Cheap & Reliable Cars: Advice & Experiences

[leroyjenkens]

I was thinking about getting the Ford Fiesta, since I want something cheap. But I keep reading about the transmission going out. Anyone know of a reliable cheap car, around 15k?
Anyone have any experiences with a cheap, reliable car that you never have problems with?
Any brands that are more reliable than the others? My uncle is a Toyota fanatic and says they're the best, but I don't think he really knows.

 

[Dembadon]

I logged into my consumer reports account and took a snapshot of the highest rated sedan; hopefully I won't get in trouble for putting this up. I can post another if you like, just give me the category.

 

[lisab]

I'd take a good look at Hyundai, like Dembadon suggests. They've come a long way from where they were ~20 years ago, quality-wise.

IMO, it would be worth your while to buy a subscription to Consumer Reports before you part with a bundle of cash.

 

[mcknia07]

Hondas are great cars! Everyone in my family actually owns a Honda. Good on gas, too. I'm looking to buy another car right now too, I want to upgrade to a newer model on a Honda Civic :)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

My sister, father and aunt just got the 2011 Elantra and I must admit, it's a fantastic value! Hyundai has really turned a 180!

The Honda Civic is always a winner and a friend just got a 2011 Ford Focus that looks pretty good.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We've been driving Toyotas exclusively for thirty years now. In total we have driven them about a million miles with amazingly few problems. The only serious failure we've experience was my fault. Due to a mixup between my wife and I, one car went tens of thousands of miles without an oil change. That cost us an engine at about 130K miles. So we put in a low-mileage engine and drove another 100K miles.

While any model or individual car can be a lemon, based on our history, I couldn't ask for a better product. Having seen friends and family spend more for repairs on one car than we've spent on all of ours combined [less the screwup], I am a diehard Toyota fan.

I prefer Toyota to Hondas, but Honda also has a fantastic track record.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I did a quick check to see if I could confirm my opinion, impressions, and observations wrt Toyota, and quickly found this under the heading: The 100 most reliable cars produced in the last decade.

And a very special mention to Toyota - Toyota has an ambition to become the world's largest motor company and on the results of this survey, it fully deserves to get there. It scored as well as any other manufacturer in the top ten cars with two contenders, but also took eleventh spot with the Lexus IS 200, fourteenth with the Landcruiser, 19th with the Carina E, and 21st with the Lexus 400 - six cars in the top 21 represents a fantastic effort but a look down the list confirms what we'd always suspected - they have been building the most reliable cars for a long time - long product lines such as the Celica and Corolla are also there. Those cars have been produced for 30 years in vast numbers - it's not just one very reliable model here and there - ...

http://www.gizmag.com/the-100-most-reliable-cars-of-the-last-decade-in-order/5657/

Emphasis mine.

I prefer to buy a car with about 10K miles on it, from a new-car dealer [I think our last two were lease cars about a year old]. You get a huge drop in price with very little wear and tear. Typically, a Toyota is good for 300K miles if maintained properly. So don't be afraid of buying a good used car after having a mechanic check it out. IIRC, for any new car, the rule of thumb is that the value of the car drops ~10% the moment you drive it off the lot.

 

[Pengwuino]

Dodge is a POS.

Toyota is indeed reliable from what people have choked down my throat.

 

[xxChrisxx]

Leroy if you want cheap value Ivan's suggestion of a newish second hand car is probably your best bet. One that's done the worst of it's depreciating. Or it may be worth looking out for a new but preregistered car.

It may not be called the same thing, but in the UK to keep their books looking good, dealers buy their own cars to get the sales bonus from the manufacturer. So in a slow month/quarter they buy and preregister a car, then sell it on at a later date. The upshot of this is you can get the car at cost as it's technically second hand but will have only done maybe a mile driving.


I'm also not sure if the US continent Fiesta is the same as the European one. If it is I personally hate it, they are almost imposible to see out of the rear quarter as they have replaced window with crash structure. I have driven the 1.9TD (the 'sporty' diesel) and the 1.6 petrol. They are both good solid engines, bit slow maybe but got pretty decent MPG even when I was thrashing it. I don't know anything about the reliability of the transmission though.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Thanks for the responses guys.

What do you guys think about Mazda? There's a Mazda 2 near me that's pretty cheap. It's listed as new but it has 192 miles on it.

Dembadon, could you post a report of the Ford Fiesta? I hear it's not reliable, but that's the car I've been looking forward most to getting. But if people are having to have their transmissions replaced, then it's not worth it.

I looked at the Hyundai Elantra on the webpage of the local dealers and they have them at 19k+. That's a little too much.

I looked at the Honda Fit and people are saying it's really reliable. That's one I'm considering.

The Honda Civic is reliable too? Cause that's also one in my price range.

