New Commuter Car - looking for advice/experience

[dogfriend]

Everything I've read and heard in my life has told me to steer clear of VW's due to them not being very reliable and very high repair costs. I didn't even consider any of their vehicles. I could be way off base here though.

I went and looked at them when I was looking for a commuter, especially because the German cars tend to have more headroom than a lot of other makes. I usually go around and eliminate 70% of the cars based on the headroom criteria alone.

But my GF once owned a US built VW Rabbit and from that experience she has a deep hatred for VW. And most VW models are below average reliability as reported by Consumer Reports. And the VW dealer here seems kinda sleezy. And we weren't impressed by the interior quality of the Mexican assembled VW Beetle that I test drove. And it gets ****ty mileage for a small car (this was the 2.5 gas engine, the diesel wasn't available in Calif at that time).

On PriusChat, there used to be someone who had this in their sig:

The TDI is a great engine, too bad it was attached to a VolksWagen.

 

[Paraphoe]

Hahaha....thank you for validating my suspicions.

 

[alvin]

Pretty sad all you Americans raving about Jap crap,especially in an American car site.

 

[FROADER]

Pretty sad all you Americans raving about Jap crap,especially in an American car site.

Suggest a reliable American commuter instead of complaining?

 

[JDraper]

How about a used Focus? We have an '08 that gets us in the mid 30's on mpg combined driving and has been a very good car. Decent amount of room inside, nice features for an inexpensive car and decent mileage.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Pretty sad all you Americans raving about Jap crap,especially in an American car site.

<on soapbox>

I'm probably a Ford defender to a fault- documented very well here. With the info provided, we're making a reasonable recommendation. I'd buy an Escort, pre jellybean. But, it's not everyone's taste, or wheelhouse. I'd rather recommend something based on honest thought than xenophobic blind ambition.

Would I prefer American? Yes. My Dad retired from Ford, he has driven and continues to drive Ford. My Mom had Ford until she was driving more miles, and my Dad wanted her to try a Camry based on reliability at the time, when Ford was having some issues. Now with the accel issues on the Toyotas, she is trading her 2008 Camry in for either a new Fusion or a new Taurus this spring. It's full circle- if the car is worth buying, it will be bought.

I think most of us drive Ex's, because I truly believe that for the size of the vehicle, especially Gen I and II, there is no better option for what it does, and how well they are built. That makes me want to buy a Ford, not necessarily where they're from.

That's a thought out argument, not a one line rip based on only where a car is built when we're trying to help a forum member make an informed decision.



We need Toyota, Honda, and yes- VW to build good cars. Competition is what keeps innovation sharp. Without real, honest competition, you get this:

With good competition, you get this:

You choose. Head in the sand Tempo, or healthy competition Fusion.

<off soapbox>

 

[jonlax]

How about a used Focus? We have an '08 that gets us in the mid 30's on mpg combined driving and has been a very good car. Decent amount of room inside, nice features for an inexpensive car and decent mileage.

+1 even know my wifes sounds like a bumbble be on crack it gets great mileage at is already at 80k with low maintence. I replaced a front drive shaft but she beats the h$%& out of the thing other than that its just the oil change ever 3k and plugs and wires at 60k.

 

[Gus Gorilla]

Fire away if you must but in the spirit of nominating a good domestic commuter/beater car I recommend an Escort. I DD the $hit out of a zx2 that's approaching the 150k mark and it's still a champ. 30+ on the highway, low maintenance, drives well, plus I can feel good driving an enjoyable domestic.

 

[Paraphoe]

At this point, the lines in the whole domestic/foreign debate are becoming more and more blurred anyway, with the amount of production of foreign cars going on in the US. I'm not going to base my decision on where the car may or may not have been made, I'm going to base it on quality. Especially considering it's a used vehicle that and my purchase isn't boosting the sales of the company.

And in terms of quality/reliability, while Ford is neck and neck nowadays, I'm not so convinced that they were back on 2000-2001, and Consumer Reports backs up my thoughts. I'll take my chances with a tried and true Honda/Yota commuter. The goal here, after all is minimum maintenance and saving cash.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed- the origin means little to me aside from where the majority of dollars in the transactions end up. But yeah- Escort in Mexico vs. US built "Japanese" car... Interesting conundrum.

It is a quality thing, I agree. And yep- the end goal and desired range steers you towards the proven commuters.

 

[Paraphoe]

Question for you guys...what do you think I'm safe going up to, mileage wise on an 01-02 Civic? I'm trying to find one around 100k, give or take, but anything in my $3500 price range is rocking upwards of 150k. I don't want to buy someones headache.

 

[IZwack]

Have patience - what you seek will come around.

I found my 96 Civic with 83k miles for $3k back in 2006. The beauty is that everything is manual - doors, windows, even the steering. So in the long run, there are fewer parts to go wrong.

 

[dogfriend]

Find a little old lady who only drove to church on Sundays but has decided not to drive anymore because she can't see as well as she used to. :

The problem with Civics in our area is: 1) The "tuners" aka high school kids like them so they drive up the price of used ones and 2) they often get partially stripped or stolen for parts (my nephew lost his cat and some other parts on his Civic when it was parked next to his parents house)

 

[Turdle]

my 02

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1576844965.html

something like that

 

[FROADER]

I personally wouldn't have any problems buying a civic with 150k miles. If you are worried, take it to a mechanic before purchasing it. But I bet if you wait it out, you'll find exactly what you're looking for.

In 2003 bought a '91 Accord with 175k miles and put another 25k(ish) on it. It burned a little oil, but I never had a problem with it otherwise.

I also did what dogfriend said. Found a 2005 Toyota Tercel with 23k miles for $500. The old lady couldn't drive anymore and her family just wanted to get rid of it.

 

[Paraphoe]

Alright, I will just wait it out.

 

[01sport_31292]

Heres where I chime in. Im a diehard explorer fan down to the end, but unfortunately I couldn't afford one when I went to look for a new car. I ended driving alot of commuter cars. I drove corollas, civics, vws, nissans, pretty much the full range. I kinda wanted a focus but they all the ones I drove had been beaten to death. I never thought about mazda until my dads coworker let me drive his protege. That thing was awesome. Its quick, reliable, safe, and gets great gas mileage! I get about 35-40 on the highway depending on how heavy my foot feels.

I got a 2003 in great shape with low miles, all the bells and whistles for about 5 g's. NO problems what so ever and I love that car. You can probably score a 2001 for your price range. They are priced great and you can get either the 2.0(what I have) that gets good gas mileage, or a 1.8 lx that gets even better gas mileage.

Great car compared to the civic, IMO. I drove a lot of civics and every one disappointed me.

 

[Maniak]

A couple years ago we grabbed our 2000 Civic HX. manual trans, but with power windows and a/c (its an HX model.. A/c didn't come from the factory, its dealer installed).

It had just < 150k miles on it and the timing belt was just changed. I got the receipts and the shop that did the timing belt put the sticker under the hood. If it didn't have that info I wouldn't have paid $4k for it since unless there is proof of the timing belt change, I'll change the timing belt right away.

Only work I've had to do to it so far is change the a/c compressor (bearing was starting to go) and I had 1 injector get plugged. I threw in a set of injectors for $35 (used) changed the a/c parts myself. Otherwise, all I do to it is change the oil/filter/air filter every 8-10k miles and put tires and gas in it. Otherwise, I haven't done anything to it and its working great as a commuter car. Heck, I might even wash it soon.. (I haven't washed it since I've owned it).

$4k was a good deal around here, and the civics were not lasting. This one went on craigslist a 9:00 am and it was mine by noon. Most cars were not lasting until I got off work. Of course, I was only looking at HX models.

EDIT: by the way.. As much as I'd like to get a Ford etc, I wouldn't be able to afford one in the "new era" of Ford. Basically, I consider The last 7 year or so the "new era" of Ford Reliability. There is no way I'd own a late 90's Ford, but I would a late 90's Honda. If we had enough money a later model Ford would have been an option...

~Mark

 

[alexk]

my father has a 2005 corolla with 130K on it. He bought it new and I wanna say he commutes 45-50 miles each way (I know its no less than 45), since buying it hes hit 3 deer and hasnt done anything besides the maintence. He averages 40 mpg with it, so if your willing to go a little more a 2003 corolla would probably be a good option. My personal opinion of the car isnt a great one, just because i hate driving small cars, but it suits my fathers needs perfectly and would probably suit yours perfectly too.

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

Ive driven and worked on anything in the original post, and alot of what else was mentioned here as well atleast once.

My vote goes to the corolla out of the lot. Ill back that up by convincing my sister to opt for the 07 corolla she just got a few months ago. theyre solid good little cars no matter how you look at em

the hybrids get awsome mileage with a lifestyle change. most people dont drive them to their potential. when i worked at lexus we had some of our customers and some of the prius owners so caught up in the torque that theyd get less milage

the saturns an outright peice of crap no matter how you look at it

i never was huge on the whole honda thing, but the civic is a good little car as well, i just never took to em.

its no secret around here that i love my focus to death, so id also bring that up for consideration. stay away from the first year or 2 and your fine.