Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We absolutely love our Passat. It's a workhorse. It has 160k miles and hasn't ever had anything wrong with it. We do acknowledge it's nearing the end of it's life though.

A car at 160k miles should not be nearing the end of its life. Maybe it works for you, maybe that's all you wanted from it, maybe you're happy to get rid of it at this point and you're not concerned about trade-in value because you're not cost-sensitive, but the point is, 160k miles and "nearing the end of its life" is not a "workhorse." It's below average.

How long do you keep cars for?! It's 15 years old. Like I said, nothing is wrong with it, I'm just getting scared to take it on road trips due to the age.

None of those. Find a civic or corolla in your price range.

Anonymous wrote:We absolutely love our Passat. It's a workhorse. It has 160k miles and hasn't ever had anything wrong with it. We do acknowledge it's nearing the end of it's life though.

A car at 160k miles should not be nearing the end of its life. Maybe it works for you, maybe that's all you wanted from it, maybe you're happy to get rid of it at this point and you're not concerned about trade-in value because you're not cost-sensitive, but the point is, 160k miles and "nearing the end of its life" is not a "workhorse." It's below average.

Of those three, the Lexus.

But the Lexus is a gussied up Camry. So if you're looking for safe, economical transportation, then for the same cost, you should be able to get a Camry that is either newer and with more modern safety features, or the same age with fewer miles, or some combination thereof.

My second choice is the Fusion.

Do not buy a VW.

We absolutely love our Passat. It's a workhorse. It has 160k miles and hasn't ever had anything wrong with it. We do acknowledge it's nearing the end of it's life though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the above. Look for a Honda, Subaru or Toyota. The Ford and Jetta have reliability issues and the Lexus has too many miles on it.

+1

This is the right answer. If it is not too small for your needs, look at the Toyota Yaris.

Last year, I bought a 2007 Ford Fusion with 84k miles on it for 10k. I have similar driving habits as OP. Hope to use this car for at least 3 years with no major repairs. SO far I am very happy.

Anonymous wrote:None of the above. Look for a Honda, Subaru or Toyota. The Ford and Jetta have reliability issues and the Lexus has too many miles on it.

+1

VW is absolute garbage. It will nickel and dime you to death. Everyone I know with a VW more than 5 years old or 75k miles hates it and wants to set fire to it.

The Lexus will be your best bet, it's basically a Toyota Camry/Avalon and will last another $150k miles or more.

The Ford is so-so, even a bad one will still be more reliable and cheaper to fix than a VW

None of the above. Look for a Honda, Subaru or Toyota. The Ford and Jetta have reliability issues and the Lexus has too many miles on it.

Jetta. I would not want an old car, high mileage.

Anonymous wrote:Avoid the Jetta. Unreliable and expensive to fix (European, expensive parts).

A Jetta with only 58 k miles should be reliable. Mine is still going strong with 165 k miles.

Avoid the Jetta. Unreliable and expensive to fix (European, expensive parts).

Lexus

Ford and VW are famously unreliable with age

We're considering the following:


2009 Ford Fusion SE 84 k miles

2012 Volkswagons Jetta 58 k miles

2009 Lexus ES 350 FWD 118 k miles

All cars are roughly $8500 out the door. We have a toddler and do not drive long distances. I work from home and my husband's work is 5 minutes away. We drove 18 k miles in the last 5 years.