Best Make for a Used Car?

[Captain Ice]

If you lived here in Sweden I'd definetly say get a used Saab, but as you live in the US I'd say it's bit uncertain you'd be able to get one cheaply nor get cheap parts when they break. So I'd say try and find a used Saturn Aura, they're siblings to the Saab 9-3.

You sure you aren't thinking of the Ion or Astra? The Aura is a rebadged Chevy Impala in North America.

Get a copy of the Consumer Reports annual car issue from your library and check out the models you are interested in.

I can't overstress how much help this would be to you. If you want up-to-date, unbiased information, then Consumer Reports is one of the best ways to go.

Check out Edmunds.com too.

What does anyone think of a Subaru Outback?

Nice cars, decent reliability. Have not driven one in years. IIRC, I think SPOCKED has one.

 

[apostle83]

What does anyone think of a Subaru Outback?

I sell a ton of engines for those. THey have a wide bore and a short stroke so they overheat easily.

 

[JonathonWally]

If you lived here in Sweden I'd definetly say get a used Saab, but as you live in the US I'd say it's bit uncertain you'd be able to get one cheaply nor get cheap parts when they break. So I'd say try and find a used Saturn Aura, they're siblings to the Saab 9-3.

You sure you aren't thinking of the Ion or Astra? The Aura is a rebadged Chevy Impala in North America.

Saturn Auras, Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 (4 door) and Saab 9-3 are all on the Opel (Vectra?) platform.

Pontiac G6 (2 door and convertible) and Saab 9-3 (2-door and Convertible) are a modified version of that platform.

 

[Captain Ice]

I agree with Apostle about the overheating.

Another thought....You may have a bit more trouble finding a decent mechanic for one in your area. The engines in these are a little strange in that the cylinders are horizontally opposed. Not many manufacturers do this, so finding someone who can repair one isn't going to be quite as easy as it would be with even a Honda.

 

[T'Baio]

BTW, now is a sucky time to buy a used car.

Why is that?

 

[Gaseous Anomaly]

With the economy sucking the way it is, it's easier to get a good deal on a new car. The big 3 in North America are hurting to sell new cars; they are ripe for the picking. Loan costs should be lower for a new car too.

 

[collins1707]

Don't be too quick to rule out VW's. I've been a VW/Audi Tech now for the last ~5years and what I usually tell people is to stay away from the North American built ones and go for the German built ones. They're easy to tell apart too. The European-built cars have a VIN number that starts with a letter, usually 'W' for what was West Germany. The U.S./Mexican car's VINs will start with a '1' or a '3'. The build quality is much higher on the German built ones and there isn't the same crappy problems that work in.

Check out older Audi's and BMW's too. They're a bit more high strung than an average car and will need a bit more intensive maintence, nothing too bad, but the driving experience makes up for it.

Subaru's are nice good car's too. My sister had a Legacy for a while that I worked on. I'd put them in the same 'high strung-' catagory that the Audi's and BMW's are in though. They're pretty ubiquitous as amatur and professional Rallye cars and I've seen a bunch of them take massive ammounts of punishment. Parts are about as expensive as any other car and I haven't found them to be too difficult to work on. As a plus, those Boxer-4's make a really, really, sweet noise and AWD is so nice if it snows where you are.
Video of Ken Block & his Rallye car in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs-jAImScms

Honda or Toyota, go for a Honda. Toyota's are boring to drive, everything else is O.K. though. Parts cost about the same as the equivalent Honda parts, they're not to difficult to repair from what others tell me, maintence is low. Everytime I drive a Toyota product I get a numb feeling that I don't get in a Honda. Just my .02.

In the end though find a trustworthy mechanic who specializes in your particular and/or similar marques. Someone who knows all the in's and outs of a particular car will be able to fix the issue with less cost and downtime than the corner garage that takes everything in. They'll also be able to tell you in advance what to look out for with regard to maintence.

 

[JNG]

BMW

 

[Roger Wilco]

I see lots of old Mercedes (70s/80s/90s) all the time, seems like those things run forever

 

[Emher]

If you lived here in Sweden I'd definetly say get a used Saab, but as you live in the US I'd say it's bit uncertain you'd be able to get one cheaply nor get cheap parts when they break. So I'd say try and find a used Saturn Aura, they're siblings to the Saab 9-3.

You sure you aren't thinking of the Ion or Astra? The Aura is a rebadged Chevy Impala in North America.

Saturn Auras, Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 (4 door) and Saab 9-3 are all on the Opel (Vectra?) platform.

Pontiac G6 (2 door and convertible) and Saab 9-3 (2-door and Convertible) are a modified version of that platform.

