[NeilPeart]

Small: Civic/Corolla/Sentra (Civic is more fun to drive but Corolla has smoother ride; I'm less familiar with Sentra)

Larger: Accord/Camry/Altima/Maxima (I would take the Accord but I suppose I have a Honda bias

)

I realize I am neglecting anything that isn't Japanese, but I simply found the 3 Japanese companies to make the most reliable cars. If you just want a reliable commuter car that is relatively comfy and don't need much room get a used corolla (1997-2001), but I would personally choose a used Civic hatchback because of its utility (hatchbacks are perfect for moving from dorms to apts) and because it's more fun to drive than the Corolla (IMO). Both the Civic and Corolla will be very reliable and achieve great gas mileage so choose one that has been well maintained and suits your budget.

To keep insurance costs down don't speed and drive carefully - the less accidents and tickets the better (good grades will help reduce your premiums). Try to stay with the same carrier and after several years your premiums will drop further. Keeping your tires rotated and the windows closed when traveling over 55MPH (reduced drag) will help conserve gas, and change your oil between 3000 and 5000 miles no matter what the manual says (I use Mobil 1 synthetic on my RSX and still change the oil ever 3000 miles, and I always replace the filter).

The above statements are helpful but not necessary at all because of the quality of the engines. I inherited a 1990 Nissan Maxima that had already been in 2 major accidents (thanks mom and sister) and 75000 miles on her. She was never maintained at all and the oil changes were few and far between. This particular Maxima model was even one of the less reliable models. That car served me for another 100,000 miles and was still as strong as ever when I traded her in last month for $2000 - if the paint was in better shape who knows what I may have received for her.

 

[wallijonn]

I had a Civic that when it sleeted I would have to use crow bars to pry the doors open. So don't get any car that has the weatherstrips wrapping into the roof.

Find a few cars you like and then find out how much an original muffler, oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, starter and alternator will cost. That'll give you a good idea of what you'll likely pay for maintenance. (You can pay $350 for a Japanese starter or $50 for an American car starter; you can pay $800 for a Miata muffler, $400 for Miata oxygen sensors, etc. I had a Montero and the muffler tail pipe (about 12" of curved pipe) was $65).

Buy a $2500 car and put $2500 in repairs into it. That should last you at least 2 years. The usual repairs: muffler($300), catalytic converter($200), oxygen sensor($50), battery($50), alternator($200), water pump($50), timing beltjob ($500), clutch($500), brakes($200), tires($400), shocks($500), lightbulbs($40), sparkplug wires ($40), sparkplugs ($10), distributor cap ($10).

Before buying the car have it inspected by a mechanic for about $75. He'll check compression, check for oil leaks, rust in the radiator, emissions, the tranny, muffler system, etc.

Look at the maintenance schedule - you'll most likely need to have the whole muffler system replaced at 100,000 miles. Most people will drive the car for 100,000 miles and just replace the tires and brakes. So you'll end up replacing all the high priced items - clutch, muffler, catalytic converter, alternator, starter.

If you're going to pay $10,000 for a used car it had better have less than 50,000 miles on it. You live in NYC so a lot of the cars will have crud in the engines (stop and go traffic), have bad suspensions (due to potholes), the muffler will need replacing (they'll be rotting due to stop and go, rain, salt), the transmissions will need repair, if not replacing. etc.

Buy your car from as far into L.I. as possible (start looking in Hamptons Bay).

 

[aerius]

A note on fuel costs, just working it out so people can see how little the differences are.

Assume you drive 30,000 miles a year, and gas costs $2.50 a gallon. The first car gets an average of 25mpg, the other, 30mpg.

Costs for Car A
30,000 miles/25mpg = 1200 gallons X $2.50/gal = $3000/year in gas.

Cost for Car B
30,000 miles/30mpg = 1000 gallons X $2.50/gal = $2500/year in gas.

$500 a year ain't much when you consider that insurance costs can vary by thousands. Also, 30,000 miles a year is a lot, most people only drive about 1/3 of that, and as a result, the savings will only be about 1/3 of $500, or roughly $165.

