My nephew needs his first car. I've recommended they look at Pontiac vibes as that's what got for our son. It's an awesome car and if he ever gets around to getting his license it'll be a great first car.
They brought over a 2007 Nissan Sentra 2.0 yesterday for me to inspect for them. It looked okay, but had issues. I think it had a CVT. Hate CVTs especially Nissan CVTs.
Anyone in MA or close by that has a reliable car for $3-4k?
A 2007 Sentra is CVT.
For future, if you look up the car on fueleconomy.gov not only will it tell you the expected mpg but it will tell you how many speeds the auto trans is or if it is cvt. For manuals it will also tell you how many speeds
Side note: For the original Nissan Versa of 2007-2010 the base model automatic was a traditional 4 speed auto and the upper model automatic known as the SL was a CVT automatic. The base, 4 speed auto is better. The simple spotters guide is that the base has a single color cloth interior. The SL has a multi-color weave sort of cloth interior. The base also just got hubcaps while the SL had alloys.
How about a 1983 Mazda 626? ![devil devil](https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/static/ckeditor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/devil_smile.png)
Or, sell Vibe to nephew. Put Jr into 626.
Nephew doesn't want to drive a manual. 626 is manual. My son likes the Vibe, but really loves the broken Montero. I'd rather he drive the Vibe as it is at least a lot safer, what with, the ABS, air bags, and such. Maybe I'll drive the Vibe, and berkeley the rest of 'em!
I think a good value as a "kid-car" can be a Scion tC.
At the core it is a Camry 2.4L engine. Some difference in gearing means it gets worse mpg than the Camry (but kids don't drive that far and don't require as good of mpg)
The 2 dr seems sporty but it really isn't (but sporty enough for a kid.)
The 2 door-ness eliminates any shoppers with small kids (but that's okay for teen-agers)
The hatchback does provide some good utility.
So, not a great mpg commuter and not a family car and not a sporty car makes these cars hard to find a buyer for. Should translate to purchase for cheaper than asking price.