Recommend Me A Car

[Minuit]

So, here's the deal. My line of work involves me driving. A lot. 120 miles a day right now and I'd say that's about average. I've come to the conclusion that I need a modern, safe, practical car that gets relatively good mileage. A touch of luxury wouldn't hurt either, considering I expect to spend up to 3 hours a day in the damn thing.

 

My budget is undecided, but absolutely no more than $10,000. I make good money, but I'm not looking to spend a fortune. In current market conditions it looks like this means I'm looking at ~10 year old and older cars depending on brand. I'm not in a hurry to buy something, but I am doing my homework ahead of time so I know what to look for when it's time.

 

CC is full of practical people, so tell me what car I should buy!

 

Let me lay out my requirements:

- No older than let's say 2004 or so.

- Safety, safety, safety: I don't work nights anymore so there's actually more than just cops sharing the road with me now, and I see ridiculous $#!& on the interstate every day.

- Comfortable ride: I don't want sporty pretensions. Roads where I live range from ok to "downright horrible" and I'd really rather not have my teeth rattled out.

- 25 MPG highway rating minimum. Not too high of a barrier within the class of car I'm looking at, but I do need at least better MPG than my 25 year old, 3700 lb V8 coupe gets.

- Nice interior features. I expect to spend a lot of time in this car, so creature comforts are appreciated. I'm looking for a reasonably nice car, not a stripped out econobox and am willing to trade some maintenance headaches for that. Some. No Volkswagens.

- I'm not afraid of maintaining it myself.

 

Both automatic and manual transmissions are fine, I don't care which or how many wheels get driven, and I don't care if the car is fast or not.

 

Right now, my vehicle lineup consists of the following:

 

My '91 MJ, which is completely irreplaceable should I get into an accident. It also has 0 modern safety features and gets 18 MPG on the highway. As easy to work on as it gets. Mechanically as solid as it gets, I'd trust it to drive cross country tomorrow.

My '89 MJ, which is a project stuck in the worst kind of limbo and is going away soon. Anyone want to buy it? I have goodies I'm willing to bundle with it, including a D44 and interior parts.

My '96 Ford Thunderbird, which isn't a bad car, is comfortable, and easy to work on, but it's also 25 years old and not getting younger. I have doubts about the transmission, it needs tires, and the paint is falling off even more than it was. I can routinely get 23 MPG on the highway, but would like to improve on that number. I have no intention of selling or trading this car away.

 

On paper it sounds like a Volvo is the perfect ride for me. I really like the way the 06-09 S60/V70 looks on the inside and outside, and I've done a fair bit of homework on them in the last few days and have become somewhat familiar with the typical trouble spots. Has anyone on here had any experience?

 

Subarus are very popular around here, especially as you go further east into the mountains. An old friend had an '08 Outback 5-speed when we were younger and really liked it. I'm aware of the head gasket issues on the 2.5L engine. I'm not afraid of PM'ing them myself but would obviously prefer a car that's already had them replaced... or has the 3.0L engine. On the bright side, Subarus are very safe and seem solid apart from the head gaskets. I would be looking at the 2007-2009 Outback and Legacy.

 

The 2006-2012 Ford Fusion was recommended to me as a good driving car for the price, but I keep hearing about problems with the automatic transmissions. The Fords of this era that I've personally been in haven't had my favorite interiors, either.

 

I'd rather not pay the Toyota/Honda Tax if I can avoid it. A friend has a 2015 Civic... meh, it's a car. The seats are hard and the ride is kind of rough.

 

I believe if you read my posts you can probably guess that I'm not much of a GM fan after having grown up in essentially a GM family. I don't see them having much for me. You can't shake a tree without a dozen 2006-2013 Impalas falling out around here, but nothing about them is especially appealing to me. The driving position causes a weird pain in my legs too. My dad owns one. Also, no Cruzes or 3.6L V6s. I'd honestly rather own a '90s Northstar.

 

I'm not currently considering any Stellantis/Chrysler/whatever products. Should this change?

 

At the moment it seems like I just need to finish making my list and then go test drive some cars. Maybe by then the market will be heading back towards normal... if it ever will.

[jdog]

Grand Marque, or a crown vic would be my suggestion, and that's just cause you seem like the person that would drive them. They would be right around the time frame your looking for, but I don't know fuel mileage on them. With that said I Daily a legacy but my drive is a lot shorter then yours but have close to 200k and has been a reliable driver.  The Volvo is a decent car, we had them at work around that time, don't remember any issues with em. They are generally good cars that hold their own and would be a good choice.

[75sv1]

The Grand Marque or Crown Vic as suggested. I think 25-27 mpg hiway. I'd also check out GM products with the 3000 engine. I think 27 to 30 mpg highway. 

[scguy]

Toyota Avalon, they don't carry as much Toyota tax, because they're perceived as an older persons car. 

 

I work on cars for a living. Avalon's are solid, tend to have been taken care of, very safe, reliable, comfortable. They get pretty good highway MPGs. I would avoid any Chrysler or GM in that price range, especially the awful, awful Cruze. 

[Ωhm]

Ford Flex

[Pete M]

chrysler minivan.    you sit up high and can see over cars in traffic, and it's literally the most useful thing ever. 

[89 MJ]

15 minutes ago, Pete M said:

chrysler minivan.    you sit up high and can see over cars in traffic, and it's literally the most useful thing ever. 

How did I know you were going to say that

[Pete M]

because it's the best commuter ever.     if I remember right, 2008 is the first year for the fully fold-in-the-floor seating.

[DesertRat1991]

Hyundai Azera - budget friendly, yet surprisingly well appointed interior in the Limited trim version.  You could probably find something 2014 or earluer under 10k

 

Subaru Forester - more space, awd, good mpg.

[Smokeyyank]

Old friend of mine had a Volvo, both a s60r and a base s60. They were comfortable. Maintenance wise wasn't terrible but wasn't cheap when he had to fix it even if DYI. Decent to drive. Obviously the R was a lot more fun to drive because it hauled @$$. Personally I'm not a fan of Subarus, they're uncomfortable and tend to have issues. I bought a Scion xB as my daily. For what it is can't complain. Not the most comfortable car, but not bad and has a ton of space. I average 30 miles a gallon and I picked it up cheap. Other than the clutch accumulator failing two weeks ago I've just had to do oil changes. Something you could consider would be a BMW 3 series. BMWs are surprisingly easy to work on. Yes they do tend to have parts that we're a little quicker but majority of the aftermarket parts or well made and honestly not that expensive. Another thought would be looking for a Mercedes GLK350. They have a very well-built drivetrain. Extremely comfortable and would be within your MPG range and should be in the price range depending on area  I used to have a c350 which was essentially the same, just a car and rear-wheel drive. Was great to drive. Loved that car. 

[gogmorgo]

A friend of mine picked up a 2015 Corolla with ~20,000 miles on it this summer off a dealer lot, right around $10k after the exchange rate. Base model with a stick shift, they just couldn’t move it. Automatics on the lot were going for about 50-70% more with three or four times the mileage. Nothing super fancy going on, just cruise and a/c, but in my mind you don’t really need much more than that. 

[Minuit]

A few comments:

 

I'm not interested in SUVs, crossovers, or minivans. Car-type chassis only. I intended to put this in the main post but it got left off somehow. I am however very much open to wagons.

 

Somehow I knew Pete was going to come at me with the minivan angle.

 

Crown vics: I see this as a rough equivalent to what I have now. I'm not a fan of the transmissions but am moderately familiar with the engines. I don't see myself needing such a big car,  and while 4.6 cars get just fine highway mileage in my experience, the city mileage is brutal with so much weight to pull around. My thunderbird's mileage falls off a cliff the second a traffic jam shows up.

 

Avalon seems worth a second look. I'm not a big fan of the Toyota interiors of the time but I'll do some homework.

 

The Chevy Cruze and pretty much all Chryslers sit at negative infinity on my list. My grandma owned a 2014 Cruze, and a coworker had a 2013. Both hateful little cars that quickly developed issues.

 

I know nearly nothing about Hyundai or Kia products, but the stories I hear seem to be either "lemon"  or "best car ever" with very little in between.

[Sir Sam]

I’d recommend a diesel Mercedes like this:

 

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ctd/d/philadelphia-2005-mercedes-benz-320-cdi/7400896589.html

 

If you look around you will see they are very affordable and fit the budget you have laid out. And these years before the V6 diesel don’t have all the emissions crap on them. 
 

very comfortable, very reliable, VERY safe. 
 

lots of car for the money. 

[Pete M]

I could feel it in your post that you wanted something less than the best.  but I had to suggest it anyways.   

 

 

[olddude]

2011 Cadillac STS V6 est. 19 mpg. Once you drive a Cadillac you will always drive a Cadillac. 

[Smokeyyank]

I agree with Toyota interiors. Functional but not really comfortable or attractive. You could look at Lexus. I think it's the ES300 that's comparable to the Camry/Avalon. The Lexus interior is a lot more refined and put together better than a standard Toyota. My wife has a gx460 and I absolutely love driving that car. It's really comfortable feels solid, the only downside is the technology on the interior is at least 5 years behind everyone else. Doesn't really matter to me a whole lot but for some people it's a deal-breaker.

[dasbulliwagen]

I like my Hyundais, but in the era youre looking at, they had a lot of engine problems, some with the crankshaft, and some with pistons. So do your research if you find yourself going that direction. Mazda cars are underrated in my opinion. Youll be fine as long as you stay away from anything with a turbo or a rotary. I would stay away from anything with a CVT transmission as well. They don't seem to have good longevity. I really don't understand why any mfg is still using them. I guess most of them last long enough to get it outside of the warranty period. 

[The86manche]

I had myself a 2013 dodge dart limited I had bought two years ago for $6500.

It was a black on beige, full leather, 6 way power driver seat, heated seats and steering wheel, nav, Bluetooth, sunroof, backup camera, 1.4L turbo with a 6 speed manual trans. Very comfy and sporty ride. Not the fastest honestly but on highway driving it was a good 25-30mpgs depending on how you drove it. Downside is it ran on 93.

I had the dealer do the timing belt service on it before I sold it and they did a few other odds and ends that only ran me 1200. So servicing it isn't crazy expensive. And I sold it with 155k miles.

But I loved that car still. Some good aftermarket support for it growing too.

And the darts have a very good safety rating as well

[RustyRodder]

I am going to go with the boring route- A honda Accord.  Yeah, you said no honda tax, but its worth it.  Plus old enough that you can get them reasonable. 

I had a 2003 LX with the 2.4/auto combination.  My aunt had it before me, and regularly drove it from upstate NY to NC comfortably.  I drove it a few times from NY to GA, getting 39mpg and no issues with comfort. 

I would recommend a 2006-2007 EX-L with that engine combo.  No timing belt, so no worries there.  Just make sure that its kept up on oil, if the PCV goes they will burn a bit of oil and will run low.  low oil consistantly causes the chain to stretch and skip teeth.  But on the EXL, youll have heated seats, sunroof, dead balls reliable engine and trans (the V6 had transmission issues on the 98-04ish).  You can get a kit to change the center stack to a standard double DIN now. 

[Parei_doll_ia]

VW TDI. I bought mine about 2 years ago for ~$9500 and if you don't have to do a visual inspection, I get 50 MPG and 170hp/295lbft with a stage 1 Stevenson tune. It loves the highway, rides great, and handles great too. Easiest manual I've ever driven, 1st gear is almost too low. I've pretty much only done oil changes and fuel filters, along with the timing belt, but I did that early because it was 10 years old. That was actually pretty easy and cost me about $500. Find a 2015 and you'll have the rare MK7 TDI.

[Sir Sam]

17 hours ago, keeponjeepinon said:

VW TDI. I bought mine about 2 years ago for ~$9500 and if you don't have to do a visual inspection, I get 50 MPG and 170hp/295lbft with a stage 1 Stevenson tune. It loves the highway, rides great, and handles great too. Easiest manual I've ever driven, 1st gear is almost too low. I've pretty much only done oil changes and fuel filters, along with the timing belt, but I did that early because it was 10 years old. That was actually pretty easy and cost me about $500. Find a 2015 and you'll have the rare MK7 TDI.

What’s the going price on these? In a similar vein this is why I recommended the diesel Mercedes, but the ones before emissions stuff got bad. 

[Parei_doll_ia]

7 hours ago, Sir Sam said:

What’s the going price on these? In a similar vein this is why I recommended the diesel Mercedes, but the ones before emissions stuff got bad. 

Kind of all over the place. Anywhere from 8-15k. A lot have low miles since they were bought back in 2015 and they're still finding their way back on to the road.

[Sir Sam]

17 hours ago, keeponjeepinon said:

Kind of all over the place. Anywhere from 8-15k. A lot have low miles since they were bought back in 2015 and they're still finding their way back on to the road.

Ya I believe that. Lots of all over the place prices these days. 

[Jlindsey86]

I would suggest a 2005 or 06 Mercedes E320 CDI. Inline diesel motor that pulls like a freight train and will eclipse 40mpg on flat land. I drive an 08 E320 but they were v6 by then and are a bit more expensive. Mercedes didn't introduce all the emissions crap until 2010.

[Sir Sam]

22 hours ago, Jlindsey86 said:

I would suggest a 2005 or 06 Mercedes E320 CDI. Inline diesel motor that pulls like a freight train and will eclipse 40mpg on flat land. I drive an 08 E320 but they were v6 by then and are a bit more expensive. Mercedes didn't introduce all the emissions crap until 2010.

Great minds think alike.