Yeah I just don’t think this is possible nowadays without flatly lying about being interested in a loan. They are not interested in haggling on the sticker price only on the down payment and payments (which of course gives them far more ways to screw you over while still giving you the numbers you want)
They are very reliable, but any brand could have a flood salvage vehicle.
Consumer Reports lists the Jeep as the least reliable car in America.
Subaru is one of the most reliable, it is in the top 5, maybe the top.
FWIW the last time I used my “stick to private sellers, get a mechanic to inspect it” strategy was back in 2006ish and I ended up with a Subaru Impreza. Best car I ever had. Rock solid, survived decades of commuting, road trips across the West, ski trips to the Sierras in feet of snow. Survived 15 years, I left it with a friend when we moved to East coast, who left it at the long term car park at his marina, it ended up getting towed and then sold to pay the towing fees during Covid.
In fact, I just got the annual “car guide” issue of Consumer Reports on Friday. In it, the Subaru Crosstrek, Outback, and Forester are all given the top ratings in their segments.
Thanks, I just got it, but havent read it yet.
Can I ask something about Carmax? I see it recommended here a lot, but my question how are they able to be less sketchy than the rest? I mean, sounds like a basic business idea, right… offer a good service at a fair price, create satisfied customers who give you good word-of-mouth… but then if that works, why haven’t ALL the used car dealers copied that model? How come Carmax is able to do it when so few others can?
They make really fantastic cars in recent model years, especially for snow & mud and outdoor adventures. I’ve spent a lot of time in small outdoorsy towns, and probably 70% of the cars you see at the trailheads are Subarus, and people tend to buy them again and again. My next car will be another Subaru, as will my GF’s, and her sister’s, and many of our friends’.
That said, some of their older models (before 2010 or so?) had frequent and expensive head gasket issues, since remedied. The WRX model (only) has poorer reliability reviews compared to the rest. And their hybrids have generally been terrible in terms of fuel economy, barely adding any MPGe over the gas model. That said, there is an upcoming 2025 Forester Hybrid that promises a redesign and better fuel economy. We’ll see. They also make a plug-in electric now, the Solterra (which was co-developed and rebadged/shared badged with Toyota, their partial owner… basically the same car as the Toyota bZ4x and the Lexus RZ).
Those caveats aside… I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who wasn’t happy with their Impreza, Crossover, Forester, or Outback. They are really fantastic cars. Some are made in the US too, so may be able to dodge the tariffs?
By contrast, every Jeep owner I’ve known (which wasn’t many, only like 3-4) all had various nonstop issues with them. Maybe in some limited circumstances a Jeep’s locking 4WD (in some models) will outperform the AWD in a Subie, but… very few regular people ever drive those conditions.
A caution note about the ‘reliable’ car brands. While yes, they do tend to be more reliable, through many years of reviewing reliability reports some of those brands have cars and specific model years that are more problematic. E.g., search on ‘poor reliability Honda’ to see about problems with transmission, front brakes, fuel pump, and airbags.
And yes I did know about Jeep’s not-good quality issues before I bought my Grand Cherokee in 2014. It was a known risk but thankfully I was in a situation where I could afford to take that risk. All things considered I’m glad I got it. I learned a lot about off-roading and what a vehicle can do, and more importantly how experience will enable one to do better. In my one year of ownership of the Outback Wilderness, I’ve seen how very capable it is out on the trails.
I was reading through it last night, as we’re seriously thinking about trading in one of our current cars, and getting a new Outback, in the next year or two. I was glad to see how highly it’s rated, though a new Outback generation is apparently coming out later this year. We used to have an Outback, and loved it.
Our old Outback was a 1997, and that was the one real issue we had with it.
(Edit: I hope this isn’t too off-topic. If it’s not an easy/short reply, maybe it’d be better as a linked topic? My bad if so.)
Any tips for the rest of us who only normally drive on trails, like for getting un-stuck from snow & mud (or better yet, not getting stuck in the first place)? My 2016 Subaru has a toggle for traction control, but the new ones seem to have various “X-Modes” for snow/mud/ice/lava/who knows what else. It’s not clear to me how pushing a button would magically make the car perform better…
I do wish Subie (or anyone) offered some advanced driving workshops for adverse conditions.
My last car purchase was in 2023 but I didn’t talk method of payment until we had landed on a price. It came up, of course, but I was just “Let’s handle the price first” and didn’t get any pushback.
This doesn’t mean I fooled them with my clever ruse (I was financing through a credit union) but we did negotiate on what the final price would be before they sent me to finance and I told them it was taken care of. He asked what rate I was getting, said he couldn’t match it and sent me along to the next step.
I think by charging more. Carmax gives you a more traditional retail experience when buying a car but many people still want to haggle and negotiate on price and Carmax’s prices start higher than comparable vehicles (in my experience). So you’re deciding to pit your skills against the dealer to try to arrive at the best possible price or you think “I fucking hate car shopping” and are willing to pay the extra to know you’re not getting screwed, getting a good warranty and a more no-hassle experience.
Makes sense, lol. Just reading your post was stressful and I immediately thought, “hell yeah, I’d pay a little more to avoid all that”.
A LOT of mainstream car dealerships are going that way now too. There is a price on the sticker on the window. Your choices about that price are “yes” and “no”.
Everybody, including most consumers, have access to the same computerized pricing models. Within any single make, model, and year, the cars, both new and used, are interchangeable commodities.
I started a dedicated thread for this. HTH!
I once looked at a used Corolla. I took it to my mechanic for a look-see and he informed me that the car had been in a major accident. He could tell that by looking at the paint job. So, you never know with a used car.
My point was, and remains, that the cars from Toyota and Honda are manufactured to be extremely reliable over a very long time. That a particular used Corolla was in a major accident doesn’t invalidate my argument.
Definitely agreed, which is what Carfax is for, I imagine.
As has been noted upthread, the term “lemon” technically refers to a car that is problematic from the start, and rolled off the assembly line with major flaws. The Corolla you looked at was likely a fine car until that accident.
Maybe it would have just taken being insistent and not revealing how I was planning to pay to change their mind. But they definitely gave the impression were not interested in haggling on the sticker price, they really reacted like I was trying to haggle at Walmart. Of course as I said above, they do this for a living and they could have just clocked that I was not going to walk away because they didn’t knock a couple of hundred bucks off they sticker price, so they didn’t.
If the OPer or anyone else goes the same route I’d be interested to know if refusing to talk about financing until the price is nailed down works for them in 2025 (this was in Virginia FWIW)
Carfax will only tell you if something has happened that’s resulted in some paperwork in the record, e.g. it’s an insurance write-off. Thats important but there are plenty of things that can make a car a terrible buy (e.g. a major mechanical failure) but won’t appear in the Carfax
I would take a look at Mazda as well. I haven’t looked at the most recent data, but as of a few years ago Mazda was basically tied with Toyota in Consumer Reports’ reliability ratings (And I’m a fan of Mazda).
Agreed. I’m on my second Mazda3 hatchback in a row and wouldn’t hesitate to buy a third.