Used hatchbacks for sale near Carol Stream, IL under $15,000

A few weeks ago I purchased a used car at McGrath Acura in Libertyville and wanted to share my experience. When I arrived I was greeted by Ethan Sevilla. Ethan was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and understood just what I was looking for. From beginning to end Ethan explained every detail and answered all my questions. In just a short time I was banging the GONG in the showroom! The entire staff was pleasant and professional. I felt comfortable and was treated fairly. Thanks again to Ethan and the McGrath family.

We leased a 2019 civic hatchback ex and loved it so much we bought out the lease three years later. The best feature that’s unique to these cars is the Lane Watch Blind Spot camera (available on the EX, SI and I believe touring models) I don’t know why they went away from this feature with the 2022+ models. Add all the sensors you want but the camera is better than anything else. I thought it would become standard on more cars, not get phased out. Besides that, the true city gas mileage is closer to 24 than 30, but highway is about 40 and mixed is 29. Very good for an all gas car. We had very few problems in the 6 years we drove it. Only thing we had to replace was the infotainment system— covered by the extended warranty. If it wasn’t for some dumb teens speeding through an intersection and taking us out in the turn lane, it should have lasted another good ten years if not more. This version of the civic is a great little car.

Great people and great cars! Pleasure to drive my new M3H purchased from Eric Fragassi & Anthony (manager). Highly recommend. Thanks guys

Bought it new. Hard to tell that it's almost 8yrs old. Third Mini, first automatic. Very nimble and good acceleration. Love the heads up display and love love the power folding mirrors and side driver visor. Seats are very comfortable and have an extension for longer legs available. Haven't been able to figure out how to delete older phones from the bluetooth or unwanted addresses from the nav system tho. Biggest drawback for me is that the nearest dealer is 1.5 hrs away. But they do offer a valet service to pick up the car if scheduled in advance. It's not the most inexpensive to repair but what vehicle is nowadays.

Very accommodating to out-of-town buyers, except pay-in-full is required to hold a vehicle. Need more flexibility on this, like allowing sizable deposit with time limits

Transports more than other 4 door cars. Drives fantastic. Smooth, yet sporty and nimble ride, with plenty of quick acceleration when needed. Very reliable, with easy maintenance.

Went in to look at a 2022 outlander. Worked with Daniel. He was great to work with understood my car buying frustrations and was up front and honest. Worked out a good deal. But I ended up going a different route. Finding honest up front sales people is like finding a needle in a hay stack these days would definitely consider them in the future when I am on the market for a new vehicle in the future.

After 23 years of driving minivans and SUVs, I was ready for a change. I love my 2016 Mini Cooper S 4 door. with the 6 speed manual transmission. Car is great to drive, gets okay mileage (25+mpg) and is surprisingly practical.

I was looking for a specific car that was at this CarMax. Problem was that I live in Minnesota, not Chicago and would have to traveling a great distance for a car I had not seen other than in pics, potentially risking wasting a great deal of time and money. I had to trust Jonathan, my salesman, to tell me the condition of the car where the pics could not. He was completely honest and the car was exactly what he said it was. Between Jonathan and Adam, the sales manager i was able to close the deal and drive back to home within an hour. I am completely pleased with the car and 100% satisfied with the dealership. I guess you can trust a car dealership. I did and they did not let me down. Thanks guys.

I first leased my 2018 Hyundai Elantra in 2018 (car was new with less than 50 miles on the odometer). After the lease was up, I opted to purchase the vehicle. It's been great. No major problems. The reason I gave the exterior only 4 stars is that the paint started peeling on the rear bumper (below the license plate) about a year ago. A Hyundai service person explained that the bumpers are plastic (not steel) like the rest of the car and the paint does eventually peel off. Outside of the rear bumper paint problem, this has been an excellent vehicle.

My salesperson, Gytis from AG Autohaus, went above and beyond to make sure I found the right car within my budget. They were knowledgeable, patient, and made the whole experience stress-free. The financing process was smooth as well, and the team explained everything clearly.

