Age old question: What's a good, reliable car?
 

Asking for my younger brother. He needs a car in the 8-15K range that is reliable and low-cost to own.

Overpay for used Toyota/Honda?

Would he like to overpay now, or overpay later?

I bet he could get a leftover Civic inside that range. Maybe even a brand new one, although that's probably pushing it.

:D Hey, that is what I was suggesting to him for a reason.

I had told him to get the most Civic he could afford. So I'm not far off then.

Focus ST is solidly in that price range. Seriously good value, practical, fun to drive, does great in the snow with snow tires.

I put just under 70k on my 2013 over 5 years and these are all the problems I had with it:

* Charge pipe (boost hose) blew off. Replaced clamp with updated clamp part #
* Occasional headlight fault indicator (maybe 10 times total), always fixed with a restart
* Occasional check engine light and MAF failure message at startup (maybe 30 times total), always fixed with a restart

I don't think you can go wrong with a Civic for the stated purpose. An Accord would be a good option too if it needs to be larger.

That's quite impressive, actually. That is good data to have, but for my brother's purposes it's unnecessary. He is absolutely not a car person and is not car-aware (came to my house once for an oil change and while pulling the car in the garage nearly crashed into the back of my garage because he had no brakes. I checked and he had no brake fluid in the reservoir at all (bone dry). :eek::rolleyes: He said he had felt the car was a bit tough to stop. Turns out there was a leak).

I would ask him if he would consider a lease, the Hyundai's & Kia's have incredible lease deals and I would think the cost per year would be less then maintenance on an older car and your getting a very reliable safe car to drive.

You could probably get a nice one of either brand for $200 a month ... at $2400 per year that is pretty amazing.

Good Call. I'll bring that up.

:o
AF probably has the winning idea here.

That's pretty incredible, actually.

When I was in my first job, I leased a ‘97 Honda Accord for $160-something per month plus tax (total bill was around $180).

I ended up only keeping the car for 19 out of the 24 month lease - when I did the lease return, I just paid off the remaining 5 months instead of negotiating an early termination. Just was too cheap...

Koreans used to be rough on over mileage charges on leases. Hopefully they have fallen in line with other manufactures by now

The only issue with leasing is the mileage limit; if you're going to drive a lot, you're not going to be happy when you return the vehicle.

My vote is to go with a gently used Civic or Accord. They may be appliances, but they're well built and pretty fun to drive.

If fc pr anyone else is interested I can ask my friend about the mileage charges, he has leased Kia Optimas for each of his kids first cars. I’ve driven them and they are all beautiful.

I had a Hyundai Sonata as a rental over the summer and it was a great car.

I knew a guy who worked at an auto salvage yard dismantling cars for parts.

I asked him the same question, and his reply was “Nissan Sentra”.

Probably a bit cheaper than a comparable Civic.

:dunno::dunno:

I thought Nissan had a pretty bad reputation recently - especially compared to the other Japanese brands.

I can only speak for the one Nissan ownership experience I've had, which was a 2003 Armada. The only problem we had in ~40K miles was warped rotors, which was a known issue that the dealer fixed for free outside of warranty. New rotors and pads all the way around. That's not a ton of miles, but it's a few.

I've also had a few Altima rentals. Very unmemorable cars in every possible way.

One place where Nissan cuts corners to keep MSRP low is material quality. Hard, painted plastics and cheap switch gear abound. You sit in one, and you'll immediately notice it.

Interesting. Someone at work was telling me how Nissan had very poor CR ratings due to reliability.

The new Honda Fit Sport. It looks weird but has incredible room and holds it value very well. Lease deals are great on it.

One of my kid's girlfriend's just got a 2018 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition, stickered at 21K for 15K + tax and tags, with no trade and outside financing.

The car is nicely equipped, and i think it's got a 5yr/60K basic and 10 yr/100K powertrain warranty.

Not my cup of tea, but if I was looking for basic transportation this looks pretty damn good.

Alex

That's actually a great suggestion too. The Sport looks marginally better and they fit so much more than you'd expect.

I'm hesitant to suggest a Hyundai because my MIL has had so many major issues with her 2012 Elantra, but they have always honored her warranty.

Tricking out a Fit and a Civic Sport Hatchback and they come very close in price. Stick and sport bits on both.