New car buying help needed!

[tvguy]

DS is an engineer in the auto industry. He drives an Accord. He says Honda is one of his more difficult customers as they are very demanding, but the bang for the buck is the best.

We've also owned Hondas, Lexus, and Fords. The Ford were ok, but did not match the 300k miles we got out of the Hondas (that were still alive and kicking, but we get tired of cars after 15 or so years). The Lexus is still going OK 13 years, but they are a lot pricier.

I'm a lowest cost per mile guy. So as most here know, I am inclined to fix rather than replace a car unless our needs change.
I've worked for companies the past 40 years that run fleets of cars, and that is also how they operated. Toyotas, Hondas and the like usually are disqualified because of the higher purchase price, which in California brings a higher registration cost and higher insurance costs.

 

[Skippy918]

I test drove the fit and Yaris a couple years back along with a few other models. The fit felt more peppy to me. The Yaris was really small. I ended up getting a Civic. I’m really happy with it.

 

[CynBeth]

I don’t remember which type of Honda it is but I have a co-worker who recently got hit by someone who made an illegal left turn and the airbag did not deploy like it should have and the seatbelt did not tighten. Thank goodness she was not seriously hurt but did get banged up and is in PT. I do not have all the details but she has an attorney who is going after the car company.

I know you did not mention it but I have a Chevy Cruz and my DH has a Chevy Equinox and we have both been very happy.

 

[CallieMar]

I had a 16 year old Toyota Corolla with over 200k miles on it. I loved that car, it ran great but honestly was starting to look like a beater lol. I bought a 2018 Corolla SE, I really like the styling (it’s not as dorky as older models) and mileage is great.

I rented a Chevy Malibu for two weeks on vacation and the one thing I hated about it is the fact that the engine actually shuts off at a stop as a gas saving feature. This sucks if you’re trying to slowly pull into a parking space! It was actually a pretty nice car to drive otherwise but that would be a dealbreaker for me.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Other than the VW, all are good choices. I'd run from the VW. DS and DDIL have a Jetta. Drives nice but all the dash electronics died literally a month after the warranty expired, at a cost of $2,000 and then the a/c compressor died at a cost of $1,300.

Yikes. That’s awful! I’m going to stay away from VW- so far haven’t heard anything great and my family advised against them as well.

I had a 16 year old Toyota Corolla with over 200k miles on it. I loved that car, it ran great but honestly was starting to look like a beater lol. I bought a 2018 Corolla SE, I really like the styling (it’s not as dorky as older models) and mileage is great.

I rented a Chevy Malibu for two weeks on vacation and the one thing I hated about it is the fact that the engine actually shuts off at a stop as a gas saving feature. This sucks if you’re trying to slowly pull into a parking space! It was actually a pretty nice car to drive otherwise but that would be a dealbreaker for me.

My mom has had two Corollas (2012 and 2014), both of which I shared with her when I lived at home. I really love them, but I think they may be out of my price range. And I drove a Malibu as a loaner for a few days a few weeks ago- totally forgot about the engine thing! I did not like that at all. It also did a strange vibrating thing when I drove it.

 

[Klayfish]

Yikes. That’s awful! I’m going to stay away from VW- so far haven’t heard anything great and my family advised against them as well.




My mom has had two Corollas (2012 and 2014), both of which I shared with her when I lived at home. I really love them, but I think they may be out of my price range. And I drove a Malibu as a loaner for a few days a few weeks ago- totally forgot about the engine thing! I did not like that at all. It also did a strange vibrating thing when I drove it.

Many cars have a "start/stop" feature to help save gas. Most of them can be turned off, and even if it can't, you'd get used to it.

FYI, I don't know the specifics of PPs friends car, but airbags don't have a "supposed to" for deploying. They're based on very complicated algorithms and take each situation individually. It may deploy in one left turn accident, and not deploy in another. I'd be pretty surprised if any lawsuit got anywhere unless it can be shown there was an actual defect in the hardware. I've seen bags deploy when it seems like there was absolutely no reason, and seen them not deploy when you'd think they should.

 

[CallieMar]

Many cars have a "start/stop" feature to help save gas. Most of them can be turned off, and even if it can't, you'd get used to it.