I purchased my 2013 Mazda 3i Grand Touring Hatchback (manual transmission) in 2014 and the previous owner had put 30K miles on it. I've now got 140K and still love the car. Outside of recommended maintenance, the only repair expense I've had was I decided to replace the clutch. It hadn't failed but it was starting to show some slippage. I haven't even had to replace the brake pads yet! As for likes and dislikes that someone checking out this car might not notice just from looking, here are some negatives: 1) The 1-2 shift is always a bit notchy but others are smooth. 2) The 2.0L doesn't have a lot of power in the lower revs but 3000-4000 rpms it's pretty spirited (assuming you don't have four large adults in the car) 3) I ended up replacing the OEM headunit (the BOSE with Navigation) with an Eonon. I had issues getting the Eonon working early on but after a couple updates, it's been a huge improvement. 4) The biggest negative is that at some point, I'll have to let it go. On the positive side: 1) It handles great, 2) It carries a decent amount for its size 3) It gets good gas mileage (I used to average 35mpg but in recent years my driving in this car has been more around town and it's fallen back to 31-32.) 4) It's been extremely reliable. 5) The front seats are very comfortable (I'm 5'7" and the car fits me great. I imagine taller people would not be as comfortable.)

Nice xars -nice service-Okay prices.the cars were clean.to me some were over priced

I am very happy with this car I recommend it, it is fun to drive it I am thinking of buying another one very soon it is worth it

Elvir and Matt did a great job and I was pleased with the attention, negotiation and the car I got.

I loves mini, its simple cute and small car but has power. And the space isnt too bad. The gas consumption is also not much. A bit expensive for maintaining but its worth it.

Brought my car in for service and some new tires. Jen was able to help me and gave me a car to take to pick up my son while they were working on it. Love the service staff here!!!

I haven't owned a 4 cylinder in a long time. I had a turbo 5 Volvo, a 6 cylinder accord, and a Mercedes c300 6 as my last three cars, then before that I owned a last model year RSX (2006, I wouldn't count the new ones) for a long time so that's the closest comparison to this. I think the RSX felt a bit more sporty (I didn't have the Type S), but as for power they're a pretty close match, and I bet the Mazda 3 would smoke it off the line with it's torque heavy engine. I think the RSX looked more sporty too, it had probably a more mature styling to it that I appreciate now even more than I did when I owned one, but I will say every time I look at my Mazda 3 I like it more and more. I've seen a thousand of these on the road and never had a strong opinion on them, but my girl in red keeps growing on me, and when I take the dog out for walks I circle the car and look it over and understand it more and more. I have a 2018 fully loaded GT, and the interior is mostly it's strongest positive. The facelifted w204 is easily the nicest looking interior I've ever been in, and the accord maybe the most comfortable, but this is incredibly close to the accord in terms of comfort and only lacking in slightly worse seats and less room. The seats are great though, but the 2012 accords were some of the best I've say in. The fake leather has a great balance of firm and give to it, and what's even better is the whole interior is wrapped in a similar nice synthetic material that's a joy to be wrapped in. I've never owned a car where my arms are supported on both sides in such a comfortable manner. I'm 6'1 so I keep my seat low but I feel like I have a good deal of room, in fact, I test drove a 2023 (gen 4) Mazda 3 that was an incredible price, about $800 off from my 2018 and even less miles but the new interior design is nowhere close to as good as what we get in the gen 3. You have almost no room to spread your legs out in the newer models and that's a deal breaker for me. The one major weakness of the 2018's interior is the tablet on top of the dash looks hideous. I think I mentioned earlier my model is fully loaded, and I mean it. But what's that mean, a premium sound system, some exterior trim pieces tacked on? Nope, here we have some genuinely cool features. Adaptive headlights that turn with the wheel, a heads up display that's projected on a piece of clear plastic that raises up when you start the engine and can show speed, road signs, blind spot info, next GPS heading, etc. We have automatic windshield wipers, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, a great Bose sound system, paddle shifters. My car has more bells and whistles than my wife's high trim 2023 Tuscon. I really love my little Mazda, and I'm hoping to take it down some back roads to see if I can enjoy the driving part as much as some others do, as I've mostly spent time on the highway or in stop and go so far. This was a purchase I was unsure of 3 days ago when I made it, but every couple waking hours something pulls me to that car, whether to drive it or just to sit in it. I know now I've made a great choice.

