Fella bilong missus flodnak and I are now seriously hunting for a car. In our current financial situation, it seems wisest to go for a used car in the 1995-98 age range. Mainly, we want a reliable car that will be with us for a while, and because of that we’re looking at Japanese models.
Backseat space is important; we’re tall people and our older son will probably be a preteen/young teenager before we get rid of this car. We also want enough cargo space for a reasonable amount of luggage for a family of four on vacation. The fella has a yen for a station wagon, but realistically I think we’re looking at a mid-size to largish sedan or hatchback.
We are looking primarily at these models:
Mazda 626
Nissan Primera
Toyota Carina/Avensis
Helpful opinions from fellow Dopers would be greatly appreciated. (“Our Nissan was a pain in the ss" is helpful. "All furrin cars sck” is kinda useless.) THANK YOU!
A useful site for info on cars is the cartalk car info site. If you click on the “Survey Results” link you’ll be able to access the results of surveys of 95,000 car owners, many of whom have useful comments on the cars you’re considering.
Well, we’re talking different countries here, so YMMV.
I have a 1996 Toyota Tercel. I just googled the Carina, and it looks awfully like my Tercel. So it may be the same thing with a different name.
I’ve had great luck with my car. I have almost 93,000 miles on it, and the only money I’ve sunk into it (other than preventative maintenance and new tires) was $500 to replace an oxygen sensor that went bad about a month ago.
I have the 2 door version, so it’s kind of a pain to get into the backseat. But it’s a reliable car, gets GREAT gas mileage, and has served me well. If the Carina is a similar model, I’d certainly say the odds would be in your favor.
The Avensis looks to me like what we call a Camry wagon here in the US. I don’t have personal experience with it, but it certainly has a good reputation. IMHO Toyotas are great cars, and I would never hesitate to buy one. Only thing to be concerned with (on a used car) is whether the previous owner took reasonably good care of it.