The 30mpg average is representative of typical econocars such as the Civic or Corolla, while the 25mpg figure is typical of mid-size family cars such as the Chevy Malibu or Buick Regal.

 

[lini]

I'm also a fan of Japanese compact cars, nowadays - I chose the Mitsubishi Colt (1.6 Comfort Automatic - bought new in 2003) for myself (6' 2.5", btw...) for myself, but I can also respect the competition from Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota. Thingy runs like hell - practically as good in acceleration as my old Accord 2.2i (~ 93 model) and just a tad slower in autobahn max speed (210 vs. 225 km/h). Much better for getting a parking lot, though - and if I ever felt like transporting a washing machine, I know I could (already done so in my ex-gf's Colt).

Mitsubishi Galant might be a good alternative to Accord, Camry et cetera, btw, as Mitsubishi often is a somewhat overlooked brand - so prices might be more attractive...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Oh, and yes, very true - if you go medium-sized, go hatchback, if available.

 

[king896]

Wow that for all the help, it seems that there is a good mix of cars that I can choose from and that is exactly what I needed to know. I am not the one purchasing the car but my parents are so I am going to have to have all my facts straight when I go and pick a car. I was looking at cars.com for cars around my area from Honda and Mitsubishi and there seems to be a good amount available. Here is one that caught my eye 1999 Honda Accord EX V-6. If I could get something like this I would be pretty happy. By the way how are the standard sound systems on the Honda? With a 3 hour commute I can't live with no music, and I sure can't ware my headphones while driving

.

 

[Mith]

Chevy Impala! That thing is beautiful. My first car was a 1998 Chevy Prizm AKA Toyota Corrola. That thing was a POS. I am now saving for an Impala. Get one of the older models that were still rear-wheel drive. These things can be FAST and they get great gas mileage.

 

[RYCeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lini Mitsubishi Galant might be a good alternative to Accord, Camry et cetera, btw, as Mitsubishi often is a somewhat overlooked brand - so prices might be more attractive...

Seconded for Mitsubishi Galant. The Galant has a bad reselling value because of Mitsubishi financing deal disaster 2 years ago. Do you remember their ads buy now pay later? Last year my brother bought 01 Galant w/ 45k mile, no mechanical defect, good paint, accident free, End lease sale. He bought it for $4000.00 from a dealer, no trade. So far he only needs to change the tires and brake + regular maintenance. He use it for pizza delivery. IMO Used Galant give you a better value for money than Accord, Camry or Altima.

 

[BigD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius The quality gap between American and Japanese cars is very small to non-existent these days, and depending on market segment the Americans are actually ahead. The Japanese still have the edge in entry level cars such as the Civic or Corolla, but once you move to mid-size cars there is no real difference. In fact, JD Power and Consumer Reports surveys rank the mid-size Buick Regal as the most reliable car over the last 3 years in its segment, ahead of the Toyota Camry among others. The most reliable car overall BTW was the Chevy Monte Carlo. A Chevy. Who woulda thought? As for European cars, I agree the quality is no good, in fact they're worse than the Americans. Even luxury Bimmers & Benz's need to be "tightened up" and "adjusted" after assembly. Second that. The Neon is well, a ****box. It oozes cheapness and crumples like an accordion.

No offense to you aerius, but your statement is pretty bold. Perhaps you must exagerate the point to get across in writing. Sometimes it's necessary I do it myself.

I never heard American cars even nearing the quality of Japanese cars. Of course I recognize where American trucks like Ford F-series are ahead of Toyotas and Nissans, but I must add that only Ford F-series are pushing the envelope here, not Dodge nor GM. So much for trucks. The cars are different story. Simple fact is that Ford invested billions of dollar improving the quality of their trucks. The Ford people also see their historical and profit advantage there. This effort paid off hansome.

