What do you consider the Sweet Spot for a reliable used car?

[jungleboy]

Iran my 06 matrix to 350 k till a gravel truck backed into it and wrote it off. Replaced it with an 04 Corolla that I got with 140 k and added another 130 k before I tired of it and sold it . I have always had great luck with Toyota.
That said, My wife's current car is a 04 Impala I bought it because I always like the look of them. it's been with us for 4 trouble free years.I hope when it finally goes,I can find another in good condition as I would buy that car again in a heart beat. paid $2500 for it and it still looks and drives beautifully. and it gets 30mpg on the cheap stuff.

[KegRiver]

Count me in as another Toyota fan. I've owned two, both were cheap to run and lasted forever.
My wife owns a 2002 Camry. She bought it new, it now has over 280 miles on it. It's a USA can so the odo is in miles.
She has had to replace the catalytic converter twice and last year the transmission failed but other then that it's taken only routine maintenance.

I would not buy a Honda. I've seen too many problems with them. Not sure why, perhaps it's the owners. All the ones I have seen belonged to young drivers who liked to treat them like Baja race cars.

I haven't bought a car in decades so I have no idea on what they are worth.
I do know that Toyota's hold their value better then most.

[Lefty]

Originally Posted by Anvil1010

I was never a Ford guy until we bought a Fusion. It was a great car until my wife was hit and the car was written off. We went out and got another one. This latest car is AWD, leather, back up camera , blind spot mirror etc, and has been great. The AWD and winter tires makes my wife feel so much more confident driving that it is worth it for that alone

Had a 07 AWD that has been fantastic. Under 700 bucks in repairs and my kid is driving it. A couple other people at work have older ones too and have been trouble free. One of them 5 years ago told me they were going to get a new vehicle as theirs has a lot of mileage, and they are still driving it. Decided they would keep it until they start having mechanical issues with it as they couldn't get much for it on the market, and it is still running good.

[Gerald J]

I think you know the answer already.

In the summer of 2002, I bought a new 2003 Corolla. Put 333K on it (the odometer would not turn over to 300K). Twelve years later, in 2014, I gave it my 17 year old nephew. He kept it for a year, put another 10K on it and sold it for $1900 (ouch!). Hey, good on him. A guy bought it for his aging parents and last I heard, it is still on the road and they love it. I don't want to brag about how good it was and how little work I did to it over the years. Why? Murphy's Law. I don't want to jinx it. I was so impressed that I bought another new one in 2014. My brother says "you bought another Corolla?" LOL. Let me just say this... I nicknamed that car "the brake and tire car".

When I bought the 2014, my other nephew was about to start kindergarten. I told my brother "he's getting this car in grade 11". He laughed but I am not kidding.

I think Toyota builds the best vehicles. With Honda a close second. The Corolla or Civic are good options. I you want to go a little bigger (and for safety reasons as other have mentioned), I would go the Rav4/CRV. This will be the direction I'm going in about 8 years time.

Good luck.

[yz295]

Hands down a 4th Gen 4Runner with the V6. Isn't the most fuel economical but very reliable, frame on body, 2wd with 4wd hi and low, nice and heavy and can go through anything. I bought one for our family 5 years ago with 200,000 kms on it was a one owner well maintained truck with all dealer service records. I paid $8500 and sold it at 289,000 kms a few years later for $9750 with just oil changes, brakes, plugs, etc. Both the V6 and V8s are very reliable and very easy to get parts, and work on. Never had a problem with it. Took it to Waiparious and run through deep snow no issues. Never got stuck even trying to get it stuck.

I know these trucks inside and out and what you want to watch out for is:

- Frame rust
- Brake calipers seize
- Very early V6 did have weak HGs but that will have been done by now

Still miss that truck and if I had a daughter your age without a doubt that's what she would be driving.

Safe, reliable and you'll get your money back if you ever need to sell it for whatever reason. Be patient and wait for the right truck. The one owner ones do come up and are snapped up within a few hours so keep your eye out.

