Heh, when my son was 19 he bought a car that was eight years newer than mine and six years newer than my wife's. Still can't figure out how that is even possible.

So he is taking out a loan for 10k?

well yeah. I stated as such a couple times in this thread already. :thumb:

EDIT

lets rephrase, he is taking out a loan UP TO 10k. It will only be for the amount of what he buys.

Good gas mileage
Around $10000 or under
Low miles as possible
automatic
4 door
he isn't fond of a hatchback but if it lowers the insurance a little more he will consider it.

The main goals are to keep the insurance, price and miles low.

Kind of surprised that hometeam hasn't chimed in.

I know I've told other this, but look into the Mazda 3. It's fun to drive but it isn't fast (peace of mind for a parent). It's pretty reliable and maintenance is easy (except for the ****ing cabin air filter but once you've done it once it goes much quicker).

We've got about 90k on the odemeter for our 2008 and it has only needed recall work (well I had to change a lower control arm because of the horrendous potholes on the freeway here).

I just purchased a "new to me" vehicle last week after almost two months of shopping and research.

I would steer away from the Jetta and the Galant. From what i've gathered, the Mitsu will start showing its age sooner than later. It's the cheapest build quality of those you listed.

I really liked the VW's....then i did my research. They're apparently very underpowered for the weight of the car, and they cheaped out the quality of that generation of Jetta compared to years past in order to slot it below their new Passat and CC.

Couple that with the fact that VW's are more expensive to maintain than their American or Jap counterparts, i ruled it out.

Of the cars you listed, the Ford Focus has by far the best reviews. I was very close to purchasing one, even though i can't stand the idea of driving a Focus. It's just a thing i have against the Focus, but from everything i can find, it's suppose to be an outstanding car.

It comes loaded with tech features, has good quality reviews and is supposedly a blast to drive with a good, peppy motor and agile handling.

IIRC, the Focus is the top rated compact car in the market right now, even beating out long time favorites like the Civic and Corolla.

The Mitsu and the VW however, are near the bottom of their class.

I would recommend he look into a 2009+ Mazda 6, though.

The Mazda 6 is safe, affordable, stylish and sporty. From the research i did, it's the best new-ish car you can find around 10K. From a performance & reliabilty standpoint, it shits all over the VW and Galant.

I almost pulled the trigger on one, but opted for a CX-7 instead (more space to hall shit in).

I've heard great things about the 3 as well.

Other cars to consider:

2011 + Hyundai Sonata...if you look, you can find them between 10-12K. I test drove one and it's an outstanding car for the price.

2011+ Hyundai Elantra....

The problem with older cars is that the banks want a higher APR on them and aren't as willing to give a long term loan, thus increasing your monthly cost.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/4897932936.html

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ctd/4904489178.html

No effing way. Jags are notorious PoS.

I had to fight off the kid inside me to not buy an 2008-2009 BMW 328I or a Mercedes CL200.

You could pick those cars up for less than 10K all day long and i considered it.

Then I researched the cost to replace the parts that will almost certainly fail at some point.

BMW 3 Series water pump? $700 ****ing dollars.

Thermostat? Almost $300. And that's WITH my shop discount.

Water pump on the Mazda i bought? $250

Thermostat? A little more than a $100.

Pretty much the end of that fantasy....

Doubt it's a scam. Just like the entry level Mercedes and BMW's, they depreciate quickly because they often have extremely costly repair bills.

You can find 08-09 Jags that are under 10K

Cool cars to drive im sure.....until something breaks.

damn....this is exactly why I love my straight six in the 65 Chevy Van

This. Pre-Ford era Jaguars were great cars. After Ford bought them, they went to shit.

One of my formerly good friends in KC has a family shop that focuses on Jaguars. Those things will cost you a ****ing fortune to fix and they always need to be fixed.

Edit: Now that the Indian car company owns them, they're supposedly becoming good cars again but they're out of your price range and there needs to be a few years before we know how well the turn around has worked.

A lot less headaches to deal with for sure, and way cheaper/easier to work on.

Like i told my wife, "The more features and tech the car has, the more stuff to break and go wrong".