Ding, we have a winner. Indeed it is so. Now I personally don't have any experience with the 9-3 unfortunately, and the Opel/Vauxhall version of the 9-5 isn't on sale in the US IIRC. The Saturn L-series that was discontinued in favor of the Aura in 2005 was basically rebadged 9-5s.

 

[SPOCKED]

What does anyone think of a Subaru Outback?

Nice cars, decent reliability. Have not driven one in years. IIRC, I think SPOCKED has one.

I have a used 2001 Forester which I bought used 14 months ago. I wanted all wheel drive just for New England driving but it really came in handy getting up and onto our private (only recently plowed) road when we moved. I will probably continue buying them - the Outback is fine (my future mother-in-law owns one) but I'm more of a SUV type of guy. My only problem with the car so far has been an intermittant engine light. I've had the rear O2 sensor replaced and an (annual) tune up. Could be the front O2, but since I actually have no "problem" with the car, that repair can wait. The Forester is the best car I've ever owned, otherwise.

 

[backstept]

if you can find one in good shape I highly recommend a Jeep Cherokee
I have a '93 with 170k and it's in great shape . . . the 4.0 I6 is one of the most reliable engines out there . . . some say bulletproof (I wouldn't want to test it )

I see other Cherokees on the road every single day so I know that there are bound to be enough that if I need a part, a junkyard will have several

they're easy to repair if you have the tools, and parts are cheap

 

[Emher]

^My uncle has one of those, perhaps a bit older. He loes it, but is prepared to have it stolen any time since they've apparantly gotten very popular for smash and grab jobs because of the height, the sturdiness and the power from the I6.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Buy AMERICAN!

Then 6 months later, you can buy AMERICAN again.

 

[Maestro]

The Buick Centuries are good cars. I still drive a 2000, and my wife recently replaced her 98 with a 2006 Impala. She'd like her Century back.

Mine has always needed quirky repairs, but it's been a damn fine car. I have 86K on it, and with a little TLC, it'll go another 86K and probably a third 86K.

 

[JonathonWally]

if you can find one in good shape I highly recommend a Jeep Cherokee
I have a '93 with 170k and it's in great shape . . . the 4.0 I6 is one of the most reliable engines out there . . . some say bulletproof (I wouldn't want to test it )

I see other Cherokees on the road every single day so I know that there are bound to be enough that if I need a part, a junkyard will have several

they're easy to repair if you have the tools, and parts are cheap

Does it still have paint on the hood? A lot of them were notorious the paint coming off the hood.

 

[backstept]

if you can find one in good shape I highly recommend a Jeep Cherokee
I have a '93 with 170k and it's in great shape . . . the 4.0 I6 is one of the most reliable engines out there . . . some say bulletproof (I wouldn't want to test it )

I see other Cherokees on the road every single day so I know that there are bound to be enough that if I need a part, a junkyard will have several

they're easy to repair if you have the tools, and parts are cheap

Does it still have paint on the hood? A lot of them were notorious the paint coming off the hood.

yes, it's in fantastic condition (a more realistic description would be 'Good' but I say it's fantastic because it's mine and I love it )
there are only a few small rust spots right now, which is rare in this climate
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/album.php?albumid=112

 

[Warp Coil]

My vote goes to Honda or Toyota. I owned a 2001 Toyota Corolla (bought new). Had it for over five years. Not a single problem. Ever. Just routine maintenance. Sold it to my uncle and bought myself something a little nicer (Honda Accord coupe). He never had any problems with it. He went on to sell it to a co-worker because he didn't need a second car anymore, and from what I hear, it's still going strong.

However, regardless of what you buy, I recommend getting a carfax history report and doing as thorough an examination of the car that you can. Even a good car can go wrong in the hands of the wrong driver. You never know if it was in accidents or floods.

 

[NCC1701]

Video of Ken Block & his Rallye car in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs-jAImScms

Nice, I realise it's a rally WRX, but still, he's giving that car a lot of shit, for what's supposed to be a practice run

As for what car to buy, I would definitely buy a Japanese one. Either Toyota, Subaru or Nissan -surprised no one has mentioned Nissan yet - would be fine, tho I'm biased for Nissan, having owned two of them, a 2000 1.8L AWD Wingroad and a 1995 1.8L FWD Bluebird, my current ride. They can take a lot of punishment and just keep going, Nissan engines are renowned for their build quality, heck, even Holden turned to them for engines in the mid to late '80s to power their flagship Commodores.

I wouldn't go for a Honda though, unless you want to go for the '70-year-old at the wheel' vibe, that is

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ Even if you went for, say, a 2nd-gen S2000? I don't think you'd see too many 70-year-olds behind the wheel of that...

Cheers,
-CM-