A lot depends on model and year. I bough a 2004 Chevy Venture, as the drivetrain (3.4 l) seemed solid, and I could get parts for it.
It was a mistake.
The drivetrain is fine, but the electrical is filled with gremlins. GM, if you are going to make a car with squirrelly electrical systems:
1. DON’T bury your stupid sidepost battery under a screwed in two-inch-diameter cross bar and second fuse box.
2. Don’t install Day Time Running Lights that cannot be turned off, so that the battery drains all the faster when the alternator is not recharging it.
One could buy a used car, do a complete off frame restoration with new engine and still save tens of thousands over buying a new vehicle.
Ford’s tend to have good engines, as I’ve had three of them. However,their paint jobs tend to not last. Yiu have to repaint the body after about 7 years. That is my experience.
2024 Toyota Tacoma checking in.
Traded for my 2004 Tundra with 214,000 miles and essentially no unexpected repairs.
that jd powers has Chevrolet ranked WAY higher than Honda for new car quality is so ridiculous that none of their rankings are obviously worth the pixels they’re printed on ...
Good to Know!
The best new cars or used cars to buy depends on who is making up the list.
Pro-tip: If Motor Trend rates it highly - RUN AWAY. They do what their advertisers tell them to.
I trust Consumer Reports for no other reason than they don’t take advertisements.
I love my Lexus but hate my husband’s Volvo.
What the What?
CR is listing the 2021 Kia Sportage as the best small SUV under $20,000.
This being an SUV with the Theta II engine.
POS Korean crap
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/does-the-2021-kia-sportage-hav-6XJOy8LUR6.6UP4JrFZG4Q
My youngest son, who is 63, just picked up a 2004 mint-condition Lexus ES 330 with 52,000 miles on it.
I’m still driving my 2006 Honda CRV. Never breaks down. We change the oil, brake pads and tires. We have never replaced a major part except I have a feeling the starter may be wearing out after 18 years. 😉
I had a Nissan Altima, bought one of the first imported into the US. Absolutely great car, very few problems over the many years I drove it. Border to border and coast to coast, in fact.
My daughter is a Subaru fan. She’s on her fourth now. Even bought an old Subaru recently as her “dogmobile”. Didn’t want her four dogs messing up her newer Subaru.
Can’t drive now, can’t see well enough. But after I have a corneal transplant in June, I think I’ll get another car. Probably another Altima. My neighbor has one and he loves it.
For many years I purchased vehicles at State and local government auctions. I found nearly everyone in our extended family dependable vehicles. Cars and trucks owned by state and local government tend to get regular maintenance, so they tend to come with less surprises for their new owners.
I did a lot of research on vehicles that I was thinking about bidding on. Certain makes, models, and years of vehicles tend to have more issues than others. People who purchase vehicles regularly at auctions find out about these problems and this tends to put a damper on the price that they go for.
But the price also is influenced by the public's beliefs about certain brands, etc... which may or may not have much to do with reality. I do not trust articles such as the one this thread is based on... Consumer Reports which this article is based on is not as reliable a source of meaningful information as most people believe.
I once gave a very dependable domestic car which I had thoroughly checked out to one of my daughters who needed a dependable vehicle to get to work. She immediately traded it in on a used foreign car that was a piece of junk. I asked her why she did it... she said that the car she purchased had a better reliability rating from Consumer Reports. I spent a lot of time patching that foreign piece of crap up over and over again.
I have also found that many people who swear by or curse various brands of vehicles have never done any of their own work. These people are often not very good sources of information. If you have no clue where your dip stick, oil filter, drain plug, air filter, spark plugs are at or how to check the condition of your brake pads, or on and on... you should probably be talking to someone who does know about how to take care of maintenance issues to help you make informed decisions.
I personally do not have the firsthand knowledge or experience to make meaningful judgments about most of the vehicles being discussed in this thread. If I was thinking about purchasing a vehicle that I am not familiar with I do have the ability to do meaningful research. If you do not have much experience working on vehicles, you should make friends with someone who does and get their help. Or pay a mechanic to do a pre-buy inspection on vehicles that you are interested in. Relying on the generalizations made in threads like this one is not that great of an idea.
No KIA’s on the list?
My daughter has a 2013 Ford Focus. The Transmission is in the process of failing and the repair will be about the value of the car.
Before that happened we were talking about her getting a newer car.
Perfect timing. A co-worker is trading in his 2022 Ford Escape company car. We can buy them at the wholesale rate from the fleet management company. He’s a couple hours from me and twelve hours from my daughter, so she bought it sight unseen.
It’s in the shop for a door hinge related recall. They are putting new doors on it.
I’m a Lexus RX 350 guy now. Bought one 4 years ago and never had a better all around good to drive + useful and reliable vehicle ever. I’m on #2 Lexus now - the first one had a bad result with some bad weather and a hydroplane. Which I walked away from without even a sore neck.
What kind of problems?
My sleeper. 2005 Honda Odyssey, 235,000 miles. Original exhaust and struts. Daily driver. Took the family to a wedding and back, 1,200 mile round trip. Almost hate to say it, but it is in the top 2 of my favorite vehicles owned.
This ranking is for 5 year old cars. CRs ranking for new cars is much different in that the top tier have tanked while the middle got some better. Example, Lexus Toyota tanked and KIA is better (not great). But any car from the last five years is newish and complex, hard and expensive to fix.
One internet guru says to simply not buy anything made in the last 5 years. Too late for me and my 24 Telluride.