My uncle loves Toyota and there's a couple of them in my price range; the Yaris and the Corolla. The Yaris is a little too small and the Corolla I don't see priced under 18k.

the rule of thumb is that the value of the car drops ~10% the moment you drive it off the lot.

Meaning if the car officially has had an owner? Because I've seen new cars that have over 100 miles on them.

I'm also not sure if the US continent Fiesta is the same as the European one. If it is I personally hate it, they are almost imposible to see out of the rear quarter as they have replaced window with crash structure. I have driven the 1.9TD (the 'sporty' diesel) and the 1.6 petrol. They are both good solid engines, bit slow maybe but got pretty decent MPG even when I was thrashing it. I don't know anything about the reliability of the transmission though.

They're supposed to be the same as the European version, with maybe tiny differences.

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[Dembadon]

[...]

Dembadon, could you post a report of the Ford Fiesta? I hear it's not reliable, but that's the car I've been looking forward most to getting. But if people are having to have their transmissions replaced, then it's not worth it.

I looked at the Hyundai Elantra on the webpage of the local dealers and they have them at 19k+. That's a little too much.

I looked at the Honda Fit and people are saying it's really reliable. That's one I'm considering.

The Honda Civic is reliable too? Cause that's also one in my price range.

[...]

Here's the Fiesta:

I didn't see any mention of transmission problems, but they did mention that results for all tests aren't available since it is a new model.

Here's the Civic:

I'll grab more detailed information later tonight when I get home from class.

 

[turbo]

leroy, what is your climate? My wife and I live in a climate in which winter weather can be unpredictable and dangerous. She drives a Subaru Legacy, I drive a Subaru Forester (both with full-time AWD) and my rough truck for off-roading and fishing trips and runs to the landfill/recycling station is a very old Nissan 4x4. Your climate should be primo when selecting a car. If you have to get to work on time every day or risk losing your job in this job market, you need a vehicle that can get you there every day.

 

[turbo]

BTW, I would NEVER let my wife drive a Fiesta in our climate.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Thanks Dembadon. I read that the transmission problems are probably due to it being a new kind of transmission, or something like that, and it's not perfected.
You'd think they would perfect it before putting it in a car and selling it, though.

leroy, what is your climate? My wife and I live in a climate in which winter weather can be unpredictable and dangerous. She drives a Subaru Legacy, I drive a Subaru Forester (both with full-time AWD) and my rough truck for off-roading and fishing trips and runs to the landfill/recycling station is a very old Nissan 4x4. Your climate should be primo when selecting a car. If you have to get to work on time every day or risk losing your job in this job market, you need a vehicle that can get you there every day.

I live in Florida, so the worst that happens here in the winter is it gets cold. Even when it's easily cold enough to get ice and snow, we still don't get it. I think the freezing point of water is lower here or something.

And yeah, my only concern is getting from A to B reliably. I'm not concerned about anything else.

Why wouldn't you let your wife drive a Fiesta?

 

[turbo]

Why wouldn't you let your wife drive a Fiesta?

Because she would die trying to get to work on winter mornings in that little piece of crap. Legacy with studded snow-tires, and I can feed the wood-stove all night and sleep through the morning knowing she'll get there.

Our neighbor has a diesel VW Jetta that is somewhat OK, but he sometimes gives up when trying to get up our hill when trying to get home after a night shift and goes back to the nearest convenience store to have coffee and a light breakfast until the plow/sanding truck goes by. My wife is about ready for a new vehicle, and when winter is done, we'll offer the Legacy to our neighbor and shop for a new ride.

 

[johnwilliam]

My best choice is Ford as my Fiesta giving quite well experience for me. Now i want to change to a newer model of Ford. I know that no other brands can give better experience for me than Ford.

 

[Dembadon]

Here's a copy -> paste from the "Road Test" tab:

Road Test
hatchback SES 4-cyl MT

The Fiesta is an extremely pleasant subcompact, although it doesn't score as high as the Nissan Versa or Honda Fit in our tests. Nimble handling and a relatively quiet cabin and composed ride are high points. Front-seat passengers will find ample leg and head room and fuel economy is excellent. But acceleration is sluggish by modern standards, the cockpit is a bit narrow, and rear-seat room is very tight. Some controls are overcomplicated and the hatchback body style has restricted rear visibility. The price of our top-trim-line SES also climbs to the point where you can buy a bigger car instead.

The Driving Experience
Ride comfort and noise: Few will complain about the Fiesta's ride, which is free of the choppiness prevalent in the class. This car handles road bumps with ease, muting impacts well. The engine can be noisy when pressed but it's usually at a modest hum. Relatively little road and wind noise intrude.

Handling: The SES hatchback is nimble and fun to drive. The body leans little in corners and the steering is quick, responsive, and well weighted. Turn-in is immediate. At our track, the SES hatchback acquitted itself very well, clinging faithfully to the chosen line and remaining predictable and secure. The stability control system worked well, and this car posted a high speed through our avoidance maneuver, inspiring driver confidence in the process.

