Car Recommendations

• sherm03

  

  Looks like I'll be in the market for a new car sooner than I was hoping. Currently have a 2004 Honda Civic with almost 180,000 miles. It's in the shop for the second time in a month, and I have to decide how much I want to put into this car vs. taking the plunge into something new.
  
  Haven't really looked into anything. All I know right now is that I want a 4 door, good gas mileage, and enough space for all the baby's stuff, my wife, and my dog for when we have to travel out of town.
• GOONx19

  

  I have never heard anyone complain about the reliability of a Camry.
• End of Line

  

  Subaru Crosstrek
• sportchampps

  I just traded in my 2012 Civic for a 2016 Accord. I got the EXL and I fucking love it. I got it fully loaded except for Navigation. With the apple CarPlay there's no need for navigation. The apple CarPlay also lets me stream Pandora or IHeartradio. I hated my civic it was just to small and no fun to drive with the accord it's bigger and I feel like I have power again. I love the wheels on the new accords as well.
• Sonofanump

  Buy a two year old Honda.
• hasbeen

  

  I love my 2013 Accord. Have a 1 year old and I can fit her, my GF, all necessary stuff, + softball stuff. Good space. I don't drive other people though.
  
  My sister just got a brand new Honda Odyssey and it's nice. When I have some money, I want to get one of those for my gf.
• Wally

  Chevy Impala-best car ever made.
  
  http://www.kbb.com/chevrolet/impala/2016/lt-consumer_reviews/?vehicleid=411695
• 4cards

  

  ...sherm, I'm on my 3rd VW Jetta (2015). The last 2 I had,one was a diesel that I traded in w/280,000, and the last was non-diesel that had 270,000. The Jetta's are affordable & very dependable....at least mine were.
• j_crazy

  

  As you framed your question, Camry gets my vote.
  
  Do you plan on having more than 2 kids? If so, get a minivan - seating for 7/8 and pretty remarkable gas mileage. I say this because we have 2 kids, but with the activities we get into now that my kids are older we are running 4-5 kids to practice/games/field trips. So we are looking into trading our 8 year old Edge in for a minivan because we just can't fit all the kids/friends in the car.
• sleeper

  

  I've only had a Mercedes since I graduated college and wouldn't recommend any other cars. I think Honda's are nice for poor people though.
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  j_crazy;1781502 wrote:As you framed your question, Camry gets my vote.
  
  Do you plan on having more than 2 kids? If so, get a minivan - seating for 7/8 and pretty remarkable gas mileage. I say this because we have 2 kids, but with the activities we get into now that my kids are older we are running 4-5 kids to practice/games/field trips. So we are looking into trading our 8 year old Edge in for a minivan because we just can't fit all the kids/friends in the car.

  we traded my wife's Edge in for an Expedition. Id take it over a minivan any day.
• j_crazy

  

  ZWICK 4 PREZ;1781524 wrote:we traded my wife's Edge in for an Expedition. Id take it over a minivan any day.

  Me too, but what kind of gas mileage do you get in an expedition? 15/20 City/Highway?? I'm sure it's close to that. The minivan we are looking at buying has 19 city/28 highway. Sherm said he was looking into gas mileage as one of his points of interest.
  
  Not to mention that an Expedition starts at like $45,000 and the fully loaded honda odyssey is $42,000.
• Fab4Runner

  

  I like my 2013 Fusion, but the best car I ever had was my Camry. Never had a single issue with her, and there was more than 200,000 miles on her when she finally died. My neighbor just got a new Camry, and it's really pretty.
  
  My fiance is a huge fan of Honda Accords. He had one for years, and plans to buy another this spring.
• rrfan

  

  Highly recommend the GMC Acadia. Do the upgrade and get the Denali package. You will be glad you did especially with kids. Plenty of room for all the kid stuff and a ride of luxury. Gas millage is okay about 18 city and 22 highway. With kids on a long trip throw a DVD in there and let them watch a movie on the way. Worth its weight in Gold!
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  j_crazy;1781537 wrote:Me too, but what kind of gas mileage do you get in an expedition? 15/20 City/Highway?? I'm sure it's close to that. The minivan we are looking at buying has 19 city/28 highway. Sherm said he was looking into gas mileage as one of his points of interest.
  
  Not to mention that an Expedition starts at like $45,000 and the fully loaded honda odyssey is $42,000.