Good luck and glad she's safe.

[omega50]

Glad she escaped serious injury. Lots of good vehicle suggestions already offered. But I would be more concerned that she might be in her own head if she felt helpless or out of control in that situation.

After the next vehicle is purchased I would look at the 2 hour AMA Winter Driving Course so she can cement those skills and be less wary moving forward.
This one is in Calgary, but easy to check courses in your area


Become a safer and more confident winter driver with our Winter Driving Lesson. Take a 2 hour in-car lesson with one of our provincially certified instructors and put your new safe winter driving skills to use.

What you’ll learn:

one-on-one instruction on winter driving practices related to braking, steering and accelerating
proactive winter driving tips
how to complete vehicle checks
about essential winter driving survival equipment
CALGARY:
Member Savings: $16
$169 MEMBERS
$185 NON-MEMBERS
Call us at 1-833-374-8733 to book

[1shotwade]

Just picked up a 2008 Nissan altima coupe. Has 80000km on it . Was a garage queen I got it for 6 grand. Right place right time. Has the big v6. Pretty good deal for a grocery getter.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

[cranky]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Its scary when that happens. Glad to hear she wasnt hurt.
We have right now at least a half dozen Toyotas in our close family. Im probably the only one who doesnt drive one all the time cause i got a old truck that has been with me for along time and wont quit.
My girls always have had Toyotas since they started driving. There all grown and gone now with there own families. They all still drive Toyotas today.
Never had anything other than wear and tear ever need fixing on any of them.

[Dean2]

Glad she is okay. I am a big Toyota fan but I do not like small cars for safety. Smallest Toyota car I would buy is a Camry/Avalon. Almost all of the Toyota, Honda etc cars have a five star crash rating but in a crash, heaviest car still wins. Just ask anyone who attends a lot of MVAs.

I have put over 300,000 K on many different brands and makes, Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Dodge, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and a few others. With good maintenance, 300,000 K is no problem. Only vehicles I never had any luck with are Fords so I don't buy those any more.

I would check out a Dodge Charger SXT AWD. They have a five star crash rating, good gas mileage, very good handling in all conditions and are cheap to maintain. Good full size car that has lots of trunk space. You can buy one 4 or 5 years old with less than 80,000 K well within your price point. As you already know, you want to get it checked out at an independent mechanic, even if you buy from a dealer.

[Atlas12]

Go cheaper on the car and drop some cash on a set of studded Nokian Hakkapelitas.

I've driven a lot of studded winter tires, and nothing comes even close to these for snow or ice driving.

[RZR]

I have 300,000 Kms on my Taurus with no issues, but I also due all my maintenance on the recommended intervals.

[FellSwoop]

From the original post, it is a value question. I agree that the Toyota and Hondas are great used but you often have to pay for that in higher resale cost. They break less than American iron, but parts are more expensive and more difficult to find in the wrecking yards. Other Japanese brands may be riding on the coattails of these two. The worst car I ever had was a new Subaru, and I have done the headgasket change on two Legacy's for friends. Nissan has generally accepted to be good engines but their automatic transmission has a nasty reputation.
Personally, I would look at an American 12 year old lux sedan, try to get a babied one from an older original owner. Buick, Lincoln, or even Impala, Tarus, intrepid. All of these cars are not without flaws, but they are usually not fatal if you know what to look for. I suspect that a post review $/km will show them to be the best buy.

[ESOXangler]

From a value perspective the above poster is more than likely right. From safety perspective I'd avoid them. IIHS has a pretty impressive website to see how all cars react. Just depends on your life philosophy tbh.

[colroggal]

I've said it before - if I didn't need a pickup and I was about four inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter I would have a Subaru. But if I was that size and could get away with a 1/4 ton it would be a Toyota.

