I am a 51 single woman car shopping alone for the first time, looking for input. I have done a bit of research, and want to know, what would be your take on an 07 Subaru Impreza with 2.5 i , 122k mileage, 4 sp auto trans, that has had the head gasket job done, timing belt and water pump both replaced. That seems like the things that i keep reading are known issues, so might this be a good deal for me?

What is the asking price? Ask yourself how many miles you drive each year and how many years it will take to pay the car off. If you drive 25k miles a year and will be making payments for 4 years no car with these miles would be good for you. On the other hand if you drive 10k a year and will pay it off in 3 years it might work out for you. In any case have a Subaru mechanic check it out before buying.

$6995. Fortunately, I am looking for just 24mo terms, and have an 8 mi round trip to work, so mileage won't be a ton. But I live in a rural, mountain area with canyon, curvy roads, so honestly I worry that the car isn't a stick. So I hesitate on this one already. I am also looking at an '11 juke sv AWD, 116k for 7k. Thoughts? Or an '09 Pontiac vibe fwd, 106k for 6k. Or a '10 accord cross tour and 106k for 10.5k. I am in the position of rebuilding credit and I don't expect to have to drive it forever. I am just looking for something that will last a few years that will help re establish my credit. I am leaning toward the juke, just based on the excellent, local maintenance records on carax. Plus I've always wanted one. That year seems to have mainly good customer reviews and pretty good on Edmunds too. Is that a pretty reasonable way to approach a decision? (As well as looking for leakage etc underneath, etc.) There is so much information out there that it becomes overwhelming and I end up not making a decision until the car sells then back to square one. So input is most appreciated.

My last Subaru with an automatic worked great in the mountains where I live.

The only reason I was considering the Vibe is because it was made in joint venture with Toyota. Its a matrix in a Pontiac skin, so I thought it with considering with only 95k on it.

If you have snow/ice I would get a good full time AWD like the Subaru. Most cars like the RAV4 and Escape are part-time AWD.

I might offer a thousand less for the Subaru.