Make and model vehicle

[WickstarRunner]

Wife and I have owned:

Chevy Aveo
Ford Explorer
Dodge Avenger
Dodge Intrepid
Hyundai Elantra
Ford Focus
Ford Escape

Will never buy anything Hyundai again, biggest maintenance headaches I've ever had. Focus is a 2012 and still running well after almost 300K Miles. Escape working well so far as well.

 

[SteveH]

@tink20 I've bought a few new cars in my life, and I won't buy new anymore. But it's your life and car.
You mentioned the Nissan Rogue, no matter what you look at rent one first drive it for a few days. It can save you a bit headache later. I rented a Rouge last February, to be honest I was not impressed. Had a fairly rough ride, and I drive a Jeep Wrangler so that says something. But of all the vehicles I've owned there was only one that was uncomfortable for me to drive, that was a Jeep Liberty. Had I rented one I would have known. The seats are shorter in that rig and would cause issues in my legs. Mind you we kept that Liberty and it now has 180k on it with almost no issues. Survived me driving it and both of my boys in high school and college. I have a Jeep Wrangler (don't buy for the mileage) with 110k no problems, and I freaking LOVE it. My wife has Jeep Grand Cherokee 60k with no issues as well. Bought all of them used.

Beyond renting one, if you have a serve shop you like and trust (not a dealer) go in and talk with them. I can tell you when they hated me owning a Chevy Impala. Warned me about issues that start about 60k and sure enough about then had a couple issues pop up. Quickly sold that. We were thinking about an Escape - but again got a warning about mileage issues on those too.

As around and do your homework, avoid impulse buys, most of all enjoy it.

 

[LilyJC]

I’ve always loved Toyotas and likely will always own one. We also only buy them certified/pre-owned. I can’t bring myself to buy brand new.

My Camry lasted from high school into married life/kids.
We’ve had a couple 4Runners which we loved.
Currently I drive a 2005 Sequoia which my kids and hubby would like to replace, but it’s still doing great. I love that tank, but probably too big for what you’re looking for and awful gas mileage.
My husband drives a Prius, but he’d prefer to be driving another 4Runner. Great gas mileage though!
My mom has a 2019 Highlander which she loves. Personally it’s too low for me when I’ve driven it.
I think the 2019 RAV4s are super cute, but they’re way too small for me with kids and three big dogs.
The CH-Rs are also so cute but quite small! Can’t go wrong with Toyotas IMO, but we have a huge, amazing dealership nearby.

 

[kymom99]

Wife and I have owned:

Chevy Aveo
Ford Explorer
Dodge Avenger
Dodge Intrepid
Hyundai Elantra
Ford Focus
Ford Escape

Will never buy anything Hyundai again, biggest maintenance headaches I've ever had. Focus is a 2012 and still running well after almost 300K Miles. Escape working well so far as well.

Omg my husband bought an intrepid and it was awful. Had it in the shop so many times. The AC broke every single summer. And it would stall for no reason. Very dangerous. He loved how it drove but got tired of dealing with it so he traded it for a Camry.

 

[WickstarRunner]

Omg my husband bought an intrepid and it was awful. Had it in the shop so many times. The AC broke every single summer. And it would stall for no reason. Very dangerous. He loved how it drove but got tired of dealing with it so he traded it for a Camry.

Admittedly, ours was wrecked before maintenance became a problem.......

 

[cvjw]

We are a Honda family. 2006 Pilot with 145,000 miles and 2016 CR-V with 30,000 miles. Both run great and are low-cost to own. Honda has a reputation of being boring as their cars generally lack upscale interior finishes and/or bells and whistles when compared to other similar-class vehicles. But that's okay by us as we're not fancy. We love the reliability and safety record and have had no mechanical issues. If you take good care of them, they do last a really long time.

You must not have gotten the right Honda if you think they lack bells and whistles and upscale interior finishes. My elite pilot has every feature I could ever want or need and is very appealing and comfortable inside.

 

[ronandannette]

What do you all think of Nissan Rogue Sport?

Here in Canada that model is marketed as the Nissan Qashqai and I got one two years ago when the lease on my Juke (which I hated) was up. After having done quite a lot of looking around, it’s definitely the roomiest vehicle in its class but that results in it being under-powered for its size. Not dramatically but enough that you can’t dash from a dead stop and you need to think about what you’re doing when passing on two lane highways. (This is for the 2.0 litre engine with CVT.) The exterior is quite spiffy, especially if you get the chrome roof rack. Mine is electric green and it turns a lot of heads.

