The Honda Civic has been a classic and top selling car for years. I used to own one myself and loved it. But over the course of the last few year the Honda Fit has moved in to steal a little of the Civic thunder. Granted, the Fit isn’t about to topple the Civic’s top selling status, but never the less in this economy more and more people are looking for better MPG and the fit certainly delivers. Look at eBay Motors and you’ll see that both the Honda Civic and Honda Fit retain their resale price very well… there are few real “bargains” for those searching eBay classifieds for a deal.

Also worth noting is if you do a search in eBay Motors Parts you’ll see that replacement parts for both the Honda Civic and Honda Fit are extremely high, so on top of paying a premium price to purchase the vehicle, you have to consider the price of parts and repairs when deciding to own them. Granted, neither of these vehicles is prone to malfunction or need of repair, but still, it’s worth mentioning.

eBay Motors is a great place though for most people looking to find a good deal on a new used car. The Honda Civic and Fit aside, most other cars can be found on bargain looking at both eBay Motors and eBay Classifieds. Many people also find good bargains on Autotrader, and even if you don’t purchase a vehicle through Autotrader you’ll be surprised at the level of information and the diversity or resources you can find there.

In fact if you are specifically looking to get a Honda Civic you can really use the power of Autotrader to search for prices in a different region of the country were prices may be considerably lower. In the central plains regions, for example, typically gas prices are lower and so these vehicles tend to sell for a couple of thousand dollars less than on either the west or east coast.

Many people have found great deals on eBay Motors as well, especially if you’re willing to travel to pick up your new Honda Civic or other vehicle. Or alternatively you can arrange to have it shipped to you by a commercial shipper for less than $1,000; so depending on how good of a deal you were able to get, it still may be worth it. The bottom line is to use all of your resources, like Autotrader, eBay Motors and eBay classifieds in your search, and even if you aren’t able to get a good deal on a Honda Civic or Fit you can still find many other comparable vehicles for a deal. You may well like the Nissan Versa or Toyota Prius.

Looking for a hybrid car, care about mpg, want quality and name recognition, then either the Toyota Prius or Nissan Versa may be the right car for you. Hybrids are making a huge splash as the technology evolves and are becoming more and more popular among those who care about the environment, AND those who want to save money in this economy by increasing their MPG. The Toyota Prius MPG versus the Nissan Versa MPG is a clear advantage for the Prius (the only hybrid of the two), which for several years has been the leader in best MPG among hybrids, but also in general.

Often people will mistakenly refer to a Toyota Versa or just a versa car when doing a search or talking about it to someone else. The Nissan Versa is not a hybrid vehicle but does get exceptional MPG for its class. It is often compared to the Toyota Prius when people consider buying a smaller vehicle to get better MPG.

Nissan and Toyota have been direct competitors for some time. The Toyota Prius was the first mass produced hybrid vehicle when it was introduced in Japan in 1997. In 2001 the Toyota Prius was released worldwide and now sells more than 4 million units annually. The Nissan Versa (marketed as the Nissan Tiida outside of North America) was initially released in 2006 (the 2007 model).

Both the Prius and the Versa enjoy a loyal following among consumers but it’s clear that Toyota’s hybrid Prius is the market darling in its niche. If the Prius were not a hybrid it’s likely that the larger Versa would eclipse it in sales. But back to the matter of MPG, as a general consumer you’ll enjoy mid 30’s Highway Mileage with the Versa, which isn’t too bad. For misers, the Prius with its duel gas / electric power sources will save more money in the long run. And if you hear people referring to the Toyota Versa, please remind them that it’s a Nissan Versa and Toyota Prius. If you want the best consumer information and have the ability to do price comparisons while shopping for a new car, check out AutoTrader which offers a full compliment of online resources.

If you’re in the market for a used car you should know about Autotrader. Not only does it give you links to research just about everything you might want to know about the used car you’re buying, it also has links to car dealerships in your area so you can get quotes from products they may have in inventory. You can also find out how much you can expect to get for trade value on your current car. But if you’re in the market for a used car, then also get familiar with Autozone, the number one ranked auto parts store which also has a lot of information available on their website. Autozone is popular for a reason, their service, selection and prices are simply among the best.

There’s a lot to know about used cars so do your work ahead of time. While Autotrader will give you a lot of information, you need to research the quality and reliability of the car and find out which ones have the greatest number of problems requiring repairs and replacement auto parts. A lot of sellers like to play used car games and hype up the car their selling, telling you all of the new Autozone auto parts they’ve added to the car. But these games, which are not unlike the games you’ll find at dealerships, are designed to get your focus on the good things and forget about the bad things associated with buying that particular used car.  This isn’t specific to Autotrader, of course, its found anywhere you can buy a car.

One of the most common car games you’ll find when looking at used car classified or ads is to list things that cannot be verified, but which sounds good to unsuspecting buyers. For example, the seller might say the car has only highway miles (which means less wear and tear on the engine) or that it has had the oil changed every 3,000 miles. Unless they can prove these types of claims (i.e. they have a receipt from Autozone, O’Reilly Auto Parts, etc…) always assume its part of the used car games tactics.

Buying a used car, especially if you use Autotrader of eBay Motors, can be a fun experience and one that leads you to the used car you really want. Just remember the tips we’ve talked about here, keeping in mind that used car games and claims of new, replacement Autozone auto parts are only meaningful if they can back it up with receipts. If you follow this advice you’ll likely end up with a used car that you’re happy with.