Hello Scotty, I'm looking for a used first car that's safe, reliable, comfortable, cheap maintenance good on gas. I've been looking at the Toyota Avalon, Subaru Legacy, Mazda3, Mazda6, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Acura TL/TLX/RL/RLX, Buick LaCrosse, Infiniti M35, Volkswagen Passat/Jetta, and Genesis G80. Is Genesis the same crap as Hyundais and Kias? How much mileage should I get the car with? I would also like the car to have a nice suite of tech, luxury, and safety features like Apple CarPlay and Android. Auto, heated and cooled seats, and things like Automatic Emergency Braking Systems and collision warning systems. What car do you recommend that will last the longest with the least amount of money spent on repairs?
What car do you recommend that will last the longest with the least amount of money spent on repairs?
A basic Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic, avoiding specific years that have known problems. (Lasting the longest with the least amount of money spent on repairs is fundamentally incompatible with "a nice suite of tech, luxury, and safety features".)
I would personally stay away from most anything Nissan and Infiniti (Nissan's luxury brand). They've had reliability issues in recent years, particularly with their CVT transmissions.
The Subaru Legacy also uses a CVT, though it's supposed to be a pretty good one. The 4-cylinder engine has a better reputation than the 6-cylinder. Scotty has some videos on this, I think.
Acuras are nice cars and sporty/fun to drive. Being a Honda product, they tend to be very reliable. Being Honda's answer to Lexus, they are luxury cars and maintenance and repairs will be somewhat higher than on a plain old Honda or Toyota.
Speaking of which...it's hard to go wrong with a well-maintained Civic, Accord, Corolla, or Camry. Get one that's been taken care of and it will last darn near forever without breaking the bank.
One model you haven't mentioned but I thought I throw out there is the Lexus ES 350. It's more or less a luxury cousin to the Camry. Later generations share some elements with the Avalon, IIRC. Has a 3.5L V6 engine and Toyota reliability. Nice used examples are in a similar price range with the Acuras.
If you look at a toyota or lexus with the 3.5L V6 2grfe engine look for an oil leak right behind the power steering pump, usually behind the passenger wheel area. I have a sienna minivan with that leak and they don't seem to get too much worse over time but it's annoying and a 2400$ fix. It's likely not the power steering pump leaking. You could also look for Pontiac vibes, they are toyota drivetrain. Or scions, they are toyota, but they are not luxury and don't have the bells you want. Some of the recent hondas have a nice lane keep/collision/adaptive cruise system. I just had to keep my finger on the wheel while driving across ND in a 2020 honda pilot.
I'm looking for a used first car that's safe, reliable, comfortable, cheap maintenance good on gas.
You be better off buying Honda Civic/Accord or a Toyota Corolla/Camry those cars can last a long time and will be cheaper to maintain.
a nice suite of tech, luxury, and safety features
Most latest generation vehicles sold in U.S. have many kinds of standard features so do some research on trim levels on what features or luxuries is included.