Gas mileage is consistent with other vehicles of its size; better on the highway than around town. The inside is OK but it has quite a bit of hard plastic and leather seats are not an option (at least they weren’t on the 2018). Good standard features but my model year didn’t have integrated GPS available. The rear seating is very adequate in size and comfort for two adults. Great cargo volume and a neat little pop-up barrier thing in the back to keep groceries from rolling around.

Overall, I think it is the best value for the money in a vehicle of its type; thousands less than a Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV or Chevy Equinox. It’s not my dream car but I’m happy enough with it.

 

[kymom99]

I found a 2020 rogue with something like 3000 miles on it being sold certified used. About 2k less than buying it new. My husband didn’t like it because it’s green.

 

[kymom99]

Admittedly, ours was wrecked before maintenance became a problem.......

The AC issues started right out of the chute. But it was the second production year so those things were probably corrected in later years.

 

[mumto3girls]

Omg my husband bought an intrepid and it was awful. Had it in the shop so many times. The AC broke every single summer. And it would stall for no reason. Very dangerous. He loved how it drove but got tired of dealing with it so he traded it for a Camry.

I mentioned above that my favorite car is the Highlander that I drive now, but when I say that I wistfully think of the Dodge Intrepid I was driving in the mid-90’s. It was a company car passed down to me within the company and I loved that car. I don’t think I had previously ever driven anything that when you hit the gas, it really went. I liked how it handled, how it looked, but repair wise it was a nightmare. I have many stories about being stranded, praying I would make it to the dealership as it was stalling out on the way there. Fortunately I wasn’t paying for the repairs and I knew then I would never own one myself, but I really liked that car.

 

[tvguy]

Wife and I have owned:

Chevy Aveo
Ford Explorer
Dodge Avenger
Dodge Intrepid
Hyundai Elantra
Ford Focus
Ford Escape

Will never buy anything Hyundai again, biggest maintenance headaches I've ever had. Focus is a 2012 and still running well after almost 300K Miles. Escape working well so far as well.

CARS-ME: I'm 63.
1974 Ford Pinto purchased new, kept 16 years and 130,000 miles. Got rid of it because too small for our growing family.
1990 Mercury Sable. Purchased new, passed it on to my kids, owned it 18 years and 140,000 miles when my daughter totaled it.
2003 Ford Focus. Purchased new. Kept 15 years and 160,000 miles sold when my daughter gave back the car below.
2007 Ford Taurus. Bought it used from Hertz for my daughter when she totaled the Sable. She drove it 10 years then gave it back to me 2 years ago when she bought a car on her own. Currently owned it 12 years. Had 29,000 miles on it when we bought it, has 107,000 miles now

CARS DW: Age 63
1970 Ford Maverick purchased used.
1983 Mercury Lynx purchased new. Kept 15 years and 130,000 miles. Got rid of it because too small for our growing family.
1991 Dodge Spirit. Purchased used in 1998 with 31,000 miles on it. Kept two years
2000 Mercury Mountaineer. Purchased new, got rid of it 2 months ago after 20 years and 144,000 miles
2020 Toyota Camry Hybrid. My wife's

FAMILY CARS:
1971 Chevy Suburban purchased used, 105,000 miles, Kept 18 months and 130,000 miles. Decided we would use a new one
1987 Chevy Suburban purchased used, 160,000 miles. Kept 31 years.
2018 Ford Flex. Purchased new, our retirement car, the Taurus will go away when we retire.

TOY CAR
1965 Ford Mustang. Purchased 5 years ago fully restored, Driving 4,000 miles so far.

 

[kymom99]

I mentioned above that my favorite car is the Highlander that I drive now, but when I say that I wistfully think of the Dodge Intrepid I was driving in the mid-90’s. It was a company car passed down to me within the company and I loved that car. I don’t think I had previously ever driven anything that when you hit the gas, it really went. I liked how it handled, how it looked, but repair wise it was a nightmare. I have many stories about being stranded, praying I would make it to the dealership as it was stalling out on the way there. Fortunately I wasn’t paying for the repairs and I knew then I would never own one myself, but I really liked that car.

My husband was the same way. He loved the power it had. The AC thing was extremely annoying but the stalling was unsafe. He also had the transmission go out and had a fuel leak. He got rid of it at about 60k miles.

 

[TippyThomas]

I never owned anything other than a Honda.

