Need replacement car want to keep budget low best options

[Anonymous]

Civics are great. An LX model, which is the base model is 25k. They actually look pretty sharp and are pretty roomy for a compact. Toyota Corollas are as vanilla as a car can get, but have a great track record in terms of reliability.

[Anonymous]

Chevy Malibu is good, cheap, safe and easy to maintain if just a daily driver

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made the mistake of buying an Impreza, stay far far away!! Oil issues till the cows come home. At least in my 2012 but I’ve heard on more recent models too.

Spend your hard earned money on something more reliable. No fun to get a quote from Subaru dealer for 4K to take apart engine and put in new gaskets.

Yeah the boxer engines worry me. Subarus seem safer in a crash, so I’m waffling on safety vs reliability, esp when dealing with bare bones car. AWD is a nice safety feature to for rough weather… but those gaskets have been cursed for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made the mistake of buying an Impreza, stay far far away!! Oil issues till the cows come home. At least in my 2012 but I’ve heard on more recent models too.

Spend your hard earned money on something more reliable. No fun to get a quote from Subaru dealer for 4K to take apart engine and put in new gaskets.

Yeah the boxer engines worry me. Subarus seem safer in a crash, so I’m waffling on safety vs reliability, esp when dealing with bare bones car. AWD is a nice safety feature to for rough weather… but those gaskets have been cursed for years.

Shrug. My 2013 Impreza is sitting in my driveway right now. Has never had any issues other than regular maintenance and replacement of parts. Like I need new brakes soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made the mistake of buying an Impreza, stay far far away!! Oil issues till the cows come home. At least in my 2012 but I’ve heard on more recent models too.

Spend your hard earned money on something more reliable. No fun to get a quote from Subaru dealer for 4K to take apart engine and put in new gaskets.

Yeah the boxer engines worry me. Subarus seem safer in a crash, so I’m waffling on safety vs reliability, esp when dealing with bare bones car. AWD is a nice safety feature to for rough weather… but those gaskets have been cursed for years.

I wanted to love my Subarus and Volkswagens but both we cursed with major problems at 100k-150k, which soured me on both brands. It's only Hondas and Toyotas for me now. Specifically, I like the Toyota Prius, Corolla and Rav4. Also, the Honda Fit and Odyssey. The Fit is just about perfect so they quit selling it, of course.

[Anonymous]

Mazda is the best bang for the buck. Can get something under $30k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we unexpectedly need a new car and are kind of scrambling on what to buy.

This is kind of a secondary car for commuting, so my first impulse would be to get something like a Honda Civic or Kia forte. Does anyone have any recommendations for which small but car is reliable and safe? It seems like Honda is actually not ranked as highly anymore so I feel very uninformed.

The used car market still seems inflated compared to pre-pandemic, so the value for a reliable used car seems to be somewhat lower than just buying new and having those productive years? I know that was the case for several years during the pandemic. Is it still better to buy new, we can afford it. We’re just trying to save up money for college in a couple years.

And then there is the electric option. Is there an affordable electric now? I think even the cheapest store around 50k and I don’t think any rebates from the government really move the needle anymore, right? Maybe I am just not following along?

I tried searching on Edmunds, but it only seems to give me actual cars for sale rather than expected pricing for a range of cars, maybe I need to use a computer.

Haven’t bought a new car in a decade so kind of flummoxed

If you are leasing Hyundai has a lot of deals on electric. 36 year lease for total payout $11,500.

Also the gas car market is down 10-20% depending on brand. So there are a boatload of deals. Used EVs and Gas cars are pretty cheap also.

[Anonymous]

You can buy a 2023 Volvo xc40 recharge for about $29-34k depending on the model.

[Anonymous]

Just got a used crv. Love Hondas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made the mistake of buying an Impreza, stay far far away!! Oil issues till the cows come home. At least in my 2012 but I’ve heard on more recent models too.

Spend your hard earned money on something more reliable. No fun to get a quote from Subaru dealer for 4K to take apart engine and put in new gaskets.

Yeah the boxer engines worry me. Subarus seem safer in a crash, so I’m waffling on safety vs reliability, esp when dealing with bare bones car. AWD is a nice safety feature to for rough weather… but those gaskets have been cursed for years.

I wanted to love my Subarus and Volkswagens but both we cursed with major problems at 100k-150k, which soured me on both brands. It's only Hondas and Toyotas for me now. Specifically, I like the Toyota Prius, Corolla and Rav4. Also, the Honda Fit and Odyssey. The Fit is just about perfect so they quit selling it, of course.

Had a manual gearbox Honda Fit. Japanese made go-cart wrapped in a Tardis. It was a dream.