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what's the best short used car from circa 2012-14

TorontoBuilder

TorontoBuilder

Ultra Member
As my health has been up and down the past year keeping me from having the energy to drive to my brothers in order to do any work in the shop and as I prepare to bring my chipmaster home I have been giving a great deal of thought to how I can gain a few critical square inches of work space.

My Jetta is a very lengthy 15' or so. I love it very much, but I drive it very little. Seriously very little, like it sits in the garage awaiting to be of service if Pickering Nuclear goes critical while my wife is away with her car.

A smart car is just over 8'...

A net gain of 70 square feet!

But when I mentioned a smart car to my brother he pitched a fit. Apparently he does not like them. Nor Fiat 500s

So I'd like to hear opinions on the best very short vehicles available used in Canada.
 
For extremely low frequency of use, there being another car in the family and living in the big smoke, how about no car? Net gain of 150 sf. Add all the costs up, if you're not using it much, going with uber can be a lot cheaper as well. Super convenient, door to door, no messing about finding parking etc. Use the money you save to buy more machines to fill that ballroom space up!

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I was always quite happy with Smarts, especially the second generation. I had a Car2Go membership when that was still a thing, and I lived closer to downtown Toronto. They made excellent runabouts, especially for city driving. An ex’s parents had one (only thing that would fit down their driveway), and we took it camping, cross country skiing, 2+ hours of highway driving.
 
Mcgyver said:
For extremely low frequency of use, there being another car in the family and living in the big smoke, how about no car? Net gain of 150 sf. Add all the costs up, if you're not using it much, going with uber can be a lot cheaper as well. Super convenient, door to door, no messing about finding parking etc. Use the money you save to buy more machines to fill that ballroom space up!

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I'm in a location where there is no Cars2go and Uber and other ride shares are not super convenient. But most importantly, this is my prepper get out of town car, literally. Try hailing an Uber during the apocalypse or any disaster, the surge pricing will be a killer.

The real reason however is that my actual cost per year is $340 bucks for base insurance, and about $0.10 per Km and about $0.09 per Km in diesel, so far less expensive than Uber or Taxi. Pay as you go insurance is great.
 
Stuart Samuel said:
I was always quite happy with Smarts, especially the second generation. I had a Car2Go membership when that was still a thing, and I lived closer to downtown Toronto. They made excellent runabouts, especially for city driving. An ex’s parents had one (only thing that would fit down their driveway), and we took it camping, cross country skiing, 2+ hours of highway driving.
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My only experience with smart cars was when I visited the Mercedes dealership in Markham in 2006 to buy two of them only to be ignored by the ahole sales staff. I left and went to Volkswagen instead. I was a little concerned that their resale value seems to be lower than other small car brands and models.

The fiat is easy to dismiss since every one I look at is rusting badly at the rocker panels and fenders
 
vw golf's are pretty wicked, cheap on fuel, fun to drive, lots of room when you put the seats down, a 2 door is very short

i would also advise against a smart car, they are horrible to maintain, the older ones didnt even have a drain plug in the oil pan (not sure if that has changed since)
 
phaxtris said:
vw golf's are pretty wicked, cheap on fuel, fun to drive, lots of room when you put the seats down, a 2 door is very short

i would also advise against a smart car, they are horrible to maintain, the older ones didnt even have a drain plug in the oil pan (not sure if that has changed since)
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I didn't like how the smart car motor access is inside the car so that if there is a leak fumes get into cabin either.

city golf is 13.75' not much shorter
 
DavidR8 said:
Seriously?!?
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TorontoBuilder said:
You pump the oil out..

I used to have a pump to change the oil in my jetta so I didn't have to get under the car to do an oil change. It disappeared on me. The pump not the car.
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correct, you pump out, but thats not the least of it, changing an alternator requires dropping the rear subframe/motor assembly, i owned one for a short while, nothing was an easy task on that thing...although roomy as hell

TorontoBuilder said:
I didn't like how the smart car motor access is inside the car so that if there is a leak fumes get into cabin either.

city golf is 13.75' not much shorter
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oh i didnt realize they were that long, are the ones before the "city" version shorter? a few of my friends have had older (2007/8ish ??) 2 doors, they seemed real short

i was looking at some of the lengths, yaris, matrix, fit, 2 door jeep, they are all in that same 13-14 foot range

i have a 2 door wrangler, the odd time i park in the garage it feels like there is a mile of space, and its much wider that the above (roughly same length), not that i would recommend a wrangler to anyone
 
The Jeep YJ, TJ etc are more of a toy as most people get out of them after a couple years. The much larger Gladiator etc are better riding than the short wheelbase Jeeps.
 
I have a 2010 Matrix, SWMBO has a 2003 Corolla. 10,000 years from now alien archeologists could dig them up, put in new batteries and reasonably fresh gas and drive them away.

Toyota Yaris or Echo. Mazda 2 hatchback. Yaris hatchback is 4.1m length.
 
My sister had a Yaris. The tires supplied were very poor in snow conditions and even later with Blizzacks not much better. She loved her Imprezza though.
 
I love my Honda fit. Favourite car I've owned. Small, good on gas, comfy driving, even for a big guy, and the way the rear seats fold up, or down, you can fit a lot of things inside of it. Hence the name. Wish they still made them.
 
Dan Dubeau said:
I love my Honda fit. Favourite car I've owned. Small, good on gas, comfy driving, even for a big guy, and the way the rear seats fold up, or down, you can fit a lot of things inside of it. Hence the name. Wish they still made them.
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Fits have a good resale value and are a well liked car. 13.5' though same as Hyundai accent which my company used to own and wasnt bad.

I wonder if 18" are enough to warrant losing my Jetta.
 
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