As mentioned stay away from BMWs a friend of mine who is a good mechanic found out the hard way. He too needed to buy his Daughter a car and chose a BMW, twice he thought maybe the first time was just a fluke. My Neice who is an RN has had good luck with Audi. I know, a German brand but she has had no problems. I would try to steer her away from anything front wheel drive, transmission repairs are insanely expensive! Bob H.
I bought my daughter a Buick Verano. Less than $10K and very high on the safety ratings. New drivers need a safe vehicle! And its a Buick. The only issue they are known for is the cam timing solinoid which is a $30 part and ten minutes to replace. I like driving it and it has been very relible. Find a low milage one to maximize value.
Thanks all for confirming my thoughts on the German stuff. I definitely will be taking those off the list. Thanks also for the suggestions on what to get. I'll keep them in mind while we search. I can tell you that she really wants a coupe, so we'll be focusing on 2 door cars.
Avoid European cars altogether. I second the Hyundai/Kia. No frills, but cheap, inexpensive to fix, and fairly reliable up to 150k.
The 09-2014 Challengers can be had for reasonable money. If you need it some are AWD too. They also allow for personalization with stripes, etc. with the large side panels.
These are pretty much the same underneath as the 300 and Charger. I have had 2 of the Chrysler 300s for company cars. The first 2006 went to 185,000 miles with very few issues and second one, a 2014 that I have now, has been very reliable up to the current mileage of 133,000. The V6 in the 2014 is pretty awesome too... 25-30 MPG and quick!
The small BMW's she's probably talking about are not the same as the 7 series cars.. those are nice.. but yes, expensive to repair.. BMW.. the home of the $400 aftermarket alternator.. don't even ask about the cost of a Oe unit.. My sister has a 2001 740 and that is a fun car to drive. They have not had much trouble, and have owned it for a long time.. I think I did a water pump and an alternator. A few minor body repairs.. Every time they have given it to me to do something on, I always keep it for a few extra days because it is fun to drive.. even though about buying one for myself, because like you said, the used price on a really nice looking car is very reasonable.. but then I remember the old joke "What's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?... With a porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.." No offense intended to any Bimmer drivers on the board here, But ya, I am not really the aviator sunglasses/driving glove wearing type... I am more the type that you can tell what I had for lunch from looking at the front of my shirt, so I should probably stay in my lane, so to speak.. I had a couple friends who had the 3 series cars back in the 90's, and I was unimpressed with them. They were always broken down, had weak suspensions, and did not drive anything like the big cars.. I was a Honda tech at the time, and I recall thinking it was similar to driving a Accord vs a Civic.. same name on the car, totally different driving experience. The little Bimmers have the badge on them, but that's about where the similarity stops. I would imaging the newer versions she's looking at are the same deal. If she can get a deal on a 7 series, then just keep in mind that you need to keep a reserve available to fix it.. but they are nice big safe cars, as opposed to the crackerboxes that are out there. JW
Just beware, Kia and Hyundai's equipped with the 2.4 or 2.0 Theta II engines are having serious issues. Rod bearings failures, and Kia/Hyundai shops are loaded with cars with blown engines right now. There are recalls on some, but not all. I cringe when I see a Kia or Hyundai dealership calling me, and there was a time they had very few issues. Just a word of caution.
I have my 17 year old in a 1999 Mercedes. It's rough looking (getting rougher as she goes), but the engine and trans have been bulletproof (knock on wood) and the creature comfort issues that are STUPIDLY expensive to repair in a shop I do myself (ie power windows, climate control, heater motor, etc.) I bought this car with 100k miles on it 10 years ago and it's at 175k mile now. Oh, I've gotten better at replacing the front axle shafts when the boots tear. I have had to do 3 of those. Not great on gas, but sturdy beyond any Honda or Suburu IMO. Also, 4-matic all wheel drive which is great and with proper tires makes the car amazing in snow. If you are going to be paying a shop to maintain the car, then agree that avoiding euro is best. I recommend Toyota. Corolla or Prius are both very common here and nice used ones are available for decent prices. I am also looking for another vehicle, hoping to find something with a stick, so I can teach both my girls to drive one. Not easy to please everyone.
If you trust her, I would recommend the 5.7 V8 Charger or Challenger. This sounds nuts, but with the 5-speed MB automatic, these Mopars have a higher rear axle ratio and get better gas mileage then the sixes (assuming that the car is driven sanely) . Changing spark plugs is a bigger deal then the sixes (the V8s have 16 of them) but the flip side is that even though Chrysler says that they need to be changed at 30,000 miles, they don't. My 5.7 takes seven quarts of oil at 3,000 mile intervals, but the upside is that synthetic oil is not recommended. It about balances out between the six and the eight, but the RTs get better brakes and better suspension. The V8s run fine on regular gas.
The only issues I've ever seen with the V6 Challenger or Chargers are lifters and rockers (cheap fix) and the front rear lower control arms (they have 2 front lower control arms on each side, so yes front rear). I would not hesitate to buy one.
Derek, with all due respect, paying out claims on extended vehicle warranty claims doesn’t show the whole picture of what’s really failing and costing folks a lot of money in repairs. The policy’s exclusion pages reads like a “who’s who” of where the real problems are. Any policy worth a salt’s lick (not many) better have an exclusion’s page with very few words. Just like a casino, overall the house wins, and wins big. Anyway, IMO Walter, if your goal for your daughter is a safe and reliable vehicle, Toyota and Honda are #1 and #2. As mentioned, steer clear of ALL of the European stuff. Hyundai and Kia used to be a good but as also mentioned the 2.0 and 2.4’s have turned into rod-spitting machines. Even the V6’s have issues. Subaru engine oil consumption issues are well-documented. There was a class-action lawsuit brought against Subaru for this, and the settlement (install new engines) had a stop date and there is no more extended coverage. Word on the street was the replacement engines offered no “fix”, they only delayed the inevitable again. And “reliability” and “Dodge” are usually mutually-exclusive terms, again all IMHO.
Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to go look at a 2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe she found online. Price is a little under 10k and it looks to be in really good shape from the pictures. Mileage is only 71k.
Looks good for safety: https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/infiniti/g35-4-door-sedan/2003 First year for that model, but by now all the bugs will be worked out!
Fair enough, that's why you buy an exclusionary contract, which any of them that are worth the paper they're printed on do not exclude any high-dollar components. A good contract will have very few exclusions, which will mostly involve trim and interior components like fabric and door panels etc. Believe me, I do have a good understanding of the big picture. For example, Toyota and Honda are A rated as far as risk is concerned. Domestics are not even close, and are a much higher risk. If you own a 2015 through 2018 Silverado for example, I can guarantee that you will be putting a transmission in that vehicle. And that alone exceeds the price of any contract I've ever seen. If you own an F-150, I can guarantee you're going to be putting a complete sunroof assembly in it. Which also exceeds the price of any contract, which a win for the contract holder. The higher the mileage, just like the higher the age of an individual that's getting health insurance, the higher the price of the contract is. There is a place in a time for an extended service contract, but if somebody buys one that is full of exclusions and does not cover common issues, and that is probably not a good purchase. I cannot tell you how many people buy these contracts that have absolutely no idea what they are purchasing. Friday I approved an $11,000 on a Cadillac Escalade engine. The owner purchased contract for $3,000. Personally, and I cannot speak for every claims adjuster, but I can tell you every common problem on every make and model vehicle made in the last 10 years. And every single one of those problems I have authorized claims on multiple times.
Subaru with the 3.6 flat six have been rock solid for us. The head gasket thing is long gone. Hondas have served us very well too.
