drove stick when I took it for a test drive before. I have the wife and 2 kids and just looking for a cheap get around car with 4 doors and great gas mileage. Any opinions, will be buying first thing Monday so I can make a cross country trip and I can’t make up my mind. Any other cars I should be considering, under 13K if possible. Insurance is cheaper on American cars but I can’t find anything that gets good MPG and doesn’t look like a piece of ass (Aveo)!

[turbohcar]

MidwestDSM and I worked in a local Nissan dealership together recently and between the two of us, we could pretty much answer any questions you might have. Personally, I like the Lancer idea, but I'm just basing it off of the 2.4L powerplant and the exterior looks of the car. Problem with the Sentra is it's the only Nissan made in Mexico and it shows. Everything about the car is cheap cheap cheap. Granted it's only 13k but in my opinion, it's only about 8k worth of material. The 1.8L is a great/reliable motor but it's severely lacking in the power dept. 126hp is all the 1.8 is rated at and it's amazing it makes that much. The front end pushes and gives the steering input of a tugboat making a 90* turn.

The girlfriend bought an 04 Grand Am last year and so far, I'm quite happy with it. She's never calculated mileage but I estimate somewhere in the high twenties to low thirtys on the highway between Champaign and LeRoy. She got an SE with the 3.4L and it will get up and go when pushed to do so. The stock tires on the car were absolute crap from the beginning though. We recently put Kumho Solus KH15 tires on it to replace the stockers (a Grand Touring All Season) and they really woke it up. It handles almost as well as the Talon did and only seems to push when it's at the limit. There are two main concerns about the Grand Am though. The 3.4L likes to spit intake gaskets at the higher mileages and you have to stay on top of the transmission services. The transmissions are pretty sensitive and if not taken care of properly, will fail at an early age. Change fluid and filter every 30K and you'll be fine.

I've got absolutely no first hand experience with the Lancer but from verbal reviews and magazine articles, they seem to be a pretty stout package for the little cars they are. Zippy, and fun handling are two phrases that seem to keep reappearing. Good luck in your search!