I used Caravan to purchase a 2017 Toyota with low miles. Such a pleasure not to deal with a car dealership!

I spent much of my mid-20s at the repair shop with my Jetta.
Never again.

We have had three VWs. Cabriolet, Golf and Jetta. Probably won't buy another one. They were okay but not great. Our Mazdas and Hondas have been better.

Had a Jetta once, never again,the upkeep and repair costs are not worth the hassle. I bought a used Corolla 10 years ago with 40k, think it was three years old. It’s shows it’s age but no major repairs at all (max $7-800 in an off year, plus regular maintenance, new tires). 185k miles and still going strong.

The above posters are right. Look around and you should be able to find a brand new base model Corolla for under $17K if you're lucky.

I'm all for buying used cars, but for the particular market segment of "reliable small sedan," and you plan on keeping the vehicle a while, in the current market you're better off just buying a new Corolla or Civic than anything you'll generally find on the used market. You can find a good deal on a used vehicle in that category, but they're few and far between.

And always choose Toyota over VW if you're looking at reliability.

Because VWs are shit cars. I bought myself a Jetta when I graduated from college and starting my first “real” job. It was cute, and fun to drive, but so unreliable and costly to maintain. Never again.

Honda fit

Last fall I wanted to buy my daughter a late model small car. Used decent late model cars are like 14k. And at 20k miles, tires and brakes 1/2 worn out and most of warranty gone.

I ended up buying a brand new Chevy Cruz for 16k with a full warranty. Plus the car had apple car play and some new features the 2-3 year old cars don't have

I am cheap and never buy new. But 2k difference to go used is crazy

Do not buy a VW. Nice cars but crazy maintenance costs. I seriously would not accept a free VW based on 12 years of owning a properly maintained Passat.

+1 on the reliability issue

Former VW owner

Because VW makes crappy cars. If you are leasing or only plan to own it for a few years, fine, but you will have zero reliability with a VW over the long term.

VW repairs & parts are going to be higher.

A VW Jetta was my dream car ages ago when I graduated from college. My grandparents got it for me as a gift and it was not cheap to maintain. I'd never own another.

Toyotas are better

You'd be much better off getting a new Corolla for $18k.

You specifically said you wanted reliability. Volkswagens are shit cars.

I generally prefer to buy used cars, but I'm tired of trekking out to used-car dealers in Rockville every weekend if the best I can get with less than 50k miles is a used Toyota Corolla for $14,000 or a Mazda 3 for $12,000. Wouldn't it make more sense to just buy a new Jetta for $18,000? I really don't care what kind of a car I have, I just need something reliable, simple with good visibility for my commute. I'm thinking that the extra $4k I spend on a new car is worth the reduced repair costs/risk of a lemon. Am I right or wrong? Please tell me what to do! Thanks.