Since I joined the Army Reserves it requires me monthly to drive up to the base to drill with my unit and that can be a problem, especially with me being three hours away in the opposite directon of the fort at school. My family and I tried the car pool idea where they pick me up and I use my brothers car on drill weekend to get to the fort, but it didn't really work out to well. The stress of driving two hours to get me started to wear and tear on my family. As a result I've decided to just buy a car, that way my family avoids the stress of picking me up, but I can also go driving around the area instead of depending on local transportation. Plus with me turning 21 soon I can go bar hopping with my broskies.

I originally wanted a Chevy Cobalt, but I've heard a lot of bad things about the Cobalt. Plus with GM going down the toilet I'd rather buy with a company that's looking rather solid.

The first car I looked at was the 2010 Toyota Corolla S.. A Specialist/Cadet at my unit has a 2008 Corolla and says good things about it. She says its fast, quiet, and gets good MPG. Its also sporty looking which gets my attention. When I test drove one it felt cool, though I didn't get to do what I wanted to do, which was tear it up in the car. The price tag is around $20,000 on average.

The second car is a 2010 Ford Fusion. My dad absolutely loathes anything foreign (hes a xenophobe) made and wants me to stay with the American Cars. He took me to the local ford dealer where his friend works and he showed me and allowed me to drive around a Fusion. It was an alright car, it was spacey, smooth, and I liked a lot of the in car features. The price tag I saw was about $25,000 for this car.

Is there any other cars out there that are half decent? I'm looking for something that's a little sporty, fast, and gets decent MPG.
 

What's your budget?

And what kind of cars are you after? Just sedans?
 

2010 Shelby GT500 Mustangs are fucking badass.

Only $47,000 540HP


Very sporty, Waffen, very sporty.
 

To expensive.

Price range is $15,000 to $25,000 max.
 

I've driven the latest generation of Corollas, it's a good car. A little small for me, and I didn't think it was all that sporty (small engine), but it's incredibly reliable from what I've seen and great mileage. I actually think they are better than Camrys.

The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico, btw. Don't tell your dad
 

Forget the corolla at that price range. You can get a pretty nice Camry, maybe even a V6 camry if you can get near the invoice price. New Ford Fusion is pretty nice too. I'd also check out the Honda Accord. I would also look into the Volkswagen Jetta too. They're all around the 20 grand price range and are all nice mid sized sedans. Good for everyday driving and utility and more room compared to the cramped Corolla.

If you want something sportier, you'll be hard pressed to find something very good at that price range. Maybe look into the Camaro and Mustangs; Altima Coupe and Accord Coupes; Volkswagen GTi and Mazda Speed3 also performs very well although I'm not sold on their looks.

Oh and the whole buy American thing? It's not like they're all built in the USA. Plus GM and Chrysler are sinking for a reason. Then again, I'm in the same position as you and looking at a Camaro so I can't talk haha.

P.S. Don't even think about paying for MSRP price. The economy is in the shitter and that's to your advantage. Bargain hard but make informed bartering. Check up on each car's invoice price and try your best to get near that price. Also shop around multiple dealerships as they won't all offer you the same price. Don't fall into the trap of getting options you don't need too because you'll just find yourself unconciously shelling out more bread than necessary. Don't be afraid to say no and just walk away. Don't do anything rash after a good test drive either. Go home, clear your mind and think carefully about the price. It's a shitty process I know but every car salesman will try their best to milk as much money out of you as possible.
 

Meh if I were buying a nice car I'd probably roll pseudo-Bentley and go 300M.

The only point of having a sporty car is having a cop notice you to write you a ticket.
 

The Toyota Corolla is solid. I had one for many years and loved it. It's on the low end of sporty, but I'm pretty thrifty when it comes to cars. If it gets me to where I want to go and has AC and heat, I'm happy. I can't even fathom spending more than $15,000 on a car. It's crazy!

Currently, I drive a Saturn, which has been fairly good for a few years, but now might not be the wisest investment...
 

So what would I exactly want to say to get a Corolla (example) lower than the MSRP price?
 

Oh god. Haggling for a car is picking up club skanks. Either you have the social skills to do it or you don't. Nobody can magically endow you with any special abilities or knowledge that will suddenly make you savvy. There's only very general, unhelpful guidelines, and those are the exact same for picking up bitches in bars.

1. Don't be desperate. (EG I'm going home with a car from this dealership, today)
2. Know what you're looking for. (EG make / model trimmings)
3. Know a reasonable expectation of what it will cost. (EG worth it?)
4. Be confident.
 

GA hit it on the head.

I added a little tidbit that works sometimes though. It worked for a couple people I know. You don't have to sound desperate, simply be confident and make it sound like you have the money to spend and are ready to do it. If they don't want to deal, *shrug* no biggie. That other dealership down the road has a couple cars you have your eye on also.
 

The Corolla is the car that I think I'm going to go with, but I know for a fact that the Ford Dealer (whose a family friend) can probably hook me up with a very good deal for a Fusion. Which keeps it open for a Fusion.
 

Go shopping, then. Let em know what you're looking for. Start with the Fusion guy and use it to bait the Toyota guys--"I've got a good deal for a Fusion I'm looking at, but I want the Camry. If I can't get it, I'm still very happy with the Fusion." Let em know where you stand, what you want, and what you can do. If they aren't matching up to what you want, go home and let 'em stew for a couple days. Call em and see if they're going to budge. If not, go with the Ford.
 

Best thing is to know the invoice price. I dont know about Toyotas but Edmunds.com is a good place to start first. Invoice price is the price dealers pay for the cars upfront but they also have rebates from the car manufacturers that aren't factored into the invoice price. The general jest of car buying is to get as close to the invoice price as possible by haggling. Up to you how you want to do it.

Here's some invoice prices for Corollas:

http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/corolla/2010/index.html

Just click on any model and it'll show the MSRP and Invoice. Judging by what they have on BMWs and the real BMW invoice price, they're pretty accurate (off by 200 dollars or so). Plus selling at $1000 over invoice for a Corolla sounds about right.

GA makes a good point about informing dealerships about how much other people are offering you. I don't see much point to telling them how much Ford's offering you for a Fusion though because they're different companies and different types of cars (it's like telling them what they're offering you for a F-250). If you want to do it though, go ahead.
 

Seriously, arm yourself. The rest is gravy. No haggling is necessary when you know everything they know. Go in knowing what you're going to pay, not a dime more. They have to make a profit, but no more than $500 in my opinion. If they don't like it, walk. Have a business card with your name and phone number and tell them to call you when they're interested. Don't smile, laugh or carry on conversations...that's how they screw you. They try to befriend you while telling you that $500 dealer prep fees are charged to EVERYONE!

If your offer is reasonable, they'll call.