Suggestions on reliable econo car

[Q]

Looking for a 4 door sedan, any make/model. Miles have to be under 90k, price has to be $9000 tops, and main thing I'm looking for is reliability and a somewhat more modern look (ie. no 1995 cars)

Any suggestions on cars that may follow these specs? Please don't suggest something that will be very tough to find in the price range, obviously the lower the better. Realistically I'm looking for around $7k. I've done the usual Accord/Camry look around, but I need some other suggestions. I like the Volvo S60 but it is a little harder to find...

 

[StageLeft]

NOT a volvo.

 

[desy]

price is high enough you can get Fusions in a midsize, corollas in sub compacts, newer elantras sonatas, all kinds of cars really
Gonna have to narrow it down a bit, ie standards or sun roofs, or maybe awd like a subaru etc

 

[Bignate603]

NOT a volvo.

It would probably be more reliable than something like a VW. ^_^

In the $9k range I would seriously be looking at the fusion. There are plenty of other cars in this price range though, what do you really want? A midsized, a compact? Do you want something very basic or something with more options?

 

[Throckmorton]

You can get a Fusion for 9k??

 

[StageLeft]

You can get a Fusion for 9k??

Used.

True the volvo is better than a VW but then a uhaul is more reliable than that.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Used.

True the volvo is better than a VW but then a uhaul is more reliable than that.

*rolls eyes*

 

[ShawnD1]

You could get a Toyota Corolla. I fucking hate this car but it gets good gas mileage and it seems reliable so far. Last fill up was 33mpg (US gallons) when driving like a wise and beautiful woman and flooring it off the line every time.


Seriously, I would look for a Honda Civic with a manual transmission. 4 cylinders are frustrating and terrible with an automatic, but that Honda I had a few years ago was pretty fast. Top speed was 125mph and passing people on the highway was never an issue. It was just a regular Civic, not the si. Sedan, very roomy for people in the front seats, also got about 32mpg in city/freeway combined driving. Rock solid reliable for the first 50,000 miles; it was then t-boned and written off.

 

[ShawnD1]

*rolls eyes*

Yes we know your VW is awesome, but statistically they are garbage.

dependability study

Best car companies:
Porsche
Lincoln
Lexus
Buick
Mercury

Acceptable car companies:
Toyota
Honda

Fucking horrible car companies:
Land Rover
Suzuki
Volkswagen
Jeep
Mini
Mitsubishi (Japan's version of Chrysler)
Scion (this is a Toyota brand, lol)
Mazda
Pontiac
Dodge

 

[StageLeft]

Yes we know your VW is awesome, but statistically they are garbage.

dependability study

Best car companies:
Porsche
Lincoln
Lexus
Buick
Mercury

Acceptable car companies:
Toyota
Honda

Fucking horrible car companies:
Land Rover
Suzuki
Volkswagen
Jeep
Mini
Mitsubishi (Japan's version of Chrysler)
Scion (this is a Toyota brand, lol)
Mazda
Pontiac
Dodge

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME HOW SUZUKI STILL EXISTS IN THE US?

Do you even know who drives one, where to buy one? What do they sell, 15 units/year, who is buying these?!

 

[desy]

only problem w jd is all the models are lumped in
I'd buy an sx4 with no reservations, a mazda 5 is the recommended minivan by CR and so on

 

[ShawnD1]

only problem w jd is all the models are lumped in
I'd buy an sx4 with no reservations, a mazda 5 is the recommended minivan by CR and so on

Some of the usefulness of lumping them all together is to get a sense of how that company feels about quality. When Buick has 5 stars across the board, that should give you some idea of what that company is all about. If you have a problem, then maybe they'll actually try to help you and cover it under warranty. If you have a Mitsubishi, just forget it. They obviously don't give a shit about quality and will probably give you attitude when you make a warranty claim.

Here's a fun game you can try yourself. Type "<company> warranty" into Google and see what it suggests. This is not scientific, it's just for fun.

Here are the top for Honda:
1) coverage
2) information
3) US to Canada
4) oil change
It never suggested anything about problems

Here is what it suggests for Mitsubishi:
1) Canada
2) problems (second recommended??)

For Buick:
1) information
2) 2009
3) 2007
It didn't even suggest problems or sucks or anything like that. Nicely done, Buick.

Here is the hilarity of Dodge:
1) Canada
2) questions
3) details
4) complaints
5) issues

 

[Mide]

Get a Honda Fit. Plain and simple car that has a nutty storage space in the back.

 

[Vette73]

What is your idea of a "econo car"?

BUt for 9k or less...

Saturn Aura (cheap and good car and price has dropped had now GM is gettign rid of the name)
Pontiac G6 (again cheap and not bad if taken care of, older version of Aura/Malibu)
Chevy Malibu (mid-price good car. Newwer version of Aura)

Ford Focus/Fusion. (Try not to go older than 5 years)

Nissan Altima 4cyl (I say 4cyl since you want econo and 6cyl is harder to work on)

A lot of Hyundia cars are very good now and well priced.