Need an affordable used commuter car- what should I get?

[buddybikes]

Get a Vespa and enjoy life

[paredown]

Originally Posted by ronlau

Might I suggest you try to find a used Benz E320 Wagon?

My mechanic suggested that to me and I bought one since. Below is the list of reason why I like it.

1. Reliable engine.
2. Fit a bike without taking wheels off.
3. 3rd row rear facing seats for kids.
4. Insurance and dmv registration is low compare with newer cars.
5. Almost 100% analog. Which I love.

Mine is year 2000, cost me less than set of new Carbon wheels.

Which part of North CA are you in? I live in Bay Area and you can come check it out yourself.

Ron

Curious as to what year you ended up with?

This option has been on my list for a while--although we ended up with the Acura TSX (that I don't love). I remember a recent thread on BringaTrailer where someone was waxing poetic about E320 wagons and am curious about years to watch out for etc.

[carpediemracing]

I'm going from anecdotal evidence, working in the auto repair industry. I'd buy really new or pretty old. I'd also avoid, if transportation is the main thing, euro brands.

Our personal fleet consists of really new (2017 Civic, bought new) and pretty old (2001 Suburban, bought in 2017, and 2002 Sentra, bought in 2016). We bought all our vehicles at the same time due to having previously owned two VW TDIs that VW bought back from us (they were not trouble free for sure which is why we didn't buy 2 more).

A new Civic is basically as big as a slightly older Accord. I haven't checked leg room dimensions etc but it's huge, and a hatchback would be my preference (wasn't offered with the trim option - heated seats and manual - at the time so we got the sedan). It's the 1.5 liter turbo (no issues with the gas thing as of yet, 30k mi), typically gets about 35-40 mpg around town, 42-44 mpg highway (maybe higher? We don't take many road trips now).

Because of our kid I sit in the back whenever we all go out (except when I'm driving or for very long road trips where the Missus wants company up front), so I've been sitting in the back seat since the car was new. It's quite spacious and very doable, not as tight as the VWs we had prior (2010 Jetta wagon, 2010 Golf).

I'm not sure of corrosion in NorCal but in CT it's bad. I needed a tow vehicle to legally pull a 7000 lbs rated trailer. For $10k around here you have to choose which two cross members have rusted away, or if you want 18" of frame gone on one side or 9" gone from both sides /s. It's really bad. For $5400 ($3800vehicle+$1000 shipping+$500 buyer fee for my friend) I got a pristine 2001 Suburban from AZ, well maintained, so rust free that the exhaust had no rust on it. I perused Craigslist and would text promising vehicles to my friend, he looked at 3?, and the 3rd was the one. I PayPal'ed the money to him prior. And I trusted him because I'd done transactions with him before, I literally placed my life in his hands, and he apparently rebuilt the transmission in his truck (!!!).

I also found a pristine heavily modified car (02 Sentra) for $8k. It had 24k miles on it, was essentially brand new, and in fact at this time has fewer miles on it than the Missus's 17Civic. By now all its stock weaknesses have been identified (for my car, butterfly screws and exhaust cat) and both were handled by prior owner. Getting an older car with problems sorted is great.

At work I see cars that are about 15-20 years old with maybe 20-40k miles on them. If you can find one I'd look at it carefully, even with the premium such sellers usually tack on. Yes, the tires need to be replaced. Yes it's an older car. But if you don't mind dealing with that stuff then it's a nice way to drive.

The three things lacking with older cars is the safety, gas mileage, and power.

Safety - Door sills are not shoulder height (they're lower), lower hood (hurts pedestrians and cyclists you hit much more), no backup camera (req since 2015?), no anti skid control (required since 2012), not as many air bags, vehicles are lighter so probably crumple a bit more, etc.

For mileage - cars nowadays, at least in the same category, get much better mileage. The Sentra, even without mods, was a 25 mpg car. The Civic is a 35-40 mpg car, with the same HP (175 for both, stock). The Suburban is maybe 12-15 mpg, and newer ones will get closer to 20 mpg - a huge difference is windshield angle and air flow control at the bottom of the bumper. My Suburban's windshield looks upright compared to a current one, and current Suburban/Silverados have a lower bumper (first seen on the Tahoe Hybrid, the large reason why mileage went up on the highway for the Tahoe Hybrid).

