In the way of background, my wife's vehicle is getting a bit long in the tooth: near the 100k mile mark and starting to have some problems. Nothing major yet but I get seriously stressed by unreliable vehicles. As is my normal routine I have started considering a new car for her. I usually buy new GM products and keep them for approximately 5 years / 100k miles, although this time for a variety of reasons the brand will probably change.
I see many here buy slightly used vehicles and keep them "til the wheels fall off" and I'm wondering how you are finding reliable used vehicles? The few used cars I have bought in my lifetime have invariably been lemons that the previous owners were happy to unload on someone else so I am very gun-shy about buying used.
I'm not a GM hater or anything (owned a 1995 Saturn SL1 that I bought new for 13 years and a 1986 Buick Skyhawk that we bought used for about 6 years), but TODAY, if you want reliability, no GM product would be my first pick -- well, strike that...if you buy a used (they stopped making them in 2010) Pontiac Vibe (which is really a Toyota Matrix), that's a pretty reliable car. I see you are considering a change.
If you're buying used,
New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews & Car Prices | Edmunds.com has some good info on reliability for cars from 2009 and older. They also have lots of customer reviews on newer cars that have seemed helpful to me in the past.
Toyota has righted the ship, and Honda, generally speaking (there are stinkers for ANY car maker) is the king of reliability in my opinion.
We bought a used 2005 Honda Accord in 2008, and other than tires and oil and gas, that car is as reliable as they come. I expect to get 200,000 miles on it before we get rid of it.
I also bought a NEW 2011 Honda CRV that today only has 24,000 miles on it, but of course, that car has a great reputation for reliability as well.
Finally, just earlier this month we became a 3-car family when my 16-year-old daughter passed her driver's license test. We bought her a 2006 Scion xA with 60,000 miles on it. Scion is made by Toyota. Awesome little car. Same engine that's in the Toyota Yaris, and a timing chain instead of a timing belt that should help keep maintenance costs to a minimum.
If I were to buy a new car for myself and I didn't have two kids and a big dog living at home, I would get one of the following:
Kia Soul - Kia made them for younger drivers, but older empty nester people are buying them in droves.
Scion xD - This is the evolution of the Scion xA...it's a little bigger with the Corolla engine, and it's a super cool-looking hatchback and of course with Toyota reliability.
If you need a super smooth ride or a VERY comfortable car, then the above two aren't for you though.
If I were getting an all electric car for just tooling around town, I would consider the Nisan Leaf (though I would need to research that a bit before buying). Someone in my neighborhood has one, and they are cool little cars.
Good luck with your search!