So I am in the market for a used car. I am wanting something that gets good gas mileage (35+ on the highway), has a good record for reliability, is affordable, and has decent safety ratings.
So far I figure the toyota Echo/Yaris, corolla, honda accord & civic are my best guesses.
Are there other cars that fit that bill?
Financially, I can afford to spend a fairly decent amount (up to 10k) but I’m a cheapass. I’d really rather not spend that kind of money and deplete my savings.
I see some 2001 echo models for $2000-2500 online with about 160k miles. And I wonder if it’d be better to get one of those than spend $5000 on a 2005 model with 110k miles.
That is what I’m having trouble with. How old is too old? I’ll spend more money for a better car, but if a 2001 toyota or Honda will last another 5 years, I don’t see why I’d need to spend twice as much to buy a 2004/2005 model.
Questions like this are confusing, which is why I like to ask a bunch of people I barely know who don’t trust me enough to tell me their real names. Go.
Well the ongoing joke is that everybody ends up buying a Honda Fit. I know a couple people who are very satisfied with theirs. Personally though, my car doesn’t get good mileage, isn’t reliable, and isn’t affordable, though it is relatively safe, so I don’t have any experience to share…
There’s no single correct answer to this. My own feeling is, I’d rather get a younger/lower mileage car with a somewhat lesser reputation for quality, than to buy a high mileage car simply because the brand is supposed to be good. There are enough things that will go wrong with a car once it reaches a certain point (rust is the most obvious) that can’t be cost-effectively repaired, that I’d rather take a chance with parts breaking that can be repaired.
There are some less popular models that have good reputations. Most Mazdas, for example. And don’t forget that the old Chevrolet Prizm and Pontiac Vibe were built on the same assembly line and platform as Toyota Corollas.
I have a 2002 Hyundai Accent, and couldn’t be happier with it. It’s the hatchback, and you can fit a ton of stuff in there, it’s easy to park, and it’s been very reliable; I’ve only had scheduled maintenance.
I guess I’m part of the punchline because I ended up with a Fit in March when I was looking. It was actually cheaper new than I found used (since I was only looking for 2009+ used).
I love the damn thing, great gas mileage (I get about 30-32mpg and most of my driving is done on the surface streets). When I do get some good highway mileage in, it bumps up to about 38-40mpg. Surprisingly roomy inside, fun to drive, but it doesn’t have the best pick and go (but it has paddle shifters, so I can easily drop it down a gear to get a little more oomph to get up to speed when I need it).
I don’t know what the previous year’s models are like, or what their used prices go, so they may be out of your range.
A word to the wise: dealer “certified” cars still need to be checked out thoroughly before purchase. In my case, I bought a certified 4Runner with 32K on it. I found out later that the spare tire was bad (someone had swapped out the stock tire with an old snow tire), the jack handle was missing (the part needed to lower the spare from underneath the truck), and the 30K maintenance had never been done on it (various fluids hadn’t been changed).