 

[tcufrog]

Almost anything Honda. They run forever.

My first Honda Odyssey was awful. It was brand new and within the first month of purchase, I had to take it in for major work 3 times. If it had happened a 4th time it would have qualified for lemon law. I also hated parking that thing because the turning radius was awful. It also handled terribly in rain even with brand new tires.

The only reason to ever take your car into the dealer shop is to do recall work or if you got a period of free maintenance when you purchased the car from them. Never go for repairs you need and have to pay for.
And that is coming from several people who actually work in dealer shops

My husband is unable to pick me up when my car is being serviced and the independent mechanics don't have shuttles. If a service will take longer than a simple oil change I sometimes take it to the dealer because they offer shuttle service and free loaner cars.

I bought a VW Atlas in 2018 and I absolutely love it. It drives incredibly well for its size and is easy to park. We have a very narrow curved driveway with steep drop-offs on either side and I can easily back it down it because of the really good rear camera. It handles very well for its size in rain and has very comfortable seats. My seat is even heated and cooled. The Apple car play is very easy to use compared to the setup in my DH's Audi and window sightlines are excellent. A lot SUVs I drove had terrible sightlines. My Atlas has gotten lots of admiring looks from strangers and I've had lots of people tell me how attractive my car is and that it looks more expensive than it is. I test drove cheaper and more expensive cars and kept coming back to the Atlas because I loved how it drove and it had everything I needed and nothing more.

 

[mumto3girls]

My husband was the same way. He loved the power it had. The AC thing was extremely annoying but the stalling was unsafe. He also had the transmission go out and had a fuel leak. He got rid of it at about 60k miles.

Yep. My transmission went as well-I think the stalling was actually when the transmission was “going”. I kept complaining about it and taking it in to the shop and they could never find anything wrong with it and said the Internal computer wasn’t showing any codes and I had to bring it in when it was acting up. But once I would get there when it was acting up it would quit acting up. I was in my 20’s and blonde and I think those guys at the shop just thought I was so dumb. Finally it just completely died and I felt vindicated. I drove it less than a year but it was definitely one of my most memorable vehicles.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We are a Honda family. 2006 Pilot with 145,000 miles and 2016 CR-V with 30,000 miles. Both run great and are low-cost to own. Honda has a reputation of being boring as their cars generally lack upscale interior finishes and/or bells and whistles when compared to other similar-class vehicles. But that's okay by us as we're not fancy. We love the reliability and safety record and have had no mechanical issues. If you take good care of them, they do last a really long time.

You can find Hondas with various levels of bells and whistles and the 2019 accord was somewhere between 23k and 35k to start out with depending on the level of them you got. There was quite a bit of difference too.

 

[MetalMasterC]

I have owned a Ford, Chevy, and Toyota in the past, and drive a Mazda now. Toyota is a good fallback, but are really boring to drive for the most part. Mazda is a decent choice. They are much more premium feeling and sporty without the high price of luxury cars. Fords are meh, and Chevy is slightly less so. Not to mention that both Ford and Chevy basically don't make sedans anymore after 2021. The exception is the Malibu...but for how long? Don't know.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Our Chevy Equinox has served us well for 8 years and counting. There was a known issue with the 2012 model burning oil, which they did fix, but besides that, it's great. Good family crossover type car (where you need storage room for various reasons). I do wish it had better gas mileage, though.

Our daughter loves her Subaru Impreza hatchback.

But if I were to buy a new car just for me, it would be a Tesla Model 3.

My DH has an Equinox, I think it is a 2015. It had the oil issue as well. It used some ridiculous amount of oil in a short period of time. Thankfully it was under warranty when it happened or it would have cost in the thousands to repair that. They kept it like a week when they were working on it too. The dealership mechanic guy said that he had done that job to over a hundred of those.... but only ONE ever had to be fixed twice

 

[comicguy]

I bought a 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid in Novemeber and absoulutly love it (averging 57 mpg) We have owned toyota corollas for the last 25 years and other than our 2001 model (repeated bad sensors, covered under warrenty) no issues!

 

[katie01]

we have all Toyotas now, we will likely never buy another make/brand. In the past we have owned Buick, Chevy, Kia, and I think I am forgetting one, but the Toyota vehicles, by FAR, had fewer problems...honestly did not have any problems with Toyota, just the standard things you need to maintain, or things needing to be replaced after driving it for 15 years lol. When my Toyota Sienna mini van gives out, I will probably get a RAV4 like my husband has