Went to Platinum to look at an X5. It was in a little rougher shape than we were looking for (which explained the price being much lower than comparable vehicles), but Alex was very nice and suggested some other vehicles to look at. We didn't end up buying anything here, but they were very nice and helpful. I would go back to look again if they had something I was I interested in.

I got a wonderful car from Imported Motor Cars in Maine. It’s a beautiful car, incredibly fun to drive, and surprisingly fits tall folks well (my husband is 6’5”). The 2016 model is high in reliability according to CR, and I haven’t found it to be different. It has great gas mileage and is pretty good in snow.

Eduardo gave me an amazing service at the dealership and helped me find a car.

After visiting a different dealership where we felt completely overlooked, working with Ali was a breath of fresh air. From the moment we pulled into the lot, Ali greeted us warmly with a smile and a genuine sense of welcome. His approach was never pushy—instead, he was thoughtful, patient, and fully committed to understanding our needs. Ali took the time to truly listen and provided us with a personalized selection of vehicles that matched our preferences and priorities. This saved us an incredible amount of time and helped us focus on what really mattered. He was also impressively organized, having paperwork ready in advance and maintaining excellent communication every step of the way. What stood out most about Ali was not just his knowledge of the vehicles and their features, but the way he worked to ensure we received the best overall value. He proactively reviewed all available incentives and savings opportunities, including several we weren’t even aware existed. He took the initiative to ask meaningful questions, like our professional backgrounds and ownership history, which led to valuable savings we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Ali’s service was sincere, thorough, and above all, customer-centered. He made us feel like we had someone in our corner, advocating for us—not just trying to make a sale. That level of care and integrity is rare, and we’re incredibly grateful for it. We wholeheartedly recommend Ali Abdullah to anyone looking for a car buying experience that is honest, efficient, and tailored to your needs. He made a potentially stressful process feel easy.

I purchased my 2018 Prius Prime Advanced back in March of 2018 and have never had a problem with the vehicle. I work only 7 miles from my home and usually go 3 months on a tank of gas and average 165-175 mpg. I will say I use non ethanol gas in the vehicle since it sits in the tank for an extend period of time. I did change the tires after 50K only because of the tire noise but other than that I do the oil changes every 10k since the gas engine doesn't come on that often. People say what about your electric bill ? I charge on off peak times and can't tell a difference in our power bill.

This was absolutely the best car buying experience that I have ever experienced. Gabe was our sales associate and did a fantastic job. We put the deal together in about 20 minutes. This was our second purchase from McGrath. Gabe and McGrath have earned our future business for sure.

Love My 2016 Yaris, best thing the gas millage is between 34-37. This car is roomy inside for such a small size car! Performance is good to great! Does the job!

It was really a low pressure experience my salesman, Garret was awesome as well as the finance guy Ruben, the only issue was when I got the car home a few days later I had to jumpstart the vehicle due to a bad battery.

We bought this car when we lived on Vancouver Island. Great car in traffic and getting in and out of parking spots. We loved every moment we have owned it!

Dion was the best I have experienced. Very patient and too salesy. Would highly recommend going to him and the finance guy was amazing too.

This is a great choice for entry level EV. Combined I'm getting about 85 MPG. No hybrid car can touch this. Also the price can't be beat. Similar models are about $10K more (looking at you Prius Prime) Also many little extras included in price compared to Toyota.

While traveling from out if state,we had a vehicle breakdown. At that time/day, all repair shops were closed. So taking a gamble we dropped the car off at Napleton Ford of Oaklawn. The techs at Napleton jumped on our issue right away and worked hard to help a family stranded on the road. We were back up and running in just a few days. Thank you Napleton Ford!!

Love my car. Great car in the city and flys through roundabouts, easy to find parking. Beautiful body. 4x100 wheels easy to find. Set of tires are cheap. Best economy car ever built, I have 65,000 miles and never needed service being manual transmission the breaks are still half life just had to lube them piston bolts.

Excellent sales service from J. R.! We are very pleased with our recent purchase, and J. R.'s patience, professionalism, and assistance was greatly appreciated.

