Car help!!

[pigletgirl]

DF was in a car accident on monday afternoon. He is fine and wasn't hurt but his car suffered over $3000 in damage, however its worth about that much, and he's now looking for a new car. We both have found about 3 that we like, but we wanted some other opinions on these cars.

1. 2008 Ford Fusion -- Private seller willing to take OBO. It has approx. 60,000 miles on it.

2. 2006 Volkswagon Passat -- 3.6 engine. Has approx 115,000 miles on it. The car is GORGEOUS! Is the mileage too high?

3. 2003 Honda Accord. 89,000mi. Below KBB value...

Knowing just that info (we haven't test driven any of them yet) which one would you pick and why?

Thanks!

 

[scbelleatheart]

I'd go Honda. My DS hated her Passat. I'm a car snob. I love Honda, Toyota, and my favorite of all, Lexus. Have 5, one for each of the kids and then my beater Jag. It old (04) but can count on it all the time.

 

[wdwmom2]

We are a Honda family, so I would pick the Honda!

DH and I have 4 children, and at age 16, they all got used Hondas. Those cars got them through thier HS years, jobs, and then commuting to college. No major repairs for any of them, just routine maintainance and wear items (belts, brakes, etc.).

Our oldest DD drove her's for a really long time. Between HS, college, job, and boyfriend that lives 70 miles away, she really put a lot of miles on it. It is still running like a champ. She just recently handed it down to our youngest DD and bought herself an 07 Accord.

Our DS is picking up an Accord this weekend. He sold his Chevy Suburban to get a more fuel efficient vehicle. His first car was a Honda Prelude that he handed down to one of our DD's.

Last year I bought an 09 Accord and plan on driving it for many, many years!!! I love that car!

Poor DH, he drives a 98 Ford Expedition. Yeah, it runs great. That is after putting a new engine in it before it had 100,000 miles on it, and replacing the transmission only a few years after that! He is a stickler about maintainance. I felt so bad for him when he had these issues. Luckily, his brother is a mechanic, specializes in Hondas/Acuras. But he can work on anything. So DH did get his vehicle fixed fairly inexpensively.

ETA: Whatever car you decide on, I would ask to see the maintainace record. Hopefully the previous owner kept it UTD. A Carfax report would be nice too. But even they are not perfect. DS recently tried trading his one passenger car, not the Suburban, in on another, more family friendly car. I don't remember the details, but the car had been wreaked, had a salvage title in another state. But the title he actually had was not a salvage title. He never knew this until he went to trade it in and the car dealer found this!

 

[FF/MEDIC MEL]

Honda, I've owned 3 Honda automobiles and 2 Honda motorcycles. No complaints anywhere. Although my next vehicle will be a Toyota Venza.

 

[tvguy]

DF was in a car accident on monday afternoon. He is fine and wasn't hurt but his car suffered over $3000 in damage, however its worth about that much, and he's now looking for a new car. We both have found about 3 that we like, but we wanted some other opinions on these cars.

1. 2008 Ford Fusion -- Private seller willing to take OBO. It has approx. 60,000 miles on it.

2. 2006 Volkswagon Passat -- 3.6 engine. Has approx 115,000 miles on it. The car is GORGEOUS! Is the mileage too high?

3. 2003 Honda Accord. 89,000mi. Below KBB value...

Knowing just that info (we haven't test driven any of them yet) which one would you pick and why?

Thanks!

None of the above until a mechanic looks at them.
I'd probably exclude the Volkswagon, because VW's have among the lowest reliability. I'd probably give preference to the Fusion since it was the top car in reliability studies higher than Honda and Toyota, it's newer, and has lower miles. Honda's have a great reputation, but used prices for Hondas tend to be higher than other brands, and I'm not sure what you get for those extra dollars.

 

[PFlamingo]

At 89K a Honda is just getting broken in.

I've had 2 Hondas and loved them both. Really well-built, reliable cars.

But I agree w/ tvguy - have a mechanic check it out for you first.

 

[momof1princess]

assuming, as a PP said, the honda is given a clean bill of health by a qualified mechanic, i'd definitely choose the honda. at 89,000 miles, that honda is just getting going good, lol. they will last forever, with just a little TLC (regular oil changes and maintenance).

 

[bballmom56]

We would avoid the VW as we found when doing research for a car for DS several years ago that they can be mechanical dogs. And when something does go wrong, it costs a fortune to fix it, because you know they have to fly the part in from Germany in a first class seat. I really loved the look of the Jetta and the Passat but after also talking with a friend who has worked on them, they came off the list.

I'm torn between the Honda and the Ford as you have a big gap in "newness". But yet we bought an older Toyota for DD that had 91,000 miles. She kept it for 5 years, added another 60,000 miles and it was a champ. She got a good price when she sold it.

 

[1stluvispooh]

First of all must say that I would never own a Ford. Isn't it odd it's only 3 years old (OK almost 4 and only $3000? Second I own a '99 Passat with 168,000 miles on it and must say I will never buy a VW again. Not until after I owned it for a while did I find out that they are rather famous for electrical problems.(her name is Christine for a reason!) Thirdly my sister has a a '94 yes '94 not a typo, Honda and it runs like a top and as she says will only buy a new car when it is a necessity. (My kids think it's such a cool car since it has crank windows! ) So what would I do?? Buy the Honda. In fact I have my next car a Honda pick out!!!