However in cars, only the specialty cars are closing the gap against the Japanese. Namely Chevy Corvette, Pontiac Solstice, Caddy CTS, Caddy STS, Caddy XLV, Ford Mustang, Ford Focus....But other than these cars I don't know what you're talking about. It's great you pointed out JD Power's view. Every magazine (US, UK, Italy, Japan) I've read on cars, I must say Japanese cars are still ahead by good margin if you take the total models from small to large. Yes there are some models which caught up closely, not equally though. Same applies for the mid and full size cars. Perhaps I must clarify myself when I say Japanese cars, because it also seems like Isuzu is beating out Chevy. When I say Japanese cars, I mainly refer to the Big3, Toyota, Honda and Nissan maybe Subaru. I guess my American cars would be GM and Ford divisions, the major players. I can NOT count chrysler, isuzu, suzuki, dodge, mitsubishi, etc as important players. These guys really bring the average curve down.

 

[aerius]

JD Power survey: Problems per 100 vehicles.

Nameplate Score (lower scores are better)

Lexus 162
Buick 187
Infiniti 189
Lincoln 194
Cadillac 196
Honda 209
Acura 212
Toyota 216
Mercury 224
Porsche 240
Chevrolet 262
GMC 262
BMW 264
Saab 265
Saturn 267
Industry Average 269
Ford 276
Nissan 280
Chrysler 285
Mazda 285
Subaru 288


Take the top 5 and there's more American than Japanese cars, take the top 10 and the Japanese edge them out 5-4. The difference aren't nearly as big as most people think or say they are.

 

[bundee1]

Dont get a mitsubishi. Id heard they had reliablity problems and an article I read in the WSJ confirmed it. Basically their CEOs had been covering up defects for the last 10 years. They resigned in disgrace and had to give back their bonuses or salary for that time period.

 

[bundee1]

Heres the link:

http://www.globalethics.org/newsline...09170020040235

 

[saturnine]

I would never buy a Mitsubishi. My ex gf bought a 2002 GT Spyder, and it was nothing but problems. Both electrical and mechanical. Plus, it was just barely faster than my modded SC2 (intake, chip modded), and handled like a boat. It felt like it weighed 5 tons!

Just IMO.

 

[BigD]

Aerius, very nice find. Shocking to see Buick in the top bracket. I expected Cadillac and Lincoln to be easily and readily in top 10. Another stunner is Porsche and Mercury...I still can NOT go by solely one reviewer's poll. Rather composite of many reviews would iron out biased discrepancies. Anyway the top 10 brands will remain probably the same with exception of Porsche and Mercury. Only the order would be shuffled around mostly.

Btw, the JD Power list ALSO contains the truck and suvs in their survey. Therefore making it total vehicular problem claims. As I said before, the Ford and GM trucks are very reliable and competitive against Toyota and Nissan. The Europeans don't make pick-up trucks yet. On the list, I belive Chevy and GMC would get the shove whereas would not change for Cadillac and Lincoln standing.

Another slight deceiving point on the list is their brand comparison. If you read any car magazines, by model-to-model comparison it's unlikely the American cars will outedge the Japanese and German rivals. I NEVER saw Cadillac and Lincoln overcoming Lexus/Acura and BMW/Benz in segment comparison. This applies to total quality and performance, not merely on reliability and dependability issue.

Again I like any cars despite their origin. This is why I think I'm less biased than some people. My car/truck likings vary from Corvette, Stang GT, Lotus Elise, Porsche Boxster, Lexus GS, Infiniti G30, Ford F series, Range Rover, Toyota Prius, Mini Cooper, etc.

 

[CMacDaddy]

Road and Track did a few reviews on the luxury sedan market about a year ago if I remember right, in which the Cadillac CTS beat out a Mercedes and BMW... maybe even an infinity? seems like there was another car in there...

anyway, I think the new caddy's look great and evidently are becoming more sturdy too! I'd take a Cadillac over similiar japanese and european brands.

err before we get too off track...

I'm still pro saturns, but if you are definatly looking to go japanese, try for a civic. I've had 4 friends who got an old civic as their first car and have driven them into the ~140,000 mile range. I'm 6' 1" and could stand to ride in it for a 3 hour commute.

 

[lini]

Re Mitsubishi reliability: Well, I'm not too fond of reliability surveys on brands on the whole - surveys for certain models seem much more helpful. For example, the Mitsubishi Colt was most reliable in its class over here quite a few times...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini