Next used car suggestions

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thoughts on the Mazda CX-9 or Mitsubishi Outlander?

I think at your budget, CX-7 is a better fit. you could grab around 50k milage CX-7 from 2011/2 at your budget
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/SUV+~+Crossover/Mazda?endYear=2017&firstRecord=0&makeCode1=MAZDA&maxMileage=60000&maxPrice=13000&mmt=[MAZDA[][]]&showcaseListingId=0&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1981&vehicleStyleCodes=SUVCROSS&Log=0
Don't know much outlander - last Mitsubushi I rode in was (i guess) base model gallant and it's interior quality were despicable.

But I do agree - Toyota, Honda and I'd add Subaru are typically more reliable.

If you don't have it yet - I highly recommend getting at least a month ($7 month or $30 annual) subscription to ConsumerReports - they have pretty extensive history of car quality owners ratings.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Other buying options you can consider are cars being sold by rental companies like Enterprise.

Of course do your homework. Consumer Reports annual issue, forums, find out the recalls that were done, CarFax, etc.

So let me get this straight, you are cautioning him against a Ford engine, but you recommend a used rental car? Rental cars are often abused and marginally maintained. I wouldn't own a used rental car if someone gave me one for free.

And for all of you recommending CR... would you take their advice on audio equipment? I thought so, and if not, why would you take their advice on an automobile?

 

[Irvrobinson]

But I do agree - Toyota, Honda and I'd add Subaru are typically more reliable.

I've heard this truism for years, and in my experience assisting friends in diagnosing their problems, I really wonder if this is case. Especially with Subarus, which I get often get as rental cars, and I wouldn't own one.

I have a friend who owns a repair shop in SoCal who specializes in Hondas and Toyotas, and he's told me how the cars I drive are so unreliable (even though problems seldom if ever happen), and I should get a Honda or an Acura. His shop makes a lot of money, as he likes to remind me. I have asked him, if Hondas are so reliable, why are you so rich?

 

[Chu Gai]

So let me get this straight, you are cautioning him against a Ford engine, but you recommend a used rental car? Rental cars are often abused and marginally maintained. I wouldn't own a used rental car if someone gave me one for free.

No, I'm not cautioning him. Earlier he said he wanted to avoid domestic products and I take that to mean foreign cars that contain domestic underpinnings. As far as rental cars, I'm talking about low mileage vehicles in the 12K or so range.

And for all of you recommending CR... would you take their advice on audio equipment? I thought so, and if not, why would you take their advice on an automobile?

This has nothing to do with their recommendations on audio equipment. WRT cars, they publish an annual issue, available at your local library for free, with statistical data on car makes spanning years gone by. It's compiled from surveys that individual users have responded to, It'll give you an idea what people as a whole have experienced. It's just one useful bit of information to process.

 

[rojo]

I've heard this truism for years, and in my experience assisting friends in diagnosing their problems, I really wonder if this is case. Especially with Subarus, which I get often get as rental cars, and I wouldn't own one.

I have a friend who owns a repair shop in SoCal who specializes in Hondas and Toyotas, and he's told me how the cars I drive are so unreliable (even though problems seldom if ever happen), and I should get a Honda or an Acura. His shop makes a lot of money, as he likes to remind me. I have asked him, if Hondas are so reliable, why are you so rich?

To draw a parallel, I recently had a conversation with my brother helping him shop for a new PC. He had his eye on a Dell. I work in IT for an organization that has a contract with Dell, so I deal with problems with Dell workstations on a daily basis. I told him I didn't have a lot of confidence in Dell computers, because I generally get one or two calls a week for a failed hard drive or a fried video card in a machine that's only 3-5 years old. I told him my wife's HP has been going strong for much longer, so far never needing any components replaced and never showing the slightest hint of instability.

He replied that his wife is still making use of a Dell at work that he bought back in 1995. He loves his own Dell work laptop. His home computer is an HP, and as he puts it, he "can't wait to throw that damn thing in the lake."

