Car shopping

[budda]

Here's where we're at:

0) budget $20,000 all in
1) 2010 Toyota Matrix MT, base w/ touring pkg (alloys/fog lights/spoiler/light tint
2) 305500km as of today - add 450km tomorrow when I go to the next band practice.
3) Paid off as of December
4) Engine light on (quoted $1200 repair), big windshield crack (around $500), probably some other stuff.
5) Replacement transmission (60k on trans) + new clutch January 2017 - transmission probably around 100k km now.

The matrix has been a learning experience (never drove manual til I got it). There's a ton of options for my budget, and compound that with being within a comfortable distance of Toronto for deals. I'm willing to drive to save a few thousand bucks (and already do it losing a few hundred ).

The main list:
- 2017+ Hyundai Elantra GL (potentially 2018)
- 2015+ Toyota Corolla LE
- 2014+ Honda Civic
- 2016+ Nissan Sentra SV

I initially came in guns blazing for the elantra due to features, price and opportunity to buy a low-mileage vehicle. Reliability is pretty high on the list, after having had to replace the transmission in my car. I have yet to factually dive into the expected maintenance costs of the cars on my list. I know that Honda and Toyota are still tops for reliability, and it seems the Toyotas come in for a little bit less for equivalent cars.

The immediate future is still doing roughly 1000km a week until winter 2020, except for touring (3-4 months 2019/2020). I'm expecting to put between 60k and 80k on my next vehicle within the first two years, then 25k/yr after that. Lower mileage is preferred for that reason, especially on CPO's that still have some warranty left. Honda has 7yr/160k warranty which means even a 2015 civic will have some coverage after touring life is done.

After touring, I suspect we will be starting a family 3-5 years. My initial plan is to have my next vehicle going into that phase of my life, and I feel that the cars on my list fit that requirement. I don't know yet if I want to drive it into the ground or not.

Subaru and VW have been left off the list mostly due to cost to repair - I won't have a lot of $$ to throw at that until tour retirement and want a few years hassle free (who doesn't).

Is there a clear winner here or am I correct in that my options are pretty even across the board?

I'll be digging into Consumer Reports at the library for longevity info.

[MFB]

When I was looking at new cars, I've heard the newer Nissan's have had drivetrain issues - specifically the transmission if I recall correctly, and after going through issues with my '14 Focus's transmission module, I never want to deal with another transmission problem again. My 2014 Civic was solid as a daily driver, didn't have any flash to the interior, so after going to my Ford, looking back I was kind of surprised at how minimal it was. Nothing bad, just don't expect to be wowed. I imagine the Corollas are a lateral move as well, same simple engine and transmission under the hood, just different shell.

[budda]

My interior is pretty sparse . Since I drive 10 hours a week, comfortable front seats are pretty important. I was happy with first impressions of the elantra, haven't managed to try the rest. Took a 2014 acura ILX out, it was pretty underwhelming.

[Markus]

I've heard someone refer to the RG550 as the Toyota Corolla of guitars - so perhaps the Toyota Corolla is the RG550 of cars

[Randy]

Not much to contribute other than my experience being that, of your list, Toyota and Honda retain their value the most historically.

I had some bad experiences with Hyundai years back but I got a 'can't miss' price on a used Sonata (2010) from a friend of mine as just something to drive to work and I was surprised at how much they'd improved. I got the car with ~200,000 miles and I've put another ~70,000 miles on it since, having to do nothing more than oil changes, tires and brakes like normal.

[bigdave]

If the Honda is manual with relativly low miles it is the winner of that group as far as reliability etc, Nissan and Toyota have had issues with those models, and I know they all have, but Honda is a known better quality car...one of the reasons they dont discount as much at dealers when new. JMHO

[Chris]

Check out a used XV Crosstrek too. Great little car, fantastic MPG, great in the snow, plenty of room and they were only ~25kish loaded w/leather, nav, camera, heated seats, etc.

Leaving Subaru off the list because of cost of repair, but putting a Hyundai at the top of the list is a head scratcher. Subaru makes good cars.

[Josh]

I've heard someone refer to the RG550 as the Toyota Corolla of guitars - so perhaps the Toyota Corolla is the RG550 of cars

They're doing a Corolla hatchback too

My Camry wasn't particularly fast or pretty, but it got me from point A to point B, had decent gas mileage, held a ton of stuff, and was pretty low maintenance (until a lifetime of Vermont road salt and sitting mostly unused for 2 years destroyed the undercarriage and wheels). Granted, it was a 2002 (it's been 17 years since it rolled off the line) but Toyota seems to have a pretty good lock on making a decent bang for the buck car.

Granted, I'm probably the last person you want telling you about cars, as I don't even own one anymore