You’re right, I did get used to it since I had the car for two weeks, by basically trying to avoid it by lifting up off the brake enough to turn on the engine again at a stop light. Which defeated the purpose of having the feature at all lol. I hated it but I’m sure other people don’t mind it at all.

OP, one nice thing about Toyotas is that I believe all their cars, even the entry level ones, come standard with the safety features like lane departure warning and brake assist. I don’t know if other brands do the same, I’ve been a Toyota girl all my life. DH is the car enthusiast and the mechanic in the house but I just wanted a reliable car that will get me to work and is comfortable enough to take on a road trip once in a while.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Thanks for all the input so far everyone! I think I’ve modified/pinned down my test drive list to: Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla (found some in my range!), Kia Soul, Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3. Cheapest is the Elantra, most expensive is the Mazda3. But they’re all in roughly the same ballpark but there’s a great deal on the Elantra making it a few thousand $$ cheaper. I think I’ll stick to new cars unless my bank can offer the same interest rate for a used one.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for all the input so far everyone! I think I’ve modified/pinned down my test drive list to: Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla (found some in my range!), Kia Soul, Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3. Cheapest is the Elantra, most expensive is the Mazda3. But they’re all in roughly the same ballpark but there’s a great deal on the Elantra making it a few thousand $$ cheaper. I think I’ll stick to new cars unless my bank can offer the same interest rate for a used one.

My 2012 Elantra has been a great car so far, so I can recommend it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Kia Soul is my dream car.

 

[Hrhpd]

Hey all,

Looking for opinions on the cars I'm considering, all of which are new (2019 or 18): Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris (or Corolla if there's a good deal), Kia Soul, and Volkswagen Jetta. If anyone has any insight into these cars or brands I'd love to hear your opinions. I currently drive a Chevy Spark and I am at my wits' end with how many times this car has been in the shop (and my 3-year warranty is up now and I just hit 30k miles). I'm hoping to jump on an end of year deal. I'm leaning towards the Honda as they have such a great reputation, but there's things I like about the other cars as well. Thanks!

I have a KIA Sorento and would buy another KIA in a heartbeat. It is now almost 5 years old and except for the regular maintenance, I have never had anything go wrong with it. And maybe it is our dealer, but the KIA service department is one of the best we have ever used. We are an Acura / Audi / Mercedes family, so the KIA was a different brand for us. I wanted the Acura RDX, but at the time it did not come with the Technology package and that was a deal breaker for me.

So, I was actually looking at the Lexus and Mercedes SUVs at the time. Every article I read in Edmunds and other magazines all said they were good cars but a person should go check out the new Sorento. At the time, I would have told you I was so snobby I wouldn't be caught dead in a KIA. But for kicks and grins, we went and looked. I ended driving one home. Loved how it drove AND I got more bells and whistles than the overpriced "luxury" SUVs I was looking at AND saved over $20,000 from the Mercedes AND got a 10 year limited warranty.

I am now a huge, huge fan of any and all KIAs. DH is currently looking at Teslas and I keep telling him he should just get a KIA. He could have a well made KIA for every day of the week for what they want for those ridiculous Teslas. I know I will buy another Sorento when this one starts needing maintenance.

Make a long story short, the Soul would be my first choice.

 

[Klayfish]

Thanks for all the input so far everyone! I think I’ve modified/pinned down my test drive list to: Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla (found some in my range!), Kia Soul, Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3. Cheapest is the Elantra, most expensive is the Mazda3. But they’re all in roughly the same ballpark but there’s a great deal on the Elantra making it a few thousand $$ cheaper. I think I’ll stick to new cars unless my bank can offer the same interest rate for a used one.

You'll get much more bang for your buck going lightly used. But if you want new, as much as I like the Elantra, the Mazda is that much better. Don't bother with the Fit for highway needs, you won't be happy.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You'll get much more bang for your buck going lightly used. But if you want new, as much as I like the Elantra, the Mazda is that much better. Don't bother with the Fit for highway needs, you won't be happy.

THere are still a handful of heavily incentivized new cars, but for the most part Klayfish is exactly right. The used market has come back around & there are some great deals to be had.

I’m shopping for a used car right now & have kind of expanded my search to include some cars I wouldn’t have normally chosen just because the resale is so bad they make great deals as used cars. For the same price as a new Fit, you could (for example) get a lightly used Buick with all the bells & whistles and a much larger engine (but similar gas mileage). I’ve even looked at things like V6 Camaros because there are such great deals to be had compared to some of the more in demand mid-size sedans.

 

[tvguy]

You'll get much more bang for your buck going lightly used. But if you want new, as much as I like the Elantra, the Mazda is that much better. Don't bother with the Fit for highway needs, you won't be happy.

I swear by Hertz Used Car Sales. Bought both my kids cars from there 10+ years ago. My daughter bought a 2017 Fusion Hybrid in April from them. 16,000 miles, $16,250, one year old, two years and 20,000 miles left on the factory warranty.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Hey all- just wanted to update and say I went with a new Hyundai Elantra. I’m really happy with it and hopefully it’ll be a great car. Thank you again everyone for your input!!

 

[Disney Doll]

Out of all those you mentioned I’ve only owned a Toyota Corolla. Great car. Had it 13 years.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Other than the VW, all are good choices. I'd run from the VW. DS and DDIL have a Jetta. Drives nice but all the dash electronics died literally a month after the warranty expired, at a cost of $2,000 and then the a/c compressor died at a cost of $1,300.

We were given a VW Passat from the car rental place on our last trip to FL. It was the last full size car there, so we took it, even though we weren't wild about the idea. Well as we were leaving to go the the airport for our flight home, we couldn't get the key into the ignition. No way, no how. Multiple people tried (like, five). We learned that this was a common problem with the car and many owners had trouble getting a fix through VW; some actually never took the key out of the ignition, doing all kinds of dances around it (like covering it with a cloth and keeping a second key to get into the car with!). It was a big headache for us, we had to leave the car there (keys w hotel manager locked in safe), book it to the airport in a taxi, and try to deal with the rental company later on which was a huge PIA. Ugh. Our first ever experience w VW.

I rented a Chevy Malibu for two weeks on vacation and the one thing I hated about it is the fact that the engine actually shuts off at a stop as a gas saving feature. This sucks if you’re trying to slowly pull into a parking space! It was actually a pretty nice car to drive otherwise but that would be a dealbreaker for me.

My SUV has that feature, which I never use due to the hesitation it creates, but I have a button to shut it off.

Hey all- just wanted to update and say I went with a new Hyundai Elantra. I’m really happy with it and hopefully it’ll be a great car. Thank you again everyone for your input!!

Congratulations! Seems like a good choice! We've had two Hyundais as rentals and we were impressed with them, one was an Elantra and the other was a Sonata. We liked the Elantra better because it was more spacious and seemed more well appointed. Good luck with it! ETA I think I got that backwards - we liked the Sonata better, but we have a family of five.

 

[Klayfish]

Hey all- just wanted to update and say I went with a new Hyundai Elantra. I’m really happy with it and hopefully it’ll be a great car. Thank you again everyone for your input!!

 

[g00fy!]

Hey all- just wanted to update and say I went with a new Hyundai Elantra. I’m really happy with it and hopefully it’ll be a great car. Thank you again everyone for your input!!

Wonderful. You are going to love it.

Not to hijack your thread, but we are also in the market for a new or gently used car.

Has anyone used Carvana before?

We have an older model and DH really wants a another one. They are not a very popular car so there are no new ones in our state (nearest new one is 800 miles away.) Carvana has a great gently used one, only 2 years old, low mileage, clean carfax, have 7 days to inspect the car or return for full price, still has warranty left, and they drop it off at the house. What am I missing? Great price and great car on paper and have the opportunity to take it to our dealer to have it fully inspected. I am always thinking if it is too good to be true..... But then the price can be better because they don't have the brick and mortar costs that dealerships do.

Not sure I am ready for car vending machines though.

 

[Klayfish]

Carvana sells good cars, but are overpriced.

I don't know where you live, but I find it hard to believe there are no new Elantras in the entire state where you live. It's a VERY popular car.