Powertrain: Equipped with the five-speed manual transmission, the 120-hp, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine delivers only adequate acceleration, lagging behind most competitors. However, it did rack up excellent fuel economy, averaging 32 mpg overall. The automatic-transmission model, which we also tested, returned 33 mpg. Although low effort, the five-speed manual feels a little rubbery, and it takes a good deal of rowing through the gears to keep the car moving smartly along in hilly terrain.

Braking: In SES trim, braking performance was very good. With its narrower tires, braking distances for the SE sedan were rather long.

Headlights: Low beams deliver good illumination and intensity, but the upper cut-off is sharp. High beams also deliver a good forward reach.

Inside The Cabin
Driving position: Drivers will find plenty of leg room and head room, and the tilt-and-telescope steering wheel helps both tall and short people get properly situated behind the controls. The cockpit feels a little narrow, though, with a wide center console crowding in from the right and a door-mounted bottle-holder bulge horning in from the left. Large windows and narrow roof pillars provide a good view forward and to the sides, but fat rear head restraints and a smallish rear window inhibit the view aft. Small spotter mirrors on the outside door mirrors reveal cars in the side blind spots, a neat low-tech feature.

Seat comfort and access: The front seats are fairly narrow but well-shaped, with good lateral support. Even average-sized drivers may find themselves sitting atop the seat bolsters instead of between them. The rear seat is very tight -- even by class standards -- and is nearly useless. The front seats must be scooted well forward to accommodate even a small rear passenger, head room is tight, and three adults in the rear is clearly one too many. Front access is easy, but climbing in or out of the rear is a bit of a chore.

Controls and gauges: The gauges are simple and easy to read, but the audio display washes out in bright sunlight. Audio controls, moreover, are far away and are needlessly complicated, forcing people to navigate onscreen menus and twiddle a multifunction control knob for something as simple as tuning a station manually. The up-level audio system that comes with Ford's SYNC communications hub is a tad easier to manage than the lower-trim system. The power door locks use a single button, mounted on the dash, and the doors don't give any visible indication if each is locked or not. We would far prefer individual lock switches as well. You can change the color of interior ambient lighting -- a neat touch.

Interior fit and finish: Fit and finish is a mixed bag with some nice touches but a few flaws. The dash is softly padded but nearly all other plastics are hard to the touch. The headliner looks cheap and the door trim flexes when you pull it shut. While most switchgear feels solid, we also noted a number of wide panel gaps and a couple of sharp edges.

Cabin storage and cargo room: Cabin storage is modest -- there isn't even a center console compartment. The cargo area can hold just one large suitcase with the rear seat upright and a couple of duffel bags but folding the 60/40-split rear seatbacks creates a reasonably large cargo hold.

Safety Notes
Safety belts: Front belts have adjustable upper anchors, pretensioners, and force-limiters.

Air bags: Front, side, curtain, and a driver's knee air bag are standard. Belt use and driver's-seat position influence front air bag deployment force. Sensors withhold passenger-side frontal air bag deployment if a child-sized occupant is detected.

Head restraints: All seats have adjustable, locking head restraints. The center rear restraint is too low to protect an adult even when raised.

Crash-avoidance systems: Antilock brakes, traction control, and stability control are standard.

Driving with kids: To secure rear-facing child seats, the front seat or seats may have to be moved well forward. The left and right lower-LATCH anchors are hard to access but work effectively. The seatbacks have three top-tether anchors.

Reliability
We do not have data to predict reliability, this model is new.

Tested model: 2011 SES 4-door hatchback, 1.6-liter Four, 5-speed manual
Major options: None.

This road test applies to the current model year of this vehicle.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Meaning if the car officially has had an owner?

Yes. Most new cars have been a through a few test drives. And there is a certain amount of driving required just to get the car to the dealership.

Just fyi or to anyone else interested, I would stress that you want to go to a new-car dealer, not a used-car dealer, for a good used car. I know a bit about that game. If a car is really nice and has good resale value, the dealer almost never puts it up for auction. The nice thing about going this way is that for the same budget, you can sometimes bump yourself up to a nicer model. Lease cars are one of the best options for almost new cars with low mileage - the buyer gets the great deal and the former leasee takes it in the shorts! Many people would lease a car for a year and then trade it in for a new one [But that was before the economy crashed. No idea what the market is like now]. Also, you can usually get a full warranty as you would with a new car when buying from a dealership.

The key is that when people trade in almost new cars for brand new cars. as many people [used to] do, or if someone can't make their payments on a brand new car and they have to give it up, they lose and the new buyer wins. Of course this assumes the car hasn't been abused and has been properly serviced. The maintenance history and a mechanical inspection are pretty telling in this regard.