I guess in my organization with thousands of Dell workstations, one or two failures a week is statistically insignificant and inevitable. But since I'm the one who deals with the complaints, I perceive a trend of questionable quality control, of spec-ing out components to the lowest bidder.

Anyway Irv, I say all that to say that if your friend with the garage in SoCal is the one who hears complaints about Honda and Acura on a daily basis and still recommends them, that's either high praise or he's angling for one more customer.

I will offer a nugget in your favor, though. I just had to have my 2004 Acura TSX salvaged because I, umm, screwed up the engine. Not sure what component broke exactly, but it might've had something to do with driving it without checking the oil. It had a little over 170,000 miles on it. I was planning on trading it for a truck later this year anyway, so rather than having it fixed I just had it salvaged. I still got $1000 for it.

 

[Cosmic Char]

Consumerreports.org. It costs about $25 for an annual membership, and the detailed reports of older cars is well worth the value.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Anyway Irv, I say all that to say that if your friend with the garage in SoCal is the one who hears complaints about Honda and Acura on a daily basis and still recommends them, that's either high praise or he's angling for one more customer.

Just personal bias. I don't buy cars in the Honda price range, but the ones I've been in (my colleagues often drive them) don't appeal to me. I was shopping for an Acura RLX-class car recently, and test drove a hybrid RLX. It was pretty nice, but not my style at all. A Lexus IS 350 F-Sport came closer, but it was bigger than I really wanted, and not enough horsepower for such a fat car either. The build quality looked okay, but nothing special compared to other cars in its price class. I chose yet another "unreliable" German car that hasn't had a problem yet, but the navigation system programming is an ergo disaster.

I will offer a nugget in your favor, though. I just had to have my 2004 Acura TSX salvaged because I, umm, screwed up the engine. Not sure what component broke exactly, but it might've had something to do with driving it without checking the oil. It had a little over 170,000 miles on it.

This is an example of why I only buy new cars. You never know if a rojo owned it before.

 

[rojo]

This is an example of why I only buy new cars. You never know if a rojo owned it before.

Touché. Well, it ran like a top up until then anyway.

Want to see my new (to me) truck? I've managed to drive it about 500 miles so far without ruining it.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Nice truck! Huge, but nice.

 

[Alex2507]

This is an example of why I only buy new cars. You never know if a rojo owned it before.

You pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.

I sold a guy my old truck for $600 5 years ago and it's still running!

You're probably not buying vehicles in that price class either.

 

[rojo]

To put this thread back on topic, another possible option would be the Scion xB. It looks like you ordered a compact car then decided instead to drive the box it was shipped in. But it ticks all the check boxes for reliability, cargo room, and fuel economy.

Option 1 and Option 2 are currently listed just shy of 13 grand, but they'll both have been on the market for a month within a few days. You might be able to haggle one of those into your budget. Both have low mileage.

 

[Alex2507]

To put this thread back on topic, another possible option would be the Scion xB. It looks like you ordered a compact car then decided instead to drive the box it was shipped in. But it ticks all the check boxes for reliability, cargo room, and fuel economy.

Option 1 and Option 2 are currently listed just shy of 13 grand, but they'll both have been on the market for a month within a few days. You might be able to haggle one of those into your budget. Both have low mileage.

Nice mini vans with elongated hoods.

 

[jinjuku]

My Altima made it to 214K and I still managed to get $1500 out of it. I bumped into the kid that purchased it. 2 years later still driving it and rounding 3rd base for 250K.

I looked at the Altima when we were shopping in 2011 and I was really disappointed as the quality seems to had gone down.

I'll take a look at the xB.

 

[jinjuku]

I think at your budget, CX-7 is a better fit. you could grab around 50k milage CX-7 from 2011/2 at your budget
.

The CX-7 seems to hit a lot of the right notes. Just need to do some research.

 

[fuzz092888]

The CX-7 seems to hit a lot of the right notes. Just need to do some research.

Friend of mine has the CX-5 and has nothing but praise for it.