Cars , Cars and more Cars for the car guys

[Music Lover]

On the other hand, My wife had a 2009 Toyota Corolla which CR rated as one of the golden ones blessed by the Gods with the utmost reliability and so on. The damn thing left her stranded 3 times ( only car that has ever done that to one of us) and was the most uncomfortable and noisy car I have ever been in. NO CR car opinions for moi. I recommend driving the car one is considering, talking to real owners and then arriving at one's own conclusions.

One of my friends has a Toyota Rav with 140,000 kms (87k miles) on it that's been to the dealer 12 or 15 times for various issues. In spite of that, he still claims that he has a reliable vehicle...

For the most part, Toyota and Honda are reliable, but too many people elevate them to mythical status.

 

[Big_Hitter]

if you want to go off road get a subaru

 

[Breedlove]

( Done at 49 )
Interesting on the Fiat , I talk to Fiat owners and they pretty much say what you say ! But CR dislikes them.

Trying to find the Nirvana of cars is difficult I drive a Honda Ridgeline 140,000 miles. The truck is maintained like a good watch. My wife drives a Kia Optima 120,000 miles also maintained . The Kia is a 2008 when she bought it was laughed at and known as killed in action .

The only part she has replaced on that car was a front wheel bearing and a new battery. Now not to say Honda's or Toyotas are bad , I just do not see a difference on the good cars of today. A friend owns a brand new BMW , every time he gets an oil change it is nearly 1000,00 dollars because it will require something more. Needless to say he is upside down on this car .

 

[CitizenK]

I drive a 2009 Honda Fit. It has been utterly reliable and I hope to keep it several more years. I don't know if cargo space is one of your criteria, but the Fit is significantly more space efficient than it's sub-compact competition, and can hold a ton of stuff.

 

[GravitySucks]

Don't believe everything you hear about the Fiat 500. Mine is a first year model and is an amazing little car. I have over 100,000 miles without a single issue. Used ones can be found for 6-7 grand.

Was driving DD's 500 for 10 days. Loads of fun and easy to drive in city traffic. Quite peppy even though it's not the Abarth.
Surprisingly comfortable on an hour highway trip. Not sure it would work out on a 500 miles trip though.
Bought used with 15k miles for under $10k. No repairs needed yet. ( 18 months, 6k miles.)
It would be on my list if I was a city dweller and had a smaller dog.

Edit to add - The 500 is a chick magnet!

 

[Breedlove]

I like the 500 could be a fun car , every time I have driven one it was so much fun . Like driving a go cart . NO complaints ....But CR says they are junk

 

[dvalley]

Without a budget range or specific wants other than good gas mileage (is that 26mpg or 40+mpg?) it's hard to make a suggestion but at this stage I'm inclined to suggest a hybrid of the Camry/Accord variety. Buy once, cry once when you buy quality that will also hold its resale value. For long distance commuting I'd not recommend a small car like the Fit/Fiat etc those are great TOAD vehicles behind an RV though.

 

[Another Reader]

I would rather prefer a year old used car with a good history of reliability. You jnow, a car that is more substantially mechanically.

We are in the process of swapping cars getting rid of a Civic SI and a IS250 and we ordered a 2018 Camry Hybrid. The new car gets 52 mpg in city driving a d 48.5 mpg at 75-80 mph. And it is surprisingly quick. We paid $26k vs. $29k MSRP.

I looked at a non-hybrid model when I was having my car serviced. It had the shortest front seat bottom I can recall in a car. No thigh support because there is no seat there.

The Prius Prime has rebates and tax incentives galore. Plus a carpool lane sticker here in overcrowded California. Great mileage if you use the fully electric portion for those trips to the grocery store.

 

[aja8888]

Edit to add - The 500 is a chick magnet!

Maybe for high school chicks...haha

 

[Texas Proud]

One of my friends has a Toyota Rav with 140,000 kms (87k miles) on it that's been to the dealer 12 or 15 times for various issues. In spite of that, he still claims that he has a reliable vehicle...

For the most part, Toyota and Honda are reliable, but too many people elevate them to mythical status.

The problem is %s.... IOW, back when I was working for mega and there was a fleet of Fords (Taurus being the most)... we had a 50% transmission failure rate... before 100K miles... now, if you are an individual and you do not get a bad one you think they are great... but that is a very high failure rate...


You can get a lemon... from any brand... but I want to buy from a company that I have a much higher % of not getting that lemon.. Chrysler is not one of them... nor, IMO is Mitsubishi.... for me personally it is Ford... every Ford I have owned has had many problems....

 

[travelover]

The problem is %s............

Yep, the plural of anecdote is not data.

 

[Walt34]

OP - how about renting the car for a day or two and driving it all over, or go on a trip.

+1

Several years ago when DW's car was in the body shop for a week we rented a Toyota Yaris. I was stunned at what a piece of junk that car was! It rode and sounded like we were in a tin can, took forever to get up to highway speed, even the radio sounded tinny. And lots and lots of flimsy plastic pieces eager to fall off or apart. I didn't know that any car maker would produce such a piece of junk.

The one good thing that could be said about it was the low price.

 

[Car-Guy]

If you want to drive in Houston (aggressive drivers in large cars) I would shy away from sub-compact.

+1 - Personally I want some height and weight to my vehicle when driving in heavy traffic (like Houston has all the time).

 

[38Chevy454]

I would be concerned about the sustainability of Mitsubishi brand. 10 year warranty is worthless without a dealership network. Also would recommend a bigger vehicle for Houston traffic.

But your money and your choices.

 

[Big_Hitter]

in houston (or SE texas for that matter) a good A/C system is a must

OP: are you constrained by the $13.5 pricetag?

 

[Texas Proud]

On people who say that they have had a car that had zero problems etc... (and I have done it also, so I plead guilty) I bet that there is some Yugo owner that was happy with his car and it did not have any problem...

I do like the CR showing reliability as that takes into account a good number of cars... and I think a 'bad' rating means something like 10% or so have that problem... so 90% does not...

 

[Big_Hitter]

On people who say that they have had a car that had zero problems etc... (and I have done it also, so I plead guilty) I bet that there is some Yugo owner that was happy with his car and it did not have any problem...

I do like the CR showing reliability as that takes into account a good number of cars... and I think a 'bad' rating means something like 10% or so have that problem... so 90% does not...

I had a 2011 ford ranger for several years, zero problems.... (then I sold it last year)

of course I had an 82 mustang which was the biggest pos i've ever owned and I've owned several vehicles

now my 74 f100 has been in the shop A LOT but it isn't the poor truck's fault, it just needed some tlc

i can only recall one car (other than the ranger) i've had that never went into the shop during 6 years of ownership - 95 nissan altima

 

[travelover]

..............now my 74 f100 has been in the shop A LOT ..........

Yea, I'd definitely stay away from '74 F100s - if you could find one........

 

[Big_Hitter]

Yea, I'd definitely stay away from '74 F100s - if you could find one........

runs great now - like new!

 

[Breedlove]

I really don't see a big difference in the sub compacts. Most manufacturers offer a 3 year 36K mile warranty lots of people trade cars after a couple years so the warranty works out . Most things on cars break after the warranty has expired . This is why people buy the off line warranties .

Mitsubishi offers 10 years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain.
Mitsubishi offers 5 years or 50,000 miles bumper to bumper
Roadside Assistance 5 years unlimited miles .
This is on a 13500.00 subcompact . Does Honda or Toyota offer that ?

I just want a car to run from the country to the city now and then and run the back country roads for some groceries to take place of our motorcycles.

My brother in Ohio owns an old Eclipse with over 250,000 miles
These cars do not have the flash , the dash or the marketing like others .
but are they a good car . In their class I don't see a great car all pretty much the same.

 

[Bamaman]

Whenever I see a car blowing smoke, it seems they are either a Mitsubishi or one of the old K Car derivatives by Chrysler. Oh wait, Chrysler used Mitsubishi engines in many K Cars.

A warranty is worth little on a car I don't enjoy driving because I will be trading that Puppy before any long term warranty is used.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Believe it or not, those old turbocharged K-cars are valued in some circles. My buddy who is into karting says the young guys who work at the kart track like to dial up the boost on them ... apparently they're surprising sleepers when they're running at the edge of destruction.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Whenever I see a car blowing smoke, it seems they are either a Mitsubishi or one of the old K Car derivatives by Chrysler. Oh wait, Chrysler used Mitsubishi engines in many K Cars.

A warranty is worth little on a car I don't enjoy driving because I will be trading that Puppy before any long term warranty is used.

Indeed. The last (and only) Chrysler I owned had a Mitsubishi engine, and it started blowing blue smoke at around 70K miles. The valve guides had slipped in the heads, pushing oil around them. The dealer refused to fix it, claiming I hadn't changed the oil, but Chrysler acknowledged the design flaw and covered the repair. Oh, and then the transmission had to be overhauled at under 100K miles. Before I bought it I had researched it, but by the time I sold it, it was on the "10 worst cars to own" list. It was a real lawn cigar.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've had good luck with Mazda products -- of course, over the years some Ford products were rebadged Mazdas and some Mazda models were rebadged Fords.

The Mazda-engineered cars we've owned have had supple suspensions and butter-smooth manual transmissions. The latest designs are quite attractive, especially the 3 hatchback. You won't get one out the door for $13K, but I think the extra $4K would be well spent. Car and Driver concurs. https://www.caranddriver.com/mazda/mazda-3

 

[pb4uski]

I owned two Mitsubishi Diamantes in the late 90s/early 2000s and they were a great car. But... I would not go anywhere near a Mirage... junk IMO. The reason that Mitsubishi offers such a good warranty is because no one wants to buy them given their reputation. even if the cost of all repairs are covered, the inconvenience of constantly having it in the shop would be difficult.