I am amused by the choices: the Beetle or the Eclipse. You didn’t want to split the difference on maybe a Ford Explorer?

My wife knew we were gonna get a new car, so she printed out the specs on about 30 cars. I looked at the first one, and found the roof of the car was too short for me (I am over 6’2, and have a long torso), so I found the spec showing the seating height, and got rid of all the print outs showing anything that size or smaller.
We methodically went thru all the specs, and narrowed it down to 3 or 4 cars. We did test drives, and read online comments by owners. We settled on the Saturn Vue.
Take your time, and go thru it carefully. This is really a big decision, and may make a big difference in your life ahead.

I will throw in my vote for the Hyundai Elantra which was voted best in it’s class for performance, price, safety and fuel efficiency by Consumer Reports. That’s what I have now, and I love it.

I agree with @Kardamom and @filmfann. You should look at the specs of several cars in similar classes of the two you’re interested in, even if they don’t catch your eye, just to know what is out there. It will also help you negotiate better. After you have knowledge on a full spectrum you can check out concumer reports and see a practical breakdown. I have a friend who wants some car because it comes in purple and for no other reason. That is a terrible reason to buy a car. :)

The New Beetle has very little to recommend it other than being cute. You would be far better to buy a VW Golf- much better car for the same money. Sorry, we don’t have the Mitsubishi Eclipse in Australia so I don’t know what it is, but I own two Mitsubishis, and they are both excellent cars. Exceptionally reliable, and very comfortable and cheap to run.

Personally, I wouldn’t touch anything made in Korea. Seem good value, but you get what you pay for.

We have no idea what it is you need or want. More details, please, and I can shuffle through CR to find a few good examples. In the meantime, these are taken from the ‘09 Auto Issue:

The Beetle has bad safety ratings, an awfully cramped rear seat, and iffy reliability; but is regarded as “fairly nimble,” has ESC standard, and is less than $20k new as a starting price. Not recommended by CR.

The Eclipse isn’t as fun to drive as it may seem, has a noisy engine (4-cyl) and clunky tranny, bad driving position, bad visibility, bad support in the driver’s seat, and a rear seat even smaller than the Beetle’s. Average reliability and good safety ratings are some of few pluses. Not recommended.

Your original two choices seem to be based entirely on the “cute” factor, as @Harold pointed out, and, unfortunately, that doesn’t add up to a good car. In fact, the Mitsubishi seems terrible. Again, explain what it is you really need and then I can help out.

Thank you soooo much for all of your comments! It really helps as this is my first time to purchase a car!!

@bluesea1008 Umm, are you going to provide any more info or what?

New or used? Which do you care for?

What is your budget?

Do you need good mileage?

How many seats?

Etc. etc.

When I bought my first new car, I wanted something that could deal with hills, snow, and difficult driving conditions, but also be dependable. I went up to Lake Tahoe, thinking that people there had to deal with all that, and saw that a lot of the locals there drove Subarus. I bought one, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

The New Beetle has all of the downsides of being a post-1992 Volkswagen. Granted, they finally got most of the electrical issues worked out (the early New Beetles were notorious for that) but they are still rather overpriced, expensive to get fixed, and impossible to work on yourself. Even changing your own spark plugs is a bitch on teh newer VWs.

As for the Eclipse, they are a pale shadow of the first two generations when AWD was available and performance actually meant something. If I went Mitsubishi, it’d be a Lancer. The newer Eclipses are made for cruising the boulevard to pick up guys. They are not the sporty car that they once were even though they superficially look the part.

Of course, your tastes are bound to be different from mine. Personally, if I was going to go new then I would consider a Hyundai. However, if I were still back in NH where it snows like hell and I was still on a dirt road in the middle of the woods then I would go with @filmfann and go Subi; a bit pricey, but unlike a VW, they are actually worth every penny. My biggest knock against Subaru is the MPG rating; they tend to be heavy and the AWD system (the main reason they are so heavy; it adds a few hundred pounds) compounds it by adding driveline drag, which brings your MPG rating into the mid-20s; not worth it unless you actually need something to go through a winter wonderland like rural NH.

But what are you really looking for in a car anyways? I go for affordable, reliable, easy to work on, and good handling. That is why I like my old Corolla; $300, lasts forever, I can do almost anything to it myself for far less than a garage, and it can carve corners pretty damn well, so it suits my needs. The cramped back seat is a non-issue since I rarely use it for anything but a second trunk.

You could wait it out and get an Electric. Nissan Leafs are being delivered as we speak. If you live in California you can also lease hydrogen cars the Honda Clarity is pretty cool in all respects.

They do not make my automobile anymore. if they did, i would buy myself a new one in heartbeat. its from Toyota…...a Solara. my car has 263,000 miles on it and i would trust it to drive to California from Tennessee. 6 sets of tires and a timing belt change and regular oil changes and thats it for maintenance.

I would only consider a Toyota or Honda. i see too many VW Beetles on used car lots and wonder why?

@john65pennington It looks like you are stuck getting a Camry then. Same platform, different body.
Sadly, there really isn’t a market for 2-door cars any more unless you count the tiny ones (like the Mini Cooper or Smart ForTwo) or sports/muscle cars like the Challenger or Corvette. Most normal cars nowadays are geared towards families and that requires back doors; sedan, wagon, mini-van…