  Yean I think she's averaging 17 mpg. It's worlds better in snow/ice than a minivan would be. Plus we can hook up our jet skis trailer to it and not have to take my truck everywhere. you're not doing that in a minivan.
• Sonofanump

  Empirical evidence shows that people stick to the same vehicle brand they are used to. The most economical purchase is a two year old vehicle that has most of the new car depreciation reduced. I'd put even odds Sherm buys a 2013-2014 Honda Accord or Civic.
• j_crazy

  

  ZWICK 4 PREZ;1781543 wrote:Yean I think she's averaging 17 mpg. It's worlds better in snow/ice than a minivan would be. Plus we can hook up our jet skis trailer to it and not have to take my truck everywhere. you're not doing that in a minivan.

  
  
  No doubt. Good comment about performance in snow/ice. I don't have to take that into consideration anymore, and have no clue what it'd be like.
• rydawg5

  sherm03;1781424 wrote:Looks like I'll be in the market for a new car sooner than I was hoping. Currently have a 2004 Honda Civic with almost 180,000 miles. It's in the shop for the second time in a month, and I have to decide how much I want to put into this car vs. taking the plunge into something new.
  
  Haven't really looked into anything. All I know right now is that I want a 4 door, good gas mileage, and enough space for all the baby's stuff, my wife, and my dog for when we have to travel out of town.

  You'll fix this for what the taxes are on a new car if it's nothing major major.
  
  I try to break it down for $1,000 per 10,000 miles driven to break even.
  
  If you fix your 2004 Honda for $2,000 - you'll get your money back if it goes another 20,000 miles.
  
  If you go buy a 2 year old Honda Accord for 17,000, you'll need to get 170,000 miles on it to get the same value. Not a guarantee you'll end up getting a much better ratio.
  
  It could be bad logic, but the ratio of money spent is how I look at it. If you feel like the 2004 Honda is actually on it's last legs even though they have a track record of being 20 year cars, then you should ditch it.
• sherm03

  

  So just heard back from the shop...timing belt is shot.
  
  So I'm in a spot where I have to fix it if I want to trade it in or try to sell it. Wife is now on maternity leave, so I have some time. I'm thinking I'll just try to sell it to recoup the cost of the repairs I've just done on it and then look at getting something else.
  
  Surprised Camry came up as much as it did. I didn't realize they were that reliable/durable. I'll probably do some more research on those.
• TedSheckler

  

  Did the engine throw a rod when the timing belt broke? The timing belt and water pump replacement should be under $700. If it threw a rod, then yea, you're screwed.
  
  Always replace the timing belt every 100k miles. I drive a 2002 Acura TL with 538,000 miles on it. I've done a few timing belts.
• GOONx19

  

  sherm03;1781566 wrote:So just heard back from the shop...timing belt is shot.
  
  So I'm in a spot where I have to fix it if I want to trade it in or try to sell it. Wife is now on maternity leave, so I have some time. I'm thinking I'll just try to sell it to recoup the cost of the repairs I've just done on it and then look at getting something else.
  
  Surprised Camry came up as much as it did. I didn't realize they were that reliable/durable. I'll probably do some more research on those.

  My 2001 Camry has required minimal work and is still getting 30 mpg at 190,000 miles.
• rydawg5

  GOONx19;1781577 wrote:My 2001 Camry has required minimal work and is still getting 30 mpg at 190,000 miles.

  Yeah Toyotas & Hondas are good.
  
  Timing Belts are general 100k maintenance.
• sherm03

  

  TedSheckler;1781574 wrote:Did the engine throw a rod when the timing belt broke? The timing belt and water pump replacement should be under $700. If it threw a rod, then yea, you're screwed.
  
  Always replace the timing belt every 100k miles. I drive a 2002 Acura TL with 538,000 miles on it. I've done a few timing belts.

  Didn't throw a rod. Repair shop quoted me $1100. I told them to pound salt. Found a guy who does the work on the side who said he'd do it for $525. So I'm getting it towed to his place.
  
  I'm still up in the air on how I want to proceed. I'd like to drive it awhile longer so I don't have to take on a car payment. But knowing my luck, something else will come up that needs replaced and I'd have to put more money into it in order to be able to sell it or trade it in.
• Ironman92

  

  You can't go wrong with Accord or Camry. Just can't. If for some reason you hated them their retail holds like crazy. Zero fear of getting burned.
• rrfan

  

  TedSheckler;1781574 wrote:Did the engine throw a rod when the timing belt broke? The timing belt and water pump replacement should be under $700. If it threw a rod, then yea, you're screwed.
  
  Always replace the timing belt every 100k miles. I drive a 2002 Acura TL with 538,000 miles on it. I've done a few timing belts.

  Wow 538,000 miles is impressive. Can anyone beat that?