As a fag from another board whose looking for a cheap used car ($5000-$10000 range) what are your opinions on the reliability of different brands of cars as they've aged over the years? I'm mostly looking in the last decade vehicles, but all I know about car reliability is that Toyotas are good and Hondas are easy to fix.
I come to you so you can slap the crap out of me with your knowledge on basic reliability cause I don't trust those user reviews from sites like Edmunds (majority of them are just trying to justify themselves for buying that car) or all the shitty blogs making top 10 lists of the most reliable vehicles.
>Inb4 lurk moar
I have, All I've seen is you guys having some type of weird love for Initial D, a hatred of all things Nissan and certain aspects of tuner culture (Stance), and Stolen Recaros being the only guy talking about Murican cars in here.
>>13993645
Get a Fiat 500
>>13993645
It's not just the brand that matters, but also the model.
Get a Civic, Accord, Camry, or Corolla.
I wish bikes looked that rad
>>13993662
I wish I had a big penis
>All I've seen is you guys having some type of weird love for Initial D, a hatred of all things Nissan and certain aspects of tuner culture (Stance), and Stolen Recaros being the only guy talking about Murican cars in here.
lel
It's kind of difficult to give you reliability info about every $5000 - $10000 car made within the last decade, but "Civic, Accord, Camry, or Corolla" is a good start.
There are are lots of brand-specific or even car-specific forums on the internet, and most of them will have a "common issues" or "buying guide" thread somewhere with information about stuff to look out for with that certain model of car.
Any idea about what else you're looking for in your car besides price range and "reliable"? Any specific cars you've had your eye on?
>>13993659
>It's not just the brand that matters, but also the model.
This is so true.
Spend some time flipping through the reliability rankings of Consumer Reports or others, and you'll see huge gaps between different models from the same manufacturer, and even from model year to year within the same model. Most models have a huge nosedive in reliability the first couple model years after a redesign, which slowly improves until the next redesign.
Here's a mostly complete list of the USED cars Consumer Reports gave their highest reliability scores to. They are mostly very boring cars. I compiled it earlier this summer using their most recent used car report (2009-2014) and a back issue from 2009 to cover the older years (2003-2008).
Acura TSX 2010-2012
Audi A5 2012-2013
--Ford--
Fusion 2008-2009
Mustang, V8 only, 2007
-- Honda --
Accord, 4cyl only, 2007 & 2011-2012
Civic 2011-2014
Crosstour 2010
Fit 2007-2014
-- Infiniti --
FX 2007
G sedan 2009-2011
M 2007
-- Lexus --
CT200h, all years
ES 2007-2014
GX 2007-2008 & 2013-2014
IS250 2010-2012
LS 2009-2014
Mazda3 2011 & 2013
Mercedes C-class 2013-2014
Nissan Maxima 2013
Pontiac Vibe 2007-2008 & 2010
Scion xB 2009-2014
-- Subaru --
Impreza 2014
Legacy 2010 & 2012-2014
Outback 2010-2013 & 2014
-- Toyota --
Avalon 2010-2012
Camry, 4 cylinder only, 2010-2012
Corolla 2007 & 2010-2013
Matrix 2006-2008
Prius, 2003-2014
Vensa 2011-2013
Yaris 2007-2010 & 2012
-- Volkswagen --
Eos 2013
Rabbit 2013
>>13993760
Mostly looking at something japanese or murican, with some room for cargo while at the same time not being giant gas guzlers, so my options are limited to wagons and those small SUVs (Rav 4, Xterra, CR-Vs, etc) also snows a bit here occasionally (maybe 3-4 times a year) so if I can get me some 4 wheel drive that'd be great, but it's not a premium.
>>13993820
Subaru Legacy wagon could be a good bet. All wheel drive and the newer models are pretty solid. The Legacy GT is the more powerful turbocharged model which will have to take premium gas and is more prone to some expensive failures, so stay away from it if you care more about gas money than performance.
Sort of an oddball option but you could look at Volvo V70s as well. Parents bought one new back in 1997, 18 years and 300,000 kilometers later and the only thing that's had to be replaced outside of regular maintenance is the alternator.
also worth mentioning that even "reliable" cars can be huge money pits if the previous owner hasnt taken care of it properly. Even if Civics are known as reliable cars, if youre buying one off a shithead teenager that hasnt changed the oil in 50,000 miles that Consumer Reports rating doesn't mean anything.
Make sure the car you buy has some kind of service history, and take it to a reputable mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection before agreeing to buy it to avoid getting fucked over.
>>13993820
That's a bit better.
Wagons are basically dead and sold in very low numbers over the past decade or two, so used ones command a pretty high price premium. Subarus are the exception to this rule, because they just build so many of them.
Small SUV's, on the other hand, are the biggest part of the car market right now. It seems like every manufacturer these days is selling a half dozen models of small SUV in one-foot increments of size.
Your price range knocks heavy hitters like the CR-V and RAV4 out of the running, unless you settle for a fully-worn-out high mileage example.
In that price range, with your criteria, you're gonna see a lot of:
> Jeep Compasses & Patriots
> Ford Escapes
> Hyundai Sante Fes & Tucsons
and of course
> Outbacks
Of those, the Tucsons and the (4 cylinder) Outbacks are the ones that do best on the big reliability tests.
I think if you find a soccer-mom's used Outback Limited with under 100,000 miles, you should be OK. It will be a comfier car than the Tucson IMO, although it has lower ground clearance and weighs more. That lower height buys it a much better highway MPG than any compact SUV, but city mileage sucks just as bad because of the weight.
The ComPatriot twins used to have crap reliability, but got better the longer they were built, so are now merely average, on the whole.
The base model Escape has medocre reliability ratings, but the Hybrid models have proven rock solid in taxi service.
the Hyundai Santa Fe USED to be a very reliable SUV, but somewhere around 2010 its reliability ratings just absolutely tanked.
hmm
we need some sort of sticky to help these kinds of people
oh wait
>>13994152
The best insurance against this is buying a low mileage car.
Always assume that zero maintenance has occurred since the warranty ran out.
If reliability is a concern, under 75k is best, 100k at the absolute maximum. Just because they don't break down doesn't mean they don't wear out. I'd rather have a 20,000 mile Yugo than a 200,000 mile corolla.
>>13994205
Eh, sticky only applies to the sub $5000 price range and includes cars older than 10 years.
I don't really mind the occasional thread helping someone from another board out, it's better content than the daily FRS/BRZ and Corvette vs GTR shitposting threads anyways