This is a fuel efficient and modest car. It achieves 98hp has a 9 gallon tank and an automatic transmission. The LS has crank windows and old fashioned key-lock doors. You can haul a reasonable load in the back seat and hatch or even three other people, though it might be somewhat cramped. It appears to be designed for urban commuters, but I've driven it some decent distances and in all seasons now and it seems to up the challenge of all weather and (paved) terrains. The onboard technology (radio, backup camera, and internet connectivity--with Apple Play and Android Auto) is surprisingly good. Its small size makes it fit easily into small spaces. It was discontinued in 2022, so there should be parts for awhile and prices are coming down. If you need a second car, give this one some consideration.

A new 12 v battery for my electric Leaf. That battery lasted almost twice as long as accessory lead-acid batteries in my past gasoline cars. Five years until the first maintenance. The Nissan dealership is a comfortable place to wait for testing and replacement to be done. Staff are polite and straight talkers.

Ford had a great idea in the C-Max hybrid. So many places we travel don’t have the plug ins for electric. We have many trips with 40+ to 50 mpg. Ford missed the mark when they discontinued manufacturing the C-Max. Bring back the car and make us look toward the future !

The salesperson I met with was very pleasant to deal with and was good about getting back to me. It seems like there are no hidden fees and the cars are in good condition.

Overall, 5 for reliability and value. 1) Surprisingly lots of room for packing my ceramics pottery, throwing wheel, lumber (just have to leave the hatch open and tie things down). Back seat goes down 60/40 split bench gives some options, too. 2) Good gas mileage. 3) I like the display/dashboard and different view options. 4) I did track my mileage, but it's so consistent with the low mileage that I stopped tracking miles/gallon. 5) POWER mode is good for acceleration. Used it for very steep hills and occasionally for merging on freeways. 6) Tire pressure warning light works well, since I had a slow leak that need attention once every couple of weeks. 7) Center armrest has deep, narrow storage and includes a USB port (use it for my music) and another cigarette lighter charger port. Could do better (4): 1) VISIBILITY: the driver side, looking left has a blind spot that is a problem when looking for pedestrians and oncoming vehicles on the left; when looking right there is less of a problem. The cause is section of the car that supports the roof to the body. The steep slope of the metal covers up a lot, as opposed to if the metal were to come down perpendicular to the ground that support piece would be shorter and it would take care of the visibility issue. 2) Cabin space: a) the dashboard seems of take up a lot of space, b) as well as the center, two-tier design that includes the shifter, 2 cup holders, and the storage compartment above; below is a flat, storage area w/ a port for a cigarette lighter type charger. Should've lowered the shifter and cup holders. 3) Water pump - I replaced it, but it should be noted in the service manual for technicians to somehow check that routinely since failure is a major problem. If you're aware of this problem, then be on the alert and let your service tech know about it. 4) Disc brakes - I moved to a place close to the ocean. Needed to resurface the disc and replace the pads because of rust. Someone told me that the Prius is better in urban, city areas. Makes sense. So I shoot down my brakes with water and drive it around every few days. 5) Low front spoiler, so need to be careful curbing and uneven terrain. Overall, I like my Prius 3. Had it for 7 years and like it. Would recommend it more for urban areas especially. Rural areas need to cautious of the terrain and need to be aware of corrosion issues if near the ocean, since the salt will affect the disc brakes (and obviously anything metal).

Everyone was friendly and well informed. I waited for my car to be repaired and my advisor, Kim Soto, checked in on me and was available to answer any questions. My mechanic was very thorough in his assessment and my car is running beautifully. I bought my 2010 Honda Accord 16 years ago and is still running well.

The mitsubishi Mirage. I have one of these cars. Sure. It's only 78 horsepower sure. I still get on the highway but I let other cars pass by me. I don't try to keep up. It just takes your longer to get somewhere. That's all, but it's an awesome car. Nonetheless, if you want to have a good reliable car that doesn't take a lot of gas regardless of what people say about it, not being that great a car. It has a lot of zip to it and power and easy to park and handle. It's a great. Car. This car is much reliable.And fun to drive