A friend of mine is looking for a good first car of course i told him to look into a honda or toyota. to no surprise the prices of those are very high is there any recommendations for a really solid Toyota or Honda even if it may be a little expensive right now. He also wants decent gas mileage so no SUVs.
The main thing is you want to avoid problem models. For example, for a lot of years 4-cylinder Camrys suffered from oil burning and, later, automatic transmission problems. (The 6-cylinder models didn't but of course those use more gas and are more difficult and expensive to work on.) Likewise, some Honda models are known to have problems. Also be sure to have a PRE-purchase inspection done by a good independent mechanic. (Having the car checked out after you buy it is too late.)
There's plenty of information out there as close as your favorite search engine, for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yieRrIZkH_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DFul_-fu0k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy2wFHZ0p9A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UDtuq_xezc
I would listen to Chuck Tobias's advice. Once your friend finds the model he may have a question about it. Go ahead and ask another question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7az0i6Dr_Js
Another video from Scotty on Civic and Corolla years to buy and/or avoid.