Colin

[jstubbs]

Originally Posted by colroggal

I've said it before - if I didn't need a pickup and I was about four inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter I would have a Subaru. But if I was that size and could get away with a 1/4 ton it would be a Toyota.

Colin

You must be a big dude then! I'm 6'4" 210 lbs and have a little 2003 Subaru Forester. I fit great in it.

That said, not sure I'd recommend a Subaru. My girlfriend's mom has a 2015 Forester, it's on the dealer recommended service schedule yet has had more problems than they can believe on it and it barely has any miles. My 03 had to get new headgaskets in under 180,000 km. Then the clutches are junk, the manual trans aren't great, electrical problems, you name it...

[AndrewM]

I have a Mazda 3 commuter. Has treated me awesome for the price of it. If willing to spend 17K you should be able to have quite a few options for cars with limited km. I usually try to stay under 50,000km and try to find a vehicle with warranty when buying used. Make sure you check for liens as almost purchased a truck with one on.

[sns2]

Going to pick her up and get a 2016 Toyota Corolla LE. 48,000 km and bumper to bumper lasts until June of this year. $14k and it is wearing winter tires. Happy with the purchase. If she is smart, she will drive it until she's 30 accident free. Thanks for all your input.

[303carbine]

Originally Posted by sns2

On Christmas, my 18 yr old daughter was involved in a serious accident on hwy 16 coming back from our family supper. Roads were treacherous. Car in front of her hit the brakes. She then did also, hitting ice, and losing control. Piled into the rear end of the vehicle in front. Thankfully, the vehicle she hit sustained minimal damage, but her car was written off. Doctor at the hospital said it was a Christmas miracle that she sustained no serious injuries. It goes without saying we were thankful.

Now the hunt for a reliable used vehicle begins. She is in school, and I want something that will be reliable for a number of years. Think Toyota Corolla sort of car. Anyhow, I have always been a new car kinda guy, as the used vehicles I have bought have proven to be headaches. I have often heard that 2-3 years old was the depreciation/reliability sweetspot.

If you were in my shoes, getting a vehicle for your daughter, what would you be narrowing your search for in terms of make, model, and mileage?

Can go as high as $17K all in.

Volvo cars have a good rating.........and not everybody is driving them.

[Gerald J]

Originally Posted by sns2

Going to pick her up and get a 2016 Toyota Corolla LE. 48,000 km and bumper to bumper lasts until June of this year. $14k and it is wearing winter tires. Happy with the purchase. If she is smart, she will drive it until she's 30 accident free. Thanks for all your input.

Tell her to take it easy the first few years. She's still breaking it in.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by 303carbine

Volvo cars have a good rating.........and not everybody is driving them.

Great cars. I bought my 2011 in 2012 with 20,000 km and have had 160,000 km of issue-free (knock on wood) driving ever since. Great performance and safety.

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by sns2

Going to pick her up and get a 2016 Toyota Corolla LE. 48,000 km and bumper to bumper lasts until June of this year. $14k and it is wearing winter tires. Happy with the purchase. If she is smart, she will drive it until she's 30 accident free. Thanks for all your input.

Nice reliable car. All winter tires are not created equal. Sellers have a tendency to buy junk tires to help make the sale. The dealer put 4 new tires on my son's new to him truck and they lasted less than one summer with a couple of blow outs on gravel. I run Nokian winter tires only and they are head and shoulders above other manufacturers. I can get Michelin or BF Goodrich at a considerable discount and prefer to pay full price for the Nokian.

I took Michelin X-Ice off my Camry when it was new in the middle of a snow storm and put on a new set of Hakkapeliitta. It went from white knuckles to driving a snow machine. The Nordman are an outstanding value as they are last model Hakkapeliitta. I took a fresh set of nearly 300 dollar per Firestone off my new car and put on Nordman. A much more aggressive tire but the fuel mileage improved and so did the handling. It is actually fun to drive in winter and feels safer than my 4x4 with all weather tires on it.

Good luck with the new car.