Power - my Suburban has 295 hp I think. That's only a bit more than the current sedans, and well below the current generation's 400 hp. Sentra (Spec-V so the "sporty" one) is closer to now, 175 hp, but now that's a stock Civic 1.5, the Civic being better behaved, quieter, smoother, and getting 60% better mileage (with same width tires even). The Civic Si, not that much more, is over 200 hp, and there are loads of cars with 250-300 hp, and they probably get better mileage than my Sentra when it was stock.

For things I've seen:
- Slightly older 4 cal 2.5 liter Subarus burn oil, and should get regular synthetic oil changes.
- The 3.2 liter6 cylinder Subaru is virtually indestructible.
- Alternator in a V6 Camry/Lexus-whatever-car is a big job, like 4 hours, because it's in a ridiculous place.
- Certain headlights require removal of bumper to install bulb. Ford Fusion is most common car where this is the case. 1.5 or more hours labor. Dodge Ram pick up is another, maybe 1-1.2 hours?
- Prior gen Colorado pick up truck front rotors have bearings pressed into them. Doing the front brakes is a 4? hour job. I can't look it up but it's big. Normal is 0.8 to 1.0.
- adaptive headlights (the ones that steer) are crazy expensive. Cadillac older one (2012?) might be $3k to replace a busted headlamp assembly. The Cadillac service manager told me never to buy such a car without a warranty.
- get good tires, and matching ones if you have AWD or sensitive traction control etc.
- I've seen more Rogue and Murano blown transfer cases than any other vehicle, all of them run on mismatched tires for a year or three. The Murano hack fix is to simply remove the rear driveshaft. Effective actually.
- If you buy a disposable car (like an old Elantra for $500 or whatever) then treat it as such. Get safety things (tires, brakes) and drive it until something fails. I have coworkers that do that - one got a $500 Accent 3 years ago? and the transmission failed this year. It was his winter daily, and well worth the cost.

[Hawker]

Used Camry or Accord, 4 cyl, not 6. Generally they both run forever with regular oil changes. I've had great luck with both multiple times...but I've had Camry's that I've given away with 200K miles on them....and they are still running today five or six years later. However....the one costly thing I've dealt with on both brands is the AC after about 150K miles. Buy at least two years old and more than likely you'll have made a wise long-term purchase. Also, both cars have enthusiast forums and you should check those out for any possible lemon issues that occasionally arise with just about every brand at some time.

Good luck.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by Hawker

Used Camry or Accord, 4 cyl, not 6. Generally they both run forever with regular oil changes. I've had great luck with both multiple times...but I've had Camry's that I've given away with 200K miles on them....and they are still running today five or six years later. However....the one costly thing I've dealt with on both brands is the AC after about 150K miles. Buy at least two years old and more than likely you'll have made a wise long-term purchase. Also, both cars have enthusiast forums and you should check those out for any possible lemon issues that occasionally arise with just about every brand at some time.

Good luck.

Yeah this is very sage advice.

Just from my personal experience of the last 20 years of car ownership:
-4 cyl Accords and Camrys are basically unkillable. With regular oil changes the min is 300K miles on the engine, with sporadic maintenance 200k. Comfy if not a bit spartan, Accord has better ride/handling/steering/feel vs Camry but Camry has better NVH/comfort/smoothness.
-The standard German engines (ie not the special or high-perfomance models) are very reliable IF THEY'VE HAD REGULAR MAINTENANCE. Can't stress this enough. They should be good for 150k miles plus with regular maintenance, but unless you buy from a meticulous original owner this is a crapshoot. And a pre-purchase inspection is a must.
-MUSA vehicles will always be cheaper than the two mentioned above, and while they break down more than Japanese vehicles they are also very cheap to fix. But with a few exceptions the regular cars and suvs just don't match the quality of Japanese models
-If the OP is looking for a daily driver then they need to do a ranked list of priorities first then think about the car second. Purchase price, maintenance cost, comfort, driving dynamics, cargo capability, fuel economy, safety, tech, etc etc. Once the priorities are aligned then the vehicle choices end up narrowing down themselves.